School climate is theoretically important for the academic achievement of students in urban schools because safety and support at school may compensate for negative structural forces experienced elsewhere. There is strong evidence for an association between school climate and student achievement, but little suggests the association's…

The number of students opting out of standardized tests has grown in recent years. This phenomenon represents a potential threat to our ability to accurately measure student achievement for schools and districts. This working paper documents the extent to which opting out is observed in the CORE districts. It then models the extent to which…

Teacher candidates in California are required to pass four standardized tests: the California Basic Educational Skills Test, the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, the Teacher Performance Assessment, and the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment. Many underrepresented minority teacher candidates fail to pass these required tests in…

This study examined a naturalistic, districtwide implementation of an automated writing evaluation (AWE) software program called "MI Write" in elementary schools. We specifically examined the degree to which aspects of MI Write were implemented, teacher and student attitudes towards MI Write, and whether MI Write usage along with other…

This study examined a naturalistic, districtwide implementation of an automated writing evaluation (AWE) software program called "MI Write" in elementary schools. We specifically examined the degree to which aspects of MI Write were implemented, teacher and student attitudes towards MI Write, and whether MI Write usage along with other…

We investigate factors influencing student sign-ups for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship (CBS) program and consider whether there is scope for the program to change college enrollment expectations. We find that student characteristics associated with signing the scholarship closely parallel characteristics of low-income students who…

Existing research on self-management skills shows that measures of self-management predict student success. However, these conclusions are based on small samples or narrowly defined self-management measures. Using a rich longitudinal dataset of 221,840 fourth through seventh grade students, this paper describes self-management gaps across student…

In previous studies of homework in core academic subjects, positive student attitudes toward homework were linked to higher achievement, whereas time spent on homework showed an inconsistent relationship with achievement. This study examined the generalizability of these findings to foreign language learning by analyzing 2,342 adult students'…

In this paper we present standardized measures of tenth grade students' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours concerning sustainable development as those concepts are understood in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and we test the hypothesis that knowledge and favourable attitudes toward SD lead to favourable…

This study aims at both investigating bullying episodes occurring at school across different grades (from 6 to 8) and evaluating whether educational achievement in math can be predicted on the ground of students' perception of school violence. The sample was composed of 11,064 students coming from middle schools of Southern Italy. Standardized…

Background/Context: Two key uses of international assessments of achievement have been (a) comparing country performances for identifying the countries with the best education systems and (2) generating insights about effective policy and practice strategies that are associated with higher learning outcomes. Do country rankings really reflect the…

In much of the world, the issue of accountability and measurement of educational outcomes is highly controversial. Exit testing is part of the movement to ascertain what students have learned and hold institutions and teachers to account. However, compared to the large number of teacher washback studies, learner washback research is lacking…

The academic performance of African American students continues to be a concern for educators, researchers, and most importantly their community. This issue is particularly prevalent in the standardized test scores of African American students where they score on average one or more standard deviations below their Caucasian and Asian American…

A portion of high-school students do not experience success or encounter extenuating circumstances that do not allow them to attend a traditional comprehensive high school to complete their high-school diploma requirements, so they enroll in some kind of alternative education to complete these requirements. These alternative education…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader institutional contexts are critically characterized by high accountability policy environments. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilizes standardized test scores…