In recent years a number of reports have raised alarm over the deteriorating state of U.S. science and technology (S&T) competitiveness. But a recent report by the RAND Corporation, "U.S. Competitiveness in Science and Technology," argues that the U.S. continues to lead the world. RAND's report has been interpreted to suggest that the "clarion…

This paper evaluates the impact of exposure to a voucher program for disabled students in Florida on the academic performance of disabled students who remain in the public school system. The authors utilize student-level data on the universe of public school students in the state of Florida from 2000-01 through 2004-05 to study the effect of the…

There is evidence in the literature that women have lower confidence in their skills and knowledge than men, particularly in areas considered crucial for engineering, like math and science. This difference has been linked to gender gaps in engineering enrollment and persistence. This study of engineering students extends research on gender…

The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between district size, socioeconomic status, actual levy percentages, and their predictive influence on the 2003 Washington Assessment of Student Learning results for 4th and 7th grade students in Reading and Mathematics. The convenient sample was 82 Washington State 2nd-Class school…

The article reports a study of factors associated with different levels of examination performance among thirty secondary schools in a district of Kenya. There are very limited data on school effectiveness in developing countries but there is some evidence that resource levels and aspects of teacher quality may be important. The research found…

When teachers move to the next grade with their students, they are sometimes referred to as teachers who loop with the children. In this descriptive case study, the authors describe the experiences of two teachers who collaborate with others as they move with a class of students from third to fourth grade (i.e., looping). The classroom context,…

The major aim of educational effectiveness research is to examine and explain school, class, and teacher differences with respect to relevant educational criteria. Until now, in the large majority of studies, language and mathematics scores were used as a criterion. In the present study, the educational track students choose at the start of…

Data were analyzed from 641 children and their families in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test the hypotheses that in the early school years, mothers' and fathers' sensitive support for autonomy in observed parent-child interactions would each make unique predictions…

Within primary school classrooms children are often seated in groups but research shows that pupils do not collaborate or learn effectively within these groups. This study is focused on children 5-7 years old. Using a quasi-experimental design, children in experimental classes undertook relational activities to improve the effectiveness of group…

Numerous high school students, including many who are enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses, do not have the math skills necessary for today's high-skill workplace or college entrance requirements. This study tests a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school CTE programs (agriculture, auto technology,…

Background/Context: Student motivation typically has been studied as it relates to extrinsic (e.g., reinforcement) or intrinsic (e.g., personal choice) sources of influence, with scant attention to sociocultural context. This article builds on a previous article in this special issue that (1) addresses the role of opportunity in the motivation of…

Using National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics data, a predictive model indicated that states could be classified as "No Score Gain" or "Score Gain" states based on median household income and the percentage of students participating in free and reduced-price lunch. Implications associated with the findings suggested that these two…

Effective schools should be superior in both enhancing students' achievement levels and reducing the gap between high- and low-achieving students in the school. However, the focus has been placed mainly on schools' achievement levels in most school effect studies. In this article, we focused our attention upon the school-specific achievement…

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the hypothesis that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology curriculum and aligned instructional approach would not experience significant diminishment in acquisition of technical skills related to agricultural power and…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) struggle in the area of academics as well as behavior, and these academic difficulties manifest a great deal in mathematics. The number of children with EBD served in general education settings is increasing, and mathematics curriculum is expanding to include additional content areas and more…