In early 2001, to support an internal evaluation of the impact of changing exclusion rates on reports of statistically significant gains across states, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) sponsored research on imputation procedures of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores for the excluded students and provided…

The role of the parent in a child's reading development requires consistent communication with educators about the child's individual needs and progress. National concern for declining reading scores throughout the country begins in the early childhood educational setting. This study, designed as an action research, explored one-way and two-way…

The "Talent Development Middle Grades Program" is a comprehensive reform model that transforms the structure and curriculum of large urban middle schools with the aim of improving student achievement and raising teacher and student expectations. Key features of the "Talent Development Middle Grades Program" include small…

Teacher professional development (PD) is seen as critical to improving the quality of US schools (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 1997). PD is increasingly viewed as one of the primary levers for improving teaching quality and ultimately student achievement (Correnti, 2007). One factor that is driving interest in PD is…

Adolescents in the United States and their teachers face an enormous academic challenge with respect to reading comprehension. College and career readiness standards outlined in the Common Core (2012) place increased emphasis on preparing students to read increasingly complex text across a range of disciplinary content areas. At issue is how to…

Students living in poverty continually score significantly lower than their more affluent peers on reading and writing achievement tests. One reason this literacy difference or gap may exist is a mismatch between students' background knowledge relevant to the text and the texts the students read daily in classrooms. It is well documented that…

Early identification of students who are at-risk for reading difficulties (RD) is critical for successful and effective RTI implementation. A large group of students were followed for three years (grades 2 to 4) to investigate transition patterns of risk-categories across three years. Results indicated that although students identified at…

Reading Recovery (RR) is an intensive one-to-one reading intervention programme designed for five- to six-year-old children who are the lowest literacy achievers after one year of formal tuition. RR has been shown to have impressive effects in the short-term, particularly on those measures tailored to, and designed for, the programme. However,…

This study examined the predictive validity of a computer-adaptive assessment for measuring kindergarten reading skills using the STAR Early Literacy (SEL) test. The findings showed that the results of SEL assessments administered during the fall, winter, and spring of kindergarten were moderate and statistically significant predictors of year-end…

This study looks at Student Teams-Achievement Division (STAD) implementation from a qualitative approach by observing and interviewing a teacher who successfully improved his EFL students' reading achievement with this technique. The procedures by Shaaban and Ghaith (2005) were the foundation for STAD implementation, and an interview was done to…

Accountability measures with increased emphasis placed on assessment for all students have led more special education students to be placed in the general education classroom. The sample included students identified with specific learning disabilities at two high schools, 4A or larger, in South Texas. ANCOVA was utilized to analyze the data. This…

Research has repeatedly demonstrated the positive effects of acceleration for gifted and talented students. This study expands the literature by not only evaluating the impact of early grade skipping on high school and college outcomes but also examining the role of postacceleration opportunities on subsequent performance. Using a representative…

Background: An enduring question about achievement gaps is, which aspects of schools contribute most? At the early grade levels, when children spend the vast majority of their school day in a single classroom with a single teacher, school inequities that correlate with achievement gaps likely originate within the classroom. This study examined the…

Raven Elementary teachers collaboratively adhered to a systematic reading program, administered frequent assessments, and their students' test scores improved over time. Our findings indicate that, though effective for improving certain outcomes, such a tightly designed and narrowly focused system created a limiting learning environment for…

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…