This paper reports the findings of the second year of a four-year empirical research project. Its aim is to modify 'step-by-step' instructions for practical activities in a way that may enable the development of experimental design skills among junior high school learners. Each school year pupils spend six lessons doing practical activities using…

Background/Context: Observational studies often employ regression discontinuity (RD) designs and multiple control-group designs to explore the causal quantities of interest. RD designs assess policy and program effectiveness by assigning subjects to treatment based on whether they exceed a pre-defined cutoff. RD designs are classified into two…

Background/Context: Some observational studies involve multiple layers of treatment selection, specifically in the context of the extended time accommodation (ETA) for English language learners (ELLs). In ETA settings, the first selection occurs due to the eligibility rule, where students whose ELL English proficiency is below a certain threshold…

In paired experiments, participants are grouped into pairs with similar characteristics, and one observation from each pair is randomly assigned to treatment. The resulting treatment and control groups should be well-balanced; however, there may still be small chance imbalances. Building on work for completely randomized experiments, we propose a…

We present the results of a study of local education agency (LEA)-based interventions to improve the reading outcomes of struggling readers in sixth grade. The sample included 1,076 intervention students and 3,644 comparison students. Regression discontinuity was used to evaluate intervention impact. The study contributes to the field by…

One approach to reducing persistent racial/ethnic achievement gaps is to tackle their social-psychological dimensions, including the negative consequences of stereotype threat and other identity threats in school. Initial research suggested that a particularly promising approach is brief self-affirmation writing exercises for 7th grade students;…

Background: Since 1984, Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS) Nashville has implemented Student Assistance Programs (SAPs) in the middle Tennessee area, to include 14 counties and 16 school districts. STARS Nashville serves K-12 with a focus in middle and high schools. Methods: The current study reviewed studies that utilized quasi-experimental…

This paper presents a review of the literature on dropout prevention interventions for students with disabilities. A variety of search methods, including electronic library searches, hand searches of journals, and Internet searches were used to acquire the widest possible set of research studies. To be included in this review, the studies must…

The capacity of the field to conduct power analyses for group randomized trials (GRTs) of educational interventions has improved over the past decade (Authors, 2009). However, a power analysis depends on estimates of design parameters. Hence it is critical to build the empirical base of design parameters for GRTs across a variety of outcomes and…

Growing interest in teaching quality and accountability has focused attention on the need for rigorous studies and evaluations of professional development (PD) programs. However, the study of PD has been hampered by a lack of suitable instruments. The authors present data from the Teacher Knowledge Assessment System (TKAS), which was designed to…

With research indicating substantial differences among teachers in terms of their effectiveness (Nye, Konstantopoulous, & Hedges, 2004), a major focus of recent research in education has been on improving teacher quality through professional development (Desimone, 2009; Institute of Educations Sciences [IES], 2012; Measures of Effective…

This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence review protocol focuses on mathematics interventions for middle school students in grades 6 through 8 designed to impact student achievement, including curriculum-based interventions, instructional techniques, and products designed to deliver content and monitor student progress. Systematic reviews of…

The potential for music programs to promote psychosocial wellbeing in mainstream schools is recognised in both policy and research literature. Despite this recognition, there is a dearth of consistent research evidence supporting this link. Authors attribute this lack of consistent evidence to limitations in the areas of research design and…

This is the first of two reports that summarize the findings from an impact evaluation of a violence prevention intervention for middle schools. This report discusses findings after 1 year of implementation. A forthcoming report will discuss the findings after 2 years and 3 years of implementation. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)…

The Canadian Education Association (CEA) was commissioned by Hewlett-Packard Canada to create a case study describing the development, implementation and outcomes of New Brunswick's Dedicated Notebook Research Project. The New Brunswick Department of Education designed its research project to assess impacts on teaching and learning of dedicated…