Over the past several years, Louisiana educators have taken the charge to raise expectations and educational outcomes for its students, believing students are smart, capable, and deserve opportunities to become productive members of a global society. Through a clear alignment of standards, curriculum, and assessments, students have stepped up to…

The pandemic affected the lives and social-emotional experiences of every student to some extent. Along with the unprecedented closures of schools across the country in March 2020, virtually all social activities ceased. Students were cut off from their teachers, with uneven access to live instruction and hands-on, collaborative learning. There…

Over the past several years, Louisiana educators have taken the charge to raise expectations and educational outcomes for its students, believing students are smart, capable, and deserve opportunities to become productive members of a global society. Through a clear alignment of standards, curriculum, and assessments, students have stepped up to…

Declining academic performance, along with a growing apathy of students toward the value of education, demonstrates that students in the United States public education system do not recognize the value of a positive experience in middle schools. A plethora of research and writing has been done on elementary schools and secondary schools, but…

This paper aims to translate for practitioners the principles and methods for evaluating screening measures in education, including benchmark goals and cut points, from our technical manuscript "Evaluation of Diagnostic Systems: The Selection of Students at Risk of Academic Difficulties" (this issue). We offer a brief description of…

Head Start is a valuable federal program that improves the lives of our nation's most vulnerable children and their families. Research shows that Head Start programs improve children's learning at school entry and have a positive impact on long-term life outcomes. Research also suggests that Head Start could have a stronger impact on children's…

The purposes of "Guidelines for Serving Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Educational Settings" are to: (1) Update previous guidance on serving students with specific learning disabilities (SLD); (2) Provide guidance on the implementation with fidelity of the Response to Intervention (RTI) models as well as the discrepancy…

This paper reviews current proposals concerning the definition of dyslexia and contrasts it with reading comprehension impairment. We then discuss methods for early identification and review evidence that teacher assessments and ratings may be valid screening tools. Finally, we argue that interventions should be theoretically motivated and…

Students who are disengaged from school are at risk for poor academic achievement, skipping classes, sexual activity, substance use, and ultimately dropping out of school. Out-of-school time programs can play a role in increasing school engagement. This brief provides information on the importance of school engagement, how out-of-school time…