Student mobility that occurs within a school year may be especially disruptive for student outcomes, yet little is known regarding the predictors of within-year mobility. In particular, research has yet to comprehensively examine the role of student achievement in predicting within-year student mobility. Thus, we sought to understand this link by…

Educators need recommendations to improve screening practices without limiting students' instructional opportunities. Repurposing previous years' state test scores has shown promise in identifying at-risk students within multitiered systems of support. However, researchers have not directly compared the diagnostic accuracy of previous years' state…

This article contributes to the field of reading assessment in English as a second language (L2). Few reading studies have been carried out at the upper secondary school level, and the present study provides insight into upper secondary school students' L2 reading proficiency. It examines whether such proficiency can be explained by reading…

In a longitudinal design, we measured 50 low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension development from Grades 7 to 9. There were 24 native Dutch and 26 language minority students. In addition, we assessed the roles of (a) linguistic knowledge, (b) metacognitive knowledge, and (c) reading fluency in predicting both the level and growth of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine what factors affect student achievement in reading and mathematics. The research questions addressed the perceptions of school principals and background characteristics related to student achievement in Korea and the USA with respect to differences among students in low, middle and high quantiles.…

This study explored the association between reading self-belief and reading achievement among a representative sample of nine year old children in the Republic of Ireland. Results from analysis of variance and simple effects analysis showed a positive linear association between reading achievement and "attitude to reading." The…

Recent studies have consistently reported low reading achievement levels among primary school children in Kenya. Reading is a very critical component of children's development. Many aspects of learning at school revolve around this skill. Being the media via which other subjects are taught and learnt, reading is very significant and could…

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is widely used to identify reading disabilities (RD) and has recently been considered a potential predictor of risk for mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). Here we longitudinally examine RAN performance from Grades K to 8, to view how growth on RAN response time differs for children with RD versus MLD. Across…

The challenge of improving the performance of public schools has been given attention from a variety of advocacy groups, researchers, government agencies, education organizations and schools. Since the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2002, titled No Child Left Behind, the stakes for public schools are higher.…

In this article empirical research regarding the best predictors of literacy achievement for English language learning students (ELLs) in English-only classrooms is reviewed. These students comprise an ever-increasing population in these settings, but there is considerable confusion in differentiating between ELLs who are low-achievement readers…

Poor academic performance during childhood predicts later adverse outcomes, and could be targeted for improvement if detected early. This study used population-based record linkage to examine the association between early life risk factors and academic achievement at two different stages of development using two different cohorts: a kindergarten…

The aim of the present study, based on data from 20 countries, is to identify the pattern of variables (at country, school and student levels), which are typical of students performing below the low international benchmark compared to students performing at the advanced performance benchmark, in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study…

We examined developmental and individual differences in 6th and 8th graders' fraction arithmetic and overall mathematics achievement and related them to differences in understanding of fraction magnitudes, whole number division, executive functioning, and metacognitive judgments within a cross-sectional design. Results indicated that the…

The PISA studies of reading achievement of 15 year old students in OECD and partner nations show Anglophone nations to have continuing high proportions of weak readers (less than or equal to Level 2), with no improvement in this area from 2000 to 2006 (OECD, "Science competencies for tomorrow's world: Executive summary," 2007). The…

In response to low take-up, many public schools have experimented with moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom. We examine whether such a program increases performance as measured by standardized test scores, grades and attendance rates. We exploit quasi-random timing of program implementation that allows for a…