Here's a collection of useful articles and resources originally slated for inclusion in our weekly "Of Particular Interest" newsletter. We ran out of room for these "leftovers," but we know many of these great resources will be of interest to our subscribers and site visitors. We've sorted them loosely under headings to make them a little easier to peruse. We hope you find something useful to your work! Just scroll down the page or click in the Index.

John Norton, Editor
MiddleWeb

COMPREHENSIVE & STANDARDS-BASED SCHOOL REFORM

COMMON ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS
Education World editors Diane Weaver Dunne and Ellen R. Delisio explore the strategies educators at KIPP Academy Charter School, Mother Hale Academy, and Crossroads School are using to break the cycle of failure for students living in some of New York City's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

ACCOUNTABILITY IN ACTION
Subtitled "A Blueprint for Learning Organizations," this book by performance assessment expert Douglas Reeves explains the nature and challenges of standards-based education. "It also provides the answers," says one California educator who provided a blurb for the cover. Published by the Center for Performance Assessment, "Accountability in Action" can help school leaders determine which programs and services result in high student achievement. Reeves demonstrates "how policy makers, leaders, teachers, parents, and students can use comprehensive accountability systems to implement teaching and learning programs that help all students succeed."

LOCAL EDUCATION FUNDS & SCHOOL REFORM
"Powerful Allies" (Ford Foundation Report, Spring 2001) describes what one education editor has called "a bold idea" -- local education funds that serve as 'critical friends' is school district reform. LEFs can be powerful partners, says Virginia Edwards, because they care deeply about "closing the achievement gap and about getting qualified teachers for every child. It's not just a bunch of happy talk about parental involvement."

UNION-DISTRICT PARTNERSHIPS FOR REFORM (PDF File)
It's still the exception, not the rule, but some teacher unions are refocusing their collective power and bringing it to bear on school reform, says this article in the Summer 2001 issue of the Annenberg Challenge Journal. The story begins with a review of the now-familiar union-management agreement in Rochester, NY, where an innovative contract provided that all proposals put on the table during negotiations must include a student-improvement rationale. The article goes on to examine a growing trend for unions to move beyond traditional "bread-and-butter" issues and stake a claim on school reform turf. (PDF file -- clicking URL will begin download)

ADVANCING STANDARDS
This April 2001 report from the National Education Association is subtitled "A National Call for Midcourse Corrections and Next Steps" and takes the position that the national commitment to standards-based education remains strong but "all too often, standards have 'raised the bar' for students, educators, and schools without the accompanying resources and support needed to make standards-based education work." The NEA authors offer their ideas about saving standards-based education from "heat-seeking" advocates of high-stakes testing.

REFORM HELP FOR SUPTS. AND PRINCIPALS
McREL's new "Leadership Folio Series: Guiding Comprehensive School Reform" is designed for school leaders -- particularly superintendents and principals -- "facing the process of comprehensive school reform and wondering where to begin." Details and ordering information at this link.


CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTIVISM
If you've always wanted to know more about constructivist theory, but up to now your time constraints have made you afraid to ask, invest some of your "leisure time" in an exploration of this controversial learning theory. This page from teacher "Mrs. Young" includes links to a variety of resources, including the University of Colorado-Denver's content-rich page on the topic.

INTERDISCIPLINARY UNITS
Here are several examples of middle grades interdisciplinary units. For other resources, try this page at the Cohasset Middle-High School. And this page of "mini-theme" resources.

THE ROAD TO SERVICE LEARNING
Learning In Deed, a national initiative to expand service-learning, offers a helpful road map for teachers who want to learn more about teaching strategies that link service to the community with classroom instruction. You'll find examples of class projects, whole-school and statewide service-learning initiatives. Learn how to join a new national organization, the National Service-Learning Partnership and sign up for a free newsletter.

RESOURCES IN SOCIAL STUDIES
The National Council for the Social Studies offers extensive resources at the Council website, categorized by the ten themes of the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Also see the Council's lists of Notable Social Studies Books for Young People.


EDUCATION POLICY

DISTRICT POLICY & BEGINNING TEACHERS (PDF File)
What role do district policies play in the lives of beginning teachers? These researchers followed 10 teachers from their final year of teacher education into their first three years of teaching. In this paper (June 2001), subtitled "Where the Twain Will Meet," they examine the role of curriculum, professional development, and mentoring policies in shaping the experiences of three first-year language arts teachers. From the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy at the University of Washington. (PDF file - download will begin when you click the link.)


EDUCATION RESEARCH

THE AMERICA'S CHOICE SCHOOL DESIGN (PDF file)
"Moving Mountains: Successes and Challenges of the America's Choice Comprehensive School Reform Design" provides a detailed description and analysis of the implementation and impact of the standards-based design in three communities. Among the findings: "On reading assessments in grade 6-8, students in the America's Choice schools performed significantly better than did those in the matched sample on seven of the eight independent analyses of reading performance. On the two 8 th grade state reading assessments, the America's Choice students significantly outperformed the students in the matched sample...."

TALENT DEVELOPMENT MIDDLE SCHOOL (PDF file)
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/Reports/report46.pdf
This research report from CRESPAR, "Lessons for Scaling Up: Evaluations of the Talent Development Middle School's Student Team Literature Program," finds "fairly consistent evidence that Talent Development schools significantly improve reading comprehension. This finding is repeated across schools and time points..." But the study also finds no evidence that the overall Talent Development effect is "either mediated or accompanied by a positive influence of peer assistance," a key component of the program.


EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS, TECHNOLOGY AND ACHIEVEMENT
This research summary from the National Middle Schools Association ponders the question: "What impact does the use of technology have on middle level education, specifically student achievement?" Among the conclusions: "Time and again, the research comes back to the teacher as the most influential component of a successful technology program. Teachers must be given the time and resources to attend professional development opportunities...(and) schools should make the most of teachers who are 'resident experts' that can offer on-site development opportunities and be used as one-on-one tutors for other faculty members."

THE ADMINISTRATOR'S ROLE IN TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Teachers have often come under fire for their failure to fully integrate technology into their classrooms. Until recently, however, very little has been said about the role of school administrators in technology
integration. The Education World Tech Team discusses how they think principals and other administrators can optimize technology use in their schools.

INFORMATION LITERACY IN A WIRED WORLD
In this Age of Information, students must be taught how to wade through oceans of material from books, magazines, e-zines, Web sites, interviews, and a myriad of other sources. This "Information Literacy Primer" by Internet pioneer and media specialist Kahty Shrock offers several literacy models that assist in teaching students how to question, search, evaluate, and properly cite information they find both on and offline. At the George Lucas Educational Foundation website.


EQUITY AND STUDENT SUPPORT & SUCCESS

TEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT ADVISORIES
Middle school consultant Jim Burns believes good advisories can still be a vital part of a academically successful middle school. He answers questions like "Does research indicate connections between advisory and improved student performance?" Also see his "Five Attributes of Satisfying Advisories."

UNDERSTANDING DROPOUTS
Dropping out is not an isolated event, but a gradual process that begins long before a student actually leaves school, says a new National Academies' report. Inadequate data on key questions are preventing educators from identifying students at risk of school failure early when intervention could make a difference. Read the complete report, "Understanding Dropouts: Statistics, Strategies, and High-Stakes Testing," at the NA website. Prepared by the Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity, Board on Testing and Assessment, Center for Education, National Research Council.

ADOLESCENTS AND THE MASS MEDIA
The Teachers College (Columbia University) Record revisits a "classic" article from 1993 titled: "Adolescents and the Mass Media: From 'Leave It to Beaver' to 'Beverly Hills 90210.'" Donald F. Roberts of Stanford discusses "the effect of the mass media, particularly the influence of violence and sex, on adolescents, noting the paucity of research on the subject. The article recommends a compromise between censorship and free expression. It examines how teachers and parents can help by discussing media messages with students." This link leads to a page where a PDF of the article can be downloaded. You may have to subscribe first. It's free.

SURVEYING MIDDLE SCHOOLERS (PDF File)
Annually, the Jefferson County KY) Public Schools surveys students, including middle schoolers, and uses the collected data for a variety of purposes that can include development of school and district consolidated plans, program evaluation, and the revision of district quality indicators. This small PDF file contains the results of the district's 2000-01 survey of about 13,000 middle grades students. Areas surveyed include school climate and atmosphere, quality of education and safety.


MIDDLE GRADES LITERACY

IS YOUR READING PROGRAM "GUY FRIENDLY"?
Children's author Jon Scieszka challenges language arts teachers to reassess their reading lists. "Imagine you are a boy and re-examine what you are offering and/or requiring ... from a boy's point of view." The story at Education World describes GUYS READ, a project and website that offers book lists, ideas, and support "to get guys reading."

TEACHING ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING IN 7TH GRADE
Writing an effective argumentative essay means getting your own points across while anticipating and addressing the reactions of a potential reader. But lacking proper guidance, students assigned to compose argumentative papers often end up writing reports, rather than arguments, say researchers. Read this summary of an accomplished 7th grade teacher's struggle to teach argumentative writing.



MISC. MIDDLE GRADES RESOURCES

EDUCATION CONVERSATIONS ON-LINE
John Merrow is America's most visible and familiar broadcast education journalist. Merrow's radio and television coverage of education dates back to the 1970s and includes stints on McNeil-Lehrer, the Learning Channel and PBS. This site archives (1999-2001) Merrow's radio interviews with leading educators, researchers, newsmakers, and change agents. Listen or download PDF transcripts of dozens of shows, including an interview with KIPP Academy founder David Levin and three eighth-graders.

SICK SCHOOLS
In this original five-part series, Education World describes how environmental conditions in school may make students sick. No federal laws protect students from exposure to contaminants, and the dangers fall disproportionately on poor and minority school populations.

KIDS COUNT 2001
State-by-state data in the new 12th annual Kids Count Data Book (Annie E. Casey Foundation) reveals decreases in the infant mortality rate, the child and teen death rates, and the high school dropout rate. Kids Count also finds a steady decline in the rate of teenage births. But more than 16 million children have full-employed parents who struggle to make ends meet. This highly interactive site allows visitors to download PDF files of the complete report, or view the data online by: state profiles; state indicators graphed over time; color-coded US maps; or state rankings by various indicators. You can also download raw data as delimited files.


OUT-OF-SCHOOL AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

20 SUCCESSFUL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
The American Youth Policy Forum looked at twenty successful programs and found five key elements to the approaches that make a difference in student outcomes -- including extra-school programs like Boys and Girls Club of America. Their findings won't surprise you: high expectations for youth, programs and staff; personalized attention to students; innovative structure or organization; hands-on learning activities; and long-term support. At this page, you can download the complete report or individual program profiles.

EXTENDED SCHOOL DAYS
Are academically oriented after-school programs worth the investment in resources and children's time? Two advocates square off in this article from School Administrator (August 2001) and argue the merits of a rapidly growing practice in school districts across the USA.


SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

NEW LEADERS FOR NEW SCHOOLS
New Leaders for New Schools is a nonprofit advocacy group devoted to attracting and developing the next generation of outstanding leaders for urban public schools. The New Leaders for New Schools Fellowship is "an intense, yearlong learning experience that develops high-potential leaders into successful school leaders." Read about the Fellows program in Education Week, and also see NLNS's curriculum and "Core Principles of Schooling."

THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
The May 2001 issue of Basic Education offered a series of articles on principal leadership "in these times." Includes a call for significant changes in principal preparation, based on research by the Southern Regional Education Board.


SCHOOLS, PARENTS, AND COMMUNITIES

PARENTS AND SCHOOL REFORM
An important component of Philadelphia's "Children Achieving Challenge" program was its emphasis on parent involvement and the participation of outside activist organizations in sustaining pressure on school leaders and politicians to improve schools. A new report argues that without parental pressure reform is unlikely to alter the educational experiences of urban children. Download the PDF version of "Clients, Consumers or Collaborators" at this page.

HOW TO INCREASE PARENT INVOLVEMENT
In his article "How to Increase Parent Involvement in the Schools," Connect-For-Kids editor Richard Louv shares ideas, collected from around the country, that could help increase the amount of parent involvement in schools.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PARTNERSHIPS
Forming partnerships can bring vital resources to a schoolwide improvement initiative. Potential partners may be community-based non-profit organizations, businesses, higher education institutions, or regional technical assistance providers. "What is important," says the National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, "is that they commit to forming a shared vision of the partnership's purpose and to providing long-term support (be it time, funding, energy, or knowledge)." In the latest installment in its School Improvement Series, NCCSR provides a lengthy list of tips and resources to improve school partnerships.

"SMELLS LIKE SCHOOL SPIRIT"
This article in "American Prospect" reviews the four-part PBS series "School: The Story of American Education." Although writer Peter Schlag takes issue with some of the series' perspectives, he admires its powerful images, attention to key historical events, and "the stories of how hard Americans fought to create the free common schools and then to ensure their children's right to attend and to be respected regardless of race, gender, or class." If you missed the September broadcast, the series (now part of a nationwide public engagement campaign) is available on videotape although the price may be prohibitive ($539).

REFORM REQUIRES PARENTS
Ron Brandt argues that "schools cannot meet the challenges of reform without first doing a better job of connecting with parents and the public," in this opinion column from the May 1998 issue of "Educational Leadership" magazine. Brandt, the magazine's editor emeritus, says that unless schools learn how to build parent buy-in for new ideas, support for public schools will continue to erode and unreasonable demands will continue to grow.


SMALL SCHOOLS & CLASS SIZE

CASE STUDIES OF SMALL SCHOOL SUCCESS
A report from the Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota concludes that smaller schools and schools within schools can provide a safer place, more challenging environment, higher achievement, higher graduation rates, fewer discipline problems and greater satisfaction. Based on case studies of 22 schools. Report can be downloaded in PDF format at this page.

SMALL SCHOOLS CAN LEAD TO GREATER STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
"Numerous studies confirm that small schools lead to improved student achievement and enable educators to realize many of the other goals of school reform," says a research summary in the January 1998 issue of Educational Leadership. "The skeptics and cynics are being heard now on the solution that focuses on small schools," writes education professor Mary Anne Raywid. " 'What do we really know about small schools?' they ask, and 'What is there to recommend them?' and 'Can we explain their track record?' The questions are healthy and positive in their insistence on evidence. And the answers add up, respectively, to 'A great deal,' 'A lot,' and 'Yes.' "


TEACHER QUALITY AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

FIRST-YEAR MIDDLE GRADES TEACHER
New middle grades teachers will find hope and inspiration in this final entry from Shaundalyn Elliott's first-year teacher diary. The Montgomery, AL novice, who once "regretted spending four years of college majoring in education," writes: "Now I understand how men and women all over the world remain in this profession for decades! Teaching is one of the few jobs that can provide such a tremendous sense of accomplishment and completion." Read all her weekly diary entries at Education World.

A DEFENSE OF TEACHER CERTIFICATION (PDF File)
In October 2001, teaching quality researcher Linda Darling Hammond published a defense of teacher certification, in response to a paper produced by the Abell Foundation "that purports to prove that there is 'no credible research that supports the use of teacher certification as a regulatory barrier to teaching.'" Darling Hammond reviews available research and makes the case for well-designed teacher preparation and certification programs, in line with the findings of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, where she recently served as executive director. Download the PDF version of "The Research and Rhetoric on Teacher Certification: A Response to 'Teacher Certification'" at this link.

ANALYZING DISTRICTWIDE STAFF DEVELOPMENT
During the 1999-00 school year, the Jefferson County (KY) Public Schools conducted a case study to determine the effectiveness of school-based professional development efforts. A summary of this study of seven schools (including two middle schools) is posted at this link.

FIVE STANDARDS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING
The Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence offers a set of standards for effective teaching that "respects the intellect of teachers and students, and that advocates building on their sociocultural resources in creating advanced, flexible, and diverse environments for learning." CREDE's research and development focuses on critical issues in the education of linguistic and cultural minority students and those placed at risk by factors of race, poverty, and geographic location.

ACTION RESEARCH
"Evolving Professional Practice through Collaborative Inquiry" by Molly Lynn Watt offers an overview of action research, some history, and several illustrations of collaborative inquiry.

BUILDING PROFESSIONALISM THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ACTION
Ron Klemp, director of a middle grades school reform network in Los Angeles, describes how the network of teachers and schools used collaborative action research to drive school change.

TEACHER RENEWAL
Horace, the newsletter of the Coalition of Essential Schools, explores ways in which teachers might renew themselves and rededicate themselves to the teaching profession in difficult and stressful times. Features interviews with teachers going through a renewal process.


TESTING AND ASSESSMENT

EIGHTH GRADE SAMPLE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS
Prepared by the research group CRESST for the Los Angeles school district, these downloadable performance assessments include 8th grade units on the Civil War, fractions, matter (science), and European history.