Schools are institutions in which students' course taking creates series of linked learning opportunities continually shaped by not only curricular structures but demographic and academic backgrounds. In contrast to a seven-step normative course sequence reflecting the conventional hierarchical structure of mathematics, analysis of more than…

The purpose of this study is to build on an emergent research base for academic optimism by testing the construct and its relationship to student achievement and organizational citizenship behaviors in schools in a sample of public high schools. All participants in this study were full-time teachers, guidance counselors, and other full-time…

Over 900 Texas teachers were surveyed on their perceptions of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), which at the time of the survey was Texas's high-stakes achievement test. The sample included elementary, middle, and high schools within each of four test performance levels: exemplary, recommended, acceptable, and low performing.…