The goal of Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms was to provide teachers with ongoing, differentiated professional development and research-based curricular materials to improve elementary student achievement in science, mathematics, and reading. This work used an inquiry-based science curriculum, Smithsonian Science for the…

The five-year project, "Smithsonian Science for North and South Carolina Classrooms" (hereafter "Smithsonian Science"), offers important evidence on the impact of the phenomena-driven science curriculum, "Smithsonian Science for the Classroom," paired with ongoing, differentiated, high-quality professional learning…

School requests for professional learning on adolescent literacy often stem from low or stagnant reading scores on state standardized assessments and legislative policies that require educators to complete literacy coursework. These decisions are often made without teachers' voices, requiring teachers to take coursework they may not need or learn…

The purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine the difference in students' LEAP ELA achievement scores in grades 3-5 based on the teacher's level of dyslexia knowledge. This study used the Phonological Deficit Theory (PDT) and the Criterion Referenced Assessment Theory (CRT) as its foundation. PDT describes the levels of…

The purpose of this study was to learn from the experiences of teachers who have had at least five Black middle school students (Grades 5-8) meet or exceed their performance level expectations on the English Language Arts TNReady assessment by identifying the factors that contributed to teachers' sense of efficacy related to their experience.…

This quantitative study is primarily intended to examine whether district level performance results from Grade 8 ELA state assessments can help to predict future passing rates on AP exams. The participants for the study are all 218 K-12 school districts in New Jersey, all of which generated results across score levels and passing rates for PARCC…

This study examined the heterogeneity of literacy profiles for adolescents with and without a specific learning disability (SLD) in the U.S. state of Florida Student subgroups displaying common patterns of performance in word-level skills and reading comprehension were identified through latent profile analysis. Results indicate most of the total…

As result of several federal policies over the last few decades, accountability measures for student learning and success have increased tremendously. Therefore, many school districts, including East Tennessee School District which was the subject of this study, implemented district-wide benchmark testing such as the Collaborative Assessment…

Educational technology is evolving and growing at a faster pace than ever before. Such fast-paced growth makes it difficult to evaluate and measure its effectiveness in a timely manner and creates a need for independent academic literature in this area. This study serves to address to this need and contribute to the body of literature. The intent…

This article reports on two quantitative studies of English learners' (ELs) interactions with constructed-response items from a Grade 5 state science test. Study 1 investigated the relationships between the constructed-response item-level variables of English Reading Demand, English Writing Demand, and Background Knowledge Demand and the…

This study details the quantitative impact of educator leadership on student achievement outcomes for over 9,200 students in 398 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms within the Chula Vista Elementary School District, across 44 schools. Although the phenomenon of teacher leadership has been the subject of qualitative research for many decades,…

This research study investigates the impact of the rapid transition from paper-based to online administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams on student performance in a South Texas school district. The transition, mandated by House Bill 3261, presented Texas public schools with a tight timeline for adapting…

The focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success Skills group counseling (SSSGC) intervention with grade 9 students identified as at risk to dropout. This study analyzed two years of non-identifiable student data (N = 167) collected by school counselors at one high school in south Florida. An analysis of covariance…

Background: Prekindergarten programs are instrumental for smooth transition to the primary grades. Although the prevalence of these programs has expanded, limited studies document the long-term outcomes associated with children's engagement in such programs and for specific content areas such as mathematics. Objective: This study predicted the…

The adoption and implementation of state science standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have posed significant challenges for the development and interpretation of science Large-Scale Assessments (LSA); specifically, the extent to which the assessment items align with the standards. Previous research has relied on large…