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Eric.ed.gov – Included Students with Autism and Access to General Curriculum: What Is Being Provided?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Public education has worked to address the needs of all students with disabilities, although it has been a gradual process. The most pivotal change in public education for students with disabilities in general education classrooms dates to the implementation of the federal law, Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law itself has undergone several revisions over the years from 1975 to 2004, including but not limited to: (1) disability category changes; (2) age group modifications; (3) a name change; and (4) expansion of services. One of the most significant revisions of IDEA pertinent to autism was in 1990 when it was added as a disability category, having not been included in the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The OECD, PISA and the Impacts on Educational Policy

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Large-scale assessment regularly takes place in most jurisdictions across Canada, a fact not lost on the Fraser Institute and other right wing think tanks such as AIMS (Atlantic Institute for Market Studies) which use the test results as the primary basis for compiling school rankings at both the elementary and secondary level (see Gutstein, 2010). The frequency of external testing at different levels (provincial/territorial, national, international)–coupled with the high visibility accorded by the mainstream media to the results, usually in the form of league tables, and the imperatives of short term political mandates–have all contributed to a focus on improving one’s position within the list of rankings, as well as to a narrow focus on the tested subjects–math, science, reading. In this era of accountability-by-numbers, the elevated… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effects of the Connected Mathematics Project 2 (CMP2) on the Mathematics Achievement of Grade 6 Students in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Final Report. NCEE 2012-4017

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examines the effects of Connected Mathematics Project 2 (CMP2) on grade 6 student mathematics achievement and engagement using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. It responds to a need to improve mathematics learning in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC). Findings reveal that the type of instructional activity taking place in intervention schools differed from that in control schools, and the activity observed in intervention schools was the type expected when implementing CMP2. Sixty-four percent of intervention teachers reported implementing the curriculum at a level consistent with the publishers’ recommendations on the number of units completed per school year (six), and 68 percent of them reported implementing the curriculum consistent with the recommended amount of class time per week.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Study of School Size among Alabama’s Public High Schools

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the size of Alabama’s public high schools, selected school quality and financial indicators, and their students’ performance on standardized exams. When the socioeconomic level of the student bodies is held constant, the size of high schools in Alabama has relatively little relationship with 11th grade student (both regular and special education) performance on the reading and math portions of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE). High schools’ average daily attendance rates and pupil-to-computer (and computer with Internet connections) ratios do not vary in accordance with school size. Higher percentages of highly qualified teachers are found in Alabama’s largest high schools. There was very little difference in the percentage of teachers with a master’s degree or… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Early RCT Findings for ELL Elementary Student Learning Outcomes after a Two-Year Pedagogical Intervention

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Instructional Conversation (IC) is a complete classroom pedagogy that focuses on teaching through small-group dialogue with students allowing responsive instruction for each student. The IC is anchored by cognitive-developmental theory and by four decades of multi-method quasi-experimental studies. This study describes the first research of an Institute Education Sciences-funded, randomized efficacy trial of IC effects on standardized test outcomes for both English Language Learner (ELL) and Non-ELL students. The main research question for this study is: Do ELLs taught by teachers who implement the IC pedagogical model perform above controls? The study aims to explore how well and for whom the pedagogy works if indeed effects are found. The focus in this multi-cohort design (over three years) involves districts and schools where students are clustered. This… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Predicting High School Students’ Interest in Majoring in a STEM Field: Insight into High School Students’ Postsecondary Plans

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examined how various individual, family, and school level contextual factors impact the likelihood of planning to major in one of the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields for high school students. A binary logistic regression model was developed to determine the extent to which each of the covariates helped to predict such academic interest. High school course taking in science and performance on science and math standardized tests were significantly and positively related to an increased interest in STEM. College aspirations were significant, and those with loftier educational goals were generally more likely to plan to major in a STEM field. Other individual-level factors also played a significant role, as male high school students were significantly more likely to have an early interest in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Project LIFT: Year Two Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Research for Action (RFA) has completed its second year of a five-year external evaluation of the Project Leadership and Investment for Transformation (LIFT) Initiative in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District (CMS). Project LIFT is a public-private partnership between CMS and the local philanthropic and business communities in Charlotte, designed to turn around nine schools in the West Charlotte Corridor. Starting in the 2012-13 school year, Project LIFT operates as a semi-autonomous Learning Community within CMS, providing the initiative with CMS infrastructural support and access to an initial $55 Million investment of private resources to drive a multifaceted reform effort in Charlotte’s highest poverty schools. Project LIFT’s long-term goals are to significantly improve student achievement in the following ways: 1) 90% of students will achieve proficiency in math and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Influence of Testing on Teaching Math and Science in Grades 4-12.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This booklet reports the results of a recent National Science Foundation study of the impact of mandated testing programs on curriculum and instruction in elementary and secondary mathematics and science education, especially the impact on teachers with large percentages of minority students. The study included three strands: (1) an item-by-item analysis of the most widely-used standardized tests and textbook tests in mathematics and science for grades 4, 8, and selected high school subjects; (2) a nationwide questionnaire survey responded to by 2,229 mathematics and science teachers in grades 4-12; and (3) interviews with 200 teachers and 100 administrators in 6 urban districts in 6 states nationwide. Included is a figure titled “Percent of items testing types and levels of thinking” and two tables titled “Percent of teachers… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Sanger Unified School District: Positive Outliers Case Study. Positive Outliers Series

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Located just southeast of Fresno in California’s Central Valley, Sanger Unified School District (USD) serves approximately 12,000 students in 20 schools. Sanger USD students are predominately from low-income families (73%); most are Latino/a (70%), and about one in five (18%) are English learners. During the accountability era of No Child Left Behind, Sanger had earned the reputation of being a turnaround district based on district students’ steep and steady improvement on California’s Test of Basic Skills between 2004 and 2012. Its success hinged on developing an organizational culture of continuous improvement and an instructional regime of direct instruction for students’ basic skills mastery. This case study addresses the question of how Sanger USD managed to shift instruction and student support to achieve exemplary results on the new… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Student Academic Performance Outcomes of a Classroom Physical Activity Intervention: A Pilot Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Physical activity is beneficial to children’s health, yet academic pressures limit opportunities for students throughout the school day. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a classroom PA intervention on student academic performance outcomes. Intervention participants (n = 15) received daily PA breaks. Reading and mathematics fluency, PA, grades, and standardized test scores were collected. Effects of the intervention were examined using mixed-design ANOVAs. Intervention students had significantly higher reading fluency and mathematics scores post-intervention and higher means for standardized reading and mathematics scores as well as grades. Short bouts of PA are important for improving CBM math and reading fluency scores. Classroom teachers should be encouraged to devote time during academic learning to incorporate PA. Link til kilde