Too many talented students who go to under-resourced schools do not achieve their full potential. Though they may perform very well relative to their classmates, these students do not receive the same kinds of academically challenging opportunities throughout their educational journey as do their counterparts in better-resourced public and private…

The Texas Education Code (§ 29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in either a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program. This evaluation report summarizes the performance of students who participated in the district's Dual Language Bilingual Program. Included…

Literacy By 3 is a comprehensive, literacy initiative implemented in Houston Independent School District's (HISD's) kindergarten- through fifth-grade classrooms during the 2014-2015 school year. Literacy By 3 is a combination of six reading strategies: (1) guided reading; (2) reading to self (independent or silent sustained reading); (3) read to…

The Texas Education Code (§ 29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in either a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program. This evaluation report summarizes the performance of students who participated in the district's Dual Language Bilingual Program. Included…

The goal of Head Start is to develop the cognitive and social-emotional skills of children from low-income families to prepare them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Houston Independent School District (HISD) collaborates with four federally funded Head Start agencies: AVANCE, Gulf Coast Community Services Association (GCCSA), Harris County…

This study hypothesized that HISD prekindergarten participation consistently correlated with better educational outcomes for students. Taking into account students' age differences through kindergarten enrollment, propensity score matching controlled for students' background characteristics. Three cohorts of students in this study were eligible or…

Houston Real Men Read is chaired by Texas Senator Rodney Ellis and spearheaded by the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board Trustee Paula M. Harris. Houston Real Men Read is a mentoring program in which men from the Houston community committed one hour, once a month, to read to second, fifth, and seventh-grade students. The program…

This study of 952 fifth and sixth graders in Washington, DC, and Alexandria, Virginia, found that students who were offered the "Higher Achievement" program had higher test scores in mathematical problem solving and were more likely to be admitted to and attend private competitive high schools. "Higher Achievement" is a…

In compliance with the Texas Education Code, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) has provided free prekindergarten classes for eligible Houston area four-year old students since the 1985-1986 scholastic year. The program curriculum focuses on beginning literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional development, supporting the individual…

In compliance with the Texas Education Code, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) has provided free prekindergarten classes for eligible Houston area four-year old students since the 1985-1986 academic year. The program curriculum focuses on beginning literacy, numeracy, social emotional development as well as supporting the individual…

The Teacher Development Specialist program, administered through Houston Independent School District (HISD) Professional Support and Development services, was introduced in August 2011 with the goal of providing individualized professional development to teachers to enhance their performance on the HISD Teacher Appraisal and Development System…

In the context of an experimental trial, the authors examined variability in treatment and control teachers' use of several "Responsive Classroom" (RC) practices to predict students' 4th grade academic achievement. Further, they examined the extent to which use of the "RC" practices is differentially important for subgroups of…

This study reports on an evaluation of the "Reading Partners" program, which uses community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in underresourced elementary schools. Established in 1999 in East Menlo Park, California, the mission of "Reading Partners" is to help children become lifelong readers by…

The Houston Independent School District offers two primary bilingual programs for Spanish-speaking English-language learners (ELLs). In both programs, students may transition into a pre-exit phase of bilingual education so long as they meet certain performance criteria. In this Pre-Exit phase, predominantly English-language instruction is used in…

The goal of Head Start is to develop the cognitive and social-emotional skills of children from low-income backgrounds to prepare them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Houston Independent School District (HISD) collaborates with four federally-funded Head Start agencies: AVANCE, Gulf Coast Community Services Association (GCCSA), Harris…