This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Ann S. Rosebery, Kim King, Ana Guzman, Marbella Barrera, Cyril Wallace, Brooklyn New York City Board of Education, Francis X. Sutman, Kristine Mercurio, Jeff Dufresne, and Elizabeth Weiser Ramirez.
(1992). District-Wide Testing Results, Technical Report, 1991-92. OPET Report. Results from testing programs in the Newark (New Jersey) public schools for 1991-92 are discussed. The system used three testing programs in the school year: (1) the Newark Uniform Testing Program (Stanford Achievement Series, eighth edition); (2) the New Jersey Statewide Testing System; and (3) the Bilingual Testing Program. Results of the Newark Uniform Testing program indicate that students are steadily improving, but remain below grade level, with mathematics the weakest area and reading the strongest. Kindergartners were on grade level in reading and mathematics. The Early Warning Test component of the state testing system indicated that mathematics and writing scores for eighth graders improved overall, but that many students would benefit from remedial services. The High School Proficiency Test component of this program becomes a graduation requirement after one more administration. The district remained below state means on this test. Results from the Bilingual Testing Program indicate that limited English proficiency students had lower scores than did English proficient students and scored below grade level on a Spanish language achievement test. This review simplifies the complex pattern of test results, but is a first step to identifying strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. Study findings are summarized in 25 tables and 10 figures. An appendix contains an additional seven tables of test results. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Bilingual Education, Curriculum Evaluation
(1991). The Students Upgrading through Computer and Career Education Systems Services (Project SUCCESS). 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Student Upgrading through Computer and Career Education Systems Services Program (Project SUCCESS). Project SUCCESS operated at 3 high schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan (Murry Bergtraum High School, Edward R. Murrow High School, and John Dewey High School). It enrolled limited English proficient (LEP) immigrant students, of whom 72 percent were eligible for the free lunch program; 363 students were enrolled in the fall and 279 students were enrolled in the spring of the 1990-91 school year. Project SUCCESS offered instruction in English as a Second Language, native language arts instruction in Chinese and Spanish, bilingual instruction in content area subjects, career orientation services, academic advisement, and college/university consultation for target students. Project SUCCESS also attempted to increase parents' awareness of career opportunities open to their children. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Evaluation findings indicate that the program staff helped newly-arrived LEP students make a smooth transition into the New York City Public School system and encouraged parents to actively participate in various school programs. However, full computer programming was available only for students who speak Chinese or Spanish. It is recommended that Russian guidance and instruction services be added to serve the program's large Russian-speaking population. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Chinese Americans, Compensatory Education
(1991). Choosing Optional Infused Career Education for Students in High School Bilingual Programs (Project CHOICE). 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Choosing Optional Infused Career Education for Students in High School Bilingual Programs (Project CHOICE). During the 1990-91 school year, Project CHOICE served 437 Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) students at Fort Hamilton High School and Springfield Gardens High School. The students were recent arrivals in the United States from Central America and South America. Project CHOICE provided students with instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and bilingual content area instruction. The project also provided staff development, career education, parental involvement, and cultural activities. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Analysis found that the project was fully implemented and met its objectives for NLA, ESL, career development, extracurricular activities, staff development, staff awareness of pupil problems and needs, curriculum development, and parental involvement. It partially met its content area objectives. While attendance was higher for the project students at both sites, the project met its objective for attendance at only one site. Programming at one site was particularly successful in meeting students' needs for family outreach and counseling. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth
(1991). Project PRIDE. 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Project PRIDE. During the 1990-91 school year, Project PRIDE served 330 mostly Haitian immigrant limited English proficient (LEP) students at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, of whom 84.5 percent were eligible for the Free Lunch Program. Project PRIDE provided students with instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA) for Haitian Creole, and bilingual content area instruction and native language literacy. The project also provided staff development, parental involvement, and cultural activities. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Analysis found that the project was fully implemented; met its objectives for dropout rate, referral to special education, cultural and social activities, self-esteem and cultural pride, staff development, and parental involvement; and met one objective for content area subjects. The project failed to meet objectives for ESL, language laboratory, and attendance. Students reported an improved attitude toward the Haitian Creole language as a result of program services. The computer-assisted ESL component and parental involvement activities were particularly successful. Recommendations include literacy instruction for all students requiring it, adequate materials and personnel, and improved attendance. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth, English (Second Language)
(1992). Project Data Tech. 1991-92 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. Project Data Tech targeted Spanish- and Haitian-speaking students of limited English proficiency at a high school in Brooklyn. Students who were admitted scored at or below the 40th percentile on the Language Assessment Battery, were new arrivals into the country, and wanted to join the computer-aided drafting (CAD) or cosmetology programs. Students received instruction in English as a Second Language, native language arts (NLA), and bilingual content area subjects. The design included non-instructional services such as guidance, job placement, extracurricular activities, and family assistance. The project served 78 male and 97 female students, with gender not reported for 5. Evaluation under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act indicated that, for the most part, the project carried out the activities proposed in its design. Computer training was effective; and tutoring was available in English, NLA, and mathematics. A Parent Advisory Council breakfast meeting was held monthly for parents of project students. Objectives were met in most areas, but objectives for English and career placement were not met. Recommendations are made for program improvement. Appendix A describes data collection and analysis, and Appendix B describes instructional materials. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Computer Assisted Design, Cosmetology
(1991). Asian and Arabic Mediated Enrichment Resource and Instructional Career Awareness (Project AMERICA). 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Asian and Arabic Mediated Enrichment Resource and Instructional Career Awareness Program (Project AMERICA). During the 1990-91 school year, Project AMERICA operated at 2 high schools (Lafayette High School and Fort Hamilton High School) and served 408 Chinese-speaking Asian immigrant students, an estimated 60 percent of whom lacked all but the most basic literacy skills. The project phased out its Arabic-speaking component in 1989. Project AMERICA students received academic and career counseling as well as instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and content area subjects taught bilingually or with an ESL methodology. The project also provided support services and activities for staff development, curriculum development, and parental involvement. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Analysis found that the project was fully implemented and met its objectives for NLA, attendance, counseling and career advisement, career education, cultural field trips, parental involvement, and staff development. It met its objective for content area subjects in the spring for all subjects, an improvement over the fall when it did not meet the objective in science and mathematics. It met the dropout prevention objective at only one site. The project failed to meet objectives for ESL, attitude toward school, and attitude toward cultural heritage. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Asian Americans, Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education
(1992). School Finance: Many Questions, Elusive Solutions, ASPIRA Issue Brief. This brief reviews and analyzes issues surrounding public school financing, particularly for Latino communities and elementary school and secondary school education. A review of the current legal debate notes that there have been legal challenges to school financing since 1967, and that rulings have indicated that government has a responsibility in appropriating funds to education. A section on how schools are funded explains that generally 40 percent of funding comes from local revenue, 54 percent from state revenue, and 7 percent from the Federal Government. The brief goes on to look at school finance equalization, variations among states in funding levels and systems, and disparities between school districts. A further section discusses the significance of funding disparities and then their particular significance for Latinos who are one-tenth of the school population and heavily concentrated in urban areas. Later discussion reviews current school reform strategies and monetary reform approaches, including three recommendations for promoting educational equity in urban school districts: (1) more money for urban district schools; (2) better ways of calculating student needs; and (3) greater autonomy for poor schools given better financial support. This section also lists and discusses four considerations for funding formulas. Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Economically Disadvantaged, Educational Change, Educational Equity (Finance)
(1992). Teaching and Learning Science with Understanding to Limited English Proficient Students: Excellence through Reform. This paper, which considers effective science teaching and learning for limited English proficient (LEP) students in U.S. schools, is based on the assumption that science and English language can be effectively learned together without excessive emphasis on students' native language, although teachers and aides who have knowledge of LEP students' first language can enhance instruction through its judicious use. Science and language instructional goals for LEP minorities; pedagogical practices that either enhance or inhibit the attainment of these goals of enhanced learning; publications that support the proposed pedagogical practices; and science/curriculum and instruction for LEP students, are all discu ssed or provided. Central to the pedagogy described n this monograph is the use of related or thematic lessons in which sciences serves as the driving force though the materials integrate both science and language (English). Each related lesson series is referred to as an IALS or integrated activity (ased) learning sequence; an IALS for the elementary grades, called "How Do Living Things Behave?" is described in full. Ways in which the IALS integrates the best pedagogical practices to greatly enhance science and basic skills learning among LEP students; the nature of science driven instruction for LEP students; and conditions to support reform in science driven instruction for these students are also described. Two appendixes are included. Appendix A provides an example of another IALS, this one designed for the upper grades. Appendix B provides 157 annotated references for science teachers, educators, policymakers, and others for improving science instruction for LEP students. [More] Descriptors: Annotated Bibliographies, Bilingual Education, Curriculum Development, Educational Change
(1992). Students Upgrading through Computer and Career Education Systems Services (Project SUCCESS). 1991-92. OREA Report. The Students Upgrading through Computer and Career Education Systems Services (Project SUCCESS) program in New York City was evaluated under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Project SUCCESS targeted three high schools with a recent influx of immigrant students. The project's design included instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), native Language arts (NLA) in Chinese and Spanish, and bilingual instruction in content area subjects. The design also incorporated career orientation services, academic advising, and college consultation for target students, as well as summer enrichment programing. In 1991-92, the project enrolled 438 limited English proficient high school students. Project SUCCESS was fully implemented and met its objectives for Chinese NLA and career development, as well as for Spanish NLA, parental involvement, and staff awareness of student needs. Objectives for ESL, staff development, attitude change, and content area subjects were not fully met. Dropout prevention and attendance objectives were partially met. Recommendations are made for the following year to meet all program objectives. Appendix A describes data collection and analysis, and Appendix B describes instructional materials. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Chinese
(1993). Equity in the Future Tense: Redefining Relationships among Teachers, Students, and Science in Linguistic Minority Classrooms. Working Paper 1-93. This paper discusses teaching science to language minority students and describes work with linguistic minority children and their teachers. A key goal of this work is to create scientific sense-making communities in the classroom that parallel science as it is practiced in the world. Following a critique of current practice in science education, the paper explores what conditions are necessary to create classroom communities of scientific sense-making. This is followed by a look at a new approach to teacher development based on the belief that the teacher, whether bilingual, English-As-A-Second-Language, or science specialist, is critical to creating communities of scientific sense-making. Also discussed is the role of discourse appropriation in teacher development, with an example of teachers and students reviewing a homework assignment on acids and bases. A case study of one teacher's experience of learning science in order to teach science illustrates the nature and complexity of the learning process that undergirds the creation of classroom communities. A conclusion brings the issues together and emphasizes that in their reflective practice, teachers can construct a view of science as a socially constituted, meaning-making activity that includes rather than excludes linguistic minority children. (Contains 62 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Classroom Techniques, Disadvantaged Youth, Educational Environment
(1991). Project Porvenir. 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Project Porvenir. During the 1990-91 school year, Project Porvenir operated at 4 elementary schools and served 501 Spanish-speaking students in grades 4, 5, and 6, of whom 85 percent were eligible for the free lunch program. The students were of limited English proficiency and were served with bilingual general and special education classes aimed to develop skills in English as a Second Language and native language arts as well as work skills through career education Project Porvenir also aimed to increase parent awareness of career opportunities for their children. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Analysis found that cooperation between regular school staff and project staff was a strength of the program and that the regular school staff assumed increased responsibility for implementing bilingual career awareness in their classes. The project was also found to have used effective strategies in mainstreaming students and developed functional bilingual career resources center in the four project schools. The following recommendations are highlighted: (1) increased data collection; (2) modification of objectives; and (3) examination of reasons why the percentage of students meeting attendance objectives was so low. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth
(1991). Career Awareness in Education (Project CARE), Community School District 10. 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Career Awareness Resources in Education Project (Project CARE). During the 1990-91 school year, Project CARE operated at 4 schools serving 710 immigrant students of limited English proficiency in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9. The program provided instruction in English as a Second Language, native language arts, bilingual content areas subjects, and career education. The project also provided students with tutoring and a variety of non-instructional and support services for students and parents as well as support services and training for teachers. Special activities included a Spanish spelling bee and a career fair. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Analysis found that the major strength of Project CARE was the supplemental assistance that project personnel provided to participating teachers. The greatest difficulty developed due to changes in the student population since the initial proposal. A new wave of immigration brought students into the project who had little formal schooling and lacked basic literacy skills. The project was found to be fully implemented and recommendations called for improved assessment of career education objectives, changes to respond to the needs of illiterate students, and exploration of failure to meet ESL objectives. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Career Education, Compensatory Education, Elementary School Students
(1992). Mainstreaming Hmong Students: For Whom and How Much?. Although American society may never have adequately educated the majority of its immigrants and their children, many who lacked a good education in an earlier era could support families through factory, agricultural, or construction work. Today's jobs require more education. Those with limited English proficiency and literacy skills will be only marginally employable. Focusing on Hmong Laotian refugees in St. Paul, Minnesota, schools, this paper argues that the prevailing mainstreaming or assimilation model of education does not fit many refugees' or immigrants' needs; as a result, schools are undereducating a substantial number of young people. Information is presented regarding Hmong background and culture and the particular difficulties confronting students at home and at school. Besides reviewing major language research, this paper presents new data–a compilation of SRA (Science Research Associates) test statistics for Hmong 10th-graders at a St. Paul high school falling into particular "time-in-country" categories. These statistics highlight instructional and programming dilemmas faced by secondary-level students and teachers. St. Paul schools' programs are also reviewed in terms of their capacity to meet Hmong students' needs. Alternative programs are suggested, including bilingual classes, "sheltered" content-area classes, partnerships with outside organizations, vocational education, and classes in native language literacy and culture. (Contains 34 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Delivery Systems, Economic Climate, Education Work Relationship
(1991). Alternative Basic Comprehensive Program (Project A.B.C.). 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. An evaluation was done of the New York City Public Schools' Alternative Basic Comprehensive Program (Project ABC). Project ABC operated at 2 high schools in the Bronx (Christopher Columbus High School and Walton High School) and served limited English proficient (LEP) students, 227 in the fall and 286 in the spring of the 1990-91 school year. The program was designed for bilingual high school students in schools with an influx of newly arrived immigrant students from many countries. Project ABC provided LEP students with instruction in English as a Second Language and native language arts in content area subjects and developed student and parent awareness of career resources and opportunities. The evaluation was conducted using student and director questionnaires, test scores, and interviews. Evaluation findings indicate that the program was well integrated into the two sites as the principals were heavily involved. The project met its objectives for dropout rate and instruction in social studies. Site resource specialists suggested that a family worker was needed to make home visits throughout the project. Project ABC compensated for small staff with several types of communications to parents. An appendix describes the data collection and analysis procedures. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth, Economically Disadvantaged
(1992). Alternative Basic Comprehensive Program (Project A.B.C.). Special Alternative Instructional Program. 1991-92 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report. The Alternative Basic Comprehensive Program (Project ABC) was a special alternative program for bilingual high school students in New York City. The project targeted two high schools with an influx of newly arrived immigrant students from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean and South America. The program was designed to provide students of limited English proficiency with instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL). Native language arts instruction was available in Spanish only in content areas. The project also aimed to develop student and parent career awareness. The project, which enrolled 180 males, 180 females, and 21 students with gender not reported, was fully implemented, and met its objectives in ESL, career development, occupational aspirations, attendance, dropout rate, staff development, the development of an ESL curriculum guide, and parental involvement. It partially met its objectives for content areas and partially met curriculum development objectives. Recommendations are made for the following year. One improvement will be a bilingual Russian class. Appendix A describes data collection and analysis, and Appendixes B and C describe implementation at the two sites. [More] Descriptors: Asian American Students, Basic Skills, Bilingual Education Programs, Career Exploration