The increasing use of state-mandated public high school exit exams is one manifestation of the current movement in U.S. public schooling toward more explicit standards of instruction and accountability. Exit exam requirements implicitly argue that raising the bar for graduation creates incentives both for students to work harder in school and for…

This retrospective study compared the performance of preclinical medical students in the multiple-choice question (MCQ) and long essay question components of a comprehensive physiology final examination. During the 3 yr analyzed, 307 students had an average score of 47% (SD 9.9) in the long essay questions and 64% (SD 9.9) in the MCQs. Regression…

Students with emotional disturbance (ED) have significant academic deficits (Trout, Nordness, Pierce, & Epstein, 2003; Lane, 2004). Even after identification and school intervention, students with ED continue to demonstrate limited academic achievement and high rates of drop out and school failure, with 80-90% scoring below grade level on tests of…

Individual differences in emotion, cognitions, and task choice following achievement failure are found among four- to seven-year-olds. However, neither performance deterioration during failure nor generalization after failure--aspects of the helpless pattern in 10-year-olds--have been reliably demonstrated in this age group. In the present study,…

Children with incarcerated parents, and mothers in particular, are at increased risk for academic failure and school dropout. In two studies, we examined teachers' experiences with children with incarcerated parents and their expectations for competence of children with incarcerated mothers. In Study 1, a descriptive, qualitative study, teachers…

The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) plays an important role in California's public school accountability program. Beginning in grade 10, students have multiple chances to pass the mathematics and English Language Arts components of this exam. If they do not pass both components by the end of grade 12, they will not receive a high…

We investigated whether being poorly skilled in reading contributes to children's reported feelings of anger, distractibility, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, and social isolation. Data were analyzed from a longitudinal subsample of children (N = 3,308) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. Multilevel logistic…

A randomized field trial involving 883 students at 23 schools in three urban cities assessed the effectiveness of Experience Corps[R] (EC), a program that places older adult volunteers in elementary schools to tutor students who are poor readers. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the academic year with standardized reading…

An experimental study investigated the influence of informational dependence on information appropriation as a function of epistemic authority's styles. In a 2x2 design, university students were informed that acknowledging epistemic dependence was related either to academic success or to academic failure, and were exposed to controversial…

An action-research account of a successful improvement to practice presented for assessment within a taught MA in education was given a fail grade. The student's challenge to this decision led the university assessor to re-evaluate and change his own practice in assessment in much the same way as the student had in the original report. The…

Teachers are constantly assessing their students, whether it is formally or informally. They use screening, diagnostic, and outcome assessments to determine areas of concern and then monitor the progress of the students based on the interventions given. They are called upon to intervene with prevention in mind, helping students catch up as they…

The GEAR UP graduation coach intervention developed by the GEAR UP Learning Centers at Western Michigan University (WMU) addresses the issue of academic failure of at-risk students in high school. This personalized early intervention strategy begins by assessing students' unique circumstances, academic histories, and strengths and weaknesses in…

Middle school girls who are at risk have experienced a disproportionate number of intense and disruptive traumatic life events. Such events can adversely affect healthy development and often contribute to higher levels of school failure and problem behavior. Few programs focus on helping at-risk middle school girls achieve school success through…

This paper draws on lessons learned from the development process of the entertainment games industry and discusses how they can be applied to the field of game-based learning. This paper examines policy makers and those wishing to commission or develop games for learning and highlights potential opportunities as well as pitfalls. The paper focuses…

Beginning with the Reagan administration and perpetuated by Obama's presidency are patterns of public speeches--crisis discourse and Utopian expectations--and educational policy that began with 1983's "A Nation at Risk," accelerated through Goals 2000, and codified without much critical concern as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) under George…