As part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of words as used in literary and informational texts. This focus on students' understanding of word meaning highlights the importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension. This report provides an overview of…

This is a qualitative research study conducted in an attempt to gather information concerning the motivational factors of students as it is linked to the choice of reading materials in the Developmental Reading classroom. Information concerning the motivation levels of students in one Summer term course was collected. The students were given the…

A growing body of research has emerged to support the concept of providing early childhood education as a quality investment for our children, unlocking early potential and creating lasting impacts related to school success and beyond. Several landmark studies indicated that a quality education targeted at our youngest learners has the ability to…

In the United States, teacher certification has been a baseline measure of teacher quality and gateway to the teaching profession for many decades. Research suggests that teacher certification is beneficial to student achievement, with findings particularly promising when content area of teacher certification is taken into account. Positive…

The Minnesota Department of Education has collected Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) results on every American Indian student who has taken the tests. This information has been made available so communities and parents can assess how their districts, schools, and students are performing based upon MCA proficiency criteria. Prior to this…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014, and students in subgroups to make Adequate Yearly Progress. One of these groups is students with disabilities, who continue to score well below their general education peers. This quantitative study identified scoring differences between disability…

Current research shows that, despite standards-based mathematics reform, American students lag behind in mathematics achievement when compared to their counterparts in other countries. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine if reading level, as measured by the Scholastic Reading Inventory, is related to standards-based mathematics…

The use of oral reading fluency (ORF) as a predominant measurement tool for identifying struggling readers has grown exponentially over the past 30 years. ORF growth using curriculum-based measures (CBM) has also become an important practical and empirical issue influencing the field. Although fluency scores have shown to be reliable predictors of…

The ACT is a national college admissions exam that tests English, math, reading, and science content. Students take the ACT during their junior/senior year of high school. This report describes ACT test results for AISD students in 2012-2013.

Dominance analysis (DA) is a method used to evaluate the relative importance of predictors that was originally proposed for linear regression models. This article proposes an extension of DA that allows researchers to determine the relative importance of predictors in hierarchical linear models (HLM). Commonly used measures of model adequacy in…

This article examines key lessons learned by Russia while developing national assessment system in education. It shows that reforms are more likely to succeed backed with sustained political support, clearly defined goals or priorities, gradual introduction, and open discussion with stakeholders. [This article was translated by Lucy Gunderson.]

Although language experience is a key factor in successful foreign language (FL) learning, many FL learners fail to achieve performance levels that were predicted on the basis of their FL experience. This retrospective study investigated early cognitive and linguistic correlates of learning English as a foreign language (FL) in a group of…

Many children experience summer learning loss during the summer as measured by grade-level equivalents on standardized tests. Camp-based reading programs are a promising strategy to reduce summer learning loss. Situated within a positive youth development (PYD) theoretical approach, this study explored the efficacy of a U.S. camp-based reading…

This study presents findings from three cohorts of students--the classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005, in the School District of Philadelphia--that were admitted to the district's career and technical education (CTE) schools through a randomized lottery process. This study takes advantage of this so-called "'natural experiment' to compare high…

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort are used to analyze the factors that lead to the reading readiness of children who participate in nonparental care the year prior to kindergarten (N = 4,550), with a specific focus on Latino children (N = 800). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis demonstrates that reading…