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…

The purpose of this ex post facto study was to compare the end of year GPAs of 8th grade underachieving students who participated in Career and Technical Education programming through the Memphis Ambassadors Apprentice Program to those who did not. Introducing Career and Technical Education programs and activities to students at a young age…

Student mental health disorders have seen an uptick in prevalence in the United States within the past five years. The current study explores the idea of improving student mental resilience as a way to combat the rising percentages of students who suffer from mental disorders. The study uses a mixed-method design that quantitatively includes an…

The opportunity gap between Black and Brown students and their White counterparts in math performance is present in our middle school math classrooms. This opportunity gap creates an urgent need for educators to prepare middle school math teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to build the math content and math identity of…

Various investigations have applied meditation protocols in the school context, with beneficial effects. Transcendental meditation, however, received little attention in primary school settings and few controlled studies are available. The present study is aimed: 1) to investigate the implementation of a school protocol (Quiet Time-QT) based on…

Background: Associations between school participation in an academic medical center-supported school-based wellness initiative and programmatic components implemented with change in average student body mass index (BMI) over time were examined. Methods: This was an observational study of 103 K-12 South Carolina schools over school years 2014-2018,…

This causal comparative quantitative study examined if college readiness differences exist between Black and Latino AVID enrolled middle school students in a school district in southern Arizona as compared with Black and Latino middle school students not enrolled in AVID and/or White AVID middle school students. The PSAT 8/9 was the proxy measure…

Background: Research shows that elementary students gain weight over the summer. It is unknown if these findings apply to Hispanic adolescents. We evaluated school and summer standardized body mass index (zBMI) changes in Hispanic middle school students. Methods: Hispanic middle school students were randomly assigned to a weight management program…

College students often experience and report feeling stressed within the context of their daily lives. This empirical study examines the effect of personal stress on academic performance in an introductory economics course at a representative regional university. 105 students were surveyed and completed a standardized psychometric instrument…

This study compares the effectiveness of context clue strategy instruction to wide reading practices in terms of their impact on the vocabulary knowledge of students who read at frustration level. The participants were 44 sixth-grade students from a middle grades school. Students were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The…

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the program for coping with test anxiety based on the cognitive-behavioral approach on the levels of test anxiety, irrational thoughts, coping levels and academic self-efficacy perceptions of adolescents in the 8th grade. The study was performed as a semi-experimental study based on pre-test…

The Going Green! Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World project aims to direct middle school students' enthusiasm for hands-on activities toward interest in science and other STEM areas while guiding them to solve real-world problems. Students in this project are taught by their teachers to use energy monitoring equipment to audit standby power…

Many physical educators today are teaching lifetime sports, including outdoor activities such as cycling. Even though cycling is a low impact exercise that aids stamina and fitness, little is known about additional benefits in other areas including agility, balance, and explosive power. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if there are…

Remediating student learning deficits in the area of reading is of the utmost importance, as the ability to read has a lifelong impact on learning. Schools and school districts are ranked on their ability to demonstrate growth in core areas of education, including reading. Although many programs, strategies, and remedies are extant for identifying…