The study endorses the idea of interdependence as a trait of autonomy, which dignifies low-achieving students' autonomy developed in English-language classrooms. A modified autonomy scale, adapted from Nunan's five levels of autonomy development, monitored low-achieving learners' autonomy. This action research explores the pedagogical design of…

This matched-sample study investigates the use of a wide range of texts of varying--and often challenging--complexity to promote fluency for students experiencing below grade level achievement. We designed a repeated-reading protocol called 'Read Like Us', and performed a pilot implementation in small groups with third- and fourth-grade students…

This research investigates scaffolding approaches for supporting low-achieving learners in a problem-based learning environment. The study was conducted in a vocational school with 3 different approaches to scaffolding using 3 groups in addition to a control group. The area of focus was a learning module using computer spreadsheets. The results…

Shanghai is dubbed as a role model for science and mathematics education as its fifteen-year-olds have been outperforming all in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) since 2009. Shanghai's achievements are attributed to its interest in adopting innovative international trends in education and equally effectively implementing…

The authors' purpose was to examine the degree to which low achievement is related to ontogenetic factors (i.e., personal psychological traits expressed as attention and depression) or microsystemic factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, parenting, relationship with peers and teachers), using a total of 721 middle school students in South Korea.…

In this study, the authors examine the impact of a yearlong supplemental reading course involving daily instruction in the learning strategies curriculum on lower achieving adolescent students' reading achievement and motivation. Using a multiple-cohort randomized treatment-control group design over 4 years, they compared achievement and…

Teachers need more clarity about effective teaching practices as they strive to help their low-achieving students understand mathematics. Our study describes the instructional practices used by two teachers who, by value-added metrics, would be considered "highly effective teachers" in classrooms with a majority of students who were…

Developing a high level of efficacy can be challenging to teachers who work with low-achieving students. The authors adopted a pragmatic qualitative research design to investigate the sources of efficacy information reported by five high-efficacy teachers and four low-efficacy teachers of secondary low-achieving students in Singapore. The results…

The authors examined the impact of a supplemental reading course on 462 sixth-grade students' reading engagement and performance as compared with 389 students in a control group. They further explored students' cognitive strategy use through think aloud processes with a subset of students who participated in the intervention.…

The achievement gap has long been the focus of educational research, policy, and intervention. The authors took a new approach to examining the achievement gap by examining achievement trajectories within each racial group. To identify these trajectories they used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, which is a nationally…

This is an impact evaluation of the Technical Support to Failing Schools Program, a Chilean compensatory program that provided 4-year in-school technical assistance to low-performing schools to improve students' academic achievement. The author implemented a quasi-experimental design by using difference-in-differences estimation combined with…

When students enter high school with low achievement, they are likely to exit high school with low achievement. Given this stability in achievement, it is important to identify factors that can shift academic trajectories. Promising factors include the degree to which school is experienced as relevant and intrinsically motivating to students.…

The authors explored the moderating effect of teachers' expectancies and general sense of efficacy on the relationship between students' achievement and their cognitive engagement and achievement 1 year later. They used hierarchical linear modeling with a longitudinal sample of 79 mathematics teachers and their 1,364 secondary school students…

The authors investigated whether age at kindergarten entry was associated with early literacy achievement gaps and if these gaps persisted over time. Using the kindergarten age eligibility cutoff date, they created 2 groups of students who represented the oldest and youngest children in a cohort of students in high-poverty, low-performing schools.…

The authors investigated whether student-perceived parental involvement predicts improvement in academic, behavioral, and relational outcomes for low-achieving adolescents. With a sample of 59 racially diverse 9th-grade students, the authors measured 3 dimensions of parental involvement: direct participation, academic encouragement, and…