The purpose of this article was to offer guidance to educators in evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and most effective uses of commercial reading assessment suites. We provide three resources to help educators who are responsible for making instructional decisions in reading using formal screening, benchmark, interim, and progress-monitoring…

In an effort to ensure that all students in grades K-12 received the appropriate supports and services to meet their full potential, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) employs the Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) program to document individualized interventions implemented to support the child and provide, if needed, a bridge to…

The Board of Education's mission is to equitably educate the whole child so that every student graduates with the tools to reach their full potential (Houston Independent School District (HISD), 2019). To succeed in their mission, the board participates in Lone Star Governance, whose intent is to provide a continuous improvement model for…

Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress in increasing primary school enrollment and completion among the very poor. However, challenges in improving reading persist. This study contributes to the evidence base on what works to improve early-grade reading skills by evaluating an early reading program implemented in two…

In the 2017-2018 school year, in an effort to ensure that all students in grades K-12 received the appropriate supports and services to meet their full potential, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) employed the Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) program to document individualized interventions implemented to support the child and…

This is a data report on the Innovation for Learning (IFL) tablet instruction. The report presents the performance of students who were exposed to the IFL tablet instruction. The IFL tablet instruction involved the teaching of early reading in kindergarten and first grade in 29 elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD)…

Evaluators report effects of education initiatives as standardized effect sizes, a scale that has merits but obscures interpretation of the effects' practical importance. Consequently, educators and policymakers seek more readily interpretable translations of evaluation results. One popular metric is the number of years of learning necessary to…

The Board of Education's mission is to equitably educate the whole child so that every student graduates with the tools to reach their full potential (Houston Independent School District (HISD), 2019). To succeed in their mission, the board participates in Lone Star Governance, whose intent is to provide a continuous improvement model for…

This brief focuses on whether outcomes are being reported for English Learners (ELs), and compares outcomes for ELs on select indicators (graduation rate and postsecondary enrollment) because the outcomes data being reported across states on certain indicators vary so widely that it makes cross-state comparisons challenging, if not impossible.…

In 2012, the Ministry of Education, Afghanistan, engaged the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as a partner to support the development of a national learning assessment program in Afghanistan. To achieve this goal, the Learning Assessment unit of the Ministry of Education and ACER have collaborated to design and implement the…

The Language and Culture Bureau (LCB) provides accountability with support to districts that serve students participating in Bilingual Multicultural Education Programs (BMEPs) so that all participating students achieve the program goals as outlined by New Mexico statute and administrative code. These are: (1) Students become bilingual and…

As the ACT has become part of North Carolina's mandatory testing program, SAT participation in Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) and North Carolina has declined in recent years. However, SAT performance in WCPSS remains high compared to state and national averages. In 2012-13, students in WCPSS continued to score 50-60 points higher on the…

The Language and Culture Bureau (LCB) provides accountability with support to districts that serve students participating in Bilingual Multicultural Education Programs (BMEPs) so that all participating students achieve the program goals as outlined by New Mexico statute and administrative code. These are: (1) Students become bilingual and…

Districts and schools use progress monitoring to assess student progress, to identify students who fail to respond to intervention, and to further adapt instruction to student needs. Researchers and practitioners often use progress monitoring data to estimate student achievement growth (slope) and evaluate changes in performance over time for…

The "Read Naturally[R]" program is a supplemental reading program that aims to improve reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension of elementary and middle school students using a combination of texts, audio CDs, and computer software. The program uses one of four products that share a common fluency-building strategy: "Read…