Report  71-TOWARD A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM EFFECTS  
Author(s):  Susan G. Lasky
Abstract: School reform efforts over the last two decades have become increasingly more complex and systemic. Yet, studies that have as their primary purpose identifying and understanding the function of linkages in school reform processes are virtually nonexistent in the school effects and school improvement literature. This report proposes a model that emphasizes the study of linkages between levels in the policy system. It also focuses on where individual, collective, and material capacity across the educational policy system can be developed to support linkages and the flow of resources and communication across them. The report includes an extensive review of the American reform literature since A Nation at Risk was published, using a conceptual framework to identify linkages, and areas where capacity can be developed to support sustained reform at the school level. The report closes with implications and directions for future research. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  70-LOCATING THE DROPOUT CRISIS  Which High Schools Produce the Nation’s Dropouts? Where Are They Located? Who Attends Them?
Author(s):  Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters
Abstract: Fifty years after Brown vs. the Board of Education, the image of public high schools providing all youth with equal opportunity to receive a high quality education remains inspiring and compelling. Current reality, however, offers a much more troubled picture. Throughout much of the nation, half or more of high school students do not graduate, let alone leave high school prepared to fully participate in civic life. It is no coincidence that these locales are gripped by high rates of unemployment, crime, ill health, and chronic despair. For many in these and other areas, the only real and lasting pipeline out of poverty in modern America, a solid high school education followed by post secondary schooling or training, is cracked and broken. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  69-CATCHING UP  Impact of the Talent Development Ninth Grade Instructional Interventions in Reading and Mathematics in High-Poverty High Schools
Author(s):  Robert Balfanz, Nettie Legters, and Will Jordan
Abstract: Every child has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many children fail to meet their potential. Many students, especially those from poor and minority families, are placed at risk by school practices that sort some students into high-quality programs and other students into low-quality education. CRESPAR believes that schools must replace the “sorting paradigm” with a “talent development” model that sets high expectations for all students, and ensures that all students receive a rich and demanding curriculum with appropriate assistance and support. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  68 -BUILDING ON CHILDREN’S CULTURAL ASSETS IN SIMULATED CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS  Research Vistas in the Communal Learning Paradigm
Author(s):  A. Wade Boykin, Sean T. Coleman, Amy J. Lilja, Kenneth M. Tyler
Abstract: The achievement gap between low-income African American students and their White counterparts remains substantial. To address this, researchers have begun to examine the impact of culture on cognitive performance among African American students (Lee, 2001; Foster, Lewis, & Onafowora, 2003). The findings from this work suggest that when aspects of students’ home culture are incorporated into academic learning contexts, strong academic performance and motivation result. This report presents the results of two experimental studies incorporating the cultural theme of communalism. For both studies, a general literature review is provided, along with statistical analyses and results specific to the procedures and measures used in each. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  67-SOFTWARE ENABLING SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT THROUGH ANALYSIS OF STUDENT DATA  
Author(s):  Jeffrey C. Wayman, Sam Stringfield, and Mary Yakimowski
Abstract: The No Child Left Behind legislation has drawn increased attention to student data. Data are most useful in educational decision-making when the purpose extends beyond vertical accountability and toward school- and classroom-level decision-making that enhances the experience and achievement of students. This necessarily involves getting practical data analyses into the hands of teachers and administrators. Recent technological advances in data warehousing and presentation have resulted in tools that can, in theory, facilitate educator use of student data. However, the use of these tools is not yet widespread. In this report, the authors consider issues surrounding the use of student data and data based de-cision-making, describing the state of the field and possible future directions, present re-views of a range of commercially available software for analyzing student data, and pro-vide and maintain a website that will contain ongoing updates of software reviews. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  66-EFFECTIVE READING PROGRAMS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS  A Best-Evidence Synthesis
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin and Alan Cheung
Abstract: This report reviews experimental studies of reading programs for English language learners, focusing both on comparisons of bilingual and English-only programs and on specific, replicable models that have been evaluated with English language learners. The review method is best-evidence synthesis, which uses a systematic literature search, quantification of outcomes as effect sizes, and extensive discussion of individual studies that meet inclusion standards. The review concludes that while the number of high-quality studies is small, existing evidence favors bilingual approaches, especially paired bilingual strategies that teach reading in the native language and English at the same time. Whether taught in their native language or English, English language learners have been found to benefit from instruction in comprehensive reform programs using systematic phonics, one-to-one or small group tutoring programs, cooperative learning programs, and programs emphasizing extensive reading. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  65-BRINGING THE DISTRICT BACK IN  The Role of the Central Office in Improving Instruction and Student Achievement
Author(s):  Martha Abele Mac Iver, Elizabeth Farley
Abstract: Criticizing school district bureaucracies has become a growth industry over the past couple of decades. In the face of all this anti-district and anti-central office rhetoric, it is important to recognize the growing number of scholars who are emphasizing the importance of the district in school reform efforts and the research base that examines the role of the central office. Building on previous reviews of school district leadership, this review adds a new focus on the role of school district central offices in improving instruction and raising student achievement. We examine the functional tasks of the central office and the internal dynamics of relations between the central office and district schools (with their principals, teachers, and students). The review concludes with a heuristic model of how the central office influences classroom instruction and student achievement in district schools. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  64-FROM NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO LOCAL ACTION  The Status of Standards-Based Science Instruction in Middle School Classrooms
Author(s):  Christopher B. Swanson, Stephen B. Plank, Gina M. Hewes
Abstract: This study contributes to the growing body of research on classroom instruction by exploring the possibility of measuring a specific instructional strategy using statistical methods based on item response theory (IRT). We seek to measure teachers’ instructional practices using the same rigorous statistical techniques that are now applied to most large-scale assessments of student achievement. We focus specifically on teachers’ use of pedagogical techniques consistent with those espoused by the national standards-based reform movement in science. We use data for a nationally-representative sample of public school eighth graders and their teachers from the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  63-TRENDS IN TWO-WAY IMMERSION EDUCATION  A Review of the Research
Author(s):  Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian
Abstract: Two-way immersion (TWI) is an instructional approach that integrates native English speakers and native speakers of another language (usually Spanish) and provides instruction to both groups of students in both languages. While the model has been in existence in the United States for almost 40 years, the most dramatic growth has been seen over the past 15 years. Not surprisingly, the recent growth of two-way immersion education has prompted increasing interest in various aspects of such programs, such as design and implementation, student outcomes, instructional strategies, cross-cultural issues, and the attitudes and experiences of students, parents, and teachers involved. Along with the increase in number of TWI programs, the research base on this educational approach is growing steadily. The purpose of this report is to summarize the research that has been conducted to date, synthesize the key findings across studies, and point to areas of need for future research. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  62-THE BALTIMORE CURRICULUM PROJECT  Final Report of the Four-Year Evaluation Study
Author(s):  Martha Abele Mac Iver, Elizabeth Kemper, Sam Stringfield
Abstract: This study reports the results of a four-year multi-method evaluation of the implementation of the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) in six Baltimore City schools. BCP used a combination of the Direct Instruction (DI) program and Core Knowledge as its reform curriculum. Each of the six schools was demographically matched with a similar, within-district school so that it would have a reasonable control against which it could be compared. Two cohorts of students in the BCP and the control schools were followed through the course of the evaluation—students who were in either kindergarten or grade two during the 1996-97 school year (primarily in third and fifth grades, respectively, during 1999-2000). Interviews with principals and DI coordinators and focus groups with teachers were conducted each of the four years of the study to gauge BCP-school staff perceptions of the ongoing innovation. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  61-SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LITERACY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS  Key Issues and Promising Practices
Author(s):  Diane August August & Associates
Abstract: The purpose of this report is to summarize research on the role of English oral proficiency in acquiring English literacy, describe the issues that English-language learners (ELLs) encounter because of their developing English oral proficiency, and report on best practices in supporting English language development in the context of literacy instruction for these students. Of primary interest in this report is the vast majority of ELLs who are not learningdisabled, but require time to become English proficient. Further, this report focuses on school-aged children. To a large extent, the studies cited here are drawn from research conducted with children who are learning English as a second language where English is the societal language. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  60-CULTURAL ISSUES RELATED TO HIGH SCHOOL REFORM  Deciphering the Case of Black Males
Author(s):  Will J. Jordan, Robert Cooper
Abstract: An infusion of federal funding and philanthropic support for high schools has sparked an unprecedented number of educational reforms. Still, few initiatives confront the unique conditions facing Black males. Despite efforts to reform ineffective schools and foster academic achievement for all students, a lingering gap exists between affluent and poor, as well as White and Black, subgroups. This report explores the complexities of these issues. We examine the negative effects of intractable social barriers, such as poverty and ineffective schooling. We suggest that current trends reflect responsible approaches to reform, but the potential role of Black teachers has not been fully explored. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  59-COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT  A Meta-Analysis
Author(s):  Geoffrey D. Borman, Gina M. Hewes, Laura T. Overman, Shelly Brown
Abstract: In this meta-analysis, we review the research on the achievement effects of the nationally disseminated and externally developed school improvement programs known as “whole-school” or “comprehensive” reforms. In addition to reviewing the overall achievement effects of comprehensive school reform (CSR), we study the specific effects of 29 of the most widely implemented models. We also assess how various CSR components, contextual factors, and methodological factors associated with the studies mediate the effects of CSR. We conclude that CSR is still an evolving field and that there are limitations on the overall quantity and quality of the research base. The overall effects of CSR, though, appear promising and the combined quantity, quality, and statistical significance of evidence from three of the models, in particular, set them apart from the rest. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  58-TRANSITIONAL PROGRAMS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS  Contextual Factors and Effective Programming
Author(s):  Diane August
Abstract: In this report, transitional programs refer to instructional programs for students who have been schooled in their native language and are now in “transitional” classrooms where literacy instruction takes place in English. Transition usually occurs during the elementary years but may occur in middle and high school for older students recently arrived in U.S. schools who are entering English-only literacy programs in the U.S. With regard to the development of literacy and transition from a first language to a second language, the paper focuses on school-age children who are acquiring English as a second language, where English is the societal language. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  57-PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT IN THE NATIONAL NETWORK OF PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS  A Comparison of Elementary, Middle, and High Schools
Author(s):  Mavis G. Sanders, Beth S. Simon
Abstract: Based on survey data collected from 375 elementary, middle, and high schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), this report identifies differences and similarities in the development and quality of schools’ programs of school, family, and community partnership. Middle schools in the sample were similar to elementary schools in their implementation of practices to involve families and communities. Differences related to school level were primarily found between high schools and other school levels. These differences primarily centered on reported obstacles to partnerships, and key aspects of program implementation. The significance and implications of the study’s findings are discussed. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  56-LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS UNDER REVIEW  Their Role and Effectiveness in Relation to Students’ Academic Achievement
Author(s):  Deborah Land
Abstract: This report provides a review of literature published in the past two decades on the role and effectiveness of school boards. Though school boards are but one component of school district leadership—the superintendent and other district administrators and staff constituting the other main components—school boards are the focus of this review because they have a distinct role and have been understudied. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  55-The Public School Superintendency in the 21st Century  The Quest to Define Effective Leadership
Author(s):  Janet Y. Thomas
Abstract: This study examines research on public school leadership effectiveness, focusing specifically on the superintendent. The author begins with a discussion of the historical mission to define leadership effectiveness, followed by a review of existing research on effective school districts and superintendents. The author also analyzes how superintendent effectiveness is defined and measured, and concludes that this is one of the major shortcomings in the knowledge base. The report then details the obstacles that superintendents face in effectively managing a school systemCincluding instability, the politicization of the profession, and superintendent and school board relations. Finally, the author discusses implications for further research, and offers suggestions for expanding the research base. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  54-Neighborhood and School Influences on the Family Life  and Mathematics Performance of Eighth-Grade Students
Author(s):  Sophia Catsambis, Andrew Beveridge
Abstract: In this report we explore ways by which neighborhoods and schools can influence the mathematics achievement of eighth grade students. We use data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) and combine it with U.S. census data at the level of students’ residential zip codes. These dat View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  53-The Long-Term Effects and Cost-Effectiveness of Success for All  
Author(s):  Geoffrey D. Borman, Gina M. Hewes
Abstract: A few renowned early interventions have compelling evidence of enduring achievement effects for at-risk children: Perry Preschool; the Abecedarian Project; and the Tennessee class-size experiment. The costs and potential for national dissemination of such model programs, though, represent key practi View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  52-Academic Success Among Poor and Minority Students  An Analysis of Competing Models of School Effects
Author(s):  Geoffrey D. Borman, Laura T. Rachuba
Abstract: Based on national data from the Prospects study, we identified the individual characteristics that distinguished academically successful, or resilient, elementary school students from minority and low-socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds from their less successful, or non-resilient, counterparts. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  51-Effects of Success for All on TAAS Reading  A Texas Statewide Evaluation
Author(s):  Eric A. Hurley, Anne Chamberlain, Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: This report presents analyses of data from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading measures. It sought to evaluate the program=s outcomes in all of the 111 Texas schools that began the program from 1994-1997. TAAS reading scores are collected in all elementary grades starting in grade View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  50-Core Knowledge Curriculum  Five-Year Analysis of Implementation and Effects in Five Maryland Schools
Author(s):  Martha Abele MacIver, Sam Stringfield, Barbara McHugh
Abstract: This is the final report from a five-year, matched-control study of five Maryland schools that began implementation of the Core Knowledge Sequence in the fall of 1994. This report provides both longitudinal implementation and outcome data. The data allow for a few guarded statements regarding the ex View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  49-National Evaluation of Core Knowledge Sequence Implementation  Final Report
Author(s):  Sam Stringfield, Amanda Datnow, Geoffrey Borman, Laura Rachuba
Abstract: This is the final report of a three-year evaluation of Core Knowledge Sequence implementation in 12 schools nationwide. The Core Knowledge Sequence, a whole-school curricular reform model, provides a planned progression of specific topics to teach in language arts, history, geography, math, science, View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  48-Four Models of School Improvement  Successes and Challenges in Reforming Low-Performing, High-Poverty Title I Schools
Author(s):  Geoffrey D. Borman, Laura Rachuba, Amanda Datnow, Marty Alberg, Martha MacIver, Sam Stringfield, Steve Ross
Abstract: In this comprehensive report, the authors examine four distinct processes for reforming nine low-performing Title I schools in challenging high-poverty contexts. These processes include (1) a fundamentally grassroots, site-based model of reform; (2) locally mandated school reconstitution; (3) implem View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  47-A Two-Way Bilingual Program  Promise, Practice, and Precautions
Author(s):  Margarita Calderon, Argelia Calderon
Abstract: In spite of political pressure, bilingualism is emerging as a strategy for improving the academic achievement of all students. Two-way bilingual or dual-language programs integrate language-minority and language-majority students for instruction in two languages C the native language of the language View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  46-Lessons for Scaling Up  Evaluations of the Talent Development Middle School's Student Team Literature Program
Author(s):  Stephen B. Plank, Estelle Young
Abstract: Comprehensive school reform efforts are an increasingly visible part of the educational landscape. Policymakers, educators, and researchers are eager to assess the effectiveness of these models, especially regarding their utility in the most troubled settings. We report results for one such reform, View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  45-An "Inside" Look at Success for All  A Qualitative Study of Implementation and Teaching and Learning
Author(s):  Amanda Datnow, Marisa Castellano
Abstract: This is the final report of a two-year qualitative study of three elementary schools implementing the Success for All program. Success for All (SFA) is a research-based reform model that organizes resources to focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure that students succeed in reading thro View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  44-Classroom Cultural Ecology  The Dynamics of Classroom Life in Schools Serving Low-Income African-American Children
Author(s):  Constance M. Ellison, A. Wade Boykin, Donna Penn Towns, Almeta Stokes
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to gain descriptive insights into the routines, practices, perceptions, and interactions that constitute the everyday ecology of classrooms serving African American children from low-income backgrounds. The underlying theory guiding the study is that learning does not h View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  43-The Role of Cultural Factors in School-Relevant Cognitive Functioning  Description of Home Environment Factors, Cultural Orientations, and Learning Preferences
Author(s):  A. Wade Boykin, Caryn T. Bailey
Abstract: This report examines certain home cultural factors, cultural orientations, and learning preferences of African American school children from low-income backgrounds in order to document the relationship of prior cultural socialization experiences to enhanced cognitive, performance, and motivational o View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  42-The Role of Cultural Factors in School-Relevant Cognitive Functioning  Synthesis of Findings on Cultural Contexts, Cultural Orientations, and Individual Differences
Author(s):  A. Wade Boykin, Caryn T. Bailey
Abstract: For many African American children from low-income backgrounds, cognitive performance can be enhanced in contexts thematically characterized by aspects of Afro-cultural ethos. This report presents and describes the results of six experimental studies (two studies on each) on three cultural themes of View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  41-Success for All / Roots & Wings  Summary of Research on Achievement Outcomes
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: The purpose of this review is to describe the current state of research on the achievement outcomes of Success for All, a program built around the idea that every child can and must succeed in the early grades, no matter what this takes. Success for All uses everything we know about effective ins View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  40-Core Knowledge Curriculum  Three-Year Analysis of Implementation and Effects in Five Schools
Author(s):  Barbara McHugh, Sam Stringfield
Abstract: This report presents data from the first multi-site, multi-district, multi-year study of the effects of the Core Knowledge curriculum on students’ achievement rates. As such, it begins the process of filling an information void on one of the largest of the national school reform movements. Core Know View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  39-Math Wings  Effects on Student Mathematics Performance
Author(s):  Nancy A. Madden, Robert E. Slavin, Kathleen Simons
Abstract: Constructivist approaches to mathematics instruction based on the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) have been widely advocated and are expanding in use. However, many educators express a need for constructivist approaches that provide specific student materials, ass View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  38-The Child First Authority After-School Program  A Descriptive Evaluation
Author(s):  Olatokunbo S. Fashola
Abstract: The Child First Authority (CFA) is a Baltimore community-wide after-school program that seeks to improve the quality of life in low socioeconomic status communities. The CFA received funding from the Mayor’s Office, the Governor, and the City Council through a local Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  37-Teacher Collaboration  in a Restructuring Urban High School
Author(s):  Nettie E. Legters
Abstract: The emphasis on collaboration in schools is part of a broader movement to institute team-based, cooperative work structures in many organizations throughout the private and public sectors. Very little is known, however, about how changing the organizational structure of schools actually affects the View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  36-Roots & Wings  Effects of Whole-School Reform on Student Achievement
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a remarkable transformation in the movement to reform America’s public schools. A rapidly growing type of reform is the widespread dissemination of replicable whole-school reform models with specific components, materials, professional development, and staffing patter View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  35-How Schools Choose  Externally Developed Reform Designs
Author(s):  Amanda Datnow
Abstract: Urban districts around the United States are attempting systemic change by offering schools a “menu” of externally developed school reform designs. Yet, how do faculties who are relatively unfamiliar with the designs choose among them? This question is addressed by analyzing qualitative data collect View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  34-Preparing Educators for School-Family-Community Partnerships  Results of a National Survey of Colleges and Universities
Author(s):  Joyce L. Epstein, Mavis G. Sanders, Laurel A. Clark
Abstract: A survey of deans and chairs of education in 161 schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDE) in the United States reveals a dramatic gap between leaders’ strong beliefs about the importance for educators to conduct effective partnerships, and reports of low preparedness of graduates to wo View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  33-Grade Retention  Prevalence, Timing, and Effects
Author(s):  Nancy L. Karweit
Abstract:  The present study investigates the correlates and consequences of grade repetition on student academic progress and social and emotional development using the first grade cohort data from Prospects. The report addresses four major topics: the measurement, prevalence and demographics of retention, t View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  32-Family Partnerships with High Schools  The Parents' Perspective
Author(s):  Mavis G. Sanders, Joyce L. Epstein, Lori Connors-Tadros
Abstract: This study analyzes survey data from 423 parents at six high schools in Maryland — two rural, two urban, and two suburban. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the effects of the high schools’ programs of partnership on parental attitudes and reports of involvement in their teens’ learni View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  31-Small Learning Communities  Meet School-to-Work - Whole-School Restructuring for Urban Comprehensive High Schools
Author(s):  Nettie E. Legters
Abstract: This report describes specific reform practices schools are implementing to realize the vision set forth in NASSP’s Breaking Ranks, which calls for changes in curriculum, instruction, assessment, school organization, professional development, community partnerships, and leadership in American high s View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  30-Disseminating Success for All  Lessons for Policy and Practice
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: Success for All, a comprehensive schoolwide reform program for elementary schools serving many children placed at risk of school failure, was first piloted in one Baltimore elementary school in the 1987-88 school year. Since then, the program has expanded rapidly; as of 1998-99, it is in more than 1 View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  29-How Students Invest Their Time Out of School  Effects on School Engagement, Perceptions of Life Chances, and Achievement
Author(s):  Will J. Jordan, Saundra Murray Nettles
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which various kinds of out-of-school activities that adolescents get involved in influence their school engagement, achievement, and perceptions of their life chances. The underlying assumption is that within a typical week during the school year View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  28-Socio-Cultural and Within-School Factors  That Affect the Quality of Implementation of School-Wide Programs
Author(s):  Robert Cooper
Abstract: The Success for All school restructuring program is currently being implemented in more than 1,100 elementary schools nationwide, primarily in urban locations. This study conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses of the quality of implementation in a sample of more than 350 of these schools, t View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  27-Expanding Knowledge  of Parental Involvement in Secondary Education - Effects on High School Academic Success
Author(s):  Sophia Catsambis
Abstract: This report analyzes data from the parent and student components of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 to investigate family educational involvement in secondary education. It examines whether parental involvement influences the educational achievements of high school seniors. By u View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  26-Exploring the Dynamics  of Resilience in an Elementary Middle School
Author(s):  Saundra Murray Nettles, Frances P. Robinson
Abstract: This report describes a framework for exploring the processes of resilience in students at Stanton Elementary School, an urban public school in Washington, D.C. CRESPAR investigators invited Stanton to participate in a study of exposure to stress, including violence, and its relationship to psychos View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  25-Teacher's Appraisals  of Talent Development Middle School Training, Materials, and Student Progress
Author(s):  Elizabeth Useem
Abstract: The Talent Development Middle School model is a comprehensive school-change design aimed at raising the academic proficiency of all children in schools where large proportions of children are at risk of failure. Thirty-one teachers in two Philadelphia public middle schools where the model has been piloted evaluated the implementation of training and curricular components of the model in six focus groups covering major subject areas (math, science, and Reading and English Language Arts [RELA]). Respondents were asked to appraise the helpfulness of the professional development training and materials in supporting their own teaching proficiency and the achievement level of their students, as well as obstacles they faced, their prediction of future use in the school, their evaluation of their students’ capacity to meet the standards of the curriculum, and their sense of whether they made a difference. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  24-Review of Extended-Day  and After-School Programs and Their Effectiveness
Author(s):  Olatokunbo S. Fashola
Abstract: This report identifies and reviews thirty-four programs that have been used as afterschool programs by schools and/or communities, including extended day programs and some supplemental school programs that have potential for after-school usage. Five categories of programs are reviewed: • language arts after-school programs, • study skills programs, • academic programs in other curriculum areas, • tutoring programs for reading, and • community-based programs. • lan View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  23-Sources of Talent Loss  Among High-Achieving Poor Students
Author(s):  Will J. Jordan, Stephen B. Plank
Abstract: Many graduates who have the academic ability to continue their schooling beyond high school do not enroll in higher education. This phenomenon has been referred to as talent loss. The challenges involved in financing higher education partially contribute to talent loss and its pervasiveness among poor students, but they fall short of providing a complete explanation. This study explicates other possible sources of talent loss. The authors use dual methodologies to examine critical sources of talent loss among students who perform well academically, but are placed at risk of academic failure because they are also from low SES families. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  22-School-Family-Community  PARTNERSHIPS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS - From Theory to Practice
Author(s):  Mavis G. Sanders, Joyce L. Epstein
Abstract: To better understand how some secondary schools are working to encourage continued family and community involvement as children progress from elementary to middle and high school, twenty-two educators, parents, and students at two middle schools and two high schools were interviewed. The four schools are members of the National Network of Partnership Schools, which brings together and provides technical assistance to schools, districts, and states committed to developing comprehensive and permanent programs of school-family-community partnership. This report is organized in five sections. The first section discusses social networks, social capital, and a theory of overlapping spheres of influence to elucidate the conceptual foundation for school-family-community partnerships. The second section outlines and discusses essential elements of a comprehensive program of school-family-community partnerships. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  21-The Talent Development Middle School  An Elective Replacement Approach to Providing Extra Help in Math -- The CATAMA Program (Computer and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration)
Author(s):  Douglas J. Mac Iver, Robert Balfanz, and Stephen B. Plank
Abstract: In Talent Development Middle Schools, students needing extra help in mathematics participate in the Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration (CATAMA) course. CATAMA is an innovative combination of computer-assisted instruction and structured cooperative learning that students receive in addition to their regular math course for about ten weeks of the school year. This report presents two studies of CATAMA. The first compares growth in math achievement for 96 seventh graders, 48 of whom participated in CATAMA for ten weeks and 48 of whom were students of similar prior achievement who attended a comparison school where CATAMA is not offered. The second study reports data from interviews with CATAMA participants and observations of the program in action. Growth in mathematics procedures achievement was about one-half a standard deviation higher for CATAMA participants than for students in the comparison sample. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  20-Implementing a Highly Specified Curricular,  Instructional, and Organizational School Design in a High-Poverty, Urban Elementary School -- Three Year Results
Author(s):  Barbara McHugh, Sam Stringfield
Abstract: In Talent Development Middle Schools, students needing extra help in mathematics participate in the Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration (CATAMA) course. CATAMA is an innovative combination of computer-assisted instruction and structured cooperative learning that students receive in addition to their regular math course for about ten weeks of the school year. This report presents two studies of CATAMA. The first compares growth in math achievement for 96 seventh graders, 48 of whom participated in CATAMA for ten weeks and 48 of whom were students of similar prior achievement who attended a comparison school where CATAMA is not offered. The second study reports data from interviews with CATAMA participants and observations of the program in action. Growth in mathematics procedures achievement was about one-half a standard deviation higher for CATAMA participants than for students in the comparison sample. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  19-Success for All / Exito Para Todos  Effects on the Reading Achievement of Students Acquiring English
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: The effects of Success for All on the achievement of English language learners are not entirely consistent, but in general they are substantially positive. In all schools implementing Éxito Para Todos, effect sizes for first graders on Spanish assessments were very positive. The Houston study showed that this effect was more pronounced when schools were implementing most of the program’s elements. The Philadelphia evaluation showed that even after transitioning to English-only instruction, Éxito Para Todos third graders performed better on English assessments than control students who were primarily taught in English. For students in sheltered English instruction, effect sizes for all comparisons were also positive, especially for Cambodian students in Philadelphia and Mexican American students in California. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  18-Parental Involvement in Students' Education  During Middle School and High School
Author(s):  Sophia Catsambis, Janet E. Garland
Abstract: This project analyzes data from the parent component of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 to investigate changes in family educational involvement between students’ eighth and twelfth grades. Findings show that the patterns of parental involvement in adolescents’ education change between the two grades. During high school, parents become less involved with monitoring students’ individual behaviors and more concerned with their learning opportunities at school. By students’ eighth grade, nearly all parents had postsecondary expectations, but few had taken specific actions to secure funds for college. During adolescents’ senior year in high school, most parents report frequent discussions with them concerning postsecondary schools. At that time, parents also report that they have some knowledge about financial aid. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  17-MathWings  Early Indicators of Effectiveness
Author(s):  Nancy A. Madden, Robert E. Slavin, Kathleen Simons
Abstract: Three evaluations have examined the impact of MathWings. One, involving four rural Maryland schools, found substantially greater gains on the mathematics sections of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program for MathWings students than for the rest of the state. The four pilot schools, which were much more impoverished than the state as a whole, started far below state averages but ended up above the state average. The second study, in San Antonio, Texas, also found substantial gains on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills math scale in grades 3-5 from the year before the program began to the end of the first implementation year. The third study found substantial gains on the CTBS mathematics concepts and applications scale for grades 4-5 (but not 3) in a Palm Beach County, Florida school. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  16-Success For All  Exploring the Technical, Normative, Political, and Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Scaling Up
Author(s):  Robert Cooper, Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: This report explores the technical, normative, political, and socio-cultural dimensions of the scaling up process of Success for All, one of the nation’s most successful and extensively researched whole-school change models. This research suggests that fundamental change in schools occurs and is sustained when the technical, normative, political, and sociocultural dimensions of schooling are given thoughtful and serious consideration throughout the implementation process. Schools implementing SFA which report success in improving educational outcomes for their students explicitly demonstrate a willingness and ability to confront the challenges that are inherent in the change process. Exploring school change from multiple conceptual lenses deepens our understanding of the structures, strategies, practices, and relationships associated with fundamental change in schools. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  15-Working Together to Become Proficient Readers  Early Impact of the Talent Development Middle School's Student Team Literature
Author(s):  Douglas J. Mac Iver, Stephen B. Plank, Robert Balfanz
Abstract: The Talent Development Middle School?s Student Team Literature (STL) program includes: (1) curricular materials designed to assist students study great literature; (2) recommended instructional practices, peer assistance processes, and assessments; and (3) staff development, mentoring, and advising to support the curricular and instructional reforms. Data on students? prior reading achievement, achievement after the first year of implementation, and on the frequency of peer assistance were collected in 21 STL classes and in 25 comparison classes in a closely matched control school. HLM analyses that control for prior reading achievement reveal that students in STL classes display significantly better reading comprehension after the first year of implementation (effect size=.51). ... View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  14-Volunteer Tutoring Programs  A Review of Research on Achievement Outcomes
Author(s):  Barbara A. Wasik
Abstract: The America Reads Challenge makes a national commitment to the goal that every child will read independently and well by the end of third grade. The primary means of achieving this goal is to place one million volunteers in schools to tutor children in reading. However, we know very little about the effectiveness of using volunteer tutors in our schools. This report reviews 16 volunteer tutoring programs. Only two of these programs had an evaluation comparing equivalent treatment and comparison groups to determine the effectiveness of the program. Five of the programs had no evaluations at all. It is unclear at this point whether volunteer tutoring programs can have a significant impact on student reading performance, and what types of programs are most likely to be effective... View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  13-Building Effective School-Family-Community  Partnerships in a Large Urban School District
Author(s):  Marvis G. Sanders
Abstract: Since 1987, schools in Baltimore have been working with the Fund for Educational Excellence and the education research center at Johns Hopkins University to develop comprehensive programs of school-family-community partnerships. To better understand how these schools are building and improving their partnership programs, administrators, teachers and parents serving on Action Teams for School-Family-Community Partnerships at six schools were interviewed. This report focuses on how Action Teams for School-Family-Community Partnerships in the schools that were visited use Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement to develop more effective school-family-community connections. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  12-Detracking in a Racially Mixed  Urban High School
Author(s):  Robert Cooper
Abstract: There is a growing tension between excellence and equity in public education. This report brings together both qualitative and quantitative data to document the efforts of a large urban high school to improve the schooling experience of its students. The qualitative portion of this analysis comes from interviews with educators, administrators, and parents. The quantitative portion presents the results of a survey of 744 students in the ninth grade English/history core detracking experiment during the 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 academic years. The data suggest that the level of implementation of the core, from a student perspective, affects achievement, engagement, and enjoyment in the core. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  11-Effective Programs for Latino Students  in Elementary and Middle Schools
Author(s):  Olatokunbo S. Fashola, Robert E. Slavin, Margarity Calderon, Richard Duran
Abstract: This report identifies programs that have proven to be effective and programs that show potential for improving academic achievement among Latino youth in the elementary and middle grades. This report identifies programs that have proven to be effective and programs that show potential for improving academic achievement among Latino youth in the elementary and middle grades. This report targets not only programs specifically designed for this population, but alsoprograms that have worked with other children and that have been disseminated with La-tino children. In addition to a large ERIC search, National Diffusion Network validated programs and Title VII Academic Excellence Award programs were contacted for their evidence of effectiveness. Criteria for inclusion included evidence of effectiveness, replicability, and evalua-tion or application with Latino students. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  10-Effects of Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading  and Composition on Students Transitioning from Spanish to English Reading
Author(s):  Margarita Calderon, Rachel Lararowitz, Gary Ivory, Robert E. Slavin
Abstract: Every child has the capacity to succeed in school and in life. Yet far too many children, especially those from poor and minority families, are placed at risk by school practices that are based on a sorting paradigm in which some students receive high-expectations instruction while the rest are relegated to lower quality education and lower quality futures. The sorting perspective must be replaced by a “talent development” model that asserts that all children are capable of succeeding in a rich and demanding curriculum with appropriate assistance and support. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  09-Reducing Talent Loss  The Impact of Information, Guidance, and Actions on Postsecondary Enrollment
Author(s):  Stephen B. Plank, Will J. Jordan
Abstract: This study uses nationally representative data to show that information about postsecondary educational institutions (PEIs), guidance, and essential preparatory actions taken by secondary students influence whether an individual will attend a PEI within two years of high school graduation and, if so, what type of PEI he or she will attend. Multinomial logistic regression is used to model PEI enrollment as a function of critical explanatory variables, controlling on an array of background and contextual characteristics including socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and gender. The conceptual framework is embedded in research on talent loss, which can be described as the occurrence of promising students not reaching their full educational potential. The authors find that increased levels of information, guidance, and critical actions taken are positively and significantly associated with initial enrollment in a four-year PEI, as opposed to enrollment in a two-year PEI... View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  08-Asian American Students At Risk  A Literature Review
Author(s):  Sau-Fong Siu
Abstract: High academic achievement is closely linked in the public’s mind with Asian American students, but many Asian American ethnic subgroups and individuals remain at risk. The main purpose of this literature review is to assess the state-of-the-art in research on Asian American students in the public school system who are at risk of academic failure. The risk factors examined are the language backgrounds and abilities, history of schooling, timing and reasons for coming to the United States, emotional trauma and vulnerability, ethnic group affiliation and identity, motivation, and sense of self-efficacy. Interventions are examined that are designed exclusively for Asian American students or include Asian American participants. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  07-School-Family-Community Partnerships  and the Academic Achievement of African American, Urban Adolescents
Author(s):  Mavis G. Sanders
Abstract: Drawing upon Epstein’s theory of overlapping spheres of influence, this study explores the effects of teacher, family and church support on the school-related attitudes, behaviors, and academic achievement of African American, urban adolescents. To achieve this objective, 826 students in an urban school district in the southeastern United States completed a questionnaire measuring: (1) student perceptions of teacher support; (2) student perceptions of parental support; (3) church involvement; (4) school behavior; (5) academic self-concept; (6) achievement ideology; and (7) academic achievement. Interviews were conducted with a subset of the research population (40 students) to enhance and aid in the interpretation of the questionnaire data. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  06-Scaling Up  Lessons Learned in the Dissemination of Success For All
Author(s):  Robert E. Slavin, Nancy A. Madden
Abstract: Success for All, a comprehensive schoolwide reform program for elementary schools serving many children placed at risk of school failure, was first piloted in one Baltimore elementary school in the 1987-88 school year. In 1988-89 it was expanded to five schools in Baltimore and one in Philadelphia. Currently, Success for All is being implemented in approximately 450 schools in 120 districts in 31 states throughout the United States. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  05-Patterns of Urban Student Mobility  and Local School Reform: Technical Report
Author(s):  David Kerbow
Abstract: Recent school reform efforts that center on promoting greater local school autonomy implicitly assume that students will attend a specific school consistently enough that the school can “make a difference” in their achievement. In the unstable urban context, however, even improving schools lose their accomplishments as students transfer, and mobile students forfeit the benefit of continuity of school services. Thus, not only does mobility impact individual students who are changing schools, it has deep (though often hidden) consequences for the schools these students attend and for the systemic changes intended by local school reform. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  04-The Talent Development Middle School  Creating a Motivational Climate Conducive to Talent Development in Middle Schools: Implementation and Effects of Student Team Reading
Author(s):  Douglas J. Mac Iver, Stephen B. Plank
Abstract: Central East Middle School in Philadelphia and CRESPAR are working together to implement a Talent Development Middle School model of schooling. Part of this effort includes use of the Student Team Reading (STR) program, which changes both the instructional processes and curriculum in Reading, English, and Language Arts (RELA) to create a motivational climate that is conducive to learning and personal development. Teachers at Central East Middle School in Philadelphia were trained in STR in the summer of 1995 and received curricular materials and technical support throughout the first semester of the 1995-1996 school year. Implementation and outcome data were collected in February 1996 at Central East Middle School and a matched comparison school. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  03-The Talent Development Middle School  Essential Components
Author(s):  Serge Madhere, Douglas J. Mac Iver
Abstract: The Talent Development approach to helping greater numbers of students succeed in middle school is based on a belief that all students can learn challenging material if the right types of support are given. The approach draws upon insights from recent research on alternatives to tracking, on the components of effective middle schools, and on clear theories of how to foster the positive relationships and supportive conditions that are so important to middle school adolescents, especially those adolescents placed at risk. This report presents the essential components of the Talent Development framework and describes their initial mplementation in Evans Junior High School in Washington, DC and in Central East Middle School in Philadelphia. The essential components of the framework include a curriculum aimed at active learning, an emphasis on cultural empowerment, a communal organization of school... View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  02-The Talent Development High School  Early Evidence of Impact on School Climate, Attendance, and Student Promotion
Author(s):  James M. McPartland, Nettie Legters, Will Jordan, Edward L. McDill
Abstract: The first Talent Development High School was established in September 1995 at Patterson High School in Baltimore, Maryland. The model at Patterson, which features careerfocused academies for the upper grades, a ninth grade academy with teams of teachers and students, and other key Talent Development components, was designed and developed by the school’s faculty and administration with the participation of Johns Hopkins’ CRESPAR staff as partners. Priorities set for the first year included improvements in school climate, student attendance, and student promotion rates. Early evidence after the first seven months of the 1995-96 school year indicates that, compared to previous years, there is dramatic improvement in overall school climate (student behavior and faculty collegial support), in student attendance, and in expected student promotion rates, especially from ninth grade to tenth grade. View Entire Report (PDF)

Report  01-The Talent Development High School:  Essential Components
Author(s):  Velma LaPoint, Will Jordan, James M. McPartland, Donna Penn Town
Abstract: This report presents the essential components of the Talent Development High School, which is a comprehensive model of changes in high school organization, curriculum, and instruction based upon research on student motivation and teacher commitment. Part I describes the components of the model, which emphasizes (1) a college preparatory core curriculum based on high standards, and (2) a learning environment that incorporates four sources of student motivation: relevance of schoolwork, a caring and supportive human environment, opportunities for academic success, and help with personal problems. Part II describes the research base from which the model was derived. View Entire Report (PDF)