Evidence is mounting that children have decreasing exposure to the natural world, which makes sense as the population of the planet urbanizes and many interests and assignments involve digital technology. According to the United Nations, 54% of the world's population now live in cities (2014), and a 2010 study by the Kaiser Health Foundation found…

Immersive environments hold promise to provide unique and heightened sensory experiences that focus a learner's attention, and thus may be useful learning platforms. In particular, portable planetariums may be useful in advancing conceptual knowledge about the night sky, because they afford learners with Earth-based views of celestial motions,…

By coincidence or not, Massachusetts, Illinois and Virginia created civic education task forces not long after national test results showed a dismal understanding of the subject matter across all grade levels. Results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed just 25 percent of all testtakers in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated…

Business leaders in Alaska cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students' lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation's most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. Alaska students have made little progress in math…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 mathematics assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2011 to…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2011 to other…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2009 to other…

The results of the 1977 and 1979 Statewide Assessment Tests in Alaska are presented. This assessment testing is part of the testing component within the Alaska Statewide Instructional Support System (SISS), and is based on specific objectives critical to a student's academic success. Objectives covered are: mathematics computation, mathematics…

In 1990-91, the second year of Alaska's statewide testing program, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was administered to 24,684 Alaskan public school students in grades 4, 6, and 8. The nationally normed achievement test covered reading, mathematics, and language arts. Most students in grades 6 and 8 scored above the 50th percentile in all subjects,…

This unit contains 15 lessons on Alaskan plants for fourth graders. It describes materials, supplementary materials, use of process skill terminology, unit objectives, vocabulary, background information about five kingdoms of living things, and a webbing activity. Included are: (1) "Roots in Action"; (2) "Chlorophyll"; (3)…