Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), the authors investigate whether four groups of Asian Americans (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and South East Asian) show comparable scores on variables that past studies have found to be related to academic achievement and whether these variables similarly predict academic…

This paper examines students' self-motivation in mathematics learning between girls and boys using secondary analysis of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted in 2003 by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) involving eighth graders. Components of self-motivation include…

Since the passage of the first Charter School Law in Minnesota in 2001, there have been many studies that have examined the effect of Charter schools on student achievement with very mixed results. The Missouri legislature passed legislation in 1998 permitting the establishment of charter schools in a metropolitan school district or in an urban…

This policy research document is intended for Oklahoma policymakers to use when examining possible changes to the state assessment's alignment with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The 2009 NAEP test is not yet in existence, so the purpose of this report is to give policymakers a head start in determining where they might,…

This policy research document is intended for New Mexico policymakers to use when examining possible changes to the state assessment's alignment with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The 2009 NAEP test is not yet in existence, so the purpose of this report is to give policymakers a head start in determining where they might,…

In this report we focus on the use of propensity score methodology in multisite studies of the effects of educational programs and practices in which both treatment and control conditions are enacted within each of the schools in a sample, and the assignment to treatment is not random. A key challenge in applying propensity score methodology in…

When California adopted its new mathematics standards at the turn of this century, state leaders raised the expectations for its K-12 students, including encouraging them to take Algebra I in 8th grade. This brief looks at how California's high school students are meeting the state's high academic standards in math. It focuses on access to and…

Much of what students learn never appears to connect to their lives. They learn facts, they study events, and they read stories of others. Teachers need to help students make these associations, and sometimes that means expanding the curriculum. To help her language arts students make connections between their lives and the realities of life…

This fact sheet presents information on the frequency of volunteering, trends in volunteering, and the organizations for which young people volunteer, utilizing data from multiple sources. Unlike many surveys, it shows that volunteering rates among young people are generally higher than they are among adults 26 and older. Findings of the Civic and…

International comparative studies revealed that US students' mathematics performance is not at the level of expectation of mathematics education community. The latest of such study is, Third international Mathematics Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R, 1999) continued show poor performance of US students in international arena. Total of 38 countries…

Does success in school protect teenagers from drug use? Does drug use impair scholastic success? This book tackles a key issue in adolescent development and health--the education-drug use connection. The authors examine the links and likely causal connections between educational experiences, delinquent behavior, and adolescent use of tobacco,…

As reading and writing are both language processes, one can assume relationships between them, but the exact nature of these relationships has not yet been determined. While a large body of research has addressed reading comprehension and written production independently, very little investigation has examined the possible relationships between…

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of partner violence among adolescents, nor of the factors with which it is associated. The objectives of this study were to document prevalence rates for partner violence among high school students in Cape Town, and to explore factors that are associated with such violence. Method: The sample…

Adolescents' perceptions of persons their age who smoke cigarettes (also known as prototypes of smoking peers) play a critical role in an adolescent's decision to start smoking. However, adolescents' perceptions of their peers who do not smoke (prototypes of nonsmoking peers) could be implicated in adolescents' smoking decisions as well. In the…

The 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data from 46 countries showed that, although the national level of teacher quality in the United States was similar to the international average, the opportunity gap in students' access to qualified teachers between students of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) was among the…