The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international assessment of student performance in reading literacy at the fourth grade. PIRLS measures students in the fourth year of formal schooling because this is typically when students' learning transitions from a focus on "learning to read" to a focus on…

Using a unique dataset of 44 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), this paper examines critical patterns of enrollment, engagement, persistence, and completion among students in online higher education. By leveraging fixed-effects specifications based on over 2.1 million student observations across more than 2,900 lectures, we analyze engagement,…

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a multi-domain adult skills assessment with an extensive background questionnaire, in 2012. PIAAC is a global effort to understand how individuals' education, workplace experiences, and other…

As costs of attending college have risen and access to higher education has declined, policymakers and community college officials are looking to online learning as one way to better serve student needs, increase access, promote completion, and increase transfer to four-year universities--all in a cost-effective manner. Online learning is still a…

The MIND Research Institute contracted with the Evaluation Research Program at WestEd to conduct an independent assessment of mathematics outcomes in elementary school grades across California that were provided with the ST Math program. Spatial-Temporal (ST) Math is a game-based instructional software designed to boost K-5 and secondary-level…

In spring 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) began planning a pilot of an application for the Apple iPad, "HMH Fuse: Algebra 1," which was then in development. The application was to be piloted in four California school districts during the 2010-2011 school year. HMH contracted with Empirical Education Inc. to conduct a one-year…

Like all states, Nebraska faces distinct challenges in how it allocates resources to meet the most immediate needs of its citizens while investing responsibly in long-term social and economic growth. This report presents selected indicators that describe the status of infants and toddlers in Nebraska; Often comparable data for the U.S. as a whole…

Speaking proceeds under the constraint of time. While speaking, speakers are under constant pressure to follow the message being received and to formulate rapid responses to their partners. In the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Speaking Test, the communicative nature of the interview creates an ideal situation for applicants…

The present review examines research on the effects of technology use on reading achievement in K-12 classrooms. Unlike previous reviews, this review applies consistent inclusion standards to focus on studies that met high methodological standards. In addition, methodological and substantive features of the studies are investigated to examine the…

The Science Indicators series was designed to provide a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering, and technology for use by policymakers, researchers, and the general public. "Science and Engineering Indicators 2010" contains analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and vitality of the Nation's science…

This First Look introduces new data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, collected in 2013 when most sample members were recent high school graduates, and in 2014 from the high school transcripts of students who were freshmen in 2009. The analyses examine students' high school completion status; plans for postsecondary enrollment and…

This report presents findings from a 2006 national survey of all Title IV degree-granting 4- year postsecondary institutions on how teacher candidates within teacher education programs for initial licensure are being prepared to use educational technology once they enter the field. The "Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs…

In this technical report, we provide the results of a series of studies on the technical adequacy of the early reading measures available on the easyCBM[R] assessment system. The results from the two-level hierarchical linear growth model analyses suggest that the reliability of the slope estimates for the easyCBM[R] reading measures are strong,…

In this technical report, we provide reliability and validity evidence for the easyCBM[R] Reading measures for grade 2 (word and passage reading fluency and multiple choice reading comprehension). Evidence for reliability includes internal consistency and item invariance. Evidence for validity includes concurrent, predictive, and construct…

This report presents information about technology-based distance education in public elementary and secondary schools in the 2004-05 school year and changes from the 2002-03 school year. The discussion is divided into chapters that reflect the major topics addressed by the questionnaire. Chapter 2 describes the prevalence of technology-based…