The Summer Enrichment Camp (SEC) at Pequea Valley School District was developed to provide an extended school year for at-risk, Title I, students. This study compared the learning growth of the SEC students with similar students who did not attend SEC. The 36 students in the SEC group were compared to 18 non-SEC students using district and state…

This purpose of this research study was to investigate the role of effective principals and how that role relates to the improvement of adolescent reading skills. This research study identified three strategies that were utilized by principals in an effort to develop effective reading skills in adolescent students which are: (1) effective program…

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) focuses on young people's ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. This orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula themselves, which are increasingly concerned with what…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of tier 2 instruction on the comprehension and vocabulary of first grade students identified with low language and vocabulary skills. Specifically, the authors conducted a pilot study within the context of federally funded efficacy research to examine whether students participating in…

Using data drawn from the National School Effectiveness Study, this paper reveals that by Grade 4 35% of South African learners are overage. The study confirms what every other testing programme tells us about the poor state of learning which characterizes the system: the seeds of low pass rates at Grade 12 level, and of low participation and…

This study addressed the following research questions: (1) Will there be a statistically significant difference between the reading achievement scores of eleventh-grade students who received instruction implementing popular culture as an advance organizer for literature and the scores of the students who did not? (2) What are the perceptions of…

Florida lawmakers began a comprehensive education reform effort in 1999 combining accountability, transparency, and parental choice with other far-reaching changes. In March 2010, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released new results showing just how successful Florida's reforms have been and how futile Oklahoma's efforts…

This paper analyzes the incentives and responses of public schools in the context of an educational reform. The literature on the effect of voucher programs on public schools typically focuses on student and mean school scores. This paper tries to go inside the black box to investigate some of the ways in which schools facing the Florida voucher…

Increasing standardized test scores in reading and math is of high importance to the California Department of Education to meet requirements mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act of 2001. More research is needed to understand the best ways to improve tests scores to meet concerns of the NCLB act. The purpose of the study was to evaluate…

This paper examines whether teachers in schools serving students from high-poverty backgrounds are as effective as teachers in schools with more advantaged students. The question is important. Teachers are recognized as the most important school factor affecting student achievement, and the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Wyoming for 2010. Wyoming's demographic profile is such that achievement trends could only be determined for white, Latino, male and female, and low-income student subgroups. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), the white,…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Wisconsin for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Wisconsin showed across-the-board gains--improvements in reading and math at the basic-and-above, proficient-and-above, and advanced levels for all racial/ethnic…

"Project Read"[R] is a multisensory language arts curriculum designed for use in a classroom or group setting. Two main objectives of the program are to use language in all its forms, and to use responsive instruction rather than preplanned textbook lessons. The program emphasizes direct instruction, and lessons move from letter-sounds…

There are large differences across countries in instructional time in schooling institutions. Can these differences explain some of the differences across countries in pupils' achievements in different subjects? While research in recent years provides convincing evidence about the effect of several inputs in the education production function,…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Who Me? Yes, You Can Use Technology to Individualize…