General Chemistry I is known as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) gatekeeper, often playing a role in determining students' STEM college pathways and their career prospects. However, there have been recent efforts to transform General Chemistry I from a gatekeeper course into a gateway course by implementing equity approaches.…

For far too long, the United States has neglected and wasted an enormous amount of human potential--much of it among groups that have never been given the opportunities they deserve. We're talking about bright students, advanced learners, striving pupils, and those with high but untapped potential--especially those who are Black, Hispanic, Native…

An important and interesting area in the study of triangle geometry is the related issue of extrema problems and inequalities. These problems play a significant role in the mathematics study program in high school. In tasks such as these, the difficulty level is high when one does not know in advance what the expected answer is. When one knows…

Some educators see the Common Core State Standards as reason for stress, most recognize the positive possibilities associated with them and are willing to make the professional commitment to implementing them so that academic rigor for all students will increase. But business leaders, parents, and the authors of the Common Core are not the only…

To make it in college, students need to be up for the academic rigor. But that's not all. They also must be able to manage their own time, get along with roommates, and deal with setbacks. Resiliency and grit, along with the ability to communicate and advocate, are all crucial life skills. Yet, experts say, many teenagers lack them, and that's…

In "Beyond Test Scores: Leading Indicators for Education," Foley and colleagues (2008) define leading indicators as those that "provide early signals of progress toward academic achievement" (p. 1) and stress that educators "need leading indicators to help them see the direction their efforts are going in and to take…

In "Orange Juice or Orange Drink?," the authors provided evidence that many students are receiving credit for courses with little indication that they have learned the content implied by the course titles (Dougherty, Mellor, & Jian, 2006). Yet in pursuit of the goal of preparing all students for college and careers, many policymakers…

One of the aims of the standards and accountability movement is to make intellectually demanding course work in high school the norm. Significant progress has been made towards this goal. Expecting all students to engage in and succeed with challenging work in high school, however, places on high schools demands they have not been historically…

The final project report on development of an advanced Russian language listening and reading proficiency test is presented. It summarizes activities in the second year of the project, including dissemination of summer 1985 test validation results to participating higher education institutions, item analyses, completion of the final test edition,…

Reciprocal teaching, a method of teaching first language reading comprehension, is explained and three distinct applications of the method and materials in second language instruction are described. Reciprocal teaching is viewed as a three-level hierarchy of components and strategies, reflected in the organization of materials and activities. The…

This brief document offers ten principles of effective school design. They are: (1) Clear Focus and High Expectations for staff and students are defining features of an effective school; (2) A Rigorous Instructional Program provides equitable opportunities to learn and enables every student to master challenging content, skills, and learning…

A Scottish study of foreign/second language instruction for vocational purposes focused on teaching methods, skill assessment methods, and teacher and student perceptions of the effectiveness of different instructional approaches. Nine case studies of second language programs (French, German, Japanese, and Spanish) were conducted. Programs…