New York State public school students in grades 3-8 are required to take the Common Core assessments, now based on Next Generation Learning Standards, in English language arts and mathematics. Students are also required to take English and Algebra Regents exams in high school. Elementary students who often perform on-grade level in the classroom…

The study investigated the relationship between student proficiency on The Writing Revolution (TWR) evaluative scales and student performance on the English Language Arts Regents Exam (ELA Regents Exam). The participants (n = 54) were enrolled in an 11th grade English Language Arts Regents Preparatory class in a small urban New York City High…

The Comprehensive English Regents Exam, also referred to as the English Language Arts (ELA) Examination, is a widely used measure of student achievement in the K-12 system in New York, yet it is not without criticism. One concern is that the ELA Regents Exam may be contributing to the widening of the gap in graduation rates between English…

This study investigated direct and indirect effects of executive functions on reading comprehension in adolescents (N = 87, M = 14.0 years, SD = 1.5) by testing for parallel mediation of effects of working memory, task-switching, and inhibitory control via decoding and text recall/inference. Working memory showed direct and indirect effects on…

This study aims to examine the role athletics plays in academic achievement amongst varsity athletes in a large suburban Long Island school district. The study was motivated by six questions using both a quantitative and qualitative methodology. Those questions aimed to answer the extent (1) the overall grade point average of an athlete compared…

This quantitative study examined the effect of a student's entry point into a school district and his/her performance on the New York State English Language Arts and Integrated Algebras Regents Exams. The subjects of this study were students assigned to the 2010 and 2011 cohorts from one Long Island school district. Three entry points were…

This study was designed to analyze non-principal staff supervisors' perceptions of PLC efforts, encouragements, and activities in the six dimensions of a professional learning community (PLC) characterized as shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collaborative culture, a focus on learning, supportive relationships, and…

The effects of neoliberal ideologies infiltrate all aspects of the teaching-learning environment, including academic practices of reading and writing. Writing, more than simply a demonstration of academic proficiency, represents a means of thinking--an opportunity to develop critical thought, build resistance to neoliberal individualism through…

The purpose of this study was to examine the professional learning community dimensions of a focus on learning, shared vision, collaborative culture, supportive structures and their impact on student achievement. Additionally, this study explored training in professional learning community principles as a moderating variable and the practice of…

This guide presents lesson plans for remedial writing classes for students who have failed the New York Regents Competency or Preliminary Competency Test in Writing. The guide consists of four units that cover: (1) organizing and reporting skills; (2) more advanced report writing skills; (3) persuasion; and (4) the persuasive essay based upon…