Student retention in higher education is a primary indicator of institutional reputation, impacting factors such as national rankings, admissions selectivity, and alumni support (Lee, Sanford, and Lee 2014). Programs designed to support student success in the first year and beyond generally intersect with the institutional mission. Utilizing…

There is a lack of research about the effective methods English language learners' (ELLs) teachers can use to motivate students to learn English as a second language by transmitting the importance and how they ensure successful student outcomes in all four language domains. Data that leads to effective motivational methods for English language…

Teacher turnover is a problem in all types of schools at all levels and is especially troubling in low-performing, high minority, urban schools. School principals have the challenge of building relationships with teachers in order to improve teacher retention while also balancing the many tasks and responsibilities they have throughout the day.…

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to explore at-risk students' experiences and engagement with game-based learning in a Northwest Florida middle school through their shared experiences of the phenomenon. At-risk students are in danger of grade-level retention if they do not close their achievement gaps on standardized…

Public policies often target individuals but within-family externalities of such interventions are understudied. Using a regression discontinuity design, we document how a third grade retention policy affects both the target children and their younger siblings. The policy improves test scores of both children while the spillover is up to 30% of…

Educational leaders are concerned about teacher retention rates. More teachers are leaving the profession and fewer colleges are enrolling students into their teacher preparation programs (Sawchuk, 2016). This study focused on potential correlations between the dependent variable of teacher retention and 3 independent variables: induction and…

Improving student achievement is a continual focus of educational and political leaders. The strategies used to impact student achievement are varied as are the results. The United States Department of Education provides grant funding to states and local educational agencies with the goal of impacting student achievement through the use of…

Florida's College and Career Readiness Initiative (FCCRI) required schools to administer a community college placement test to 11th-grade students and enroll students who did not pass in a college readiness course. Christine Mokher, James Rosenbaum, Alexis Gable, Caitlin Ahearn, and Louis Jacobson surveyed teachers of the course and found that,…

The study used tailored interventions for ten schools which were deemed chronically low performing in Florida. Treatment schools included a majority of students that were minorities, economically disadvantaged and academically struggling or at-risk of failure. The ten schools received a progression of intensive professional development and…

A lack of information, research, and teacher training exists on the effective implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) or other state standards for struggling learners. The pace and standardization of the curriculum are often at odds with the unique learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds. Researchers in one large urban…

States and districts across the country have experimented with various college and career readiness initiatives designed to help students complete the postsecondary education they need to succeed in the labor market. Yet how do teachers view their students' likely college capabilities following these efforts? Can the reforms help work-bound…

States use their accountability systems to identify low-performing schools, which can receive added support and are expected to improve. Alternative schools serve students whose needs are not met in a regular school. They often serve at-risk students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. Given this unique population, the Government…

Reading motivation plays an important role in students' reading development. This study examined the effect of grade, gender, and reading ability on students reading motivation. A total of 261 students in grades 5, 8, and 11 from a public school in North central Florida participated in the study. They completed the Motivation to Read Survey…

"UNISON" was an Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant funded by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education to Take Stock in Children (TSIC), a state-wide, 501(c)(3) non-profit, private-public partnership in Florida. UNISON provided a whole school mentoring approach and focused on developing students'…

The purpose of this non-experimental, causal-comparative and correlational study was to test Knowles' (1973) adult learning theory, which states adults are self-directed and internally motivated. The study also examined if student achievement was related to student perception of the flipped classroom in a general education speech communication…