Research indicates that parents' involvement in early literacy, particularly through book reading, matters for young children's language and literacy development. OBJECTIVE: However, little is known about the nature and extent of family book reading across the U.S. nation or about which factors support parents' involvement in book reading. In…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore elementary teachers' beliefs about data and data use. Archived data from 2 research projects were used to address the following research questions: What are kindergarten and fifth-grade literacy teachers' beliefs about data and data use? What functions do the beliefs serve in teachers' actual use of…

Recent research has acknowledged young children's potential to engage in data handling activities and create their own representations. However, our knowledge on children's graphical signs produced during data representations and the way they are utilized is poor. Highlighting the critical importance of signs as cultural tools for mathematical…

An Australian longitudinal study of 319 Kindergartners developed, implemented and evaluated an intervention, the Pattern and Structure Mathematics Awareness Program (PASMAP). It comprised of repetitions and growing patterns, structured counting and grouping, grids and shapes, partitioning, additive and multiplicative structures, measurement and…

Data are more than just test scores, and by effectively accessing and using different types of data--such as attendance, grades, and course-taking--teachers, parents, and school and district leaders can help ensure that every student is on a path for success every day, not just at the end of the school year. The 10 State Actions to Ensure…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the kindergarten (or base year) data of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). It begins with an overview of the ECLS-K:2011. Subsequent chapters provide details on the study data collection instruments and methods; the direct and indirect…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the longitudinal kindergarten-first grade (K-1) data file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). It mainly provides information specific to the first-grade rounds of data collection. Data for the ECLS-K:2011 are released in both a…

Rhizoanalysis is introduced here as a way of processing through an assemblage involving research methodology, data generation and analytical possibilities entwined within. In concert, rhizomethodology is presented as a way of working (with) data, complexly; a way of putting the Deleuzo-Guattarian philosophical imaginary of rhizome to work.…

In today's educational environment, schools struggle to meet the academic needs of every student. Many schools are challenged by the use of a response-to-intervention framework in which too many students need strong interventions. This article details a data-driven, decision-making response-to-intervention reading team model in which teachers,…

The purpose of this mixed methods phenomenological study was to explore the data-driven instructional decisions that elementary teachers make in literacy. Educators have moved towards a culture of being data-driven, and have declared data use in schools to be significant to school improvement and accountability (Marsh, Pane, & Hamilton, 2006).…

The purpose of the study was to gain insights on key factors that make a difference in the reading achievement of students attending full-day and half-day kindergarten programs. More specifically, the focus was on investigating the impact that literacy instruction in full-day and half-day kindergarten had on the literacy achievement of struggling…

Cross-classified random-effects models (CCREMs) are used for modeling nonhierarchical multilevel data. Misspecifying CCREMs as hierarchical linear models (i.e., treating the cross-classified data as strictly hierarchical by ignoring one of the crossed factors) causes biases in the variance component estimates, which in turn, results in biased…

For over 100 years, retention has been an intervention used with students who are not performing at expected levels. Despite the lack of evidence that retention is an effective means of improving academic outcomes, retention continues to be used today. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a strategy to provide support to struggling students in an…

This research is motivated by an analysis of reading research data. We are interested in modeling the test outcome of ability to fluently recode letters into sounds of kindergarten children aged between 5 and 7. The data showed excessive zero scores (more than 30% of children) on the test. In this dissertation, we carefully examine the models…

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts, schools, and educators are pressured to collect, analyze and report data annually regarding student performance. If high-stakes assessments are to be useful tools for educators in their classrooms, the data need to be applicable in conveying meaningful instructional information…