There is a dearth of published information about the Literacy and Numeracy National Assessment (LANNA). This study was designed to explore the relationships among LANNA test scores at Year 7 and, in addition, to examine the predictive capacity of these scores in relation to Year 10 School Certificate English and Mathematics results. As a way of…

One of the greatest challenges facing U.S. middle and high school teachers is the need to improve academic success among English language learner (ELL) students. Both the high school dropout rate and the college-enrollment rate provide compelling evidence of this need. This report documents one attempt to meet this challenge, a National Writing…

To spotlight effective practices, the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) is highlighting schools that are closing achievement gaps and performing at high levels. In 2009, the SBE partnered with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create the Washington Accountability Index. The Index is a new way to measure schools'…

This statewide Report Card to the Public is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2014-2015. Under state law, each school district also is required to report information about its performance. Public knowledge pertaining to the school system is an important part of Alaska's accountability system. This report is…

The overall impact of unions and collective bargaining agreements on student achievement has produced a literature with decidedly mixed results. Unions are seen to have both positive and negative influences on a teachers' ability to perform the teaching act. This study researches the impact of unions on state level student achievement, controlling…

Massachusetts policymakers have expressed concern about the consistently lower scores of Hispanic students, compared to other subgroups, on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). This summary describes a larger report that examines Hispanic high school students' performance on the MCAS tests in English language arts and…

Millions of middle and high school students lack the literacy skills--including reading, writing, and critical thinking--that they need to succeed in college and the workplace. According to "The Nation's Report Card" fewer than one third of eighth graders read at a proficient level. Policymakers have directed considerable resources toward…

This study describes the experiences of suburban area high school 10th, 11th, and 12th grade art students immersed in a cross-curricular study of the Holocaust and genocide. Three participant-educators, art teachers, and I, a history teacher, designed a two week curricular unit which was implemented in January, 2010, to increase…

This semi-longitudinal study examined the development of narrative writing quality of young Turkish second language learners in mainstream Dutch-only education, and the impact of student-level and classroom-level predictors of narrative writing quality, using hierarchical linear modelling. Writing samples of 106 third graders and 111 fourth…

In 2003, the National Commission on Writing pleaded for a writing revolution in education. The plea included a call for increased attention on the subject of writing, considered the "most neglected" of the "three "Rs"". Although state tests dictate that schools take an intensive look at the writing of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students, studying…

This Striving Readers evaluation examined the impact of a targeted intervention for struggling adolescent readers and investigated the impact of a whole-school literacy model on students in participating schools. This study was conducted in ten middle, nine high, and two 6-12 schools in seven rural school districts serving large percentages of…

As the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation chronicled in its last year's Fordham Sponsorship Accountability Report, "Seeking Quality in the Face of Adversity", the 2008-09 school year was a brutal one during which schools, and their peers, faced many existential threats. The 2009-10 school year was Fordham's fifth year as a charter school…

At the elementary grade level, former English language learner (ELL) students' TAKS passing rates in mathematics, reading/ELA, and writing significantly exceeded the TAKS passing rates of non-ELL students. At the secondary level, former ELL students' passing rates on TAKS mathematics, social studies, and science were significantly lower than the…

As part of our professional development intervention, this study examined third-grade ELL students' writing achievement that included "form" (i.e., conventions, organization, and style/voice) and "content" (i.e., specific knowledge and understanding of science) in expository science writing. The study included six treatment schools from a large…

This study describes English language learner (ELL) student enrollment and achievement trends in Pennsylvania public schools between 2002/03 and 2008/09. Two research questions guide this study: (1) How did the enrollment of ELL students in Pennsylvania public schools change between 2002/03 and 2008/09?; and (2) How did performance (the percentage…