This quantitative study examined seventh-grade reading scores to determine the extent to which certain demographic variables (race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status) explain and MAP reading scores predict reading scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in a selected northeast Texas public school. Standardized…

In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger…

The present study investigates the relationship between childhood placement in special education and adult well-being among 1,377 low-income, minority children participating in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Roughly 16% of the sample received special education services in Grades 1 to 8. After accounting for sociodemographic factors and early…

In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger…

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of teacher read-aloud on adolescent learning in science and variation according to individual reading ability. The study gathered both quantitative and qualitative data for analysis from 2 treatment procedures. All seventh and eighth grade students participated in 2 consecutive units of study:…

In accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law of 2001, 100% of students were expected to become proficient on state assessments of reading and mathematics by the end of 2013-2014 academic year. Schools that consistently failed to meet the NCLB's Adequate Yearly Progress requirements were subject to penalties. In 2011, the U.S.…

This study investigated the relationships between teacher collaboration practices known as working as a professional learning community (PLC) and student performance. Through a review of the current literature, an operational framework of PLCs was developed that distinguished results-oriented from inquiry-oriented PLCs. The study considered the…

Multiple regression analysis indicates that the Reading-Level Indicator, a paper-and-pencil test, is a moderately strong predictor for the high-stakes standardized test, the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test in Reading. Classroom teachers can administer the inexpensive Reading-Level Indicator in a short period of time and use the results as a…

This exploratory correlational study seeks to answer the question of whether a relationship exists between student average test score gains on state exams and teachers' rating of values on the Schwartz Values Survey. Eighty-seven randomly selected Kansas teachers of math and/or reading, grades four through eight, participated. Student test score…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of principal characteristics and school socio-economic factors and their relationship to student achievement as measured by the literacy portion of the Arkansas state standardized test, with a particular interest in male students. The study was undertaken to contribute to the existing…

This study examined the impact of student variables (student socioeconomic status, race, attendance, and gender) and the school variable of placement in an inclusion setting on the academic achievement of general education students in grades 6, 7, and 8 in an urban school district. Academic achievement was defined as a general education student's…

This study investigated some of the underlying factors that may relate to and predict the reading comprehension of children in fourth through eighth grade (N = 47). A subset of these children previously had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD; n = 10); the remainder are classified as typically-developing (n = 37). The participants…

Educators are increasingly pressured to raise standardized test scores. Test-focused school leaders, however, may neglect school climate factors associated with positive student development and increased student achievement. The California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) and its Resilience Youth Development Module (RYDM) represent a research-based,…