Early adolescents may lack the cognitive and metacognitive skills necessary for effective inquiry learning. In particular, they are likely to have a nonnormative mental model of multivariable causality in which effects of individual variables are neither additive nor consistent. Described here is a software-based intervention designed to…

On the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math, 17 percent of high school seniors scored at the "proficient" level --just under half the percentage scoring at that level on the NAEP reading test. Twenty-two percent of college freshmen are identified as needing remedial math, according to the National Center for…

Both socioeconomic and school factors contribute to the underachievement of poor children and children of color. This article explores factors that contribute to the underachievement of students of color and offers practices that culturally proficient school leaders can use to build a school culture that may positively impact the academic…

On May 17, 2004, our nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of a landmark decision, Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This U.S. Supreme Court decision was an impressive unanimous vote. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine of "Plessy v Ferguson" that the Court had…

This study explores the relationship between college graduation rates and student participation and success in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams. We reviewed three approaches to examining this relationship: 1) comparing the college graduation rates of AP and non-AP students; 2) comparing the college graduation rate of AP and non-AP…

The persistent and significant achievement gap between black and Latino students and their white and Asian counterparts at Evanston (Illinois) Township High School (ETHS) has existed for as long as anyone can remember. Stories real and apocryphal abound about the institutional barriers that have denied fairness and opportunity for minority…

According to Frankenberg, Lee, and Orfield, segregation for black students declined substantially after the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision, "Brown v. Board of Education," reaching its lowest point 30 years later. By comparison, Latino students have experienced "steadily rising segregation since the 1960s." Unlike…

This study investigated the impact on ethnic, language, and gender groups of a new kind of essay prompt type intended for use with the new SAT®. The study also generated estimates of the reliability of scores obtained using the prompts examined. To examine the impact of a new prompt type, random samples of eleventh-grade students in 49…

On July 20, 1920, the board of school trustees invited the Commissioner of Education to undertake a survey of the schools of Elizabeth City, with the understanding that the cost would not exceed $1,500, and that the cost of the survey would be underwritten by the Elizabeth City Chamber of Commerce. On July 24-25 Commissioner Claxton and two…

Among the most interesting groups of children in gifted education today are those who are "new Americans"--children of different cultures and different languages. These children bring with them the same talents, gifts, and intellect that other children have; however, the way they manifest their gifts may be somewhat different based on family…

We examined the relation of overt and relational victimization to depressive symptoms, fear of negative evaluation (FNE), social avoidance, and loneliness in a sample of Hispanic and African-American children. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Children's Depression Inventory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised, and Asher Loneliness…

This essay examines the pedagogical practices of the poet, civil rights activist, and teacher Melvin B. Tolson who taught at Wiley College from 1923 to 1947. Tolson's complex classroom style, which mixed elements of classical, African American, and current-traditional rhetoric, produced a pedagogy that was at once conservative, progressive, and…

While researchers continue to debate teacher qualifications, explore how to get more qualified teachers into urban schools serving low-income students, or try to determine whether teachers who are successful with middle-class students would also be successful with pupils in low-income urban schools, one practicable idea can easily be overlooked.…

Oppositional culture theory has been primarily used to explain race and ethnic differences in education. It argues that members of involuntary minority groups tend to underachieve for fear of being sanctioned by their peers. The underlying assumption, then, is that academic success harms peer relationships for involuntary minorities more than it…

An overwhelming majority of public school teachers and students believe that racially integrated schooling is important. When asked what effect racially diverse environments have on achievement, half of teachers and three-quarters of students responded that integrated classes have no impact on student learning. This article reports on a poll…