The project focused on achievement levels in reading, mathematics, and the sciences among middle and high school students. In response to research indicating a need for improvements in secondary instruction in order to reduce the gap between the typical level of student skills and that assumed by standards-based reform, investigators developed the Talent Development model, a multifaceted instructional intervention. The research included four study designs, including large annual surveys and longitudinal school level case studies to study scale up factors effect on implementation; a randomized experiment to assess learning outcomes; periodic review of state and district test scores; and classroom level analyses. With its focus on the conditions of successful implementation in diverse setting, the research informs implementation practices and contributes to the knowledge base about scaling up successful social programs.

Funded through the Interagency Education Research Initiative

Products and Publications

Journal article, monograph, or newsletter

Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., and Mac Iver, D.J. (2007). Preventing Student Disengagement and Keeping Students on the Graduation Path in Urban Middle-Grades Schools: Early Identification and Effective Interventions. Educational Psychologist, 42(4): 223–235.

Byrnes, V. (2009). Getting a Feel for the Market: The Use of Privatized School Management in Philadelphia. American Journal of Education, 115(3): 437–455.

Byrnes, V., and Ruby, A. (2007). Comparing Achievement Between K–8 and Middle Schools: A Large-Scale Empirical Study. American Journal Of Education, 114(1): 101–135.

Ruby, A. (2006). Improving Science Achievement at High-Poverty Urban Middle Schools. Science Education, 90(6): 1005–1027.