This study used a propensity score approach to estimate treatment effects in a multilevel setting. The propensity score approach involves the estimation of propensity scores for covariate balancing and the estimation of treatment effects. This study aimed at understanding how propensity scores estimated through a simple logistic regression compare…

This study estimates the causal impact of 8th grade English learner (EL) reclassification on high school English language arts (ELA) standardized test scores, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) reading, and on-track to graduate status. I apply a regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California. The…

This study investigated the reported use of metacognitive reading strategies and their interplay with the reading comprehension of 119 tenth grade learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) enrolled in five randomly-selected public schools in South Lebanon. In addition, the study examined the relative role of the global, problem-solving, and…

Despite the recognized importance of morphological knowledge to literacy outcomes such as vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, two of its subconstructs--morphological awareness and morphological processing--have received comparatively little attention. In response, the aim of the study reported here was to examine how the relationships…

The present study explores the longitudinal development between Grade 3 word level reading skills and higher level semantic skills to Grade 10 reading comprehension for 3,157 students. In particular, this work focused on how the developmental relations varied for subsamples of students who are English learners (EL; N = 308), students identified as…

There are severe gaps in reading achievement among students based on ability, race, and income levels. As a result, many high school students with reading difficulties, particularly those who are minorities and living in poverty, are not able to read with the same level of skill as their peers, which can affect their chances of success later in…

During the 2013/14 school year two Florida school districts sought to develop an early warning system to identify students at risk of low performance on college readiness measures in grade 11 or 12 (such as the SAT or ACT) in order to support them with remedial coursework prior to high school graduation. The study presented in this report provides…

Balanced literacy has been proposed as a compromise or middle ground between philosophical approaches to reading instruction that stress teaching of word recognition and those that stress construction of meaning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the READ 180 balanced literacy supplementary instruction program on…

This study examines whether scores from an interim reading assessment in grade 9, the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading--Florida Standards, can be used to identify students who may score below the college readiness benchmark on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and ACT Plan in grade 10. Using scores on an…

Like active labour market programmes, grade repetition could generate two types of effects: better/worse outcomes due to programme participation (i.e. the fact that pupils repeat a particular grade). This is what the existing literature on grade repetition has focused on. Another potential outcome is the "threat" effect of grade…

In Florida, mean proficiency scores are reported on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT) as well as recommended learning gains from the developmental scale score. Florida now has another within-year measure of growth in reading comprehension from the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). The FAIR reading comprehension…

Although federal regulations require testing students with severe cognitive disabilities, there is little guidance regarding how technical quality should be established. It is known that challenges exist with documentation of the reliability of scores for alternate assessments. Typical measures of reliability do little in modeling multiple sources…

In recent years, the regression discontinuity design (RDD) has gained widespread recognition as a quasi-experimental method that when used correctly, can produce internally valid estimates of causal effects of a treatment, a program or an intervention (hereafter referred to as treatment effects). In an RDD study, subjects or groups of subjects…

This study implemented an independent silent reading (ISR) program with 145 10th grade students. Students were measured on total reading ability, vocabulary, reading comprehension, a state-mandated high stakes end-of-course test (EOCT), and reading attribution. After controlling for initial skill and disposition levels, the results indicated that…

A 2-year, randomized control trial with 9th to 10th grade students with significant reading problems was provided for 50 minutes a day in small groups. Comparison students were provided an elective class and treatment students the reading intervention. Students were identified as demonstrating reading difficulties through failure on their state…