The authors examined the way that teachers perceive the academic abilities of young boys before the start of formal schooling. Using a 1998 nationally representative sample of 10,956 boys assessed at the start of kindergarten, the authors showed that teachers perceive young boys who are shorter than the perceived norm as less academically capable…

The author examined the potential influence of learning opportunities provided in 1 U.S. and 1 Chinese mathematics textbook series on students' problem-solving performance. Also, the author studied learning opportunities provided in the textbooks by analyzing word problem distribution across various problem types, as well as the potential…

The authors investigated the performance of 172 Grade 4 students (9 to 10 years) over 12 months on a 36-item test that comprised items from 6 distinct graphical languages (e.g., maps) commonly used to convey mathematical information. Results revealed (a) difficulties in Grade 4 students' capacity to decode a variety of graphics, (b) significant…

The authors investigated the influence of language proficiency on the cross-language transfer (CLT) of phonemic awareness in Spanish-speaking kindergarten students and assessed Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and phonemic awareness abilities. Correlation results indicated positive correlations between phonemic awareness across languages;…

Sixteen Hispanic Spanish/English bilingual children (6 boys and 10 girls) participated in a single-subject design study. Their chronological ages ranged from 8 to 9.5 years. The classroom teacher identified all the children as "academic at risk" on the basis of a history of poor academic performance in spelling and low scores on the Metropolitan…

The author examined the techniques of 3 middle school struggling readers to use silence to protect or promote their specific identities as readers in and out of school. J. Gee's (2002) theory of discursive identity framed this article. Results challenge the ways that teachers and researchers typically think of struggling readers. Rather than being…

In an experiment conducted in 7 eighth-grade (Ages 13-14) classes in Singapore, the authors evaluated the effects of the group investigation method of cooperative learning versus the effects of the traditional whole-class method of instruction on students' academic achievement and on their motivation to learn. The authors also investigated…

The authors examined the extent to which teacher interventions focused on students' mathematical thinking in naturalistic cooperative-learning mathematics classroom settings. The authors also observed 6 videotapes about the same teaching content using similar curriculum from 2 states. They created 2 instruments for coding the quality of teacher…

Scholars such as L. Calkins (1993), D. H. Graves (1978, 1984, 1990, 1994), and R. Routman (1991, 1996) hypothesized that teachers must be confident, avid readers and writers to be effective reading and writing teachers. Three questions guided a case study that examined this hypothesis among 4 fourth-grade teachers nominated as exemplary reading…

This research compares the status of managerial accounting practices in public four-year colleges and universities and in private four-year colleges and universities. The investigators surveyed a national sample of chief financial officers (CFOs) at two points in time, 1998-99 and 2003-04. In 1998-99 CFOs representing private institutions reported…

Current accountability reform requires annual assessment for all students, including students with disabilities. Testing accommodations are one way to increase access to assessments while maintaining the validity of test scores. This paper provides findings from an exploratory logistic regression analysis of predictors of four accommodations used…

Current preschool learning guidelines, created in response to NCLB requirements, focus on three areas of human development in an effort to ensure that preschoolers are ready for kindergarten. This study examined four New England states' preschool learning guidelines, looking at how each detailed its support for preschoolers' development. The…

The "School Violence Survey" (SVS) was developed as an instrument to investigate students' perceptions of school environment, their experiences and interactions within diverse social groups, and their views on school violence issues including bullying. A total of 806 students across four Midwest high schools and middle schools completed the paper…

This paper examined whether year round schooling (YRS) in California had an effect upon the outcome and growth of schools' Academic Performance Index (API) scores. While many previous studies had examined the connection between YRS and academic achievement, most had lacked the statistical rigour required to provide reliable interpretations. As a…

This qualitative case study reports and interprets school principals' perceptions of their role in implementing and sustaining Second Step, a social skills development programme. The study compares schools that implemented the programme as a formalised strategy for all teachers and those that did not. The results suggest that the key features of…