In this brief we examine how variability in students' math and reading test scores changed across the pandemic, including whether increased dispersion was concentrated at one part of the test score distribution. Using reading and math assessment data from a sample of 8 million students in grades 3-8 in 24,000 public schools who took MAP Growth…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "The Widening Achievement Divide during COVID-19." The authors investigated two main research questions in this brief: (1) To what degree have students' reading and math…

The purpose of this study was to obtain perspectives of parents, teachers, and students about the contextual fit of conjoint behavioral consultation for supporting middle school students with emotional and behavior concerns. Participants were eight parents of middle school students with elevated behavior risk, eight middle school students with…

The purpose of this single descriptive case study was to describe how an externship program in the central United States impacts K-8 teachers' investment in and integration of work-based learning (WBL) practices in the classroom. The need to investigate how best to encourage teachers to buy into WBL is driven by misalignment among teacher…

The aim of this study was to analyze middle school students' metacognition awareness levels and problem solving skills. The research was carried out with a total of 1595 middle school students studying in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades in a middle school in a city of the Central Anatolia Region. The metacognitive awareness scale (MAS) form B…

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the time spent on viewing television and using computer is associated with overweight and obesity among 11- to 14-y-old Turkish secondary school students'. This study was carried out in 5th, 6th and 7th grades of two secondary schools in Zonguldak province in 2016. A total of 476 students, 52.3%…

Since the release of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" in 2012, there has been a significant shift toward the use of science and engineering practices that mirror the way scientists do their work (NRC 2012). The "Framework" states, "A focus on practices (in the plural) avoids the mistaken impression that there is…

Given the important role played by students' spatial reasoning skills, in this paper we analyse how students use these skills to solve problems involving 2D representations of 3D geometrical shapes. Using data from in total 1357 grades 4 to 9 students, we examine how they visualise shapes in the given diagrams and make use of properties of shapes…

In this study, it was aimed both to examine middle school students' perceptions of the concept of pattern and to reveal if the metaphoric perceptions which the students created in relation to the concept of pattern changed according to the variable of grade level. The metaphors in relation to the concept were carried out via the…

This longitudinal study examined how two externalising behaviour problems, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CDs), are associated over time with low motivation (MAS), and how these problems effect academic performance. In our cross-lagged analysis, we found reciprocal effects between ADHD symptoms and MAS…

This study explores the impact of professional learning communities on student achievement in a small school setting. Aaron Hansen's book, "How to Develop PLCs for Singletons and Small Schools," offered a guide for arranging vertical, grade-level teams with one teacher per grade level at one private, K-8 school. The faculty engaged in…

The study purpose was to examine whether adolescents who participated in organized physical activity (PA) programs differed from nonparticipants in motivation, social support, and self-efficacy related to PA; PA (min/hr); and sedentary screen time behavior. Thirty-nine 5th-7th grade adolescents participated in organized PA programs; 41 did not.…

Generative AI, particularly Language Models (LMs), has the potential to transform real-world domains with societal impact, particularly where access to experts is limited. For example, in education, training novice educators with expert guidance is important for effectiveness but expensive, creating significant barriers to improving education…

Supporting student wellbeing in schools is increasingly becoming a global priority. However, research and initiatives primarily focus on general wellbeing rather than subject-specific experiences. Given the pervasive levels of mathematics anxiety, negative attitudes, and disengagement in mathematics education, we argue for a more contextualised…

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine fourth to eighth graders' conceptualizations of kindness at school (i.e., their definition of kindness, an example of an act of kindness they have done, who they see as the most salient adult agent of kindness, and which location they deem that kindness happens most). To date, kindness research has…