The purpose of the quantitative study was threefold: (a) to examine high-ability students in and outside an honors program at a midwestern comprehensive university to determine differences in background and demographic characteristics between honors participants and nonparticipants of similar ability; (b) to determine differences in academic…

Previous research has shown that participation in programs designed to connect students to campus can increase student success and retention. However, very little of this research has controlled for selections bias. The purpose of this study was to use propensity score matching to control for selection bias while analyzing three campus connection…

This dissertation examines the relationship between teacher educational background, teacher experience, and student achievement in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The first essay of this dissertation, "Effects of Teacher Degree Level, Coursework, and Certification on Student Achievement in Math and Reading in Kindergarten,"…

Many preschool children are affected by disabilities requiring intervention through Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE; Camilli, Vargas, Ryan, & Barnett, 2010). Such interventions can include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, and special education. Earlier delivery of these special education services…

In an effort to close the achievement gap between students of minority and majority populations and between students in higher and lower economic circumstances, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) added instruction and evaluation of teacher dispositions to its requirements for credentialing prospective teachers.…

While Latina/o enrollments in higher education are on the rise, more than half of these students enroll at a unique institutional type, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). As Latina/o enrollments in higher education increase, the number of HSIs and emerging HSIs also increases. Knowledge is presently limited on the Latina/o college choice to…

Examining costs and savings associated with moving every Canadian with a Literacy Level 1 or 2 (on the international literacy scale) to Level 3, this analysis is based upon statistically matched data from the "2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey and the 2005-2009 Surveys of Labour and Income Dynamics." The methods provide…

This article analyses educational inequalities related to socioeconomic status (SES) in 12 Eastern European countries that participated in the International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006. Economies and educational systems of these countries have undergone critical transformations since the fall of communism. The authors' analyses, using data…

In 2009, the United States Department of Education conducted a competition for a second round of Striving Readers grants. Its dual purpose was to: (1) Raise middle and high school students' literacy levels in Title I-eligible schools with significant numbers of students reading below grade level; and (2) Build a strong, scientific research base…

Merit pay for professors to encourage better teaching, research and service is controversial. Its effectiveness can be examined empirically. In this study, the existence of a merit plan and ACT scores of incoming freshmen were strongly associated with measurable research outcomes. Additional study is needed to test the association with the other…

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between the various NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement) survey items or classifications and the ETS Major Field Test (MFT) in Business. The sample consisted of 87 business students at a small liberal arts college. Many of the survey items were linked positively to the ETS Major Field…

Proponents of school choice and school reform often claim that different school "types" will produce better academic outcomes for students than does the traditional public school model. Unstated but implicit in these views is a causal assumption that certain school types are "better" and produce improved student academic achievement, a very…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between students' performance on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the fourth and fifth grade Reading and Math Achievement Tests in Ohio. The sample utilized students from a suburban school district in Northwest Ohio. Third grade CogAT scores (2006-2007 school year), 4th…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 guides school policies on teaching and assessment and promotes school interventions that focus on learner-centered pedagogy. Despite this emphasis on learner-centered pedagogy, significant numbers of Title I elementary students in Florida achieved below state standards from 2006 to 2009. This study used…

The purpose of this study was to expand what is known regarding the factors that relate to successful completion of online, undergraduate college courses. It addressed 13 student factors available through archival data at Northern Kentucky University based on 1,493 students enrolled in fully online courses in fall 2008. It included programmatic…