In recent years, children and adolescents have spent more time sitting and engaging in less physical activity than recommended by health authorities. Despite widespread efforts to promote physical activity through school-based programs, the impact of specific intervention programs often remains untested. Therefore, in this pilot study, the effects…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a universal classroom-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program for first grade students. Forty classrooms from 13 elementary schools across 3 states participated in the trial. Teachers in classrooms randomly assigned to the implementation condition were provided with free access to…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a universal classroom-based socialemotional learning (SEL) program for first grade students. Forty classrooms from 13 elementary schools across 3 states participated in the trial. Teachers in classrooms randomly assigned to the implementation condition were provided with free access to…

We present experimental evidence on the impact of a multi-faceted program that integrates technology-aided instruction, teacher training and coaching, community ownership, and free primary education. Our setting is three districts in rural Zambia, where we randomly assigned the program across 30 treatment and 33 control schools. The results show…

This study investigates the effects and feasibility of an intervention for first-grade students at risk for reading difficulties or disabilities (RD). The intervention was provided by general education classroom teachers and consisted of 15 min whole-class comprehension lessons (Tier 1) and 30 min Tier 2 intervention sessions in word reading,…

This study explores the efficacy of the Waterford Early Reading program (ERP) for teaching kindergarten and first grade students' early reading concepts. Students attended 3 elementary schools in Alabama. The treatment group used the software program whereas the control group did not use the software. Analyses revealed a significant treatment…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the i3-funded SPARK program on the literacy development of students in kindergarten through third grade. The SPARK program represents a collaboration between Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Schools. In the study, two cohorts of students were randomly…

Reading Recovery (RR) is a short-term, one-to-one intervention designed to help the lowest achieving readers in first grade. This article presents first-year results from the multisite randomized controlled trial (RCT) and implementation study under the $55 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Scale-Up Project. For the 2011-2012 school year, the…

Though the immediate effect of Reading Recovery (RR) is both strong and well established, the longer term or sustained effect has been less studied and the evidence regarding it has been less conclusive. Michigan Reading Recovery students (n = 328) were compared to control students (n = 264) while in first (2009-2010), third (2011), and fourth…

Students who come from low-income backgrounds tend to be underidentified and underserved in gifted education. Early interventions with learners of high potential from underserved groups, including exposure to challenging curriculum and summer opportunities, are important for nurturing these students' talents and preparing them for advanced…

In a two-year study, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University education staff found that students who participated in a museum-school collaboration became more proficient in several Common Core State Standard skills than a control group. The program, Words & Pictures, directly ties to the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards and is…

The author defends the claim, based on her experience as a teacher in the Foundation Phase as well as on her experience as the educator of student teachers in this Phase, that a specially constructed intervention programme will improve Grade 1's learning in several key areas. She firstly show that such a programme is required, given the current…

We report on a practitioner implementation of Fusion, a first-grade mathematics intervention. Studies such as this evaluation of a loose implementation under realistic conditions are important to curriculum developers' understanding of how evidence-based programs and tools work under a variety of implementation scenarios. In this…

We report on a practitioner implementation of Fusion, a first grade mathematics intervention. Studies such as this evaluation of a loose implementation under realistic conditions are important to curriculum developers' understanding of how evidence-based programs and tools work under a variety of implementation scenarios. In this…

Because of the importance of teaching reading comprehension to struggling young readers and the infrequency with which it has been implemented and evaluated, we designed a comprehensive first-grade reading comprehension program. We conducted a component analysis of the program's decoding/fluency and reading comprehension dimensions (DF and COMP),…