This report discusses the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, an untracking program that places previously low-achieving students in college preparatory classes. The first part of the paper describes the origins of AVID at Clairemont High School in San Diego (California) and its development into a mature program. The students…

This report assesses the Alternative Learning Methodologies through Academics (Project ALMA), which is designed to assist the academic progress of 531 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency who attend John Bowne High School in Queens and John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx. Participating students received instruction in…

In 1987, the Board of Education of the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Public Schools set goals for reducing the achievement gap between black students and white students and improving the educational outcomes of all low achievers, regardless of race. This paper summarizes programs, most involving parents, community leaders, and the corporate sector in…

A review of studies of at-risk students is presented in this document. Two recurring themes that occur in the studies reviewed are structured involvement and high expectations of students. The following items are reviewed: "Sex, Race, and Grade Differences in the Locus of Control Orientations of At-Risk Elementary Students," by Beverly D. Payne…

Theoretical traditions concerning school environments and student achievement are described, and their insights are linked with analyses of school and classroom interactions to develop a simple conceptual model of environmental influences on student achievement. The literature regarding environmental influences is then reviewed, and the last…

In the fall of 1985, 10 academy programs were established by the State of California as replications of the Peninsula Academies already operating in a local school district for four years. An academy is a modified high school program with the following specific elements, among others: (1) students with academic potential who are at risk of…

Local Education Agencies in New York State initiated measurement plans that collected reading and mathematics achievement data via criterion-referenced measures during fiscal 1974-75. These measures permitted districts to detect the areas of deficiencies and the approximate instructional levels where Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I…

The first and last essays of 209 randomly selected students who had received a passing grade in English Composition I at Bucks County Community College during Fall, 1976, were evaluated at the end of the semester by a committee of English teachers from other institutions. The committee assessed improvement in relation to several instructional…

Evaluation for a one-year period (1976-77) was conducted of the St. Charles Parish Schools (Louisiana) adaptation of the Experience Based Career Education (EBCE) prototype developed by Research for Better Schools, Inc. The EBCE program provided secondary school students with cognitive skills, career experiences, and personal perspectives which aid…

Program descriptions are introduced by theories of the reasons for the apparent low IQ of many black ghetto children. The theories are the genetic, the stimulus deprivation, the expectation, and the learning-exchange theory. Five experiments with ghetto underachievers are described. The first was designed to use token exchange in a remedial class…

The study of teacher effectiveness is confronted by a number of problems that are generally associated with the conduct of behavioral research. It is possible in some instances to resolve or circumvent some of the current methodological stumbling blocks that tend to reduce the credibility of research findings. This paper discusses three…

Describes the Coventry (Rhode Island) Junior High School Mastery Learning Project, serving up to 55 students in seventh-grade English, eighth-grade science, seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics, and seventh-grade social studies (geography) classes. Achievement of students in the program is compared to that of students in regular classes. (MH)

The optimum situation for a school system is one in which bureaucratic influences and practices support classroom learning. The study reported in this policy brief examines a transformation toward this state of affairs in the country's eighth largest school district, the 140,000-student San Diego City Schools. An unusual leadership arrangement…

This paper reports on a study that examined the effects of student-level orientation to schooling on students perceptions of a desirable school environment. The study involved 762 students in grades 7-12 in 4 Hong Kong secondary schools. The students completed a survey on their perceptions of independent learning, affinity to teachers, learning…

The essays in this volume examine the future of public schooling in the United States and what it will mean to be a leader in public schools. It focuses on the issues most likely to have an impact on American society within the next 20 years. The essays are as follows: "Introduction" (Milli Pierce, Deborah L. Stapleton); "The Limits of Change"…