The purpose of this 18-month case study is to highlight the successes and challenges that an ESL/mathematics teacher encountered as she made a shift from traditional mathematics curriculum to a standards-based curriculum as part of a statewide systemic initiative. The study was conducted in an urban, public middle school in Central Texas that served predominately low-income Latina/o students. The participant of this study was a middle school teacher who taught mathematics to English language learners in a self-contained classroom, which meant that 6th-through 8th-grade students were in the same classroom. Data sources included interviews, participant and nonparticipant classroom observations, fieldnotes, and documents. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) professional development opportunities and collaboration with a mainstream mathematics teacher, (2) change in teaching practices, and (3) equity issues. Findings indicate that this ESL/ mathematics teacher valued the professional development opportunities and collaborations with the mainstream mathematics teacher that supported her implementing a standards-based curriculum. The teacher also reflected on how her teaching changed by implementing units of the Connected Mathematics Project. However, a challenge she encountered with equity issues was the mismatch between the 6th-grade curriculum and the self-contained ESL classroom that consisted of 6th-through 8th-grade students. Other challenges were the lack of resources in the students’ native language and the time needed to translate the curriculum materials. Implications and recommendations are discussed in relation to mathematics reform efforts in ESL classrooms.

This research explored the experiences of students in a school district that limited early access to the study of algebra and to inform education policymakers of the impact of such tracking policies on the lives and futures of the students. Quantitative analysis had already yielded a snapshot of inequities deriving from the policies surrounding placement in 8th grade as well as significant benefits deriving from that placement. Subsequent interviews with students provided a vital portrait of the faces behind this analysis. The candid and reflective interviews with these graduating seniors suggest that 8th-grade mathematics experiences impacted their academic and social experiences as well as their future plans. Regardless of their group, the students concluded that the policy of assigning students to algebra in the 8th grade was based on developmental behaviors, like study habits and self-discipline, rather than on cognitive ability. Students in both groups criticized the school’s emphasis on the state’s standardized tests and regarded those tests as basic and minimal. The students also chronicled the long-term effects of studying 8th-grade algebra in 8th grade, primarily the academic benefits of the type and number of mathematics courses afforded early algebra students. According to students in both tracks, algebra instruction for all students in eighth grade would level the playing field and open the gates to advanced study for those students who choose to take advantage of those opportunities. Providing algebra to all students, with additional academic and institutional support if necessary, would diminish the disparity of outcomes and promote more equitable opportunities for all students.

The present study explores the impact of an experimental reading intervention focusing on explicit reading strategy instruction and cross-age peer tutoring on third and sixth graders’ reading strategy awareness, cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy use, and reading comprehension achievement. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used. In total, 39 teachers and 762 elementary school students participated in the study. The experimental intervention was implemented during an entire school year. Standardized tests were used to measure pupils’ reading comprehension (Staphorsius & Krom, 1996). Further, students completed 2 questionnaires: the index of reading awareness (Jacobs & Paris, 1987) and the reading strategy use scale (Pereira-Laird & Deane, 1997). Significant intervention effects were found for third graders’ overall awareness of reading strategies, their awareness of the importance of regulating the reading process, and sixth graders’ awareness of the added value of evaluation of tasks, goals, and personal skills. Further, significant intervention effects were found for both third and sixth graders’ overall reading strategy use. For sixth graders a significant impact on metacognitive reading strategy use was found as well.

This article presents findings from an action research study that investigates the impact of an inquiry project designed to help better prepare pre-service middle level teacher interns for their work with English language learners (ELLs). The inquiry project combined a “rounds” approach with ethnographic observation to help pre-service interns see beneath the surface of school life and to better understand the kinds of multilayered transitions that middle level ELLs navigate on a daily basis. Three questions guide this ongoing action research project: (1) What do the interns tend to see and hear during the ESOL rounds experience? (2) What do the interns learn from or value in the ESOL rounds experience? and (3) In what ways can the ESOL rounds experience be improved? Data suggest that interns view the rounds inquiry project as a valuable learning experience; their assumptions about ELLs are challenged during the experience; they notice differences in behavior as ELLs transition from one class to another; and they tend to focus on language use during their observations. Recommendations for implementing rounds in teacher education programs are provided, and further implications of this research for teacher education are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether teachers’ perceptions of educational value discontinuity are predictive of the psychological antecedents of academic performance (e.g., academic engagement and academic self-efficacy) during middle school. Educational value discontinuity is defined as the difference between teachers’ actual educational values and their perceptions of students’ parents’ educational values (Hauser-Cram, Sirin, & Stipek, 2003). Two hundred seventy one middle grade students in Language Arts classrooms reported academic engagement and self-efficacy scores, while their teachers completed scales assessing their perceptions of educational value discontinuity. Results showed that educational value discontinuity was a significant predictor of middle school students’ sense of academic self-efficacy and also their behavioral engagement in class. Limitations and future directions of this research are discussed.

Institutions of teacher education face a challenge ofpreparing teachers with the capacity to provide high-quality instruction to the increasingly diverse student populations in our nation’s schools. In an effort to better prepare a our middle level preservice students to teach in diverse settings, we engaged in a case study of one group of students enrolled in two general pedagogy courses in our middle school teacher preparation program. Analyzing course assignments and interview data through a critical lens, we explored both the change and lack of change in our students’ understanding of diversity over the course of one semester. We also describe the factors we believe contributed to the changes and lack thereof and how these findings inform our practice as teacher educators.

This study chronicles the responses of middle school students to their teachers’ efforts to re-engage them in school. Working with two teachers and their team of 42 eighth graders selected as at-risk of failure, researchers interviewed participants, observed interactions, and gathered data from students’ first semester of high school. Teachers established a sense of community and co-constructed experiential learning experiences with students. During their eighth grade year, thirty-five students (83%) developed stronger academic momentum, consistently demonstrating three patterns of behavior: cooperating with class mates and teachers, engaging with academic tasks, and expressing a sense of progress. After a semester of high school, some students continued to demonstrate academic momentum while others experienced difficulty. Results indicate that three types of connections encouraged academic momentum: individual support from teachers, personal academic interests, and stronger work habits. The variation of student responses suggested that students will need strong support from their high school teachers to maintain momentum.

This study addresses the nexus of two critical challenges for today’s mathematics teacher. On the one hand, teaching for understanding for all students is the goal of most mathematics teachers. However, many teachers also must acknowledge and address the requirement that students do well on high stakes tests. This study analyzed data on 6th grade students’ performance and achievement after a year-long implementation of Connected Mathematics (CMP). Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) data were analyzed, comparing students’ achievement from 5th to 6th grade. The variables of at-risk, socio-economic status, and ethnicity were analyzed to determine the nature and practical importance of adopting CMP. The results indicated that the overall gain from using CMP materials over the previous year’s mathematics achievement was four points (p < .01). The at-risk students demonstrated a mean 10-point gain (p < .01) while the non at-risk students demonstrated a mean 2-point gain.

This article examines the implementation and effectiveness of Middle Start, a regional, comprehensive school reform design, focused specifically on middle-grade schools and young adolescents. Utilizing individual school self-study data and employing a quasi-experimental design, factors such as the implementation of interdisciplinary teaming organizations, teaming practices, and classroom practices are examined to provide contextual information for an analysis of standardized student achievement data. The results are quite promising. First, schools engaged in high levels of middle school practices, such as teaming, demonstrate greater student achievement gains. Second, compared to a more affluent sample of schools, higher poverty schools engaged in the Middle Start comprehensive school reform model exhibited greater student achievement gains over time. Third, two years after their grants expired, Middle Start schools were able to demonstrate continued gains in student achievement; however, their gains in team and classroom practices were only minimal.