The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to compare the effect elementary music and visual arts lessons had on third through sixth grade standardized mathematics test scores. Inferential statistics were used to compare the differences between test scores of students who took in-school, elementary, music instruction during the…

Multitiered systems of reading instruction and intervention, including response to intervention, are widely used in early reading by schools to provide more intense services to students who need them. Research using randomized controlled trials has compared innovative Tier 2 interventions to business-as-usual Tier 2 approaches and established a…

This study evaluates the Youth Development Program (YDP), a component of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA). We examine whether the YDP reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the impoverished Mississippi River Delta in southeast Arkansas. Initially, the program seems to have an impact. Students…

This study of 952 fifth and sixth graders in Washington, DC, and Alexandria, Virginia, found that students who were offered the "Higher Achievement" program had higher test scores in mathematical problem solving and were more likely to be admitted to and attend private competitive high schools. "Higher Achievement" is a…

This study reports on an evaluation of the "Reading Partners" program, which uses community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in underresourced elementary schools. Established in 1999 in East Menlo Park, California, the mission of "Reading Partners" is to help children become lifelong readers by…

Although research on the effectiveness of differentiated and enriched instruction in improving the achievement of diverse students is still emerging, some studies suggest that students in academically diverse classrooms benefited academically from differentiated learning experiences. The primary research question explored in this study was…

The reading growth of 1,422 second- and third-grade students in special education was examined in the context of schools with 1 and 3 years of experience with Oregon Reading First. Findings suggested that (a) experience with Reading First was associated with greater student reading growth regardless of special education status, (b) students in…

School vouchers are the most contentious form of parental school choice. Vouchers provide government funds that parents can use to send their children to private schools of their choice. Here we examine the empirical question of whether or not a school voucher program in Washington, DC, affected achievement or the rate of high school graduation…

This quantitative, quasi-experimental study investigated the reading achievement of students at-risk of failure to learn to read. This study analyzed the effectiveness of the reading intervention program, Reading Success, which is used with at-risk first grade students in an elementary school district in DuPage County, Illinois. The Reading…

This pilot study examined the efficacy of a Tier 2 first-grade mathematics intervention program targeting whole-number understanding for students at risk in mathematics. The study used a randomized block design. Students (N = 89) were randomly assigned to treatment (Fusion) or control (standard district practice) conditions. Measures of…

This pilot study examined the efficacy of a Tier 2 first-grade mathematics intervention program targeting whole-number understanding for students at risk in mathematics. The study used a randomized block design. Students (N = 89) were randomly assigned to treatment (Fusion) or control (standard district practice) conditions. Measures of…

This study of advanced readers in Reading First (RF) classrooms was part of a larger evaluation of one state's RF implementation. The study's purposes were to (a) assess the longitudinal growth of advanced primary readers as compared with their non-advanced-reading peers over a 3-year timeframe and (b) determine the degree to which RF classrooms…

Turning around chronically low-performing schools requires a multifaceted school-wide, systematic effort that includes strong leadership and data-based decision making. School-wide efforts to turn-around low-performing schools should address the academic, social, and behavioral needs of all students. One evidence-based, systematic school-wide…

Class-size reduction (CSR) mandates presuppose that resources provided to reduce class size will have a larger impact on student outcomes than resources that districts can spend as they see fit. I estimate the impact of Florida's statewide CSR policy by comparing the deviations from prior achievement trends in districts that were required to…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an early numeracy preventative Tier 2 intervention on the mathematics performance of first-grade students with mathematics difficulties. Researchers used a pretest-posttest control group design with randomized assignment of 139 students to the Tier 2 treatment condition and 65 students to…