The purpose of this study was to determine if by alternating certain classes biennially the number of different teaching preparations could be reduced thus decreasing the teachers' load. The study also attempted to ascertain the effect this type of scheduling had upon the attitudes of teachers and students toward these classes. A further attempt was made to determine if mixing students from two grade levels resulted in the younger student being penalized with respect to his cumulative grade point average. The significant conclusions that can be drawn from the results follow: Teachers, generally, thought well of the project and desires to participate in it. Although some teachers expressed reservations about the project there were none that could not be removed by correcting the problems expressed. At the conclusion of the study most were in favor of continuing the project. By alternating classes biennially which were normally taught annually the class preparation load for teachers participating in the project was reduced and this basic quest of the project was, in fact, met. Students were not aroused unduly by the experimental nature of the project but sensed the need for long-range planning and increased guidance in setting up their schedules. They did not object to being combined with other grade levels in the project classes. Contrary to administrative expectations, however, the younger students did tend to receive lower marks in the project classes. Achievement progress as measured by the use of standardized tests revealed no significant difference between students in the experimental school and those students in the control school.

Use of alcohol and illicit drugs during adolescent development can have negative effects on cognitive functioning and mental health. The purpose of this cross sectional study was to examine grade level, sex, athletic affiliation, and ethnicity as they relate to substance-using attitudes to isolate the period in which shifts in attitudes toward substance use in adolescents occur. The social learning theory provided the framework for the study. Participants included 276 high school students from a midsized Midwestern city. Students in the ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades who participated in the study were asked to complete a brief electronic survey designed to assess attitudes toward substance use, which was administered during a free study period. Survey questions were drawn from the Attitude Scale on the Substance Abuse Screening Inventory for Adolescents. An ANOVA was run using the multiple independent variables taken from the survey to examine the differences between each of the independent variables, grade level, athletic status, sex, and ethnicity on the dependent variable of attitudes. There were overall significant differences found for favorable attitudes towards substance use among the Grade levels ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at the p < 0.001 level [F(3, 272) = 6.933, p =.001]. Further analysis was conducted and significant differences were found between ninth graders and 11th graders in their attitudes towards substance use and between ninth graders and 12th graders in their attitudes towards substance use. The greater significant difference occurred between ninth graders and 12th graders. The findings from this study can be used to assist educators in the creation of developmentally appropriate curricula that could act as an intervention to the onset of substance use.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur behöriga matematiklärare värderar matematikuppgifter och till vilken betygsnivå de kan relateras. Studien har genomförts som en kvalitativ studie baserad på tematisk analys. Åtta professionella matematiklärare har intervjuats och deras uttalanden har analyserats. Studien är inriktad på kursen matematik 3c på gymnasiet. Studien visar att lärare värderar uppgifterna olika vilket kan tyda på utmaningar med att tolka betygskriterier i matematik på gymnasiet. I undersökningen framkommer hur de som är nyexaminerade behöriga lärare visar på en mer generös värdering och relaterar till högre betygsnivå jämfört med de lärare som är mer erfarna. De mer erfarna lärarna visar också gögre grad av samstämmighet när det gäller hur de beskriver kunskapsnivå motsvarande de olika betygsnivåerna jämfört med de nyexaminerade lärarna. De nyexaminerade lärarna uttrycker i vissa fall bristande matematiska kunskaper kopplat till de högre kurser i matematik på gymnaisenivån som de förväntas undervisa på. / The purpose of the study is to investigate how qualified mathematics teachers value mathematics tasks and to which grade level they can be related. The study has been conducted as a case study. Eight actively working mathematics teachers have been interviewed and their statements have been analyzed. The study is focused on the course mathematics 3c at the upper secondary school. The study shows that teachers value the tasks differently, which may indicate challenges with interpreting grading criteria in mathematics at upper secondary school. The survey reveals how those who are newly qualified teachers show a more generous assessment and relate to a higher grade level compared to the teachers who are more experienced. The more experienced teachers also show a higher degree of agreement when it comes to how they describe the level of knowledge corresponding to the different grade levels compared to the newly qualified teachers. In some cases, the newly graduated teachers express a lack of mathematical knowledge linked to the higher courses in mathematics at the upper secondary level that they are expected to teach.

In this study, factors that affect students&#039 / science achievement were modeled based on the data which was obtained from Study for Determination of Student Achievement &ndash / 2002 (Ogrenci Basarisinin Belirlenmesi Calismasi &ndash / OBBS). First, using principle components analysis tecnique, dimensions of the student questionnaires and science achievement tests were found out. Using these dimensions for student questionnaires, latent variables socioeconomic status, student-centered activities, teacher-centered activities, private tutoring, experiments/technological material usage, and perception of interest and success were selected to be included in this study. Then, a reference model was proposed for factors affecting students&#039 / science achievement. Lastly, this reference model was tested across three grade levels (6th, 7th, and 8th) and three school types (state, boarding, and private) and comparisons among them were made. As a result of modeling which was conducted by structural equation modeling technique (SEM) using LISREL 8.30, the study yielded the followings: Socioeconomic status has a strong effect on science achievement for all grade levels investigated. While teacher-centered activities generally affect students&#039 / science achievement in a positive way, student-centered activities show a negative effect. Teacher-centered activities affect perception of interest and success as much as nearly they do for science achievement. Direct effect of teacher-centered activities is not significant for state and boarding schools, but their indirect effects strengthen the effect of teacher-centered activities on science achievement. Effect of experiments and technological material on perception of interest and success is negative for all grade levels and school types, except state schools in which it is positive.