This article describes how attendance effects students, their grades, and schools. Students who miss 10% of classes throughout the school year are considered chronically absent. The article looks at reasons why students do not attend school and offers suggestions on how to address that problem. It also outlines how a middle school cut its absenteeism in half in a short period of time.

This article discusses the importance or non-importance of homework. Ideas addressed are homework policy, homework as formative assessment, and emphasis on homework versus achievement. Ultimately, it is suggested that feedback is what is most important.

This presentation talks about instructional gaps and how they relate to a cycle of low achievement. There is a tendency for assignments to fall further away from the appropriate grade level. Following the Standards in Practice (SIP) model, teachers will be able to close an instructional gap and make assignments more rigorous in order to provide students with the instruction they need to obtain proficiency.