Students with disabilities are at an increased risk of experiencing poorer quality peer relationships than those without disabilities. Previous school-based efforts to promote positive peer interactions among students with and without disabilities have included individual skill development and broader initiatives such as inclusive school…

The FRIENDS Resilience programs provide cognitive-behavioral skills across the developmental spectrum and can be applied as a universal or selective prevention program. In the current study, we assessed whether, relative to the schools' existing counseling curriculum ("guidance"), FRIENDS improved social skills, problem behaviors, and…

Teachers often group students into teams to organize their classrooms and network-informed interventions hold great promise as a way to facilitate positive peer influence and promote the diffusion of intervention effects. Yet thus far, relatively little research has explored how teachers or prevention scientists can best use social network…

We present results of an evaluation of the first year of a multi-year comprehensive middle school reading program. Four public middle schools in rural Virginia with large populations of students with limited reading proficiency participated in a study to determine the reading program's impact. We evaluated 235 students with low reading achievement…

The researcher examined the academic performance of low-tracked students (n = 156) using standardized math test scores to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in achievement depending on academic environment, tracked or nontracked. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated, using a paired samples t-test for a…

This article reports the results of a study examining the utility of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in algebra for predicting performance on a state math assessment and informing instructional placement decisions for students in seventh, eighth, and tenth grades. Students completed six Basic Skills algebra probes across different time…

In focus groups, parents of both academically successful seventh-grade students and at-risk students (i.e., failing one or more classes, numerous behavioral referrals, and/or suspensions) in a rural middle school identified perceived barriers to student success as well as school and community resources for overcoming those barriers. Qualitative…

As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, many school districts have reduced instructional time for the arts in order to focus on reading and mathematics. Accordingly, fine arts programs across the nation have become subject to budget cuts or elimination in order to meet federal accountability measures. Hit especially hard are…