This report identifies and describes practices that support the achievement of students enrolled in five high performing, high poverty elementary schools. Findings indicate that despite variations, the school share many similarities in terms of the strategies they employ to strengthen academic performance: (1) the schools embrace the belief that…

Changes in mathematics instruction in vocational programs in Swedish upper secondary schools are intended to improve mathematics skills so students will perform better on national mathematics tests. Curriculum requires that all vocational students in Course A take 100 hours of mathematics instruction, but nearly 50% of them have been failing.…

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the collective perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities. Significant positive relationships were found between CTE and student achievement on the grade 8 math, writing, and English…

This study compared the inclusive PIER program (French acronym for program intervention with at risk students), which was implemented in 13 third grade classes in Quebec (Canada) and compared with 13 third grade classes using a traditional resource room pull-out program over the course of a full school year. A total of 165 at-risk and 441 non…

This collection of papers describes the process of creating a standards-based teacher education program through strong collaboration among arts and science, education, and P-12 faculty members and administrators. The Standards-based Teacher Education Project (STEP) was designed to help teacher education programs ensure that their graduates know…

Choosing Higher Options in Community Education (CHOICE) Alternative School is devoted to professional development. This report documents the need for and planning of sustained and supported professional development for 4 staff members at the CHOICE Alternative School in Jamestown, New York. There was no focused plan or vision for staff development…

Implementation of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) key practices improved achievement for career-bound students in these four ways: (1) HSTW sites showed significant improvement in average reading and math scores; (2) the percentage of career- bound students meeting HSTW performance goals in 1994 and 1996 increased from 33% to 43% in reading and…

This document presents school principals' points of view on school and student improvement, using the real life experiences and practices of principals within Chicago's schools that have over the past few years shown the most improvement. Principals from 32 schools discussed their leadership style and strategies that contributed to school and…

A group of dedicated teachers in Gilmer County High School, Glenville, West Virginia (WV), worked with school administrators to make far-reaching changes to prepare all students for further study and the workplace. With their experiences from High Schools That Work workshops and help from a WV Department of Education representative, educators…

These three case studies highlight the implementation and impact of Mid South Middle Start by: (1) contributing toward an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a school implementing Middle Start; (2) describing a holistic portrait of the schools' participation in Mid South Middle Start; and (3) assisting the Academy for Educational…

Collective teacher efficacy refers to teacher perceptions that they constitute an effective instructional team, capable of bringing about learning in students. Previous research demonstrates that a school staff with a strong sense of collective efficacy is likely to generate high student achievement. This study of 2,170 teachers in 141 elementary…

Describes the teaching-learning process occurring as two university professors and eight fourth-grade teachers collaborated to promote science instruction by building on the teachers' insights about their students' languages and cultures. The study focuses on Hispanic and Haitian teachers whose students were still developing academic language…

This article features case studies of two elementary schools, identified as exemplary by Washington educators, as they worked to enact Washington's Essential Academic Learning Requirements and help students achieve proficiency on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. We describe school- and classroom-level practices and analyze the…

This case study provides a practical example of collaborative action research at work in a classroom setting, and illustrates how collaborative action research can be used to help teachers answer questions about their own practice and professional development. Following a review of the available research and historical foundations for…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)-State Vocational Education Consortium's commitment to higher standards for and greater achievement of vocational students has brought substantial gains in student performance. SREB's High Schools That Work (HSTW), a school improvement initiative, documents achievement gains by vocational students. Data…