State and national school accountability policies situate preventing chronic absenteeism on par with meeting state standardized test benchmarks. We question relying on school attendance as both a component of accountability policies and a means of enhancing equity in schools. Our research suggests out-of-school factors unrelated to missed…

There is considerable variability in the literacy assessments taken in Kindergarten through second grade, across schools and between multilingual learners and other students, and within students over time. This makes it difficult to study changes in students' acquisition of ELA skills in these formative years, or to evaluate policies and practices…

School systems started the 2021-22 school year with extra resources and plans for recovery, but repeated resurgences of the COVID-19 virus thwarted hopes of a strong comeback. Schools continued to face a myriad of challenges including severe staff shortages, high rates of absenteeism and sickness, and rolling school closures forced by the…

There is a growing body of evidence in the area of effectiveness of MTSS/RtI programs, specifically in the area of gender, classification and at-risk students. However, the body of evidence reflects that the impact of the RtI's effectiveness is minimal. More research that addresses the level of effectiveness of RtI programs is needed. Through the…

In response to COVID-19, U.S. students learned remotely from mid-March to June 2020. At the start of academic year 2020--21, many schools remained remote but others--primarily Catholic and other private schools--reopened. We consider Catholic schooling as a proxy for in-person instruction and use national data from Renaissance Star and MAP Growth…

The state of Arkansas adopted ACT 1063 in 2017, which was designed to improve reading achievement for all students. Included in the law was the requirement that "curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on the instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic be implemented (Division of…

In education, assessment helps shape teaching practices and student outcomes, as it influences how teachers perceive their roles, approach instruction, and engage with students. This study investigated 3rd-8th grade English Language Arts and mathematics teachers' conceptions of the NWEA MAP Growth assessment, focusing on four key factors: (1)…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the impact of Riverside Middle Prep's Newcomer Program on academic achievement by using quantitative test scores and a case study design to analyze teacher and student perceptions about the newcomer program. The researchers wanted to determine whether there was a difference between EL…

The purpose of this longitudinal quantitative study was to determine the academic impact of the Leader in Me process on a public elementary school in Delaware as it relates to growth in reading and mathematics using the Measures of Academic Progress. This longitudinal case study focused on determining if a significant statistical difference…

Using a national sample of kindergarten to eighth grade students from Catholic and public schools who took MAP Growth assessments, we examine achievement growth over time between sectors. Our findings suggest that while Catholic school students score higher in math and reading than public school students on average, they also enter each school…

The NWEA® state dashboard, Exploring the Educational Impacts of COVID-19, provides insight into the educational impacts of COVID-19 related academic disruptions for students in public schools within a state who participated in MAP® Growth™ assessments. This guide explains the analyses, statistics, terms, and data included in the dashboard, as well…

In this brief we examine how variability in students' math and reading test scores changed across the pandemic, including whether increased dispersion was concentrated at one part of the test score distribution. Using reading and math assessment data from a sample of 8 million students in grades 3-8 in 24,000 public schools who took MAP Growth…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "The Widening Achievement Divide during COVID-19." The authors investigated two main research questions in this brief: (1) To what degree have students' reading and math…

This report focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kalamazoo Public Schools District in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which closed its doors to students from mid-March 2020 to June 2021. During this time, instruction transitioned from face-to-face to virtual, with students having three options for virtual instruction. In addition to individual KPS student…

A large number of students demonstrate difficulty acquiring and retaining math facts highlighting the need for early math intervention. This study used a single-case cumulative acquisition design to examine the differential effectiveness and efficiency of three drill interventions, incremental rehearsal (IR), incremental rehearsal with visual…