This study examined the longitudinal changes in kindergarten demographics and child outcomes by comparing data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (ECLS-K) 1998 and 2011 cohorts. Results demonstrated that there were significant changes in kindergarten in general and with regard to FDK and HDK schedules between 1998 and 2011. These…

Background/Context: Kindergarten mathematics instruction is critical for students' future academic success. The nature and quality of this instruction may vary depending on classroom characteristics. However, little empirical work has examined how mathematics instruction in kindergarten might differ based on classroom performance levels. Purpose,…

This study is focused on the threat of retention associated with test-based promotion in Grade 3. Through analyzing the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 data, we found that schools having such a policy apparently increased math instructional time but not reading instructional time in Grade 3. On average, the…

Despite progress toward gender equity, troubling disparities in mathematical problem-solving performance and related outcomes persist. To investigate why, we build on recurrent findings in previous studies to introduce a new construct, "bold problem solving," which involves approaching mathematics problems in inventive ways. We introduce…

This study compares mathematics instructional practices in classrooms that do and do not contain students with high-incidence disabilities (HIDs). To do so, we examined a national data set of responses from kindergarten teachers about instructional practices. We do find that in classrooms with students with HIDs, teachers reported different…

Although national legislation and policy call for the use of student assessment data to support instruction, evidence suggests that teachers lack the knowledge and skills required to effectively use data. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential of training for increasing immediate teacher outcomes (i.e., knowledge, skills, and beliefs),…

Improving the reading ability of young students could hardly be a more urgent priority for our elementary schools. Two thirds of American fourth and eighth graders are not able to read proficiently--and the outcomes are far worse for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2019 showed that only…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) 1998/1999, we examine the relationship between elementary students' (K-5) manipulative use and mathematics learning. Using a cross-sectional correlational analysis, we found no relationship between manipulative use and student mathematics "achievement". However, using a…

In an era of a declining quality and quantity of students entering and persisting in mathematics in the USA, researchers and policy makers are looking for new strategies to engage students in these fields and improve mathematics outcomes. One push has been to make mathematics instruction more relevant with real-world applications throughout the…

Literature provides consistent evidence that there is a strong relationship between language proficiency and math achievement. However, research results show conflicts supporting either an increasing or a decreasing longitudinal relationship between the two. This study explored a longitudinal data and adopted quantile regression analyses to…

"Math Expressions" is a curriculum for students in prekindergarten through sixth grade that aims to build students' conceptual understanding of mathematics and to develop fluency in mathematical problem solving and computation. The curriculum encourages student learning of mathematics through real-world situations, visual supports such…

We apply "value-added" models to estimate the effects of teachers on an outcome they cannot plausibly affect: student height. When fitting the relatively simple models that are widely used in educational practice to New York City data, we find the standard deviation of teacher effects on height is nearly as large as that for math and…

This study used ECLS-K 1998-1999 data to evaluate whether specific kindergarten teaching practices predicted school-year learning gains differently, depending on children's ethnicity, SES, and fall test scores. Exploratory factor analyses guided the creation of four literacy and five math instruction composites from teachers' reports of their…

In recent years, a new movement to raise awareness about early math learning has been growing in the U.S., driven by research showing that foundational math knowledge is more predictive of later success in school than nearly any other indicator, including literacy. This awareness of the importance of early math has led to an increasing focus among…

Prior research has shown that EL classification is consequential for students, however, less is known about how EL classification impacts students' outcomes. In this study, we examine one hypothesized mechanism: teacher perceptions. Using nationally-representative data (ECLS-K:2011), we use coarsened exact matching to estimate the effect of EL…