As part of the evaluation of the High School Improvement Project (HSIP), a survey was conducted to measure staff perceptions of school and instructional effectiveness behaviors and activities at Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan. The questionnaire used was an abbreviated version of the School Effectiveness Questionnaire developed by…

The study investigated alternative explanations for differences in reading achievement between pairs of handicapped students exhibiting comparable amounts of academic engaged time. Forty-six students in grades 2-4 from urban and suburban districts participated; 16 were classified as learning disabled (LD), 14 as emotionally/behaviorally disturbed…

An exploratory, comparative study of the achievement of 186 homogeneously and heterogeneously grouped second graders found no significant differences in overall achievement in reading and mathematics. However, a significant difference in reading comprehension scores of children in the two groups was found. At low, medium, and high academic…

This study investigated the relationship between engagement and achievement for college students in an intermediate swimming class. It also examined this relationship for students who entered the class with different initial skill levels, different previous experience with the subject matter, and for students of different gender. The methodology…

Considerable research has been conducted on the effect of anxiety on academic achievement. The most consistent finding is that high anxiety is associated with low performance, particularly at the elementary school level. To explain this situation, some researchers have hypothesized that anxiety debilitates students' attention span or time-on-task…

The use of time in school, specifically the portion of time defined as active responding time, has been shown to correlate significantly with achievement. The comprehensive observational methodology of the academic engaged time studies provides the basis for systematically investigating student responding time and elements of the educational…

Effective curriculum is based on a mastery learning model. According to Carroll's mastery learning model, learning rate is partially a function of student "perseverance" or time on task, which is in turn determined by a learner's entering repertoire and the quality of instruction. Although the mastery-learning model looks simple, its execution is…

Elementary students who have fallen behind their instructional group in reading can increase their rate of acquisition of reading skills through increased "time on task" (the time a learner actually spends attending to the learning task). In a six-month research project, subject students were pretested for reading ability, then grouped under three…

Discusses studies done on primary grade basic skills instruction and student achievement gain since 1973 focusing on content covered, student attention, direct instruction and proportion of student time spent in seatwork rather than on teacher behaviors. Discussed are, teacher centered instruction, student choice of activity, grouping students for…

First-year results of a 5-year longitudinal study regarding children's antisocial behavior indicated that high risk fifth-grade boys (N=35) were significantly different from controls in amounts of academic engaged time, frequencies of negative peer interactions, frequency of discipline contacts, and teacher ratings of their social skills.…

This study examined the verbal behavior of students and teachers in three learning activities: microcomputer work, group work, and conventional (teacher-directed) instruction. Verbalizations were coded into seven task-related and one non-task-related categories. Variations in verbal interactions during each activity were recorded and are…

Lessons in values development were observed in classes of Dutch students, aged 10-15. A 22-item observation instrument was used to record the amount of classroom time spent on a particular category. Factors which affected students' behavior included nondirective versus directive teaching behavior and certain questioning techniques. (GDC)

Supports B. Plowden and David Elkind's rationale for developmental early childhood education that considers children's unique learning modes. Describes four program elements: opportunities for developmental tasks, teachers' knowledge of children's development, concrete learning experiences, and appropriate setting. Discusses curriculum…

Socially disadvantaged Israeli children in grades three or six were paired with university student tutors. Mathematics and reading achievement were measured after one year of tutoring, two years of tutoring, or no intervention. One year of tutoring yielded some gains; however, a second year did not increment them. (Author/GDC)

This study focused on the transition in memory between conceptual knowledge formation and procedural knowledge development. The first variable--display time interval--controlled the amount of instructional display time of each interrogatory example; the second variable--content sequence--sequenced examples according to response-sensitive decision…