Background/Context: Chronic absenteeism is a serious problem that has been linked to lower academic achievement, diminished socioemotional skills, and an increased likelihood of high school dropout (Allensworth et al., 2021; Gottfried, 2014). As a result, many schools have begun to embrace early warning systems (EWS) as a tool to identify and flag…

Surveys are frequently used to inform consequential decisions about teachers, policies, and programs. Consequently, it is important to understand the validity of these instruments. This study assesses the validity of measures of instruction captured by an annual survey by comparing survey data with those of a validated daily log. The two…

This study examined the impact of performance goals on arithmetic strategy use, and how same-sex peer groups contributed to the selection of strategies used by first-graders. It was hypothesized that gender differences in strategy use are a function of performance goals and the influence of same-sex peers. Using a sample of 75 first grade…

Interim tests are a central component of district-wide assessment systems, yet their technical quality to guide decisions (e.g., instructional) has been repeatedly questioned. In response, the study purpose was to investigate the validity of a series of English Language Arts (ELA) interim assessments in terms of dimensionality and prediction of…

Background: In several tracked educational systems, realizing optimal placements in classes in the first year of secondary education depends on the accuracy of teacher expectations. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate between-teacher differences in their expectations regarding the academic aptitude of their students. Sample: The sample…

The authors' aim was to examine the relation between two-digit mental multiplication and working memory. In Study 1, involving 30 fifth-grade students, we used digit span backward as an abbreviated measure of working memory. In Study 2, involving 41 fourth-grade students, working memory comprised measures of phonological loop, visuospatial…

Despite almost a century of research, there is little consensus among researchers and educators about the role of oral reading accuracy in beginning reading progress of struggling readers. Should, for example, students be given easy books to read with high levels of accuracy to promote early reading development or does reading hard texts with…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the EMBRACE Spanish support intervention for at-risk dual language learners and to determine which verbal and nonverbal characteristics of students were related to benefit from the intervention. The first study examined oral language and reading characteristics and the second study…

We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the…

We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the…