This report describes a practicum project designed to help first- through fourth-grade teachers acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and strategies necessary to work effectively with a diverse student population; improve the social and academic performance of culturally diverse students; and increase parent involvement at school. The…

With the move to self-governance and the dismantling of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), there is a need to know if Aboriginal education systems are providing superior, adequate, marginal, or unsatisfactory standards of education for their students. A study of 165 First Nations students attending a K-10 First Nations school sought to…

This compilation contains executive summaries of 13 program evaluations conducted by the Office of Research and Evaluation of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas), as well as short summary reports on 3 programs. The following summaries are included: (1) "1991-92 Dropout Report"; (2) "Faculty/Staff Recruitment…

This study investigated outcome data obtained from six samples of primary school students, four of which consisted of at-risk students. Participants were: (1) 46 students from a transitional first-grade, developmental, regular education school readiness program (SRP) for at-risk kindergartners; (2) 20 nonplaced kindergartners who were recommended…

A new elementary retention policy was implemented in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1981-82. The AISD Board of Trustees requested a three-year study of the impact and effectiveness of the policy. This report describes results from the second year of the study, including the effect of the change in policy on staff development,…

Practices of attendance, suspension, and non-promotion in middle schools in Boston (Massachusetts) encourage at-risk students to drop out. School policies and practices, student data, and interviews with at-risk students were reviewed to determine which practices encourage disengagement from school. Personal narratives are included. Major findings…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 38 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effect of phrase-segmented, antiphrase segmented, and standard text on the free recall and probed recall of third and fourth grade developmental readers;…

To study the relationship between the school and the rural family, and particularly to establish reasons for student dropout, a questionnaire was administered in 1973 to 103 students who dropped out of school in 2 large rural towns in the Veneto, Italy. Responses indicated that about 60% of the adolescents left school to help out the family or…

Houston, Texas, was one of the cities awarded a grant via the Annenberg funds to implement school reforms. It developed the Houston Annenberg Challenge with local collaborators to initiate and nurture systemic change, thus improving education. A research and evaluation study investigated how funded schools implemented the reform initiative, what…

This report presents findings from the 2000 Youth in Transition Survey 18-20-year-old cohort, which documents Canadian youth education and labor market experiences. By age 20, most youth had graduated from high school, and 70 percent were participating in postsecondary education. Dropout rates were higher for males than females. High school…

This report examines progress on key education indicators of black children and adults, utilizing statistics published by the National Center for Education Statistics in various reports and from other federal agencies. It shows that more black students have completed high school and gone on to college, levels of parental education have increased,…

The Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP), funded by a grant from the state, provides extended learning opportunities for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) who are at risk of academic failure. The primary focus of an OEYP is to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need for student grade-level retention by providing additional…

The study identifies some of the greatest disparities for boys and men of color relative to their white counterparts across specific socioeconomic, health, safety, and school readiness indicators in California and provides information about different strategies for reducing the disparities--including effective programs, practices, and…

Project Accelerated Curriculum Classes Emphasizing Learning (ACCEL) was implemented by the Newark School District (New Jersey) in the 1989-90 school year in response to the ineffective practice of retaining underachieving students. The innovative approach of accelerated learning was made available to retained sixth and seventh grade students.…

The study examined the phenomenon of repeaters as a part of wastage via a review of the literature on the subject and a 5-year study (1977-81) of primary schools in Ciskei. The literature revealed that the impact of repeaters on educational system manifests itself in different ways, i.e., large classes, high drop-out rate, the demoralizing effect…