Motivation in students can have a strong effect on student engagement and overall student success. Due to the impact of COVID-19, students have been less motivated and have fallen farther behind which increases the need to better motivate and engage students within the classroom. This quasi-experimental study which incorporated a pre- and…

The purpose of this ex-post facto quantitative study was to compare English Language Arts (ELA) and math Tennessee Compressive Assessment Program (TCAP) scores of students in grades four through eight who attended school virtually or in-person during the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district in this study allowed…

When employees expect evaluation and performance incentives will continue (or begin) in the future, the potential future rewards create an incentive to invest in relevant skills today. Because skills benefit job performance, the effects of evaluation can persist after the rewards end or even anticipate the start of rewards. I provide empirical…

As result of several federal policies over the last few decades, accountability measures for student learning and success have increased tremendously. Therefore, many school districts, including East Tennessee School District which was the subject of this study, implemented district-wide benchmark testing such as the Collaborative Assessment…

Using U.S. state-level data, we report unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of special education (SPED) trends in Tennessee from 2009 to 2019 for students in Grades 3 to 8 by three language groups: native English speakers (NES), English-proficient bilinguals (EPB), and Current English learners (Current EL). We report trends across all SPED…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the "Wit and Wisdom" ("WW") curriculum's impact on District A's student literacy in Tennessee, compare its effectiveness with similar districts, and analyze teacher perceptions, including variations in curriculum favorability, self-efficacy, and implementation. Spanning the academic…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the "Wit and Wisdom" ("WW") curriculum's impact on District A's student literacy in Tennessee, compare its effectiveness with similar districts, and analyze teacher perceptions, including variations in curriculum favorability, self-efficacy, and implementation. Spanning the academic…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the "Wit and Wisdom" ("WW") curriculum's impact on District A's student literacy in Tennessee, compare its effectiveness with similar districts, and analyze teacher perceptions, including variations in curriculum favorability, self-efficacy, and implementation. Spanning the academic…

Using state-level data, we report unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of special education (SPED) trends in Tennessee from 2009-2019 for students in grades 3-8 by 3 language groups: native English speakers (NES), English-proficient bilinguals (EPB) and Current English learners (Current EL). We report trends across all SPED disability categories and…

Reclassification is a crucial outcome for English learner (EL) students' academic progress. Though ELs spend a large portion of their academic time with general education teachers, we know little about the role general education teachers play in developing ELs' English language proficiency. Drawing from a longitudinal administrative dataset from…

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of school library access on student reading comprehension as measured by the Easy CBM universal screener test. The population consisted of 5th and 6th grade students enrolled in one intermediate school in an urban school system in East Tennessee. Data were analyzed for the population of the…

This study addressed the impact of technology integration on fifth and sixth grade educators. Face-to-face technology professional development sessions were held in an urban school district, located in Eastern Tennessee, with the purpose of increasing technology integration within curriculum and instruction. The researcher gave pre and posttests…

A quantitative ex post facto causal comparative research method was used to investigate and analyze the reading comprehension achievement of middle school Black male students in two middle schools. Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) reading scores of students in grades five, six, seven, and eight from school years 2006-2007,…

Our work aims to substantiate and extend earlier findings on the effects of student-teacher race matching on academic achievement using longitudinal data for students in Grades 3 through 8 in Tennessee. We examine heterogenous effects not only by racial subgroup and student preparedness, as explored in prior literature, but also by levels of…

The topic of educational spending and its connection to student achievement was long-debated before charter schools entered the conversation. With the rise in government spending on education, particularly charter school funding, the financial debate has strengthened and evoked much controversy. Though the Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE)…