Reports of international studies of student achievement often receive public attention worldwide. However, this attention overly focuses on the national rankings of average student performance. To move beyond the simplistic comparison of national mean scores, this study investigates (a) country differences in the measures of variability as well as…

This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

This article describes the implementation of small-group reading instruction as secondary- and tertiary-level components of a three-tier model of prevention and intervention. The study consisted of 83 students who were targeted in the winter of kindergarten as being at high risk for reading failure. Intervention consisted of evidence-based…

This report examines a Massachusetts pilot program for quarterly benchmark exams in middle-school mathematics, finding that program schools do not show greater gains in student achievement after a year. But that finding might reflect limited data rather than ineffective benchmark assessments. Benchmark assessments are used in many districts…

The "2011 State Preschool Yearbook" is the newest edition of our annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest "Yearbook" presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first…

An attempt was made to test the assumption that a wide variety of institutions and agencies have the fiscal and managerial capability to house a programmatic research and development effort for education. To this end, interviews were conducted with the staff director or principal investigator of four Follow Through programs affiliated with member…

Comparing 969 economically disadvantaged children attending Head Start, other preschools, or no preschool, this study assessed the Project's effectiveness. Findings indicated that Head Start provided an especially enriching preschool experience, and was an impressive instrument of short-term change in children. Gains in behaviors other than…

Effects of the Mother-Child Home Program (MCHP) were evaluated with a broad range of measures on cognition, social behavior, and emotion. Findings indicated that children in Bermuda scored above U.S. norms on cognitive tests and were functioning well in the preschool period. The MCHP had few demonstrable effects on any segment of the sample. (RH)

Experimental group mothers reported significantly greater self-confidence and satisfaction with mothering and more favorable perception of infant temperament than did control group mothers. Differences between children on cognitive scores became significant at 36 and 48 months of age, when the experimental group caught up with normal children. (RH)

The "2010 State Preschool Yearbook" is the eighth in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2009-2010 school year. The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and…

Comparison of the efficacy of integrating 41 elementary school students with moderate mental retardation into either regular classes, a special class with a community-based program, or a special class with a traditional developmental program found that, after 2 years, no single program was superior to the other 2. (Author/DB)

Four methods of individualized instruction are described and introduced, and their similarities and differences are reviewed in terms of effectiveness, grading, lectures, mastery, pacing, theoretical base, and unit size. The methods described are (1) audio-tutorial, developed by S. N. Postlethwait, an instructional system that allows students to…

Describes a study conducted to assess the effects of teaching a structured notetaking procedure to Calculus I students. Reports higher success rates among students who learned the technique than students taking the course the previous term, and increasingly positive attitudes toward the procedure over the course of the term. (DMM)

Presents a Collin County Community College District study assessing the effectiveness of "writing to learn" techniques in four Principles of Accounting classes, two taught in a traditional format with homework, and two using daily student journals. Reports promising results in terms of grades and retention rates. (DMM)

The study explored whether combinations of child care arrangements and sociodemographic characteristics were associated with kindergarten readiness, similar to the common effects for formal preschool intervention programs. The profile of preschool nonattenders was compared to kindergarten students within the same school who attended formal…