Background: Small schools have been promoted as an educational reform that is capable of improving student outcomes. However, a survey of the research on small schools indicates that much of the movement for decreasing school size is based primarily on correlational methods that do not control for selection effects in the data. In addition,…

In his "Wall Street Journal" op-ed on the 25th of anniversary of "A Nation At Risk", former assistant secretary of education Chester E. Finn Jr. applauded the report for turning U.S. education away from equality and toward achievement. It was not surprising, then, that in mid-2008, Finn arranged a conference to examine the…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the growing use of teacher specialists in the elementary schools, particularly in the area of mathematics. The elementary school principals of a large metropolitan school district located in northeastern Florida responded to an online survey that focused on the type of specialist…

Following the political changes of 1994 in South Africa, the decision was taken to replace the traditional skills-based education system at primary and secondary school level (Grades 1-12) with an outcomes-based education system (OBE) . The implementation of the OBE system did not come without problems, giving rise to revised initiatives. The OBE…

The objective of this study was to evaluate "biomathtutor" by (i) investigating the impact of "biomathtutor" on the mathematics skills competencies of bioscience undergraduates, and (ii) assessing students' and tutors' reactions to "biomathtutor", identifying whether and how tutors might integrate it into their curricula and blend it with more…

The study examined the self-reported academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation of 573 immigrant and nonimmigrant adolescents in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) secondary schools. Descriptive Discriminant Analyses indicated that the immigrant adolescents had higher performance in mathematics, higher math and school…

The present study focused on students' academic enjoyment as predicted by achievement in multiple academic domains. Assumptions were based on Marsh's internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model and Pekrun's control-value theory of achievement emotions, and were tested in a sample of 1380 German students from grades 5 to 10. Students' academic…

The use and scope of after-school programs (ASPs) have always varied with the local context. Historically, affluent families used ASPs to provide enrichment for their children. During the Civil Rights and Black Nationalist movements, African Americans used ASPs for cultural and educational activities. In recent times, ASPs have been used for…

Over the past decade, policymakers have enforced increasingly greater accountability demands for student achievement and zero tolerance policies. Legislators have outlined proficient measures for student achievement which includes students enrolled in general and special education classes and all ethnicities and socioeconomic levels. Schools…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students' mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of…

Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the…

Under federal regulations, school districts that have been identified for improvement or corrective action are not eligible to be supplemental educational service providers. However, the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers to five such districts, on a pilot basis, to allow those districts to provide supplemental educational services. Two…

The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether providing structured academic instruction in reading or math to students in grades two to five during their afterschool hours--instead of the less formal academic supports offered in regular after-school programs-- improves their academic performance in the subject. This is the second and…

The present research study has shown that minority and non-minority students taught by black and white teachers in a southeastern school district in the state of Texas understood more mathematical concepts and knowledge when taught by teachers of their own ethnic background. The present investigation is relevant because it sought to either refute…

Over the past ten years, traditional lecture style delivery has given way to computer-aided instruction (CAI) in post-secondary education. Developmental mathematics courses have been one of the most widely used applications. At a small community college in the Mississippi Delta, a computer assisted version of Intermediate Algebra was implemented.…