How people see the world, even how they research it, is influenced by beliefs. Some beliefs are conscious and the result of research, or at least amenable to research. Others are largely invisible. They may feel like "common knowledge" (though myth, not knowledge), unrecognized premises that are part of the surrounding culture. As we…

This brief is directed to researchers and adds to the research base about instructional practices that are related to student achievement. Additional evidence on these relationships can suggest specific hypotheses for the future study of such instructional practices, which, in turn, will provide research evidence that could inform professional…

The Utah state legislature established the Early Intervention Software Program ("EISP") to aid in the development of Utah students' literacy skills through computer-based, adaptive reading software programs designed to meet students' unique learning needs. The Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) conducts an annual evaluation of how…

In this Appendix, we provide details about the data used for the current study, the curricula used in the classrooms from which data were collected, and the current study's methodological approach. (Contains 14 tables and 5 footnotes.)[For full report, see ED544189.]

This timely and incisive book examines the ways in which English language proficiencies develop in newly arrived immigrant students. Beginning by describing the challenges faced by children who currently attend segregated schools in many parts of the country, the authors offer a detailed account of the developing English language proficiencies of…

This guide is designed to help researchers make sure that their research reports include enough information about study measures so that readers can assess the quality of the study's methods and results. The guide also provides examples of write-ups about measures and suggests resources for learning more about these topics. The guide assumes…

This study investigated the accuracy of classroom teachers' judgments of the reading progress of their low-performing students. Participants were 36 second grade teachers and students in their lowest reading groups (n = 150). Student progress was monitored weekly using reading-curriculum-based measurement (R-CBM) procedures. After 6 weeks,…

This paper reports a study on children's classroom-based collaborative creative writing. Based on socio-cultural theory, the central aim of the research was to contribute to current understanding of young children's creativity, and describe ways in which peer collaboration can resource, stimulate and enhance classroom-based creative writing. The…

This paper investigated six to nine year old children's ability to use contractive and possessive apostrophes, the effects of type and token frequency, and the effect of teaching on this ability. Apostrophes provide an interesting opportunity to examine the basis of frequency effects in rule inference, as type and token frequencies dissociate in…

This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) to examine how children's skills and knowledge at kindergarten entry predict their achievement in later grades. It extends previous research by examining longer-term achievement outcomes, namely test scores at the end of fifth grade, and…