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)

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)

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…

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…

This appendix focuses on the descriptive statistics of the middle study schools that participated in the "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research." This appendix contains the following figures: (1) Student…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

This report presents data on home schooling in the state of Arkansas that covers: students withdrawn from home school; home school student count by county, district, and grade level; and home school enrollments by grade and gender. The report contains the texts of the Arkansas Code Annotated Section 6-15-501 through Section 6-15-508 Home School…

By examining 12 new middle school programs in 7 school districts in various regions of the United States, this study focuses on how decision-making and planning processes were reflected in grade reorganizations. From interviews with decision-makers involved in each of the cases, the new middle school programs were observed first for their…

Teachers' beliefs about the probable classroom performances of children from broken homes were explored. The investigation had three purposes: (1) to obtain data on teachers' opinions and knowledge about children of divorce; (2) to investigate teachers' feelings about the school's role regarding children of divorce; and (3) to determine how two…

The second in a four-phase research project, this report presents data from a stratified random sample of California middle schools using four grade span configurations (K-8, 6-8, 7-8, and 7-9). This phase, a pilot study, is designing a methodology to help researchers discriminate among the number, percentage, and types of programs offered by the…

This study explored the levels of anxiety over computer use of high school students based on sex, grade level, and prior computer experience. Subjects were 67 high school students, 38 males and 29 females. The instrument used was a computer anxiety subscale of 10 items from an instrument designed by Loyd and Gressard (1984). The items presented…