Every summer, the news is filled with stories about summer learning loss. The warnings sound dire: two months of math learning lost for most students every summer, and two to three months of reading learning lost for low-income students, according to the National Summer Learning Association. By the ninth grade, "summer learning loss during…

Cheating detection is an important issue in standardized testing, especially in large-scale settings. Statistical approaches are often computationally intensive and require specialised software to conduct. We present a two-stage approach that quickly filters suspected groups using statistical testing on an IRT-based answer-copying index. We also…

Background: There has been an increasing interest in negative or 'undermining' motivations for reading. In this study, we aimed to strengthen knowledge on the validity of the distinction between affirming and undermining motivations. First, we examined whether the structure of a questionnaire based on this distinction could be confirmed. Second,…

This study investigated relationships among the reading fluency, word recognition, language background, and reading achievement in second through fifth graders. Among the 250 students sampled, 70% were within word pattern (WWP) spellers. These WWP stage spellers were remarkably similar in reading, regardless of grade and Limited English Proficient…

The ratio of women to men is 4 to 1 in beginning university Spanish courses, and this gap widens the higher the level of instruction (Chavez 2001). Prior experiments on reading in Spanish show that the interaction of readers' gender and passage content plays a significant role with learners at the intermediate levels, but not at advanced levels of…

Reading for understanding is a challenging task for many upper elementary struggling readers, and their attitudes toward such challenges can make a difference in their subsequent engagement and reading achievement. Mindset and achievement goals provide a useful explanatory framework for understanding struggling readers' engagement and reading…

Background: The role of phonological awareness (PA) in successful reading attainment in Northern Sotho has received some attention. However, the importance of developing an awareness to the different phonological grain sizes that underlie decoding (i.e. to different dimensions of PA) has not been established in this language. Aim: This study…

The purposes of this study were twofold. The first was to use latent class analysis to identify groupings of students defined by the presence or absence of academic or behavioral risk. The second was to determine whether these groups differed across various dichotomous academic and behavioral outcomes (e.g., suspensions, office discipline…

Researchers have revisited the influence of African American English many times within extant scholarship over the past 4 decades. However, the resulting pedagogical developments within teacher training programs are inadequate. Through a survey of literature of relevant topics, this article provides a framework regarding training for preservice…

The purpose of this article is to describe higher order talk and writing about text with seven and eight year old students. Much research has been conducted with intermediate and secondary students but less is known about higher order thinking with primary grade students. Participants in this study included all second and third grade teachers and…

This report describes SAT test results for AISD's graduating seniors, Class of 2019, who took the SAT any time during high school.

This dissertation utilizes mixed methods to further our understanding of (a) how martial arts became an established after-school activity for elementary school children, (b) how parents and participants perceive the value of martial arts, and (c) whether sustained participation in martial arts is associated with academic gains. I begin with a…

Game-based learning (GBL) is becoming a more widespread style of education; however, there is a lack of research on the benefits of GBL on students' early literacy skills. This study explores the effectiveness of a computer adaptive GBL curriculum, Waterford Early Learning (WEL) during the 2016-2017 school year. Kindergarten, first grade, and…

This study explored the reading instructional needs of 187 non-proficient students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. The sample purposefully included economic and ethnic minority students who failed to demonstrate proficiency on their state mandated-reading assessment. This inclusion allowed the students often omitted from research and allowed for the…

Improving the reading ability of young students could hardly be a more urgent priority for our elementary schools. Two thirds of American fourth and eighth graders are not able to read proficiently--and the outcomes are far worse for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2019 showed that only…