The Palos Heights School District, Illinois, eliminated neighborhood elementary schools in favor of a primary (K-2), intermediate (3-5), and middle school (6-8) configuration. Details the strategies for handling public opposition. (MLF)

This article explains four teacher-developed mnemonic learning strategies--one for learning the steps of long division, one to teach decision making, one for developing homework skills, and one for preparing and giving a speech. (DB)

Several different methods for projecting grade-progression ratios were tested with 12 years of grade-specific membership data for Virginia. In nearly all cases, projections made by exponential smoothing produced more accurate results than series produced by averages, moving averages, or regression methods. (SLD)

Presents an activity using base-10 blocks and the TI Explorer calculator to help fifth and sixth graders represent their ages in different numerical bases to appear older or younger than their real age. (MKR)

Describes three approaches teachers can use to help students understand multiplication and division: calculator explorations, problem solving, and discussion topics. Specific examples are provided for primary and upper grades. (MDM)

Discusses four historical methods by which the seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned and the ways these methods can be used to reinforce operations involving decimal fractions and different rounding procedures. (MDH)

Defines and describes the use of choropleth maps in geography instruction. Identifies the six basic steps for constructing choropleth maps and recommends their use in secondary classrooms. Includes five maps and two tables applying choropleth maps to Central American and Caribbean nations. (CFR)

Explored teachers' self-reported assessment practices and the influence of teaching experience, grade level, and subject area on those practices. Surveys of 893 teachers in 34 schools indicated that they used observational assessment and performance tasks more frequently than traditional assessment. Experienced teachers, elementary teachers, and…

Discusses the development of multiplicative and divisional schemes within a constructivist framework. Illustrates child thinking and child methods relative to the meanings of these operations using interviews with children. Compares the constructivist perspective on the development of meanings of multiplication and division to what is found in…

Presents literature-based activities that take division off the workbook pages and place it in situations to which children can relate. The activities help students understand division, devise strategies, and solve problems in context. Both activities involve reading stories then using division to solve real-life problems for story characters. (SM)

A systematic meta-analysis of research studies (N=22) published since 1980 concerning self-concept as a multidimensional phenomenon in children and adolescents was conducted. Results show a complex pattern of gender differences and similarities, some of which were consistent across grade level. Although some of the results defied stereotypes,…

The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether the relation between curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and specific reading skills changes as a function of grade. In addition, this study sought to identify cutscores that correspond with benchmark performance on a variety of reading subskills at Grades 1 through 4. Participants were…

Many studies support the existence of a significant decline in students' academic self-concept from early to mid-adolescence. In comparison, the findings on gender effect are less conclusive. This study aimed to determine whether there is any grade or gender effect on adolescents' academic self-concept in the Singapore context. Specifically, the…

Five years ago, Robert E. Lee High School was a big school with big problems. Overcrowding at the 3,100-student school forced some students to use air-conditioning units for chairs. Hallway fights broke out daily. At least half the freshmen disappeared from the roll books before reaching 12th grade. The thing to do, school leaders decided, was to…

Researchers at the National Center on Performance Incentives recently examined teacher attitudes towards pay for performance policies in education, and how these views vary by teacher experience, subject area specialization, grade level taught, educational background, personality characteristics, risk and time preferences, and feelings of…