Until recently there has been no nationally acceptable test for assessing reading for the higher grades (Five and Six) of the elementary schools in Greece. As part of an effort to validate such a test, evidence was gathered from teachers' rating scales. Seventy-two teachers from Fifth and Sixth Grades all over Greece evaluated their 1377 students'…

The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2001) were published in 2003. In addition to data about the reading achievements of 10-year-olds in 35 countries, PIRLS 2001 also collected questionnaire information from children, their teachers, headteachers and parents. The results showed not just how well students can…

This study evaluated a multi-level intervention with primary and secondary levels of support with 210 at-risk students. Findings suggest that a multi-level intervention program containing literacy and behavioral components can improve reading achievement of students, regardless of level of risk. However, statistically significant changes on…

In accordance with the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), students attending public schools that receive failing grades are eligible to receive vouchers to attend a higher performing public or private school. An analysis of standardized test performance across a 2-year period compared students attending "F" schools to…

This study extends the findings of Gaustad, Kelly, Payne, and Lylak (2002), which showed that deaf college students and hearing middle school students appeared to have approximately the same morphological knowledge and word segmentation skills. Because the average grade level reading abilities for the two groups of students were also similar,…

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it examines the requirement in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that states have all students "proficient" in math and reading by 2013-2014. Second, the article assesses the organizational capacity of eighth-grade programs in Massachusetts to meet that directive. Issues of organizational…

There have been outcries in both the academic sector and in the popular press about the high and increasingly rising use of suspensions as a discipline measure. Among the negative consequences noted has been a detrimental impact on the academic achievement of suspended students. This article presents the results of longitudinal retrospective…

This study investigated the prospective relationships between reading performance and reading habits among Finnish children during the first and second grades of primary school. One hundred and ninety-five children were examined twice during their first primary school year and once during the spring term of Grade 2. The results showed, first, that…

Mathematics performance at 7 years as assessed by teachers using UK national curriculum criteria has been found to be highly heritable. For almost 3000 pairs of 7-year-old same-sex twins, we used multivariate genetic analysis to investigate the extent to which these genetic effects on mathematics performance overlap with genetic effects on reading…

Critics of "No Child Left Behind" judge that it oversimplifies the influence of social context and the place of socially ascribed traits, such as social class, race, and gender, in determining achievement. We hold that this is especially likely to be true with regard to gender-related group effects and gender-implicated interaction…

This study examined the effects of testing accommodations on the mathematics and reading test scores of a sample of 119 fourth graders and 78 eighth graders. The sample included 49 fourth-grade students diagnosed with a disability and 39 eighth-grade students diagnosed with a disability. All students were tested under two conditions (i.e.,…

Children who fail to become fluent readers by the end of the primary grades are likely to achieve below same-age peers throughout their school careers. With growing use of curriculum-based measures (CBMs), it is easier to identify those students who are achieving below same-age peers. Moreover, a process of conducting individualized assessment and…

In the IEA PIRLS International Report, a number of indices of reading-related constructs were introduced for the purpose of explaining the variation in reading achievement. These indices, however, raise issues of reliability and validity, due to the way in which they are derived and due to the quality of the data. Targeting these issues, the…

Brewer Elementary is facing problems with their students' achievement in literacy and mathematics. Teachers are consistently struggling with students underperforming on state standardized tests over several years, reflecting national trends that show students of color often struggle when compared with white students (Testing: Index of Diversity,…

This independent evaluation of 2 commonly used approaches for accelerating reading achievement and reducing inappropriate special education referrals, Success for All (SFA) and Open Court, was conducted in 12 Title I schools in a large urban district in northern California. To compare the effects of these approaches, we collected data on 936 grade…