The aim of this paper is to explore high school students' critical consciousness development in the context of youth participatory action research (YPAR) focused on food security at an alternative school in Alabama. The YPAR project took place in an elective agriscience class with 10 students (Seven Black, two white, one Latino) who were in the…

This article addresses the problem of how to best design authentic writing assessments in history that support learners in demonstrating the types of higher order thinking skills needed for effective citizenship. Recent research has primarily focused on curriculum interventions intended to build disciplinary literacies through various types of…

Purpose: The purpose of this two-year study was to assess the impact of the CORE program, a model that integrates technology and active learning modules in high schools by providing multi-disciplinary teams of teachers and administrators with professional development and resources to support the development of students' non-cognitive skills and…

Over the past 20 years, punitive approaches and policies similar to those of the criminal justice system have become prominent in our schools. These local, state, and federal education and public safety policies serve to remove students from the educational environment and channel them into the criminal justice system. This phenomenon is often…

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has placed increased accountability for outcomes on both students and teachers. To address the current youth literacy crisis in the United States, the CCSS call for students to read increasingly complex informational and literary texts. Since teachers are held accountable for students'…

This two-page Quick Facts document provides a snapshot of general state statistics, facts about public schools, the State Board of Education, and financial data.

The article is about the collaboration between two classrooms that enabled a second grade class to participate in a high school biology class. Through the use of modern video conferencing equipment, Mrs. Culbert, with the help of the Dalton State College Educational Technology Training Center (ETTC), set up a live, two way video and audio feed of…

Objectives of this study were to (1) determine student use of counseling in relation to selected structural characteristics of the school counseling situation and personal characteristics of students, (2) obtain student evaluations of counselor helpfulness with educational and occupational planning in relation to structural characteristics of the…

This paper summarizes an evaluation of a three-year school-based abstinence education program that was taught in 21 public schools to eighth- and 10th grade students in Southeastern Alabama between 2003 and 2005. The abstinence education curricula utilized with the students were "Choosing the Best" and "Navigator" programs. A…

Four papers describe a study of the use of holistic writing assessment procedures in a pretest and posttest manner to determine improvement of 10th graders' writing skills. "Problem and Context" (James E. McLean) briefly describes the project and introduces the other three papers. "Holistic Scoring Procedures for Scoring Writing…

A public forum on community water quality was conducted by tenth grade students participating in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparatory Program (BioPrep). BioPrep was designed to provide rural high school students with an intensified education concentrating on mathematics, science, communication, rural life, health, and…

A four-week summer project for 100 rural tenth graders in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparation Program (BioPrep) enabled students to acquire and apply social sciences research skills. The students investigated drinking water quality in three rural Alabama counties by interviewing local officials, health workers, and…

This survey is a follow-up to a comprehensive survey of eighth- and tenth-grade public school students conducted in 1988. The 1990 sample includes over 3,400 students from rural, metropolitan, and mixed school districts. Data were collected using a 120-item questionnaire and compared to available information from the 1988 survey. The study…

The structure of career education included in this curriculum guide for grades 9-12 is intended to provide a comprehensive, sequential, and integrated approach, based on the eight elements of the Comprehensive Career Education Model matrix (CCEM) adopted in Alabama. The eight elements are as follows: Self-awareness, career awareness, economic…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized test scores are the indicator used to hold schools and school districts accountable for student achievement. Each state is responsible for constructing an accountability system, attaching consequences--or stakes--for student performance. The theory of action implied by this…