This technical report outlines the results of a correlational study of an Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) measure, a Reading Comprehension measure, a Vocabulary measure, and a statewide, large-scale reading assessment. The effects of school income level, gender, ethnicity, Special Education status, and English Language Learner status are also…

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is the primary measure of student achievement applied to the grading of the Florida public schools. School grades utilize a point system in which schools are awarded one point for every percent of students: (1) scoring in achievement levels 3-5 in Reading; (2) demonstrating learning gains in…

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program was offered in 10 high schools and 6 middle schools during the 2005-2006 school year. AVID began in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1999 as a way of helping more students become eligible for college. Students who were considered academically "average," based on…

A study of three elementary school programs (bilingual multicultural; integrated English as a second language (ESL); nonintegrated ESL) for non-English-proficient Hispanic children compared grade point averages in math, reading, and language achievement test scores of first and sixth graders. Bilingual multicultural students were superior on most…

Examines differences in democratic behavior of children of different gender and ethnicity attending traditional rural primary schools and those attending rural schools with experimental active learning programs. Shows children in active learning programs engage in more democratic behaviors. Relates this to small group activities. Notes this leads…

Describes a study that brought together university faculty and seventh-grade teachers to design and implement an instructional intervention to enhance academic learning opportunities for at-risk Hispanic students. Results show a consistent positive comparative academic outcome in reading comprehension, vocabulary, language mechanics, and language…

Introduction: The following study examines gender differences existing in various cognitive-motivational variables (causal attributions, academic goals, academic self-concept and use of significant learning strategies) and in performance attained in school subjects of Language Arts and Mathematics. Method: For this purpose, a sample of 521…

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to the collective perception that teachers in a given school make an educational difference to their students over and above the educational impact of their homes and communities. Significant positive relationships were found between CTE and student achievement on the grade 8 math, writing, and English…

Despite a body of evidence that curriculum-based measurement of reading (R-CBM) is a valid measure of general reading achievement, some school-based professionals remain unconvinced. At the core of their argument is their experience with word callers, students who purportedly can read fluently, but do not understand what they read. No studies have…

Like most states, Pennsylvania has a state accountability system that is aligned with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and requires that students reach adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in reading and mathematics at the end of grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 in…

In October 2002, Sebastian River High School in Florida developed a literacy system that includes all faculty and staff members. The literacy system identifies roles, responsibilities, and actions for everyone, including daily literacy-related nonnegotiables for all teachers. Now, students who have a history of failure are posting gains of one…

Jeb Bush campaigned for Governor on a clear and bracing set of education reforms in 1998. Having won office, he immediately pursued a dual track strategy of education reform: standards and accountability for public schools, choice options for dissatisfied parents. Florida lawmakers followed these reforms with additional measures, including…

The "High School Feedback Report" prepared by the State of Florida's Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report which contains individual data reports for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating…

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each MCPS school, including enrollment, staffing, special education…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…