School districts nationwide, but especially rural districts, are finding it hard to recruit and retain administrators. In the past 25 years, administrators have had to address increasing demands for special programs, collaborative decision making, and accountability. In addition, potential for conflict with school boards and various constituencies…

Noting that multiage classes during the elementary school years have been an option of educational practice in the United States since the introduction of graded education in the 19th century, this digest discusses the research on multiage education and its impact on academic achievement. Despite inconsistencies in research findings, those studies…

Noting that multiage classes during the elementary school years have been an option of educational practice in the United States since the introduction of graded education in the 19th century, this digest, written in Spanish, discusses the research on multiage education and its impact on academic achievement. The digest points out that despite…

This digest discusses the unique needs of mathematically gifted students and reasons why curriculum and instruction should be differentiated for these learners in mixed-ability classrooms. Recommendations for differentiation include: (1) give pre-assessments so that students who already know the material do not have to repeat it but may be…

Youth courts, comprising teen courts, peer juries, peer courts, student courts, and other courts wherein juveniles sentence juvenile respondents, have rapidly gained popularity. In 1991 there were over 50 youth courts in 14 states. By 2002, the number of youth courts grew to more than 850 in 46 states and the District of Columbia. This digest…

Failure to include nonnative English speaking students in a testing program, something that is especially important in a state where a high school graduation test is administered, can cost students the opportunity to practice for the test, as well as the opportunity for diagnosis of educational attainment and feedback about their progress. For…

With few exceptions, the development of adult intelligence assessment instruments has proceeded along the lines of the Binet-Simon tests for children, stressing psychological assessment over the evaluation of what an individual knows. These tests, developed over 90 years ago, were quite effective in predicting school success, but were much less…

This digest explores some of the reasons for spanking, examines its effectiveness, and suggests alternative discipline methods. Many parents believe that spanking will teach children not to do things that are forbidden, stop them quickly when they are being irritating, and encourage them to do what they should. Others believe nonphysical forms of…

This digest recommends assessing all of a person's abilities, not just some. It also discusses self-report in the context of ability assessment. Current use of self assessment methodology taps more ability areas than existing ability or aptitude tests cover. Alternative testing approaches have been called for which enhance self-discovery and…

This brief retrospective outlines major points in the history of American Indian education and major issues in Indian curriculum and teacher training. From the arrival of Europeans until recent times, formal schooling for American Indians has been controlled by others--first missionaries, then the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After World War…

The 1980s were years of concern about the curricula in elementary and secondary schools. Throughout the decade educators in the social studies, as well as in other fields of knowledge, formed curriculum study groups to assess the status quo and to recommend improvements in widely distributed reports. This ERIC Digest examines: (1) four social…

Business has begun to play a more active role in education, spurred on by the need of education to obtain alternate sources of funding and by the desire of business to reduce youth unemployment and educational deficiencies. Research has shown that a communication gap exists among business executives, educators, and students. Some…

Since 1980, an increasing number of state and local education agencies have reintroduced a world history requirement into their secondary curricula. This ERIC Digest examines five key questions related to that trend. Questions raised, together with some salient points made in the discussion of each, are as follows: (1) What is the background to…

Some recent research findings with implications for improving mathematics instruction are reviewed in this report. The focus is on two topics: computation, in particular subtraction and estimation, and problem solving. Findings about each are listed, with references for each cited study included. Effective algorithms and strategies used by…

This digest reviews and summarizes what is known about effective school-wide behavioral management systems. Emphasis in such systems is on consistency throughout the building and across classrooms with the entire staff, both professional and nonprofessional, uniformly implementing common strategies. Common features of school-wide behavioral…