California public schools serve a highly diverse student population, including: 65% minorities, 24.9% English Language Learners, 10.6% disabled, and 19% in poverty. In the face of this diversity, all teachers are expected to use the Curriculum Frameworks of the California State Board of Education as a "blueprint for implementing the content…

While one can assume that most educators try to be fair and attempt to provide equitable learning opportunities for all students, it is not uncommon for them to slip into their own stereotyped attitudes and treat males and females differently. Research on gender in classroom settings indicates that males are called on more frequently and given…

Accounting educators struggle with ways to incorporate the development of critical thinking and communication skills into the curriculum. Case analysis is one tool for developing these skills. We examine whether students' case analysis scores improve as a result of participation in peer grading and peer review. We find that students improve their…

This study is an ethnographic account of the brief career of an Argentine former engineer without pedagogical experience who was hired as a middle school Spanish teacher in a small, conservative community in the northeastern United States. The focus of the case study is on how his attempts to become a teacher on the job both affected his own…

The purpose of this study was to identify the psychosocial, environmental and behavioral factors associated with calcium intake, physical activity and bone health in a cohort of adolescent girls. Baseline data (N = 718 girls, mean age: 11.6 plus or minus 0.4 years) from the Incorporating More Physical Activity and Calcium in Teens (IMPACT) study…

Young adolescent alcohol users drink at higher rates than their peers throughout adolescence and appear to be less amenable to intervention. This study compares those who reported alcohol use in the past year to those who reported no use in a multiethnic, urban sample of sixth graders in 61 schools in Chicago in 2002 (N = 4,150). Demographic,…

This narrative case study of a Black female middle grades mathematics teacher in an urban school provides an in-depth look at one teacher's life story, resilience, and teaching practices in a racialized environment. The study gives particular attention to the factors that contributed to her strength and resilience: family and faith. This view of…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Great Expectations": Parents Expect Children to Pursue Postsecondary Education but Don't Think Schools…

In the last issue, this journal asked a question on many librarians' minds, and it was pleased with the depth and variety of responses. As suggested by this journal editorial board member Oliver Pesch, readers were asked, "Many libraries have gone to federated searching to win users back from Google. Is it working?" Respondents approached the…

For many students, the experience of school mathematics is not a positive one. Processes of exclusion operate to disadvantage students along social class, race and gender lines. For students from backgrounds that are not part of the success regime, significant scaffolding by teachers is needed if they are to be successful. In this article, the…

This single case study examined a Deaf teacher's behaviors and beliefs that reflect her expectations of her deaf students. Primary modes of communication used were American Sign Language and written English. Data were collected via videotaped observations and interviews. Analysis was done by coding utterances of the participants using a deductive…

Principals want teachers to do more than profess high expectations for their students. Principals want teachers to have the knowledge and skills to realize their expectations for students by using strategies that increase students' attention to their achievement and responsibilities for learning. Current expectancy literature states that teachers…

School improvement demands focus. Staff members at James Cashman Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada, believe that student achievement comes from challenging every student and ensuring that no student is overlooked. Adopting this belief could not have come at a better time for the school. Cashman's students were struggling. The school was in the…

Noted educator Carol Ann Tomlinson shares the insights that shaped her thinking about informative assessment. Informative assessment goes beyond tests and the grade book. It means assessing students both formally and informally in multiple ways and giving frequent, productive feedback on student work. Informative assessment isn't separate from…

Throughout the United States, initiatives are being launched to extend the school day, increase homework, integrate technology, and require more high-stakes testing. The underlying assumption is that more time in school, more homework, more technology, and more high stakes testing will produce smarter, better-prepared students. Instead of…