Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text (PACT) is a text- and discourse-based set of instructional practices that engage students with disciplinary texts as a means of building content knowledge and improving reading comprehension. PACT)s "efficacy" has been the subject of extensive previous trials. The purpose of this study was to…

Molecular orbital diagrams are commonly taught and used for describing chemical bonding chemistry courses including courses at the college level. Misconceptions that occur when students construct and/or use these diagrams are difficult to anticipate, diminish the diagram utility, and limit student learning. In this exploratory study, a combination…

Boosting literacy among school-age children remains a national priority. Nearly one third of students in the United States have not developed the foundational reading skills needed to succeed academically, with students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English learners especially at risk. Starting in 2010, Congress invested more…

Discussion is a well-known tool for promoting reading comprehension in secondary-level English classes for students at all levels of reading skill, especially when the discussion promotes argumentation. However, researchers know little about how struggling readers use discussion, mainly because low-track English classes have tended to focus on…

In this technical report, we describe a study examining the internal structures of the easyCBM reading measures, Grades K-5. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 114 Kindergarten students, 43 first graders, 82 second graders, 100 third graders, 109 fourth graders, and 71 fifth graders attending schools in Oregon, Georgia, South…

In the fall of 2009, the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) initiated a series of research programs designed to support the high school reform program, "Excellence for All," based on more than 20 years of research on the school reform programs of the countries with the most successful education programs worldwide. A…

There is a rising concern among educators today related to student success on end-of-year state academic assessments, especially in reading. A quasi-experimental, pre- and post-test design with a comparison group was used to look at the impact of teacher-modeled and -guided students' self-assessment and setting of learning targets on reading…

This article discusses the outcomes of a partnership between four high schools and one university to reduce the need for remediation in reading and writing. The purpose of the partnership was to build relationships between secondary and postsecondary faculty and to create a senior year English Transition course for students who did not meet ACT…

Differences in reading comprehension were examined in students with disabilities after use of three reader modification types. Participants (n=10) conveniently selected from two school districts were students grades three through eight reading on a third grade level that received a reader as a modification in their Individualized Education…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2009 to other…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. Overall results, achievement level percentages and average score results, comparison of the average score in 2009 to other…

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a district-wide professional development effort based on a modified Ramp-Up Program, designed to help high school teachers improve the reading skills of their students. Ramp-Up is a two-year course that seeks to accelerate the learning progress of entering high school students who…