Four components of high-achieving middle schools together provide for the refocusing of middle level education on student achievement, while being attentive to the needs of the early adolescent learner. Those components are: a culture that supports achievement, ongoing discussion about achievement, a supportive structure, and an academically…

Answers parents' most common questions about alternative assessment. Discusses: why there is a need for change in the way students are evaluated; what alternative assessment is; how parents can recognize the components of an alternative assessment; when alternative assessment occurs; and how alternative assessment contributes to children's…

This report presents the final evaluation of the MegaSkills School Program pilot adoption at Maupin Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1994-95. The MegaSkills programs are designed to help students develop skills and attitudes related to school success, confidence, motivation, effort, responsibility, initiative, caring, teamwork, common…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the more effective decision rule set between the goal oriented and the treatment oriented approach within the context of alterable and unalterable elements of instruction. Students (n=343) identified as learning disabled by their schools from grades 1 through 6 in 35 schools in a large city school…

This practicum addressed the problems of low self-esteem levels of at-risk students in kindergarten and in grades three and five by implementing a peer facilitator program. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the OUNCE Attitude Scale, and a Kindergarten Checklist of Low Self-Esteem Characteristics were used to determine the students'…

The project studied a critical aspect of school performance, how children know how to display interactional competence during classroom lessons. Using videotapes of classroom lessons and interviews with participants, the study analyzed the language used by teachers and students as well as their physical behaviors to infer the knowledge needed for…

This action research project evaluated an intervention to improve primary, intermediate, and special education student responsibility in a middle class community located near a metropolitan area in northeastern Illinois. Participating were students in first grade, fourth grade, and communication development classes. Lack of student responsibility…

This practicum was designed to improve the reading and language arts skills of students, not already served by special education programs, who were demonstrating difficulties in the regular education classroom and were at risk for poor or failing school performance. Solution strategies utilized for this practicum included a collaborative…

This paper describes a shared leadership, quality improvement team approach to classroom management in elementary school classrooms that is similar to the quality and school improvement approaches which are increasingly available to school personnel and community leaders. Contents outline a model approach to cooperative classroom management among…

In September 1985, the Prince George's County Public School System located in the Washington metropolitan area east of the District of Columbia, began implementation of a Milliken relief program to revamp its equity strategy. Initially, 10 of 117 elementary schools in the system were targeted for relief, but by September 1988, the Milliken program…

An experienced art teacher working with students in grades two through six implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to improve the self-images of male black students, their academic accomplishments, and their feelings of pride in their school. Five actions were taken to attain the objective: (1) cultural materials produced by…

The purpose of the Basic Skills portion of this project was to improve the reading and mathematics skills of students in the Junior High Schools Transition program, grades 7 through 9, in 27 junior high schools and 4 middle or extended elementary schools. The goal of the Mathematics Teacher Resources Development portion of the project was to…

Because intermediate grade students were not working up to their potential, a coordinator of elementary school instruction implemented a practicum to increase students' motivation. In-service meetings were held with six intermediate grade teachers from each of two schools for the purpose of planning techniques and devising activities for…

This practicum was designed to enhance methods and procedures used with 15 low-achieving, disinterested, and disruptive seventh grade students assigned to a middle school's alternative education program. The primary goal of the practicum was to increase students' responsibility for their own actions and their attention to learning. A secondary…

Results of an evaluation of the Colorado Bilingual Education Program are presented. Data contained in the Colorado Bilingual Education Unit's evaluation reports were analyzed to determine the extent to which the programs have been successful in 1977-78 in meeting the objectives of the Colorado Bilingual Bicultural Education Act. Assessment areas…