The current longitudinal study measured 279 kindergartners' (M[subscript age] = 5.76 years; SD = 0.55; 135 females) place value understanding using both approximate and syntactic measures based on previous evidence that early variation in performance on approximate measures was associated with subsequent syntactic place value understanding. In the…

Children's early accuracy on place value (PV) tasks longitudinally predicts their later multidigit calculation skills. However, another window into children's emerging base-ten concepts is the pattern of errors -- "smart errors" -- they exhibit on these measures. Past research has speculated that these smart errors -- similar to invented…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a critical developmental process where children acquire and develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to manage emotions, develop and maintain relationships, and make appropriate decisions. The purpose of this evaluation was to examine how the Emotional ABCs Program increased students'…

The rapid growth of the English Language Learner (ELL) population in Indiana has raised challenges for English language arts (ELA) instruction. This research adopts collective case studies and mixed-methods studies to explore the quality and quantity of ELA instruction (time allocation to literacy components and group configuration) for ELLs in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perception, confidence and awareness levels of teachers to overcome the underrepresentation of English Learners in high ability programs in the State of Indiana. This was done by examining the status of teacher perception and confidence levels based on three levels of awareness: high ability…

In this study, we explored Pre-K through 3rd-grade children's home learning environments and caregivers' perceptions, strategies, and attitudes regarding home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included 10 caregivers and their Pre-K through 3rd-grade children. Data were collected via caregiver and child interviews, and a caregiver…

The consistent prevalence of computer science in our society and the urgent need for STEM professionals in the U.S. raised the need for computer science education at the K-8 level. Researchers have examined the challenges, possible approaches, and contents of teaching computer science. However, there has been limited research on teachers'…

Learning to read is a critical but often challenging academic task for young children. In the current study, we explore the relation between children's reading affect--particularly anxiety--and reading achievement in the early years of reading acquisition. We hypothesized that reading anxiety would relate to reading achievement across the school…

Reading Recovery is a first-grade literacy intervention program with notable short-term benefits, but there are sustainability studies that highlight inconclusive evidence of its enduring success. It was unclear if formerly enrolled Reading Recovery students continue to have long-term literacy skill retention after exiting the literacy…

Second grade students learn about philanthropy by creating projects where they work through an inquiry process. Each student works with a group to create community-based projects that support existing local non-profits to enrich the quality of life in an area. Student action is visible through an authentic assessment event that allows students to…

Picture this: a PhD chemist, PhD science educator, and a preservice Latina elementary educator walk into an aftercare program for primary and intermediate students from a rural school. These students are identified as low income and at risk and therefore eligible to participate in this school-provided aftercare. While across the state, these same…

This study used existing third-grade ISTEP+ data from a cohort of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation students to evaluate various non-experimental methods for estimating teacher effects on student test scores. The study considered the impact that first-, second-, and third-grade teachers had on student performance as measured by the Indiana…

This study operationalizes four measures of instructional differentiation: one for Grade 2 English language arts (ELA), one for Grade 2 mathematics, one for Grade 5 ELA, and one for Grade 5 mathematics. Our study evaluates their measurement properties of each measure in a large field experiment: the Indiana Diagnostic Assessment Tools Study, which…

Quality incorporation of children's literature has long been supported to help students learn. The purpose of this study was to examine the 79 fiction selections of our state's sponsored reading list for grades K-2. The list was examined for original publication date, selections recognized as award winners, sex of authors, sex of protagonist, race…

This research study examines the impact of teacher research on participants in a large-scale educational reform initiative in the United States, No Child Left Behind, and its strand for reading teachers, Reading First. Reading First supported professional development for teachers in order to increase student scores on standardized tests. The…