Research on the concept of teacher efficacy spans over 20 years, but much remains to be learned. Although precise definitions of the concept have always been problematic, in general, teacher efficacy is defined as teacher's belief or conviction that they can influence how well students learn (T. Guskey and P. Passaro, 1994). Efforts to clarify the…

This paper reviews the literature on mastery learning theory and reports its successful application since 1987 with mainstreamed special education students at one elementary school in Missouri. The methodology, originally developed by Benjamin Bloom, involves formative evaluation after initial instruction followed by either corrective activities…

Although much recent attention has focused on gaps in the achievement of different groups of students, the problem has been with us for decades. This paper presents the problem as one of reducing variation in students' achievement, and reviews the work of renowned educator Benjamin Bloom on this problem. Bloom argued that to reduce variation in…

Multiage/multiability grouping is when more than one grade level of students is grouped in a classroom. This report summarizes the research on multiage/multiability grouping in the primary grades. The paper, which is intended for use in Kentucky's educational system, focuses on quantitatively based comparative research syntheses. The text…