Background/Context: Math education remains a critical focus for national education improvement. As a solution, districts in the U.S. are investing in math education technologies. Research has demonstrated the potential of these technologies to close achievement gaps (e.g., Pape et al., 2012; Roschelle et al., 2016). Student math achievement is…

Background/Context: Literacy skills are critical to understanding information presented in written or oral formats and communicating effectively with others. These skills are important to students' success in school and later in life, including improved individual health and economic outcomes, increased civic engagement, and enhanced community…

Background/Context: Funders, researchers and developers share an interest in applying rapid cycle evaluation techniques in education (McNall & Foster-Fishman, 2007; Resch, 2016). Both rapid-cycle and other evaluation processes require monitoring the quality of implementation (Moir, 2018). By quickly monitoring and adjusting implementation,…

Background/Context: Despite increasing school enrollment, significant literacy gaps persist in developing countries, with many children unable to read by age 10. This paper evaluates "M'ap Li Net Ale," a comprehensive intervention aimed at improving early-grade reading skills in Haiti, a context characterized by limited government…

Background/Context: Reading achievement declined drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic (Bailey et al., 2021). One report suggests more than one-third of fourth-grade students cannot read at a basic level and access to effective literacy instruction is particularly limited for minority students and students with learning disabilities (Ellis et…

Nearly one in five Americans does not graduate from high school (U.S. Department of Education, 2017) and risk of dropout disproportionally affects economically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minorities. Dropout occurs for many reasons but usually results from cumulative disengagement with school (Fine, 1991; Orfield et al., 2004). Identity-Based…

Background/Context: A minority of U.S. eighth graders reach the proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). Early evidence suggests that the pandemic has made things worse, especially so for underserved student populations (Lewis et al., 2021). Math proficiency is central to advanced…

Several studies suggest that values-affirmation can serve as a simple, yet powerful, tool for dramatically reducing achievement gaps. Because subtle variations in implementation procedures may explain some of the variation in these findings, it is crucial for researchers to measure the fidelity with which interventions are implemented. The authors…

Reading skills are the key building blocks of a child's formal education. Yet, the national statistics on literacy attainment are profoundly distressing: two out of three American fourth graders are reading below grade level and almost one third of children nationwide lack even basic reading skills. This study reports on an evaluation of the…

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,…

This study addresses the effectiveness of a nationally used core reading program that reflects the research-based practices recommended by the National Reading Panel. This and other similar programs are increasingly used to prevent reading difficulties and ensure that all children are reading at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The…

One purpose of education research is to develop and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of programs for supporting students' learning and achievement. The Institute of Education Sciences has amplified that purpose (Shadish & Cook, 2009) and attempted to improve the methodological standards for conducting such work--primarily through the What…

This presentation reports on the goals and preliminary outcomes of the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) Expansion Project, which is a PreK to 3rd grade school reform model aimed at improving the short- and long-term outcomes of participating children and families. The model provides continuous education and family support services to schools serving a…

The Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) study that is the focus of this report was conducted as a component of a scale-up effectiveness trial of the SRA/McGraw-Hill Open Court Reading program. The overall purpose of the FOI study was to support and provide context for findings from the larger experimental impact study of Open Court Reading (OCR). To…

The need for fidelity of implementation (FOI) measurements and assessments during efficacy and effectiveness studies is becoming evident in the requirements of many educational research funding organizations. The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' levels of FOI when implementing a reading curricular intervention and to investigate…