Research evidence suggests that summer breaks contribute to income-based achievement and opportunity gaps for children and youth. However, summertime can also be used to provide programs that support an array of goals for children and youth, including improved academic achievement, physical health, mental health, social and emotional well-being,…

This study hypothesized that HISD prekindergarten participation consistently correlated with better educational outcomes for students. Taking into account students' age differences through kindergarten enrollment, propensity score matching controlled for students' background characteristics. Three cohorts of students in this study were eligible or…

Accountability systems have important implications for schooling. Missing from discussions about their implementation, however, are ways they affect teacher responsibility. Responsibility has been insufficiently explicated in the education literature, including its impact on teacher motivation, emotion, and behavior. We propose that a…

In 2007 Georgia instituted a flexibility policy through which school districts enter into performance contracts with the state, receiving waivers from state rules, provisions, and guidelines in exchange for agreeing to meet annual accountability targets. The performance contracts are intended to incentivize innovations that increase achievement…

These are the appendixes for the report, "District Changes in Student Achievement and Local Practice under Georgia's District and School Flexibility Policy." Five appendixes are included in the document: (1) About the study; (2) Data and methods; (3) Supporting analysis; (4) Survey instrument; and (5) Interview protocol. [For the full…

Study aim: To determine if pupil physical activity and Body Mass Index classifications maintained or improved after a one-year professional development program involving both classroom and physical education teachers. Guskey's model of teacher change guided this study. Material and methods: Indigenous children from ten schools (N = 320) in grades…

In many innovative science content professional development (PD) courses for teachers, science concepts are situated within pedagogical contexts, or in other words, science content is incorporated within contexts relevant to teaching and student learning. Pedagogical contexts are often used because they are believed to be engaging for teachers and…

Deferential differentiation occurs when the curriculum modification process defers to students' preferred ways of learning rather than relying on teachers' judgments. The preferences of 416 students identified as gifted (grades 3-8) for features of differentiated curriculum recommended for gifted students were compared with those of 230 students…

Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A funds are provided to Houston Independent School District (HISD) through the 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), also known as Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Both funds focus on enhancing student achievement: Title I, Part A provides supplemental support for…

This technical report summarizes student-level analyses conducted with the SEL Skills Survey and the Student Climate Survey to determine if a single measure of students' SEL skill acquisition and perceptions of school climate is possible. A separate research brief of this report also was published. [This report was supported by St. David's…

This research brief highlights findings from the technical report (published separately). Student-level analyses were conducted with the SEL Skills Survey and the Student Climate Survey to determine if a single measure of students' SEL skill acquisition and perceptions of school climate is possible. [For the Technical Report, see ED629195.]

This "Eighth Annual Report Card" tracks progress on Boston's goals for educating learners of all ages. The report lays out Boston Opportunity Agenda's current metrics, the baseline that has been established for the future, and the progress to be made over the course of the next five years. This report card contains the most up-to-date…

Using nationally-representative, longitudinal data on a cohort of Spanish-speaking English language learners in the U.S., this study investigated the extent to which early oral language proficiency in Spanish and English predicts later levels and rates of growth in English reading. Latent growth models indicated that both Spanish and English…

Over the past few decades, reading assessment has been pushed to the forefront of the national discussion about education. The most recent reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1994, 2001) made assessment a priority as administrators and teachers are attempting to meet increasing accountability standards, but measuring…

The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) reviewed data on 21 states' principal licensure requirements, conducted structured interviews with experts on principal preparation and professional development in 7 states, and spoke with staff at the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Institute for School…