This study examined the effective strategies, resources, and programs urban superintendents utilize to improve the academic achievement for African-American males. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to answer the following research questions regarding urban superintendents and the academic achievement for African-American males: What…

SWIFT is a national center whose mission is to help educators provide academic and behavioral support resulting in excellence in education for all students, including boys and young men of color. This mission presumes all educators, school and district staff, family members, and the local community have shared responsibility for the teaching and…

A number of school choice advocates claim that there is a research consensus indicating that vouchers for private schools lead to higher academic achievement. The authors review and critique these local studies of voucher programs, contrasting them with findings from larger-scale analyses of nationally representative samples of public and private…

This paper examines the current academic and policy literatures surrounding teacher education. It provides a typology of existing national system of initial education and in-service education, in addition to presenting some of the advantages and disadvantages of these different systems. This report will provide an account of the current empirical…

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics, core beliefs, and activities of successful middle grades programs. Schools in Florida are held to standards of accountability under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Florida System of School Improvement and Accountability, and the Florida Secondary Schools Redesign Act.…

Significant numbers of students are being pushed out of school as a result of "zero tolerance" school discipline policies. While nobody questions the need to keep schools safe, teachers, students, and parents are questioning the methods being used in pursuit of that goal. Initially enacted to counter violent behavior and drug use, zero tolerance…

A performance objective is a description of an observable task to be performed by a learner to demonstrate that he has learned something. Performance goals stated clearly in terms of observable student performance can be used to improve educational methods. Because it is relatively difficult to construct indirect objectives that will…

The Scottish Executive's lifelong learning strategy, articulated in "Life Through Learning, Learning Through Life" (2003) emphasises effective learning as the key to bridging the opportunities, skills, and productivity gaps that characterise Scotland's current social and economic environment. This report has been commissioned by the…

"Count Us in: Achieving Success for Deaf Pupils" is a timely report. It comes when schools are becoming more confident in dealing with a wide range of additional support for learning needs. Schools are also more aware that they need to personalise experiences in order to meet pupils' learning needs. The report does point to strengths…

The disparity in educational outcomes between majority White and minority African American populations has become known as the African American achievement gap. The authors examine the under performance of African American university students by providing an overview of the major cultural, communication, and learning style characteristics of Black…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…