The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental difference in curriculum-based measurement (CBM) reading aloud performance between Grade 8 English-speaking students and English language learners (ELLs) using two theories of reading development: compensatory model and cumulative model. Fifty non-ELLs and 133 ELLs were administered the…

The goal of the present study was to test three competing hypotheses about the nature of comprehension problems of students who are poor in reading comprehension. Participants in the study were first, second, and third graders, totaling nine cohorts and over 425,000 participants in all. The pattern of results was consistent across all cohorts:…

At present, the incidence rates of children identified with autism spectrum disorders are on the rise, leading to an increased number of school-aged children needing specialized services in public schools. Most intervention efforts in the school setting focus on behavioral interventions and/or communication and social skills remediation services…

Recent policy dialogue suggests that chronic absenteeism is not only underdocumented, but is also detrimental to the success of students as early as kindergarten. That said, almost no empirical research has examined the effects of chronic absenteeism on student outcomes. This study addresses this underresearched issue in more depth. Using a…

There have been strong calls to action in recent years to promote both school choice and the learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This has led to the burgeoning development of STEM-focused schools. Nine STEM-focused charter and 2 STEM-focused magnet schools that serve elementary-aged students were examined to…

Many schools have recently experimented with moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom. We examine whether such a program increases achievement, grades, and attendance rates. We exploit quasi-random timing of program implementation that allows for a difference-in-differences identification strategy. We find that providing breakfast in…

The major purpose of this study was to find out how to encourage Title I family engagement as the school funds were decreasing in the next school year. I wanted to determine how to continue, as well as increase, parental engagement at a Title I elementary school in a rural setting. The Title I program focuses on assisting students who are…

The purpose of the study was to test the theoretical perspective that related Classworks (2008) technology to reading achievement of fourth grade students to determine if a significant difference existed in student reading achievement between the supplemental uses of Classworks software reading program to that of standard classroom instruction.…

Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) is the largest AmeriCorps State program in the country. The goal of MRC is to ensure that students become successful readers and meet reading proficiency targets by the end of the third grade. To meet this goal, the MRC program, and its host organization, ServeMinnesota Action Network, recruit, train, place and…

If children do not learn how to read in the first few years of primary school, they will struggle to complete the cycle and are at greater risk of dropping out. It is therefore crucial to identify and test interventions that have the potential of making a large impact, can be implemented quickly, and are affordable to be taken to scale by the…

This document represents the technical appendix intended to accompany "Do Disadvantaged Students Get Less Effective Teaching? Key Findings from Recent Institute of Education Sciences Studies. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2014-4010." Contents include: (1) Summary of Related, Non-Peer-Reviewed Studies; (2) Methods for Comparing Findings…

Because of the increased emphasis on standardized testing results, scores from a high-stakes, end-of-year test (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program [TCAP] Reading Composite) were used as the standard against which scores from a group-administered, curriculum-based measure (CBM), Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Reading (MIR:R), were…

Today's social studies teachers and students face an unprecedented time of standards and accountability. Students bring influences that may interact with the instructional context teachers provide for learning. Eighth- and 11th-grade U.S. history students (n = 512) from 11 schools (23 teachers), diverse in location, ethnicity, and socioeconomic…

Working with middle-school students, we replicated and extended research on oral reading fluency (ORF) assessments and prompting students to read faster. Altering ORF administration procedures by instructing students to read fast caused statistically significant increases in their words correct per minute (WCPM) and errors, which was moderated by…

Kenya is investing in information and communication technology (ICT) to improve children's learning outcomes. However, the literature on ICT is pessimistic about the ability of ICT alone to improve outcomes, and few ICT programs have created the instructional change necessary to increase learning. The Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) Initiative…