This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

In November 1996, the voters of Montgomery County (Maryland) approved by referendum an amendment to the County Charter that changed the County Council's review and approval cycle of the six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) from an annual to biennial cycle. The referendum specified that in odd-numbered fiscal years (on-years) the County…

Recent studies of the relationship between teacher preparation pathways and student achievement have resulted in similar statistics but contradictory conclusions. These studies as a group have several limits: they sometimes focus on student-level indicators when many policy decisions are made with indicators at the school-level or above, are…

Clinicians use a common practice of reporting age or grade equivalent derived scores, but problems of interpretation exist for such scores. This article examines derived comparison score issues and recommends use of scores of relative standing such as percentile ranks or standard scores in contrast to use of developmental scores like age and grade…

One of a series of booklets on world issues examines the sharpened differences between those nations that have declared sovereignty over parts of Antarctica and those that have not; between those nations that have arbitrarily assumed responsibility for the administration of Antarctica and the smaller, more numerous nations that believe their…

In November 1987, the superintendent of a major urban public school system (Philadelphia) publicized the district's decision to convert junior high schools (grades 7-8-9) into middle schools (grades 5/6-7-8). The superintendent's decision was based on several factors related to grade organizational structure, including (1) the district's already…

Test wiseness was examined with respect to grade differences, grade by sex interaction, and stability. Stem-options, similar-options, and specific-determiners were included. Results indicated significant increases on test wiseness in four of five cases, no sex by grade interaction, and test wiseness as a stable characteristic over the grade levels…

The major portion of the article establishes the basis for the stated rule - to divide by a fraction, turn it upside down and multiply. With this background, three justifications for the rule are given. Several possible errors in students' use of the rule are noted. (LS)

Teachers try something new - trading classes for a day. (Editor)

ARGUMENTS ARE PRESENTED IN FAVOR OF THE RECENT PROPOSAL BY THE AUTHOR THAT THE NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM CHANGE ITS PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS TO INCLUDE THE SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADES IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND GRADES 9 THRU 12 IN THE COMPREHENSIVE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. IT IS HELD THAT THE PLAN WOULD BE MUCH MORE…

The expansion of the junior and community college movement in the U.S. has created a significant problem for the traditional 4-year colleges and universities. A recent report indicates that there are more than 250,000 students seeking to continue their educations following completion of their junior college curricula, and 4-year colleges do not…

Despite the fact that the middle school has frequently come into being for noneducational reasons, many educators maintain that if a new school system could be organized from "scratch" with nothing but educational desiderata to guide its creators, the middle school would be the foundational arch of the system. This report analyzes and describes…