In grade four white males performing "At or Above Basic" math skills is stated at 90% while black males were performing at only 59% "At or Above Basic" skill levels. White males in the "At or Above Proficient" skills level is stated at 49% with black males in this category stated at a mere 13%. The following labeled Figure 2 shows the statistical report of NAEP (2005) in relation to

Nature of the ProblemPurpose of the ProjectBackground and Significance of the Problem Brain Development Specific Activities to engage students Data-Driven Instruction Community Component of Education Research QuestionsDefinition of TermsMethodology and Procedures Discussion & ImplicationsConclusions & Application ntroduction The goal of present-day educational reformers is to produce students with "higher-order skills" who are able to think independently about the unfamiliar problems they will encounter in the information age, who have become "problem solvers" and have "learned how to learn,

positive outcome in the educational progress for the students resulting from applying the Z. Model framework. In Mr. Zander's classroom, the average improvement in test scores is 16.75 points. The is the rise in test scores resulting from the students taking the same standardize test, once at the beginning of the school year, and a second time after 6-7 months Z. Model application. The baseline group data was taken form

Statement of the Problem In the business world, when a small company manages to bring a superior product to market in a more cost-effective fashion than their larger counterparts, analysts sit up and take notice. Likewise, according to Wilensky (2002), "With the decline of K- 12 quality in most public schools in the United States since 1970, the average quality of parochial and public schools has converged" (p. 76). Because resources

Teaching Unit for an 8th-Grade Language Arts and Literature Class Contextual Factors Community, District, and School Factors Classroom Factors Student Characteristics Learning Goals and Objectives Pre-Assessments Aligned with Learning Goals and Objectives Evaluation of Pre- and Post-Assessments Criteria Used to Measure Student Performance for Learning Goals Plan for Formative Assessment to Gauge Student Progress Design for Instruction Explanation of Selected Activities: No. 1. How Content Relates to Instructional Goal(s) and b. How the Activity Stems from Pre-Assessment Information and Instructional Context Materials and

Juvonen et al., (2004) explains that a teachers in depth understanding of mathematics in particular is extremely important in middle school. The authors also point out that learning more difficult math in the eighth grade such as math is imports because 8th grade students who take algebra are more likely to apply to college than those that don't (Atanda, 1999). In addition the authors insists that when middle school