Education Commons^™

Reading And Math Interventions At The Secondary Level: A Research Brief, Ashlee Lester, David Naff

MERC Publications

Starting in the early 2000’s with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, federal and state education authorities promoted the use of accountability policies that require schools to meet certain measures of academic progress overtime. Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) have become the new measure of school success. These policies rely heavily on students’ Math and Reading achievement at particular benchmark grades, leading local educational agencies (i.e. school divisions) to place increased emphasis on the reading and math results of state-mandated testing. In Virginia, pressures to meet AYP and AMOs by improving school performance on the …

Response To Intervention To Educate The Diverse Needs Of Elementary Students, James H. Mcmillan, Valerie J. Robnolt, Amy C. Hutton

MERC Publications

Much research has been done regarding how to implement RTI, effective strategies for RTI, and outcomes of RTI, which is not the focus of the current study. This investigation will focus on assessing the current perceptions of elementary school educators and staff on thier current understanding of and needs for more effective implementation of RTI.

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 …

The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: Teacher Perceptions Of Three Years Of Implementation, John Pisapia, Kim Knutson

MERC Publications

Henrico County Public School received funding in 1995 to place five computers and an ink jet color printer in each of its regular elementary classrooms fist through fifth grade. The goals of the initiative were numerous but focused on: (1) increasing student performance, (2) addressing different learning styles, (3) providing students with daily access to computers, (4) increasing student proficiency with computers, and (5) preparing students for the future. To accomplish these goals, teachers were required to acquire the capacity to integrate computers into their daily classroom lessons and the school division needed to install, maintain the technical hardware and …

Teachers' Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: Phase 1, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

Classroom assessment and grading practices are becoming a greater focus of educational inquiry as teachers and policymakers become more accountable to the public for educational outcomes via assessment driven instructional practices. This study was an attempt to better understand the classroom assessment and grading practices of teachers, which have previously been described as a "hodgepodge" mix of student attitude, effort and achievement. Specifically, the following questions regarding teachers' assessment and grading practices were addressed:

What is the current state of assessment practice and grading by teachers?

What assessment and grading topics do teachers identify as needs to be addressed in …

Early Reading Interventions: What Works?, Anne J. Atkinson, Jennifer L. Uram

MERC Publications

The purpose of this study was to: 1) examine differences in the programs and practices employed in area schools to teach successful and unsuccessful at-risk students, 2) determine relationships among identified problems, reading interventions, and outcomes, and 3) present implications of the study for schools.

Implementation Of The Elementary Classroom Computer Initiative: A Description Of The First Year, Tony Hubert, John Pisapia

MERC Publications

This report was commissioned by Henrico County Public Schools to evaluate the first implementation of its elementary classroom computer initiative. It describes the first year of the initiative and is the first formative evaluation report. The complete evaluation project will span five years. This report is descriptive only, however, subsequent reports will be more inferential in nature, e.g., examining the impact of the initiative on student performance.

This report focuses on how the implementation has been perceived by teachers, students, and school division personnel. The primary focus was on teacher perceptions of the implementation phase of the initiative. The study …

Teaching As Reflective Practice: Papers By Teacher Researchers, Merc Teacher Researchers

MERC Publications

This is a collection of papers by Teacher researchers in different county public school systems put together by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC). Papers in this report include:

- "Why Do They Hide Their Hands?" by Rebecca Miller and Tracy Pausic of Bailey Bridge Middle School, Chesterfield County Public Schools

- "The Fourth "C" of Motivation - Competition" by Sharon P. Eshler of Cold Harbor Elementary School, Hanover County Public Schools

- "A Study of the Implementation of a Math Buddy Program Between Kindergarten Students and Third Graders In An Attempt to Improve Communication Skills" by Melinda Jenkins and …

Teaching As Reflective Practice: Papers By Teacher Researchers, Merc Research Teachers

MERC Publications

This is a research report on "Teaching as Reflective Practice" put together by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium. The research papers in this report include:

"Expectation and Innovations: A Nation At Risk; Shopping Mall High School; Horace's Compromise" by Angela Pickels and Brettina Sanchez of Monacan High School, Chesterfield County Public Schools.

"The Successful Interdisciplinary Class Must Secede From the Traditional" by Puck Snidow and Margaret Flanagan of Clover Hill High School, Chesterfield County Public Schools.

"What Has Been the Impact of Beaverdam Elementary Schools's Computer Network on Teachers?" by Katherine W. Benkert and Donna Kouri of Beaverdam Elementary School, …