Kingborough Community College's (KCC's) New Start Program was initiated in 1985 to give students who were unsuccessful at senior colleges a second chance at higher education. Following a very successful first year during which retention and academic performance were significantly improved, the New Start Program was expanded from 63 to 240 students…

The Copernican Plan is a way to organize high schools on the basis of research and experience concerning more effective and efficient instruction. Research indicates that large-block scheduling has proven to be very successful. In the plan, each student will enroll in one class at a time for about 4 hours each day for a period of 30 days. An…

College instructors concerned about student writing quality are provided with information on writing in the content areas and writing across the curriculum. Following an overview of writing in the content area, the chapters focus on writing and learning--"workaday" writing (personalizing knowledge through writing, forms of workaday…

This report describes and evaluates the initial effects of the 1984 Texas Education Reform Bill (House Bill 72), in which the Texas legislature enacted a massive attempt to enhance both equity and effectiveness in the State's system of elementary and secondary education. Chapter 1 describes the Bill's various financing components and focuses on…

In this book, information is provided to assist student teachers in planning and implementing lessons, at the secondary school level, through the use of advance organizers. Advance organizers are described as a form of mediating response which precedes a major learning task and provides meaning, structure, and organization to the task and links…

Part 1 of this paper reviews major research findings on the relationship of teacher characteristics to student achievement. Of the 16 teacher variables analyzed, those identified as important to student performance are teacher certification, ability and achievement, experience, inservice training, expectations for students, and methods. Policy…

This report contains an extensive description of the efforts made by the South Miami Junior High School (Dade County, Fla.) to accommodate an influx of disadvantaged children. The school instituted an inservice teacher workshop on the problems of desegration and developed an experimental curriculum for a selected group of 50 Negro and white…

The purpose of the program evaluated in this report was to investigate the impact of increased guidance service on the educational performance of children. In this second year of the program; funded under the Elementary Secondary Education Act, Title III, all students in two elementary schools, one intermediate school, a junior high school, and a…

The project described in this study was implemented in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Demonstration School District, Brooklyn, to train teachers and paraprofessionals (parents from the community) to work within their present structures, using the principles of behavior analysis as a means for teaching children to read, for controlling behavior…

Underachievers from junior high grades were assigned to tutor younger children classified as slow learners. Tutors volunteered and were given choices as to what they would teach; however, stress was usually on their own educational needs. No research was presented but a general evaluation of the program indicated success. Students learned from…

These papers are partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Education at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. The cohort included a variety of licensure areas that represent most levels and content areas of K-12 education. The students were encouraged to keep their questions and hypothesis directed at…

The Department of Public Instruction is actively involved in efforts to improve the school experience and educational outcomes in Wisconsin. Chapter 1, "What Are the Characteristics of Successful Schools?" examines the seven characteristics of successful schools, which describe the school environment, goals, and management strategies and…

The second edition of this guide, as did the first, describes a set of characteristics that define the Wisconsin framework for a successful school, one in which all students meet high academic and behavioral standards. It is intended to be used by practitioners to assess their own performance, guide improvement plans, and solicit feedback from…

Describes a system employed by a middle school to improve performance scores on the Comprehensive Testing of Basic Skills (CTBS), through aggressive attitude changes, to ensure fiscal and other benefits. Notes characteristics of the approach, including realistic goals, student involvement, student responsibility, community involvement, student…

Recounts the experiences of Kansas social studies educators in designing and implementing a workable assessment instrument that would meet state requirements. The design emphasized five characteristics (thematic orientation, skills emphasis, social studies perspectives, variety of resources, and community orientation) constructed around a…