The picture was not particularly rosy. Researchers learned that classes, at all levels, "tended NOT to be marked with exuberance, joy, laughter, praise and corrective support of individual student performance." Although the elements commonly regarded as positive were observed in early elementary grades, a decline set in by the upper elementary grades and continued through the secondary years, with a sharp drop at the junior-high-school level. Students at all levels were passive, listening to their teachers and spending a good deal of time just waiting for the teacher to hand out materials or to tell them what to do.

Different Approaches.

Effective instructional practices were found more often in high-tracked classes (those with more-advanced students); indeed, students in the lower tracks were the least likely to experience the types of instruction most highly associated with achievement. For example, in high-track classes teachers were much...