This quantitative, causal comparative study analyzed the effect of participation in a blended learning program has on the STAAR Mathematics and Reading Language Arts assessments for fifth grade students in a large, urban school district in North Texas. The study evaluated the performance of fifth graders on the STAAR assessment in mathematics…

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively recent entrant into the U.S. early education landscape, combining features of public pre-K and regular kindergarten. We provide the first estimates of the impact of Michigan's TK program on 3rd grade test scores. Using an augmented regression discontinuity design, we find that TK improves 3rd grade…

School principals are critical to students' academic achievement, second only to teachers. They are the primary agents of change in their schools, fostering supportive learning environments that enhance student learning and teacher effectiveness. Moreover, they often design and oversee the initiatives and hiring to sustain the positive changes…

Chronic absenteeism has been and continues to be a serious problem within the United States. This dissertation in practice sought a solution to impact the problem of students exhibiting school refusal behaviors leading to truancy, at Dover High School while providing an avenue for successful academic performance in mathematics and English Language…

In this study the effects of the use of digital student monitoring tools for teachers (DMTs) on student achievement (primary and secondary schools, mathematics, reading, and language) were investigated through a meta-analysis (n = 14). The studies were also coded for feedback and intervention features, which resulted in three groups of…

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively new model of early childhood education, with little evidence on whether and how it affects children's development. This study provides new evidence using data from Michigan, which has the nation's second-largest TK program. Using survey data (N=171) from administrators in 2021-2022, the paper…

Some governments require that educational leaders working in underperforming schools create school improvement plans (SIPs) to guide change efforts. Extant research describes two common approaches to SIPs: (a) a "traditional" approach where leaders create a single plan for an entire academic year, and (b) a "short-cycle"…

National interest is growing in Integrated Student Support (ISS) interventions, which offer schools systematic ways to reduce barriers to learning. The present study exploits the random component embedded within the school assignment system of a large urban school district to estimate the effect of schools providing ISS on student academic…

While policymakers have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for "science of reading" initiatives, the evidence on the impact of related reforms when implemented at scale is limited. In this pre-registered, quasi-experimental study, we examine California's recent initiative to improve early literacy across the state's lowest-performing…

Inspired by the pioneering work of Dr. G. R. Tucker and colleagues on French Immersion in Canada, later known as the St. Lambert experiment (Lambert & Tucker, "Journal of Educational Psychology," 65(2), 141-159, 1972), language immersion education also proliferated in the United States in the last decades. Research in the U.S.…

Background: Policymakers have debated whether test scores represent students' maximum level of effort, prompting research into whether student-level financial incentives can improve test scores. If cash incentives are shown to improve students' test performance, there can be questions as to whether test scores obtained in the absence of financial…

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to determine the effectiveness of one-to-one device initiatives in a secondary school setting. Not only was this study focused on the academic achievement of all students, but also the impact of such initiatives on the academic achievement in the free and reduced lunch population. The…

In fall 2017, TNTP received a $7.8 million Mid-phase Education Innovation and Research grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement its Turnaround Leadership Teams Strategy (TLTS), a whole-school reform model that provides training and support to cohorts of principals, school leadership teams, and teachers. Under the grant, TNTP worked…

The impact of the New Tech Network (NTN) design on several academic measures was tested on ninth graders in four schools in one state located in the Southeastern United States. Research questions explored the extent to which achievement test scores, dual credits earned, and dropout rates differed between ninth grade students in high fidelity NTN…

As of 2021, eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have implemented legislation regarding mandatory test-based grade retention focusing on minimum reading proficiency levels (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019) with many of those policies targeting the third-grade year. While grade retention has been largely viewed negatively…