Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)-the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the…

This report measures trends in performance among urban schools receiving federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) awards as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Council of the Great City Schools aims to document how member districts of the Council of the Great City Schools implemented SIG and specifically what…

Mathematics education is a critical public policy issue in the U.S. and the pressures facing students and schools are compounded by increasing expectations for college attendance after high school. In this study, we examine whether policy efforts to constrain the high school curriculum in terms of course requirements and mandatory exit exams…

The perceived problem of low mathematics achievement is a concern to education leaders at all levels of PK-16 education. Results from various research raise concerns about mathematics learning of U.S. middle school students. Education leaders search for interventions to address issues related to improving mathematics achievement. This article…

The topic of differential diagnosis and its application to the use of the Revised Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) is discussed. The theoretical bases for differential diagnosis and the properties of assessment instruments with diagnostic properties are presented.…