What happens in a classroom that fosters the Harvard Project Zero teaching for understanding framework? That is the initial inquiry for this pilot ethnographic study of African American fifth graders in an urban public school. The study sets out to show how children are engaged in a class set up to understand science and mathematics. Themes…

This paper presents a description of a northern Florida middle school and of the students enrolled in the school, 92% of whom are African-American. Three quarters of the entire student population is eligible for free or reduced price government assisted lunches. This figure is double the state average. During academic year 1991-92, expenditure per…

This paper examines the interests, perceptions, and participation of 16 African American girls in a program designed to improve girls' persistence in science, mathematics, and technology (SMT). The girls are among 33 African American and 73 total original participants in "Rural and Urban Images: Voices of Girls in Science, Mathematics, and…

This report describes the efforts of three urban school districts participating in the Urban Schools Science and Mathematics Program (USSAMP) to enhance mathematics and science education in the middle grades and to prepare more African-American, Latino, and female students for career opportunities in technology and science. In Atlanta (Georgia),…

The paper summarizes a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report, "Reading, Science and Mathematic Trends: A Closer Look," in which achievement trends are compared in several subjects for 4th, 8th, and 11th grade black students, white students, low achievers, and high achievers. Findings indicate that while overall…