Education Commons^™

Report On The Implementation Of Alternative High Schools, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The Richmond Academy opened in January 1999 to accommodate ninth and tenth graders whose behavior had been problematic in regular school settings. Created with a mission to support these students' academic and social growth, the Richmond Academy's goals include preparing students to successfully return to their home schools and complete high school.

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report beings with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of …

Teachers' Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: Phase 2, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

A significant amount of recent literature has focused on classroom assessment and grading as essential aspects of effective teaching. There is an increased scrutiny of assessment as indicated by the popularity of performance assessment and portfolios, newly established national assessment competencies for teachers (Standards, 1990), and the interplay between learning, motivation, as assessment (Brookhart, 1993, 1994; Tittle, 1994). In Virginia, the Standards of Learning and associated tests highlight the importance of assessment.

Previous research documents that teachers tend to award a "hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement" (Brookhart, 1991, p. 36). It is also clear that teachers use a …

Report On The Implementation Of The Richmond Academy, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report begins with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of the methodology used in this report is outlined. A description of the basic components of the Richmond Academy follows the methodology. Finally, recommendations for the future of the Richmond Academy are made.

West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains From A Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program, Dale Mann, Charol Shakeshaft, Jonathan D. Becker, Robert Kottkamp

Educational Leadership Publications

This report describes West Virginia's Basic Skills/Computer Education (BS/CE) program and connects its features to gains in student test scores that are practically and statistically significant. The program consists of three components: (1) software that focuses on the state's basic skills goals in reading, language arts, and mathematics; (2) enough computers in the schools so that all students will be able to have easy and regular access to the basic skills software; and (3) professional development for teachers in the use of the software and the use of computers in general. Data were collected from all fifth graders (n=950) in …

Recruiting And Retaining Teachers: A Review Of The Literature, Jill Englebright Fox, Janine Certo

MERC Publications

The National Center for Education Statistics (1998) predicts that by 2008 approximately 2.4 million teachers will be needed in this country, at a rate of over 200,000 per year. Several factors contribute to this prediction. First, due to increased birth rates and immigration (Darling-Hammond, 1999), student enrollment is expected to pass 54 million by that time -- its highest in the history of this country (NCES, 1998). Second, more than 33% of the current teaching force is age 50 or older (Recruiting New Teachers, 1998) and likely to retire within the next decade. Third, recommendations, if not regulations, reducing the …

Testing, Accountability And Accrediation, Sanford D. Snider

MERC Publications

The primary purpose of this case study was to describe the implementation of the Virginia Standards of Learning in seven public school systems in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. Implementation includes the application of the grade level and subject objectives to daily classroom instruction, organization of instruction, and preparation of students for administration of the tests.

The Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) is made up of Virginia Commonwealth University and seven school systems in the vicinity of Richmond. A Policy and Planning Council, which governs the consortium, is made up of the school superintendent, a representative member of each school …