This paper examines the educational impacts of the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative (BWLI), a pilot program that provided 1:1 technology access to all students and teachers across five public and private middle schools in western Massachusetts. Using a pre/post comparative study design, the current study explores a wide range of program…

Based on in-depth data from nine demographically similar schools, the study asks five questions in regard to key aspects of the improvement process and that speak to the consequential validity of accountability indicators: Do schools that differ widely according to system performance criteria also differ on the quality of the educational…

Brogden Middle School (BMS) is located approximately 15 miles south of Goldsboro, North Carolina, a city of approximately 40,000 citizens and the home of a military base. To decrease the number of discipline referrals of African American males, 10 students who had the most frequent discipline referrals during their seventh-grade year were…

Concerns about middle level education began early in this century and will continue to be discussed by researchers and observers well into the next century. This digest examines the evolving characteristics and goals of middle level education, especially in terms of the most recent statements of purpose by major organizations in the field. Noting…

A multiple probe design was employed for this study to assess the effectiveness of the "Corrective Reading" program (Engelmann et al., 1999) on students' reading fluency and behavior during reading-related instruction. Direct observations assessed the effect on students' behavior in both general and special education classrooms. Reading fluency…

This paper describes the process through which a troubled junior high school transformed itself into a model middle school. Teachers and administrators used the organizational mapping strategy (Shapiro 1991) to examine and reconstruct their beliefs, perceptions, and organizational traditions. The organizational-mapping strategy generates a…

One direction that science education reform has taken is an investigation into the content knowledge structure, instructional beliefs, and teaching practices of middle school, high school, and college science teachers. This research study follows that same path to determine whether systematic differences exist between academic levels on these…

Researchers used a qualitative case-study methodology to examine the current status, strengths, and shortcomings of advisor-advisee programs in middle schools. Data came from six middle schools in two large metropolitan areas. At each school, researchers interviewed at least three teachers and three students. The teacher interviews focused on…

This study uses data from 171 teachers at eight inner-city elementary and middle schools in Baltimore to examine general patterns and connections between teacher attitudes about parent involvement, school programs, and the actual practices that teachers use. These patterns are examined at different academic levels, in different academic subjects,…

This pamphlet recounts the experiences of Division 15 in reorganizing to include a middle school. Planning steps, staffing arrangements, and inservice training are discussed, and descriptions of the building and the equipment are provided. Continuous consultation with teachers during the entire process kept staff morale high and is considered to…

Reports on the results of a study designed to examine what middle and high school science teachers believe should be the goals for science education for the remainder of the 1980s. Respondents compared modern science education goals with those of the 1960s. (TW)

Several common factors set two New York middle schools apart from less effective schools: pride in the program, optimism concerning its effectiveness, variety in offerings and scheduling, opportunities for professional development, staff loyalty, excellent use of resources, good community leadership, high parent involvement, and healthy…

This paper suggests that the idea of "taking stock" of the current program--reflecting on what educators believe to be best practice--and then "charting a course" of action to better align practice with vision is a deliberate way for teachers to build capacity to enact reform. It begins by providing a brief overview of the changing direction of…

The relationship between changes in the scores from Maryland's performance assessment program, the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) from 1993 to 1998 and classroom instruction and assessment practices, student learning and motivation, students' and teachers' beliefs about and attitudes towards the assessment, and school…

This study examines the perceptions of middle school teachers at the Miami Shores/Barry University Charter School (Florida) toward using computers in a classroom environment for teaching. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the school and the teachers involved in the study. A constructivist approach was used to understand the…