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The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of National Board Certified Teachers on student performance on Mississippi’s Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) English II assessment, an end-of-course exam that assesses 10th grade students in Mississippi school districts. The researcher sought to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between the SATP English II scores of two groups of students (those taught by National Board Certified Teachers and those who were not). If there was a difference, the researcher sought to determine how the difference could be explained based on selected teacher demographic data (sex, race, highest degree received, years of experience, and National Board Certification status) and selected student demographic data (sex; race; previous scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition; and free- or reduced-lunch status). The results indicated that students who were taught by National Board Certified Teachers were more likely to have higher SATP English II scores than students who were taught by non-National Board Certified Teachers. Though previous researchers have concluded that teachers’ years of experience and highest degree received play a vital role in the difference in student achievement, this study did not confirm those findings. The results of this study, however, indicated that teacher and student demographic data were potentially important predictors of the language arts standardized test scores. Though these data can be used as predictors, the combined effect of teacher gender, teacher race, and years of experience, along with student race, student gender, student lunch status, and prior Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition Language Arts scores were not found to be statistically significant in this study.

This study discussed the need for a broader public discourse on high-stakes accountability-based school reform that underscores teachers' perspectives. Also, the study discussed the need for fuller disclosure of the possible undesirable classroom effects of the reform. To address these needs, the study described teachers' perspectives on the Standards of Learning (SOL) school reform in Virginia, focusing upon teachers' views on the reform's classroom effects. The domains of interest were (1) the adequacy of curriculum and the diversity of teachers' instructional strategies, (2) the quality of student learning, (3) teachers' sense of professional autonomy and level of teacher tension, and (4) school quality. The study examined whether there are differences in teachers' views based the income level of the school locale where teachers teach (low-, middle-, or high-income), the school type (elementary, middle, or high school) in which they teach, and teachers' status on whether they teach a SOL-tested subject (yes/no). The participants of the study included 360 randomly selected teachers who were listed as members of Virginia Education Association (VEA). A survey research design was employed. The instrument included 80 Likert-type items, eight demographic items, and three open-ended questions. Inferential and descriptive statistics were reported for eight scales of the survey as were thematic trends in the qualitative data. The study's results suggested that the SOL program contributes to a hurried, high-pressure classroom culture that depletes the potentiality of the very ends of education the program is intended to achieve. Teachers tended to report (1) an inadequacy of the SOL content standards, (2) a reduction of teachers' use of diverse instructional strategies and an inability of the SOL program to meet diverse student needs, (3) arbitrary SOL test cut-scores, (4) an inadequacy of the SOL pass rates to represent school quality, (5) a lack of diagnostic usefulness of SOL test scores, (6) an inadequacy of SOL testing and SOL test scores to hold schools accountable, (7) teachers' sense of diminished professional autonomy, and (8) teachers' mounting tension in the classroom. These results were juxtaposed to the views of policymakers and business leaders, the public at large, parents, and scholars in the field of education concerning the issue of high-stakes accountability-based school reform. Finally, the study discussed a conflict related to the purpose of public schooling between a prevailing narrative of many policymakers and business leaders and what have been the marginalized views of classroom teachers. / Ph. D.

The state of Texas passed the Student Success Initiative (SSI) in 1999 which requires all 3rd graders to pass the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test to be promoted to the 4th grade, and for 5th graders to pass the reading and math portions of the TAKS test to be promoted to the 6th grade. Beginning in spring 2008, 8th graders will also need to pass the reading and math portions of the TAKS test to be promoted to the 9th grade. The purpose of this study was to examine the academic performance of 3rd and 5th grade students who did not meet the passing standard on the TAKS test and were retained during the 2005-2006 school year. The population of this study included 33 3rd graders and 49 5th graders who were retained during the 2005-2006 school year due to not meeting the promotion requirements of the SSI. There was also a second population of 49 5th graders who were retained in 3rd grade during the 2003-2004 school year due to not meeting the promotion requirements of the SSI. These students were enrolled in the 5th grade for the first time during the 2005-2006 school year. Their TAKS scores were examined to see whether students were still benefiting from the year of retention in 3rd grade. Results for all populations were broken down by ethnicity and program codes. The results of the study showed a statistically significant gain in 3rd grade reading and 5th grade math scores. The 5th grade reading scores did have a statistically significant improvement even though the reading mean score was still below the minimum passing score even after a year of retention. A cross tabulation done on students who had been retained in 3rd grade due to SSI requirements and were enrolled in the 5th grade during the study showed a greater significant growth in math than in reading. A strong correlation between the ITBS and TAKS tests were found in both 3rd grade reading and 5th grade math. A weak correlation between the tests was found in 5th grade reading.

L’école a longtemps ignoré les langues et cultures maternelles des élèves.Une exploration des apports de la recherche en didactique d’apprentissage des langues, avec notamment les approches plurielles, montre comment la didactisation du contact de langue permet de construire une réflexion métalinguistique favorisant de nouveaux apprentissages en langue vivante étrangère ou dans la langue de scolarisation. Une étude de l’évolution historique des programmes scolaires français laisse enfin entrevoir la perspective d’ouvrir l’école au plurilinguisme, en adéquation avec les préconisations des Institutions Européennes. L’intercompréhension entre langues apparentées, apparaît comme une modalité d’apprentissage favorisant la compréhension et le fonctionnement de plusieurs langues, d’autant plus si l’apprentissage organise l’intégration des langues entre elles. Nous décrirons le fonctionnement et les enjeux de l’intercompréhension intégrée en langues romanes.Une expérimentation fut menée sur deux classes de CM1-CM2 lors des apprentissages scientifiques en intercompréhension intégrée à l’aide du manuel Euromania. Dans une classe, cette expérimentation était couplée à l’approche interculturelle Comparons nos langues. Il s’agissait d’observer de quelle manière cette expérimentation contribuait à l’évolution des représentations linguistiques des élèves, au développement de compétences linguistiques ainsi qu’à l’élaboration de stratégies de compréhension. Nous observerons les bénéfices apportés par l’intercompréhension intégrée et les approches interculturelles, aux apprentissages linguistiques et discipinaires, au plurilinguisme, à une meilleure réussite et à un plus grand épanouissement des élèves. / For a long time, primary education has overlooked the students' languages and cultures of origin. An exploration of the conclusions of research in the field of language didactics, and more specifically pluralistic approaches establishes that the didactisation of language interaction/language contact helps in building a metalinguistic reflection that can facilitate fresh learning in a foreign language or in the language in which the child is being educated. At last, a study of the evolution ofFrench school curricula can show us the way for opening schools to multilingualism, in conformity with European Union directives. Intercomprehension between related languages is shown to be a modality of learning that facilitates the comprehension and the way different languages work, especially if the learning process organizes the integration of these languages. We will describe the methodology and the stakes of integrated intercomprehension in romance languages. An experiment has been conducted with two classes of CM1-CM2/last grades of Middle School during science classes, using integrated intercomprehension with the help of the schoolbook Euromania, as well as, in one of the classes, the intercultural-approach based Comparons nos langues. The goal was to observe to which direction this experiment contributed to the evolution of the students' linguistic representations, to the development of linguistic competence and to the invention of strategies of understanding. We will present the benefits of integrated intercomprehension and intercultural approaches to language learning and to learning in other subjects, to multilingualism, and to the well-being of learners, conducive to more successfullearning.