Background: Late language emergence is a risk indicator for developmental language disorder. Parent-implemented early language intervention programmes (parent programmes) have been shown to have positive effects on children's receptive and expressive language skills. However, long-term effectiveness has rarely been studied. Additionally, little is…

This program evaluation assessed the utility and efficacy of lead4ward toward facilitating meaningful instructional planning, and improving STAAR reading, English language arts, and math performance of students whose teachers participated in lead4ward professional development. A web-based survey on HISD's HUB yielded responses from 340 educators…

English Learners (ELs) enrollment in the U.S. public schools continues to increase. ELs have various linguistic needs including listening, reading, speaking, and writing English. Often this group of students does not perform well academically on state assessments since these assessments are normally written in English and require substantial…

Dual credit courses give high school students the potential to earn both college and high school credit at the same time, either through completion of a college-level course or through performance on an exam. The 2019 Supplemental Operating Budget (Senate Bill [SB] 6032, Sec. 501 [30]) provided funding intended to reduce the cost of dual credit…

HIPPY targeted parents of children zoned to 100 Houston Independent School District (HISD) elementary campuses during the 2018-2019 academic year, which reflected an increase from 80 campuses the previous year. Academic performance of students whose parents participated in HIPPY was assessed using the kindergarten 2018 Logramos and Iowa…

This demonstration introduces and presents an innovative online cognitive diagnostic assessment, developed to identify the types of cognitive processes that readers use during comprehension; specifically, processes that distinguish between subtypes of struggling comprehenders. Cognitive diagnostic assessments are designed to provide valuable…

Background: A high prevalence of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is reported in the population of Young Offenders (YO). However, little is known about the extent of the association between language and offending behaviour relative to social disadvantage, education attendance and non-verbal intelligence (IQ), and neither has this association…

This study examined a theoretical model hypothesizing that reading strategies mediate the effects of intrinsic reading motivation, reading fluency, and vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension. Using path analytic methods, we tested the direct and indirect effects specified in the hypothesized model in a sample of 1105 fifth-graders. In…

Making causal inferences from a quasi-experiment is difficult. Sensitivity analysis approaches to address hidden selection bias thus have gained popularity. This study serves as an introduction to a simple but practical form of sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation procedures. We examine estimated treatment effects for a school-based…

This paper provides the first population-based evidence on how much standardized test scores vary among public school districts within each state and how segregation explains that variation. Using estimates based on roughly 300 million test score records in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for Grades 3 through 8 from every U.S. public school…

In recent years, schools have started implementing preventive practices such as universal screening. Yet, researchers have not evaluated the extent to which universal screening contributes to academic and behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment utility of universal screening for behavioral risk. Student…

In 2014, the state of California implemented the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in order to align state assessment and accountability policies with the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS). At the heart of the new performance and accountability system is the Smarter Balanced Assessment. The Smarter…

This dissertation explores the accessibility of SAT and ACT standardized tests and related preparatory resources in relation to Native communities. The ultimate goal of this research is twofold. First, to help identify some of the barriers to educational access experienced by Native students, and second, to use this information to increase…

This study examined the relationship between parental involvement in family math night activities and student State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test score using the following constructs: (a) parental involvement at school (b) parental involvement at home (c) parental involvement in math (d) monitoring schoolwork (general involvement…

According to the Texas Education Code §29.121 and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board Policy, Gifted and Talented (G/T) students are "those identified by professionally qualified persons, who perform at, or show the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age,…