Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in U.S. schools has steadily increased. Though technology advocates believe that such programs can assist student writing, there has been little systematic evidence for this claim, and even less focused on the benefits of specific technology use by diverse learners. This dissertation…

Expert teachers create lessons designed to both support and challenge students to become strategic learners. The purpose of this multicase, qualitative study was to attempt to identify particular characteristics and behaviors shared by teachers in a one-to-one teaching situation who are able to assist difficult to teach students become able to…

The Houston Independent School District offers two primary bilingual programs for Spanish-speaking English-language learners (ELLs). In both programs, students may transition into a pre-exit phase of bilingual education so long as they meet certain performance criteria. In this Pre-Exit phase, predominantly English-language instruction is used in…

This study investigated children and adolescents' school performance over time focusing on two variables that may influence it: developmental context and gender. The sample comprised 627 participants (M[subscript age]?=?11.13, SD?=?1.8), 51% of them female, from grade one to eight, living either with family (n?=?474) or in care institutions…

For their 57th annual conference, the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) met in Dallas, Texas at Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria. This year's conference theme was Exploring the World of Literacy, which was also used as the title for this year's Yearbook, Volume 36. Included are double-peer reviewed papers,…

Transforming Writing was a two-year action research project, sponsored by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which developed a model for the teaching and learning of writing that embedded formative assessment. This report evaluates to what extent the model of writing developed by the teachers during the research period impacted on children's writing…

This article describes a model of literacy development as reflected in students' spelling. The model, based on research that identified five stages of word knowledge, explains the development of this knowledge in readers and writers, and provides a framework for elementary-grade instruction that is intended to: (1) address grade-level expectations…

This study investigated effects of background music on writing performance of nine 6th grade students with learning disabilities at one suburban public elementary school in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A single-subject A-B-A design was utilized, and results from graded writing prompts with and without background music over 21…

A teacher's belief in what he or she can do is often a predictor for how well students may do in their classroom. Working together in a collaborative setting while looking at student work, determining next steps, and setting goals for student achievement can provide the impetus for teachers to change practices, implement different strategies and…

The purpose of this technical assistance paper is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school grades for the 2014 school year. Florida's current school accountability system originated with state legislation passed in 1999 (the "A+ Plan") and has been revised periodically to reflect increased standards and…

This study examined whether relationships exist between Hispanic fourth-grade students' anxiety and test performance on a state-mandated writing assessment. Quantitative methodologies were employed by using test performance and survey data from 291 participants. While no significantly direct relationship exists between students' levels of anxiety…

This Information Capsule answers the most frequently asked questions about M-DCPS' academic performance during the 2010-11 school year. M-DCPS earned a performance grade of "B" in 2011 and was only six points short of an "A." Over half of the District's schools (56 percent) earned an "A." In Writing, the percent of…

Recent national and state standards of accountability have focused on increasing student performance and achievement as well as teacher quality. Included in this challenge is the issue of teacher compensation and how it has evolved with the efforts of providing quality instruction in order to improve the performance of students. Texas has…

This research study analyzes the literacy and foreign langauge processes of learners in the "Procesos Básicos" Program. The participants were 15 Spanish-speaking children and young adolescents, whose highest level of education was first grade. Eight of the 15 children were Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and the others were affected…

Abydos is a professional development program that includes a three-week writing institute. It provides school districts with teachers who, after a year of implementation and another year of professional development, can train other teachers, thus providing ongoing staff development. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) implemented Abydos…