This study used a propensity score approach to estimate treatment effects in a multilevel setting. The propensity score approach involves the estimation of propensity scores for covariate balancing and the estimation of treatment effects. This study aimed at understanding how propensity scores estimated through a simple logistic regression compare…

This paper provides the first population-based evidence on how much standardized test scores vary among public school districts within each state and how segregation explains that variation. Using estimates based on roughly 300 million test score records in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for Grades 3 through 8 from every U.S. public school…

This study investigates how the use of calculators during high school mathematics courses is associated with student performance in introductory college calculus courses in the USA. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of 7087 students enrolled in college calculus at 134 colleges and universities. They included information about…

Research on high school math course taking documents the advantages of starting high school at or beyond Algebra 1. Fewer studies examine differentiation into remedial, general, and honors Algebra 1 course types by course rigor. This study examines how course grades and course rigor are associated with math attainment among students with similar…

School value-added studies have largely demonstrated the effects of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the schools and the pupils on performance in standardised tests. Traditionally, these studies have assessed the variation coming only from the schools and the pupils. However, recent studies have shown that the analysis of academic…

Ratio and proportional relationships are of primary importance during the upper elementary and middle school grades (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989, 2000; National Mathematics Advisory Panel [NMAP], 2008). These relationships, along with the interrelated topics of fractions, decimals,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to build a broader framework for Chinese principal leadership and to determine what aspects of principal leadership correlate most highly with school outcomes from the perspectives of both principals and teachers. Method: The data come from a 2013 national student achievement assessment in China comprising…

The study examines the role that perceptions or impressions of learning environments and assessments play in students' performance on a large-scale standardized test. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test aspects of the Learning Errors and Formative Feedback model to determine how much variation in students' performance was explained…

Reading comprehension in the content areas is a challenge for many middle grade students. Text structure-based instruction has yielded positive outcomes in reading comprehension at all grade levels in small and large studies. The text structure strategy delivered via the web, called Intelligent Tutoring System for the Text Structure Strategy…

Multilevel modeling techniques were used with a sample of 643 students enrolled in 37 secondary school classrooms to predict future student achievement (controlling for baseline achievement) from observed teacher interactions with students in the classroom, coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System--Secondary. After accounting for prior…

Middle schools are important because they launch students on trajectories that they are likely to follow throughout their formal educations. This study explored the relationship of first-generation segregation (elementary and middle school racial composition) and second-generation segregation (racially correlated academic tracks) to reading and…

Educational experts have criticized status models of school accountability, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), describing them as ineffectual in measuring achievement because their one-time assessment of student knowledge ignores student growth. Research on student achievement has instead identified growth models as superior…

This paper examines whether a literacy intervention involving generic and content area literacy components can improve both achievement on a standardized reading test and the attainment of secondary school qualifications, and whether the intervention can be implemented by teachers in their regular classroom settings. We report on a design-based…

Multilevel modeling techniques were used with a sample of 643 students enrolled in 37 secondary school classrooms to predict future student achievement (controlling for baseline achievement) from observed teacher interactions with students in the classroom, coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System--Secondary. After accounting for prior…

Much of the achievement gap between rich and poor students can be attributed to out-of-school factors, yet few schools have a comprehensive, coordinated system for addressing students' nonacademic needs. Within a group of Catholic schools located in one city, this study examined academic achievement on the Stanford Achievement Test battery in…