(1996). Increasing the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students in NAEP. Focus on NAEP, v2 n1 Jul. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is working to increase the numbers of students with disabilities (SD) or limited English proficient (LEP) students who are included in the assessment. Information is presented on the changes made to the inclusion criteria, the types of accommodations being offered, new procedures implemented in 1996, and ongoing research studies. The percentages of SD and LEP students excluded have been fairly steady over time, with about 5% excluded due to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 1% excluded due to LEP. An evaluation conducted in 1994 found that many of these students were, in fact, capable of participating in the assessment. In preparation for the 1996 assessment, the NAEP field tested the new inclusionary criteria and the use of various accommodations and adaptations for the mathematics assessment. Field test results were generally encouraging, but did indicate that results for SD and LEP students may not be comparable to… [PDF]
(1996). Ciencias en Espanol, 1995-96 (Sciences in Spanish, 1995-96). Research Report on Educational Grants. An elementary science program was taught in Spanish for English-speaking children to give them the opportunity to acquire second language skills through hands-on science instruction. The program included 4 classes of approximately 22 students at kindergarten and first-grade levels in the gifted and talented program at the Gary Herod Elementary School (Texas). Staff development and parent involvement were major components of the program, which has been planned to expand as students advance each year until all grades participate. A comparison with baseline data on student performance in Spanish and science indicated that students progressed beyond expectations in both science and Spanish language skills. On the Spanish assessment in May, kindergarten students appeared to be functioning approximately at age level. Survey information from students, parents, and teachers indicated that the majority were in favor of the program and the initial implementation outcomes. Six appendixes…
(1997). Organizing for Schooling. IDRA Focus. IDRA Newsletter, v24 n1 Jan. This theme issue includes four articles on schoolwide approaches to educational equity and improvement. \Schoolwide Projects: A Challenge for Administrators on Campuses with LEP Students\ (Abelardo Villarreal) synthesizes the literature on schoolwide reform strategies used in schools that have been successful with limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Four indicators central to these schools' effectiveness with LEP students are rigorous standards; flexible, high quality curriculum; coordinated federal resources; and goals and results orientation. \A Different Kind of Will: Educational Equity and the School Reform Movement\ (Bradley Scott) reviews research findings about four types of school practices that discriminate against disadvantaged students, examines policy options to eliminate barriers and assure educational equity, discusses elements of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 and Goals 2000: Educate America Act that promote equitable outcomes, and lists questions… [PDF]
(1996). Making Room for Students: Sharing Teacher Authority in Room 104. This publication investigates what happened when a Chicago public school first-grade teacher radically changed her teaching practice and embraced a holistic literary approach. The practice of shifting patterns of control in the classroom and the construction of knowledge in a setting where most children are bilingual is explored. The nine chapters cover: (1) the context of the study; (2) power, knowledge, and shared authority; (3) sharing authority and classroom process; (4) children's initiations during teacher-led read-alouds; (5) sharing authority in student-led read-alouds; (6) negotiating knowledge and process in buddy reading; (7) authorship and authority in individual writing; (8) discourse and authority in teacher-led group writing; and (9) sharing authority in the classroom. Appendices include notes on method and methodology and transcription format. (Contains 137 references.) (ND)…
(1994). Improving Language Arts Assessment of Language Minority Students in Cooperative Learning Settings. Project 2.1. Designs for Assessing Individual and Group Problem Solving. Report of Preliminary Study on Cultural and Linguistic Influences on Group Interaction during Problem Solving. Ensuring that new forms of assessment are fair and valid for language minority students is essential for research on assessing the performance of Latino language minority elementary school students engaged in a cooperative learning language arts curriculum in Spanish and English. Strategies for developing performance assessments are described, and results from a preliminary study implementing these strategies as part of the curriculum for 39 bilingual and monolingual third graders are presented. The research shows how the design of individualized performance assessments might be devised based on ethnographic observation of the children's interaction and goals for cooperative learning established by the teacher. How analysis of children's interaction in cooperative learning can show "in situ" classroom assessments among the children that help validate interpretation of performance is also described. Three appendixes contain study questions, charts of change, and transcript… [PDF]
(1992). In-service Teacher Training for Computer Literacy: Resource Implications Resulting from a Longitudinal Evaluation. This paper presents an assessment of teacher training models in a multi-year (1984-1989) early childhood computer literacy program conducted in a bilingual setting. The project was known by the acronym CLIC and focused on the needs of poor Hispanic children in the El Paso (Texas) urban school district. Although CLIC was a computer literacy project, it was designed to address multiple curriculum issues, particularly language arts skills, by aiming for general academic success. The project director trained a group of teachers to train additional project teachers. Each of these two groups was designated as a pilot group. The second pilot group trained another cohort group of faculty, known as the spread group. The curriculum for both teacher training and student classrooms was the same for pilot and spread settings. The final evaluation of the project suggested that the level of student performance in achieving project objectives was directly related to the trainee cohort membership of… [PDF]
(1991). Project DATA-TECH. 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of New York City Public Schools' Project DATA-TECH, which served limited English proficient high school students interested in computer-aided drafting (CAD) and cosmetology programs. The program served 190 students at Sara J. Hale High School in Brooklyn, of whom 89.5 percent were eligible for the Free Lunch Program and most spoke Spanish or Haitian Creole. Participating students majored in either CAD or cosmetology while receiving instruction in English as a Second Language, native language arts, and bilingual content area subjects. The project provided non-instructional services in the areas of guidance, family assistance, extracurricular activities, and job placement. It featured an Executive Internship Program as well as activities for staff development and parental involvement. Evaluation of the program was based on demographic data, citywide student test scores, and interviews with and surveys of the program director. Project DATA-TECH was fully… [PDF]
(1989). The San Elizario Bilingual Learning Community: An Application of Technology to Reading/Writing/Mathematics/Computer Literacy. Fifth Year Evaluation Report. This report is the fifth year and last evaluation of the Title VII Bilingual Computer Literacy Project for San Elizario Independent School District, Texas. Several points in the fourth year evaluation focused on the need for the computer assisted instruction (CAI) project to obtain and maintain community and parent involvement and to secure and maintain school district staff commitment. A newsletter and survey sent to parents in May 1989 requested parent volunteers for a number of activities; this may be a start toward parent involvement in the CAI project. Although teachers and staff have shown a strong and growing commitment to the project, turnover in project personnel and funding problems threaten project status in the school district after the federal grant ends. A comparison of April 1988 and April 1989 standardized test scores for 159 students in grades 1-6 and 9-12 with national norms showed that reductions in the gap between participant scores and national norms occurred…
(1985). New Hupa Spelling Book. Part of a series of materials in Hupa and English, this speller was developed by adult Hupas studying their native language for use by elementary students also studying the Hupa language. The speller begins with a Hupa Unifon alphabet chart giving all of the symbols used to reproduce the most simple version of the sounds in the Hupa language. Spelling words are grouped in the following categories: numbers, body parts, clothes, animals, relatives and persons, household things, trees, environment, and food. Words are printed in English and Hupa above a line that could be used for the student's writing of the word. Most words are arranged six to a page and accompanied by a pen and ink illustration. Words selected include basic vocabulary with an emphasis on words of particular importance for Hupa culture. Word selection principles are exemplified by the food category which lists strawberries, Indian tea, huckleberries, blackberries, gooseberries, manzanita berries, carrots, salmon,…
(1984). Teacher's Guide to Word Games. Various worksheets to teach basic Hupa language–simple phrases and the vocabulary for animal names and family relationships–are presented in this guide. The introduction notes that materials have been used successfully with students in grades 4 through 8 and that the Hupa language is being taught within the context of traditional Hupa culture. Program goals include these goals for the teacher: review the sounds of the Hupa language, teach at least 4 basic vocabulary areas, introduce at least 20 expressions or sentences, and tell or read at least 4 Hupa legends. Materials for students begin with 37 letters of the Hupa Unifon alphabet and Hupa words (with English translations) illustrating the pronunciation of each of the letters. Names of 26 animals are listed in Hupa, English, and English transliteration. The 16 student worksheets give practice translating basic vocabulary and expressions from Hupa to English and from English to Hupa. Worksheet formats include sentence completion,… [PDF]
(1982). British Columbia Science Assessment 1982. Assessment Update. The 1982 British Columbia Science Assessment was designed to gather information from the professional literature, review panels, interpretation panels, teachers, and students enrolled in grades 4, 8, and 12 (and a sample from grade 10). This pamphlet provides brief answers to nine questions related to the assessment. These questions focus on: (1) why the assessment was conducted; (2) who was involved; (3) how well student performance met provincial expectations in 1982; (5) a comparison of 1982 with 1978 results; (6) student attitudes toward science; (7) major findings; (8) major recommendations; and (9) uses of assessment data and results. Detailed achievement results, teacher questionnaire results, conclusions and recommendations are provided in a separate General Report. Highlights of the assessment, summary tables of important results, and conclusions and recommendations are provided in separate Summary Report. (Author/JN)… [PDF]
(1981). Yo Ciudadano: Un Curriculo de Experiencias para Educacion Civica. Nivel: Uno (Citizen Me: An Experiential Curriculum for Citizenship Education. Level: One). Integrating concepts of basic citizenship education with community involvement, this experiential curriculum, written in Spanish, provides a means for developing decision making and critical thinking skills within the existing social studies curriculum in grade 1. Using short stories, field trips, and class discussions, the 11 lessons on responsibilities, rules, sharing, and litter prevention are titled Quiero Un Perrito, Nuestras Responsabilidades, La Cadena, Un Cuento de Brujas, Compartiendo, El Cono de Nieve, Reglas Escolares, El Cuidado de los Libros, Una Visita a la Biblioteca, La Basura, and Equipo de los Estudiantes Contra la Basura. Purposes of the lessons are to (1) suggest ways to demonstrate responsibilities, reasons for rules, and rules made by families; (2) identify various responsibilities and rules, individuals' responsibilities to obey rules, litter as a problem of society, and actions students can take to help stop litter at school; (3) examine individual…
(1981). Yo Ciudadano: Un Curriculo de Experiencias para Educacion Civica. Nivel: Cuatro (Citizen Me: An Experiential Curriculum for Citizenship Education. Level: Four). Integrating concepts of basic citizenship education with community involvement, this experiential curriculum provides a means for developing decision making and critical thinking skills within the existing fourth grade social studies curriculum. The 11 lessons, translated into into Spanish, cover the following concepts: responsibility in the care of property, vandalism, precaution against vandalism, authority, law, citizenship, and individuals as lawmakers and law followers. The lessons aim to teach students about: fire safety for conservation of life and property, the use of rational decision making, the elements of arson, the difference between public and private property, vandalism and its prevention, shoplifting, what a law is and who it affects, the meaning of and the necessity for authority, who is in authority at school and their duties, what goes into being a good citizen, and the meaning of citizenship in its various aspects. Each lesson includes a purpose statement,…
(1978). Deenaadai' Gwich'in Oozhri' (Traditional Gwich'in Names). This guide for children of personal names is a list of Gwich'in people who lived during the past one hundred years. This list was designed for those interested in how traditional native names were made up, and for those who may want to choose traditional Gwich'in names for their children. The introduction traces the development of Gwich'in name giving with Christian influence, and the list shows the Gwich'in names alphabetically with their English translations. (NCR)…
(1979). The 1980 Report on Educational Personnel Development. This report examines the current status of federal and state involvement in educational personnel development. First, it describes the federal legislative process, and offers a list of members of Congressional committees dealing with education legislation. Next, it analyzes involvement of the U.S. Office of Education and of individual states in staff development. The analysis includes the results of a survey of current state activity in professional development, with emphasis on authority, funding, and state plans. The report concludes with a list of professional associations and organizations actively involved in educational personnel development, as well as a list of educational laboratories, dissemination networks, and foundations that provide resources for the professional development of educational personnel. (Author/LD)…