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The purpose of this study was to examine the ways that teachers use Connected Classroom Technology (CCT) to potentially support achievement on translation problems that require moving between algebraic representations. Four mathematics classrooms were chosen based on their gain scores on pre- and post-test Algebraic translation problems. Two classrooms with the highest and the lowest gain scores were chosen among the classrooms with pre-test scores that were below 50%. This study used video-recorded observational data and found that teachers in effective classrooms created environments wherein students used multiple representations simultaneously and translated between representations through discussion. In contrast, teachers in less effective classrooms fostered environments wherein students used representations independently and missed opportunities to translate representations through discussion. [For the complete proceedings, see ED583608.]

Interest in single-sex classes continues to grow in the United States, but there has been little research at the elementary level in this country or elsewhere to help guide educators' decision-making about the overall value of single-sex classes in public schools and the specific value of single-sex classes in public schools for increasing boy's reading achievement. The major purpose of our study was to find out if single-sex classes in two public elementary schools in Arkansas, one in grade 5 and the other in grade 6, seemed to make a difference in boys' reading achievement in the 2008-2009 year, as judged by scores on annual state assessments. That is, did boys in an all-boys' class do better than, the same as, or worse than comparable boys in a mixed class? We were interested in whether boys' literacy scores significantly improved in a single-sex class because of the large and growing gap in reading (and writing) achievement between boys and girls by the high school years. The single-sex classes in the two elementary schools for which we had state assessment data showed differing results. In one school, boys in the boys' class gained significantly more in Literacy than boys in the mixed class. In the other school, boys in the boys' class did not gain significantly more or less than boys in the mixed class in Literacy, but they did gain significantly less than the boys in the mixed class on the Reading test from a nationally normed test that the school also gives. As we also found, girls did not gain significantly more in Mathematics in a girls' class than in a mixed class in either school, but they did not gain significantly less. However, the trends in gain scores for boys and girls in Literacy and in Mathematics tended to favor the single-sex classes. There does not seem to be an academic downside in experimenting with single-sex classes so far as is suggested by test results in these two elementary schools. Boys' and Girls' Scores in Mathematics are appended. (Contains 18 tables and 4 footnotes.)

This paper considers whether high schools in competitive environments use grade inflation to attract and retain families, perhaps in addition to more constructive responses. Two measures of grade inflation are used: the cutoffs used by each school to assign a letter grade to a percent score; and high school GPA after controlling for test scores, a rich set of student and school characteristics, and (for a subset) college GPA. Two measures of competition are used: the enrollment-based concentration of school districts in metropolitan areas, and an instrument for this concentration. In both OLS and IV, increased competition significantly affects grade cutoffs: a one standard deviation increase in competition results in about a 0.12 to 0.18 standard deviation fall in the grade cutoffs (ceteris paribus, lower cutoffs yield higher grades). However, in both OLS and IV, competition does not significantly affect the actual assigned grades as measured by GPA. This pattern of results suggests that school administrators under competitive pressure may ease grade standards, but that teachers may re-adjust their scoring to leave actual grades relatively unchanged. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure and 4 footnotes.)

This study investigates why teachers, identified by their school principal as being leaders or having leadership potential, chose not to become school principals. At a time in which the literature is reporting a shortage of qualified applicants for school administrative positions the identified reasons most cited by teacher leaders include testing/accountability pressures too great, job generally too stressful, too much time required, and societal problems make it difficult to focus on instruction. The key factors for teacher leaders choosing not to pursue a career in school administration are categorized as stress and time demands are too great. (Contains 5 tables.)

The 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act requires all states to report annually to the U.S. Department of Education the number of prospective teachers at each teacher training institution who pass their own state tests for licensure. However, the law left decisions on what tests to require in each field, what to assess on them, and their passing scores up to each state. To determine the content knowledge in reading and mathematics that subject tests for prospective special education teachers assess, this study drew on information available on the Web sites for Educational Testing Service, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and National Evaluation Systems. It examined the extent to which these tests address three research-based components of reading pedagogy (instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary knowledge), the weights attached to knowledge of these three components, and the quality of the sample questions provided for them. It estimated the percentage of test items addressing mathematics content and these three components on each test. It also analyzed the descriptions of ETS's tests of "principles of teaching and learning" to see whether these tests assess understanding and use of educational theories that underlie effective research-based practices. The findings of this study suggest that one solution for ensuring that prospective special education teachers begin their teaching careers with a substantial amount of research-based knowledge of reading instruction is to require them to take a dedicated test of research-based reading instructional knowledge, as do California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, in addition to any other tests required for their license. To ensure an adequate amount of relevant mathematical knowledge, states might consider replicating the 40-item test of mathematics content that Massachusetts will require of all aspiring elementary and special education teachers in 2009. States will also need to design their own tests of basic principles of teaching to ensure that they assess knowledge of educational theories that underlie effective research-based practices. Profiles of Thirteen Tests for Elementary and Sometimes Other Teachers are appended. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 5 footnotes.)

Effects of the high school environment, part-time university instructors, and classroom ethnic/racial diversity on first-year student preparation and enrollment persistence are estimated via hierarchical linear and logistic regression. After controlling for student socio-demographic characteristics and motivation to enter college, high school attributes bear little relevance to level of academic preparation at the start of the first year of study. In contrast, academic performance of low-income students at the end of the first year is negatively associated with several features of the high school environment. There is little evidence that student persistence is negatively affected by exposure to part-time instructors during the first year in college. Ethnic/racial diversity in the classroom appears to slightly enhance persistence of non-Asian minority students, but shows no positive relationship with cognitive growth. Unmet financial need marginally increases the dropout risk of students taking greater course loads net of socio-demographic background, academic preparation, first-year grades, on-campus residency, and type of aid received. Results are based on institutional matriculation records of 2,800 first-year students at a moderately selective public university and official high school accountability reports collected by the state's department of education. (Contains 8 tables and 6 footnotes.)