This brief highlights the importance of using a measure like chronic absenteeism, rather than average daily attendance, in order to identify concerning patterns in elementary attendance rates. The chronic absenteeism measurement is better able to shine a light on the number of individual students struggling with attendance. Subsequent briefs in…

Improving the educational outcomes of economically disadvantaged children is a policy priority in the United States, and yet relatively little progress has been made in recent decades. Education reforms that aim to help economically disadvantaged students often focus on improving the quality with which grade-level material is taught, or the…

The goal of Head Start is to develop the cognitive and social-emotional skills of children from low-income families to prepare them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Presently, Houston Independent School District (HISD) collaborates with four federally-funded Head Start agencies: AVANCE, Gulf Coast Community Services Association (GCCSA),…

Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest partnered with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) to examine Arkansas's middle and high school indicators of postsecondary readiness and success, building on an earlier study of these indicators (Hester et al., 2021). Academic indicators include attaining proficiency on state achievement tests,…

The purpose of this evaluation was to determine the effectiveness of the Ascending to Men (ATM) program using ATM students', mentors', and program managers' perceptions and experiences and ATM students' academic performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). ATM is a mentoring-based program designed to support boys of…

Literacy Empowered (LE) was initiated during the 2017-2018 school year to provide literacy support for all Houston Independent School District (HISD) high school students through the reading of self-selected and assigned texts, the proficient use of PowerUp tools, writing, discourse, and authentic literacy practices across all foundation courses.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor competence and BMI in Hispanic preschool children from low SES backgrounds. One hundred and forty-eight Hispanic low SES preschool children (male = 81, female = 67 participated in this study. All children were measured on gross and fine motor competence using the Peabody…

Purpose: We tested the reliability and validity of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) in a sample of children living in orphanages in South Korea. Methods: Our study sample consisted of 334 children aged 13-18 obtained using a convenience sampling method. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to identify the factor…

Students who acquire reading comprehension using arts integration will have the opportunity to improve their ability to learn through the following subjects writing, science, language arts, social studies, and mathematics. The problem is economically disadvantaged third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students did not make adequate yearly gains or pass…

Correlational research indicates that stress due to work overload may represent an alterable factor that impacts certain teachers' willingness and ability to implement innovative practices. The purpose of this study was to experimentally examine the impact of a well-being-promoting intervention (ACHIEVER Resilience Curriculum [ACHIEVER]) delivered…

The dominant discourse of teacher education is framed as the "construction of the problem of teacher education" (Cochran-Smith et al., 2013). From this neoliberal discourse came the push for more accountability, contributing to the promotion of a nationally scored standardized teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article examines…

This report provides information on enrollment in the Texas public school system from the 2012-13 through 2022-23 school years, based on data collected through the Texas Student Data System. Enrollment data are provided by grade, race/ethnicity, gender, and economically disadvantaged status, and for instructional programs, nontraditional school…

The purpose of the current study was to develop a multi-indicator construct of economic hardship among adolescents with disabilities (N = 9,230) participating in the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, the largest, most comprehensive investigation of adolescents with disabilities ever conducted. Five theoretically relevant indicators (i.e.,…

he Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for part two of this two part report on English Learner (EL) students who are Hispanic/Latino include: (1) Poverty Level of Hispanic/Latino Students: 2013; (2)…

Many children in economically disadvantaged communities assume adult roles in their families. Negotiating the responsibilities and expectations associated with becoming what some young men describe as "man of the house" has important implications for how adolescent boys move into adulthood. In this study, we share insights from field…