State databases offer researchers the opportunity to conduct research using data collected by states. These databases contain financial, demographic, and accountability data. Accessing and acquiring data from these repositories, though, can offer challenges to scholars interested in conducting research. This brief describes the type of data…

The tool, "Elevating Instruction: A Planning Tool," was designed to aid teachers in improving literacy instruction to best meet the academic needs of all students, including advanced readers in the primary classroom. It is crucial for teachers to elevate reading practices for advanced readers during the time when young learners are…

The United States is becoming more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, yet the educational attainment of various student groups has been very uneven. For decades, educators and policymakers have been focused on minimal competencies rather than advanced achievement. Specifically, federal and state education policies have focused on…

It is important for every student in Ohio to attend school every day. Missing too much school has longterm, negative effects on students, such as lower achievement and graduation rates. There are many reasons students miss school, but districts often can directly impact their students' attendance. By using data to identify and support students who…

As school psychologists move from dichotomous categorizations of students as "gifted" or "nongifted" toward a more comprehensive approach to identification, their task becomes increasingly complex. In the present article, the authors outline practices at the planning, programming, and data collection stages of the identification process in hopes…

Sponsored by NASA and the JASON Education Foundation, the remote Sensing Earth Science Teacher Education Program (RSESTeP) trains teachers to use state-of-the art remote-sensing technology with the idea that participants bring back what they learn and incorporate it into Earth science lessons using technology. The author's participation in the…

Selected program evaluations through the GENeric Evaluation SYStem (GENESYS) of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District are reviewed. GENESYS, implemented in 1988-89, consists basically of a database methodology assessing the school system's longitudinal databases and a set of computer programs using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) to…