Based on the baseline data of the China Education Panel Survey, this paper explored the relationship between teacher training and academic performance in urban and rural samples respectively and the impact of teacher training on the urban-rural gap of students' academic performance. The results showed that: firstly, there was a significant…

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 analyze the impact of the reading program, System 44, on students with learning disabilities in grades six and seven at a small rural middle school. The middle school implemented the reading program during the 2018-2019 school year to assist students reading below grade level to "catch up" or close the…

Background: After elementary school, students in Germany are separated into different school tracks (i.e., school types) with the aim of creating homogeneous student groups in secondary school. Consequently, the development of students' reading achievement diverges across school types. Findings on this achievement gap have been criticized as…

This "ex post facto," causal-comparative quantitative study assessed the math and English language arts (ELA) 7th to 8th-grade academic growth among Black students enrolled in Philadelphia's black-operated public charter schools, non-black operated charter schools, and traditional public schools while controlling for 6th-grade exam…

Australian children from regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas exhibit lower educational outcomes than their peers in metropolitan areas. The mechanisms driving the comparatively poorer educational outcomes of children in RRR areas, however, are not well understood. This paper proposes and tests two sets of factors that may be responsible for…

The Lucy Calkins' Reading Units of Study is a literacy curriculum for students in grades K-8. The curriculum has proven to be advantageous for elementary students who have strong reading skills and a broad vocabulary. However, some scholars argue that the curriculum does not meet the needs of students who lack a strong foundation in reading. What…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share detailed results and more fully describe the sample and methods used to produce the research brief, "COVID's Impact on Science Achievement: Trends from 2019 through 2024. We investigated three main research questions in this brief: 1) How did science achievement in 2021 and 2024 compare to…

This study investigated the relationship among the variables instructional time configuration, gender, race/ethnicity, and poverty to predict the academic performance of seventh-grade students on a state-mandated social studies accountability test. Results of 24,919 seventh-grade student social studies test scores from 117 middle schools, as well…

This research brief examines the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement and progress toward academic recovery. Using data from 6.7 million U.S. public school students currently in grades 3-8, the study examined academic gains in the 2022-23 school year relative to pre-pandemic years. It also tracked the gap in…

This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effectiveness of the Middle School Teacher Training Intervention on the application of culturally relevant instruction and classroom management instructions by teachers in a Title I middle school in the southeastern United States. This school lacked culturally relevant instruction and…

Knowledge about one's own cognitive processes is the basis for the monitoring and regulation of learning processes for effective reading comprehension. Taking verbal cognitive ability into account, the present study aimed to examine the developmental trajectories of reading comprehension and declarative metacognitive knowledge and their…

This brief continues ongoing research by NWEA® examining the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic, and its associated school closures, influenced student learning. Prior research focused on math and reading and found that the pandemic's negative impact steadily accumulated during the 2020-2021 school year, with significant disparities in…

This study examined data from the Institute of Education Sciences' evaluation of school-based mentoring (SBM) programs to establish a causal relationship between SBM and reduction of the academic achievement gap between African American and White middle school students. Participation in SBM improved the academic performance of all students. The…