Students in the elementary grades often experience difficulty setting up and solving word problems. Using an equation to represent the structure of the problem serves as an effective tool for solving word problems, but students may require specific pre-algebraic reasoning instruction about the equal sign as a relational symbol to set up and solve…

In this methodological illustration, we examined Tier 2 social skills interventions to support school success for students with or at risk for emotional or behavior disorders. We presented findings examining the usability and feasibility of the "Social Skills Improvement System-Intervention Guide" and "Positive Action Counselor's…

Problem behaviors are prevalent in schools and may result in negative effects for the students exhibiting those behaviors, teachers, and other students. Increasing on-task behaviors has been shown to minimize disruptive behaviors. The current study utilized an interdependent group contingency-based intervention, Class-Wide Function-related…

Disruptive student behavior, a common concern for teachers, presents particular challenges for those who teach art. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a multitiered intervention for implementing effective classroom management strategies aligned with schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports. CW-FIT has proven…

During the fall of the 2016-17 school year, first, second, and third grade students in six elementary schools -- two in St. Paul and Eagan, Minnesota, and four in Bedford County in the Piedmont region of Virginia -- were assigned to take part in randomized efficacy trials carried out for the purpose of rigorously evaluating the impact of…

In 2013, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards received a 5-year Investing in Innovation Fund Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop, implement, and study Accomplished Teaching, Learning, and Schools (ATLAS). ATLAS is an online case library that contains examples of "accomplished teaching"…

This i3 scale-up study examined the implementation and effectiveness of a 3-year literacy intervention developed by the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI). The study was a school-level cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 55 elementary schools from four states. Implementation results showed a high level of fidelity of intervention…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a universal prevention program designed to increase academic engagement and to decrease disruptive behavior in elementary school-age children. Teachers and other school personnel use interdependent group contingencies to improve students' behavior in the classroom. Previous research indicates the GBG is efficacious…

This article reports on 2 experiments in inner-city Baltimore evaluating a computer-assisted tutoring approach, Tutoring With Alphie (TWA), in which 1 paraprofessional can work with up to 6 children at a time. In Study 1, we randomly assigned 14 schools to receive TWA or to continue with whatever approaches they were currently using. Each…

This study reports the results of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC), a family-school partnership intervention, on children's behaviors, parents' skills, and parent-teacher relationships in rural community and town settings. Participants were 267 children, 267 parents, and 152 teachers in…

To improve the reading comprehension outcomes of children in high-poverty schools, policymakers need to identify reading interventions that show promise of effectiveness at scale. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost and large-scale summer reading intervention that provided comprehension lessons at the end of the school year and…

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons Project on the literacy and life skills of students in grades 3, 4, and 5. A4L Lessons is a supplementary literacy curriculum designed to blend the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to raise student achievement in reading and…

For the 2014 study, "The Iterative Development and Initial Evaluation of We Have Skills!, an Innovative Approach to Teaching Social Skills to Elementary Students", researchers examined the effects of We Have Skills! (WHS), a supplemental, video-based social skills program for early elementary students. WHS consists of three components:…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Achieve3000, a differentiated online literacy curriculum, on students' scores on the California State Test (CST). In the 2011-12 school year, 1,957 students in Chula Vista began using Achieve3000's solutions in 3rd through 8th grade. Using a form of propensity score matching called Inverse…

Background: School-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs can influence not only SECD but also academic-related outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of one SECD program, Positive Action (PA), on educational outcomes among low-income, urban youth. Methods: The longitudinal study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized…