Defines grade level as an age grouping that yields an achievement distribution approximating a normal curve, with the distribution average at grade level in a typical school. With an average teacher, an average child gains a year. Educators must accept this normal range of reading achievement and adjust instruction to it. Includes eight…

To shed light on appropriate grouping practices for early adolescents, this article presents current data on using between-class grouping and regrouping in American schools serving this population, based on the 1988 Johns Hopkins University middle school survey. Findings show that learning opportunities in the middle grades remain highly…

Describes how principals assign teachers and students to single-grade and combination classes. Presents research showing unexpected constraints that fundamentally changed the basis of class assignment and, consequently, the nature of classroom compositions. A case is made that multitrack calendars reduce principals' flexibility to make purposive…

Assesses patterns of enrollment in science, science achievement, and attitudes of students in grades 3-12 representing the 4 major ethnic groups in Hawaii. Results indicate that more differences were accounted for by ethnicity and even grade than by gender and there was little interaction between ethnicity and gender. Contains 78 references.…

This document sets forth recommendations for the design of a new science assessment. The assessment resulting from this framework will start a new NAEP science trend (i.e., measure of student progress in science) beginning in 2009. This framework represents a unique opportunity to build on previous NAEP science work as well as key developments in…

A search for patterns in grade retention rates across grades 1-12 to construct simulation research models is described in this paper. Aggregate data from Shepard and Smith (1989) on grade retention rates from 12 American states for the year 1979-80 and from 11 states for 1985-86 were examined for across-grade patterns, supplemented by Dade County…

Sixty adolescents, stratified by sex and grade level (i.e., 9th, 12th, and college sophomore) participated in an examination of Piaget's suggestion that the formal operations are prerequisite to the development of political idealism, abstract thought and future time perspective in adolescence. Analysis of the cognition data revealed that the…

In recent years, there has been a rapid growth of interest in Sweden in vertically integrated classes in compulsory schools, especially at junior high school and intermediate grade levels. This development is supported in various ways by the curriculum, partly because it puts more emphasis than previous curricula on the occurrence of teaching…

Studies have shown that school transition may have an impact on early adolescent self-image. In order to examine the effects of school and grade transition on early adolescent self-image, and to examine the duration of these effects, the Personal Opinion Survey (POS), containing nine measures of self-image, was administered to 296 fifth and sixth…

To help policymakers plan for higher quality education despite increased productivity demands and decreased financial support, this paper briefly reviews trends and issues related to three important areas: school size, grade level organization, and school management practices. Research has yet to discover the perfect school size. Arguments are…

Since the measurement of school achievement involves the administration of achievement tests to various grades on various subjects, both grade level and subject matter contribute to within-school achievement variations. To determine whether achievement test scores vary most among different fields within a grade level, or within fields among…

THIS REPORT DISCUSSES TEACHER AIDES, THEIR USE, PAY, SELECTION, TRAINING, AND SUPERVISION. REPLIES TO 217 QUESTIONNAIRES SENT OUT IN 1966 BY THE NEA RESEARCH DIVISION PROVIDE THE DATA SOURCES. INCLUDED AMONG THE FINDINGS ARE (1) A LARGE MAJORITY (76.5 PERCENT) OF THE TEACHER AIDE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED SINCE 1960, (2) 74.2 PERCENT OF THE…

Instruction at three levels is outlined in this public school adult basic education curriculum guide. Development of reading, writing, oral communication, and arithmetic is stressed at Level I (grades 1-3). Mathematics, reading (with attention to phonics and word structure), and English are enlarged upon in Level II (grades 4-6). Level III (grades…