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Eric.ed.gov – To Track or Not to Track?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Background: This paper was written for a graduate level action research course at Muskingum University, located in New Concord, OH. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine which method of instruction best serves ALL high school students. Is it more advantageous to track (“ability group”) students or not to track students in high school core classes (Math, Science, History, and English)? Setting: This study was conducted during the 2009-2010 school year. All subjects involved in this research are associated with Caldwell High School, located in Caldwell, OH. Caldwell is a small rural town located in Southeastern Ohio, which is part of the Appalachian region. The high school currently has approximately 180 students in attendance and 11 educators teaching the four core subject areas. Study Sample:… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 2007, the Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute to conduct a nationwide study of homeschooling in America. The study’s purpose was to develop a current picture of homeschool students and their families–capturing their demographics and educational background–and analyze the impact of certain variables on homeschoolers’ academic achievement. Dr. Ray collected data for the cross-sectional, descriptive study in spring 2008. The 11,739 participants came from all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. In the study, homeschoolers scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th percentile for Language, Math, and Social Studies to the 89th percentile for Reading. The study also found that whether or… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effective Educational Programs: Meta-Findings from the Best Evidence Encyclopedia

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One of the major series of reviews in elementary and secondary education is the Best Evidence Encyclopedia, or the BEE. Up to now, findings for systematic reviews have largely been restricted to the reviews themselves, with few cases in which lessons learned across many reviews using similar methods can be synthesized. The completion of the Best Evidence Encyclopedia reading and math reviews permits a first opportunity to describe both substantive and methodological patterns across a broad set of studies involving all elementary and secondary grades, reviewed using a common set of review procedures. The purpose of the proposed paper is to synthesize both substantive and methodological findings across the five main Best Evidence Encyclopedia reviews of reading and math programs in grades K-12. The paper considers the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Conducting a Mathematics Camp for Girls & Other Mathematics Enthusiasts

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Throughout much of the world, boys continue to outscore girls on standardized mathematics tests. For example, in most of the 57 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, boys’ performance was significantly higher than girls on the mathematics scale. This fact alone can harm girls’ opportunities for competitive scholarships and entry into top colleges, attitudes toward the subject matter and themselves, and participation in mathematics-oriented occupations. Intervention programs are equitable measures for addressing the needs of special populations. They can have successful results in bolstering the knowledge, dispositions, and participation of underrepresented groups in domains in which they are marginalized. In this article, the author describes a mathematics and technology intervention program for middle-grades girls. This description of the Northern Nevada Girls’… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Academic Achievement and School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Turning around chronically low-performing schools requires a multifaceted school-wide, systematic effort that includes strong leadership and data-based decision making. School-wide efforts to turn-around low-performing schools should address the academic, social, and behavioral needs of all students. One evidence-based, systematic school-wide approach for addressing social and behavioral concerns in schools and, distally, increasing students’ access to academic instruction, is school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS). SWPBIS is associated with increased positive school climate, increased teacher self-efficacy, decreased problem behaviors for the whole school, and potentially, increased academic achievement. The underlying assumption is that by improving social behavior, schools have more time and ability to deliver effective curriculum and instruction. However, to-date, this assumption has not been fully investigated. The goal of this paper is to explicitly examine… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Impact of Racially Diverse Schools in a Democratic Society. Research Brief No. 3. Updated

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is the third in a series of briefs summarizing findings from the newest and most rigorous research related to racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools. The studies on which this brief is based were published recently in three special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, “Teachers College Record,” edited by Professors Roslyn Arlin Mickelson of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Kathryn Borman of the University of South Florida. For more than two decades, the success of school desegregation has been judged mainly by the degree to which it benefits individuals, either through academic achievement or social mobility. This research augments an already extensive body of work in this area, which has reached similar conclusions. However, the work published this year in “Teachers College… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Learning in Linguistically Diverse Middle School Classrooms: The Role of the Classroom Peer Network

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The literature suggests there is much to be gained from exploring the role of the peer network in linguistically diverse “mainstream” middle school classrooms (i.e., classrooms that include English language learners alongside fluent English-speakers). The present study uses social network analysis to examine whether between-classroom and between-student variation in cross-language-status integration in the classroom peer network may contribute to between-classroom and between-student differences in learning. Data from a larger mixed-methods study at a linguistically diverse middle school in the southeastern United States are analyzed to test two hypotheses: (1) Classrooms with more linguistically integrated peer networks (i.e., those in which the network of friendships in the classroom is less segregated by ELL status) will show greater growth in classroom mean standardized test scores across the school year;… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act: Toward a Coherent, Aligned Assessment System

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the nation’s major law governing public schools. ESSA retains the requirement that states test all students in reading and math in grades three through eight and once in high school, as well as the requirement that states ensure those tests align with states’ college- and career-ready standards. However, the law makes significant changes to the role of tests in state education systems. For example, ESSA requires states to include a broader set of factors in school accountability systems rather than just test scores; provides funding for states and districts to audit and streamline their testing regimes; and allows states to cap the amount of instructional time… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Talking with U.S. Secretary of Education: Margaret Spellings

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This summer, “Instructor’s” Editor in Chief, Bernadette Grey, traveled to Washington, D.C., for an exclusive one-on-one meeting with the U.S. Department of Education’s high-profile leader, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Appointed by President Bush, Spellings is responsible for the overall direction, supervision, and coordination of activities and functions as the Chief Operating Officer for the entire Department. Spellings, who replaced the controversial Rod Paige earlier this year, has been focused thus far on implementing No Child Left Behind and on sharing the stories of improved test scores in many American school districts. Charming and tenacious, she also made it clear that she feels a special bond with teachers and wants and needs them on her side. This article presents the conversation between Grey and Spellings wherein they… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alabama Education News. Volume 28, Number 9

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Alabama Education News” is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the “Code of Alabama”, as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about programs and goals of public education in Alabama. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Effective School Bus Maintenance Combats High Fuel Costs; (2) Torchbearer Schools Light Up Student Performance; (3) Alabama among First States to Administer New ELL Test; (4) School Systems Consistently Receive National Award; (5) School of Fine Arts Director Pens Drama Highlighting Birmingham’s Racial History; (6) $10,000 Recycling Rewards for 10 Alabama Public Schools; (7) Math Tournament Readies Students for State Tests; (8)… Continue Reading