The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between student achievement and teacher perceptions of school climate. An additional purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. The final purpose of this…

To determine the effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Education (SNAP-Ed) nutrition and physical activity programming in elementary schools, it is necessary to recruit socioeconomically similar comparison schools not receiving SNAP-Ed programming. We developed a flexible recruitment strategy to tailor our approach to each…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to determine if, and to what extent, differences existed in pre-and-post math scores following the VMath intervention for Title I 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in the Southwestern United States. Three research questions guided this study: (1) is there a statistically significant difference in…

Multilingual learners (MLs) often struggle with science conceptual learning partly due to the abstractness of the concepts and the complexity of scientific texts. This study presents a case of a Virtual Reality (VR) enhanced science learning unit to support middle-school students' science conceptual learning. Using a transformative mixed methods…

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; N = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP…

Research Findings: The amount of time and type of program that children experience in early childhood settings may be associated with children's kindergarten-entry skills, or kindergarten readiness. Taking a person-centered perspective, in the present study, we examined the extent to which reliable and unique profiles of early childhood…

While the importance of the period from birth to age three as the most promising and possibly consequential stage of human development has gained attention over the last quarter century, public investments in children's early learning opportunities have remained inadequate. The nation, as well as the state of New Jersey, invests the fewest public…

ORS 327.016 directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to prepare an annual report on English learner program funding and student outcomes. The report's intention is to describe the population of English Learners in Oregon and provide a summary of district and state progress towards meeting their needs and objectives. The ODE annually…

Background: We tested the effectiveness of the Go Wild With Fruits and Veggies! (GWWFV) Extension curriculum on increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) intake of third graders. Methods: An intervention study was used testing self-reported FV intake pre/post GWWFV. Recruited schools were randomized to control (12 schools, N = 369, third grade children)…

Growing up in poverty increases youth risk for developing aggressive behavior problems which, in turn, are associated with a host of problematic outcomes, including school drop-out, substance use, mental health problems, and delinquency. In part, this may be due to exposure to adverse school contexts that create socialization influences supporting…

American students in the 21st century are growing up with Internet accessible technology available at their fingertips. Considering this and the continued pressure to compete in a global society, The United States' Department of Education's National Education Technology Plan (NETP) (2010) calls for educators to leverage technology in order to…

The purpose of this causal-comparative study is to examine the impact of Troops to Teachers (TTT) participants on student achievement by comparing the mean scores of Texas students in the eighth grade during the 2011-2012 academic year taught by TTT participants with the mean scores of all other Texas eighth grade students on each of four…

Using a nationally representative sample of dual language learners (DLLs) attending Head Start, this study investigated how the language used for instruction and the proportion of DLLs in the class was associated with English and Spanish receptive vocabulary development between the fall and spring (n = 531). Based on teacher report of the language…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) increased accountability pressure in U.S. public schools by threatening to impose sanctions on Title 1 schools that failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in consecutive years. Difference-in-difference estimates of the effect of failing AYP in the first year of NCLB on teacher effort in the…

Purpose: This multiple case study investigated district leaders' orientations and strategies as their elementary schools proceeded with state-mandated implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We identified differences between schools achieving above-predicted outcomes on state CCSS assessments ("odds-beaters") and…