Tara went from a small K-8 school where she knew everyone to a medium-sized high school where she did not know any of the teachers or many of the students. However, Tara was quick to realize that she had some great teachers and interesting classes. High school soon began to excite her, rather than overwhelm her. Discuss four factors that are associated with the highest success rates at small and moderately sized high schools.

What will be an ideal response?

The ideal answer should include:
1. Teacher qualifications
a) Hiring better-trained teachers
b) Providing planning time for teachers to work together on the curriculum
c) Training teachers to work with English language learners and students with special needs
2. Personalization
a) Allowing teachers to work with smaller groups of children for longer blocks of time
b) Arranging for each teacher to work as counselor, advocate, and family contact for a small number of students
3. Common-core curriculum with performance-based assessment
a) Presenting challenging assignments to students that resemble work in a career or in college
b) Assessing students by having them present their reports to a panel of teachers and judges from the business and professional community, rather than using packaged tests and curriculum materials
4. Support for struggling students
a) Keeping all students on the same challenging track
b) Providing extra classroom or homework support, or tutoring, to students who need it