The purpose of this study was to analyze whether girls' levels of resilience increased after participation in a variety of programs. In this study, 711 girls participated in one of four program types: adventure education (n = 71), experiential education (n = 164), traditional camp setting (n = 228), and mixed camp setting (n = 248). The study…

Recommendations for the prevention of childhood obesity encourage providers to counsel parents and their children on healthy diet and activity behaviors. This study evaluated the feasibility of a theory-based, tailored communication intervention for obesity prevention ("Team Up for Health") delivered during a well-child visit. A…

As online education has exploded in the past decade, the number of physics and physics-related massive open online courses (or MOOCs, to use the industry lingo) has grown substantially as well. Several such courses aim at high school students, especially those involved in the AP Physics program. One of us (BK) was involved in creating two such…

We used a comparative interrupted time series design to examine the impact of the Massachusetts' Wraparound Zone Initiative on student achievement, attendance, retention, and suspension. This initiative was designed to create coordinated district systems that allow schools to proactively and systematically address students' nonacademic needs. The…

In order to inform the Indiana State Board of Education's decision-making on Indiana's On My Way Pre-K Pilot program, researchers at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University compiled existing data on ten states that have implemented pilot pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) programs and subsequently expanded these programs…

Multitiered systems of reading instruction and intervention, including response to intervention, are widely used in early reading by schools to provide more intense services to students who need them. Research using randomized controlled trials has compared innovative Tier 2 interventions to business-as-usual Tier 2 approaches and established a…

Over the past twenty years, efforts to turn around low-performing schools have increasingly become a central component of federal and state education policy agendas. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Wraparound Zones Initiative (WAZ), a program supported by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education…

Background: A quarter of U.S. children are bullied annually. State legislatures have responded to high profile media exposure of bullying and increased public concern by passing legislation aimed at preventing bullying among school children. Methods: The RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework was used to…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curriculum is designed to strengthen students' science and math achievement through project based learning activities. As part of a STEM initiative, SeaPerch was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that instructs…

This College Success Research Brief is one of a series of briefs documenting the implementation and impact of Mass Insight's College Success/STEM program. The research briefs are intended to share key findings, highlight ongoing questions and lines of inquiry, and inform the thinking of practitioners and policymakers on how to scale up efforts to…

Background: Models are needed for implementing weight management interventions for adolescents through readily accessible venues. This study evaluated the feasibility and ef?cacy of a school nurse-delivered intervention in improving diet and activity and reducing body mass index (BMI) among overweight and obese adolescents. Methods: Six high…

The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of a skills-focused preschool curriculum versus a curriculum designed to foster children's self-regulation skills. Additionally, the study was designed to evaluate if adding a self-regulation component to a skills-based curriculum would enhance children's outcomes in…

This three-volume report describes the "SAM (School Administration Manager) process," an approach that about 700 schools around the nation are using to direct more of principals' time and effort to improve teaching and learning in classrooms. Research has shown that a principal's instructional leadership is second only to teaching among…

This three-volume report describes the "SAM (School Administration Manager) process," an approach that about 700 schools around the nation are using to direct more of principals' time and effort to improve teaching and learning in classrooms. Research has shown that a principal's instructional leadership is second only to teaching among…

The purpose of this causal-comparative study is to examine the effect of standards-based report cards on the growth and performance of Grade 4 students on the Massachusetts measure of accountability. This study examines the effect of the report card format on the grade level student growth percentiles (SGP) and composite performance index (CPI) on…