This quantitative, correlational study aimed to investigate the relationships between collective teacher efficacy (CTE), its enabling conditions (EC-CTE), and student achievement in third through eighth grades in Colorado. Leveraging the theoretical foundations established by Rotter (1954), Bandura (1977) and expanded by Tschannen-Moran et al.…

This paper provides evidence on the effect of local prescription opioid use on academic achievement of 3rd-8th graders between 2009 and 2018. Using county fixed effects models, I find that when counties have higher levels of prescription opioid use, students score lower on standardized assessments two to three years later, with variation by…

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…

Despite the growing body of research on how to support older readers, few studies consider whether U.S. teachers can identify students who have difficulty reading instructional materials across content areas or whether teachers feel like they have the knowledge and resources to support those students. Such information could lay the groundwork for…

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…

Many initiatives have emphasized the importance of challenging students in text using readability formulas. Almost all formulas employ mean word frequency yet long-standing issues abound. Researchers question using a singular mean with a skewed variable like frequency. They also question the degree to which frequency pinpoints complex words,…

This study addressed a deficiency in the agricultural literacy of the U.S. population by focusing on the challenges that core subject teachers face when integrating agriculture into their curriculum. Using a phenomenological research approach, this investigation explored the lived experiences of Louisiana teachers who piloted a 4-H STEM…

The paper presents an analysis of elementary grade mathematics teaching in India focusing on mathematical reasoning. Mathematical reasoning is an important tool to make sense of mathematical ideas, which in turn makes mathematics more accessible to learners and promotes social equality. The paper analyzes 112 lessons from Grades 1 to 8 by 21…

A mixed-methods research design was employed to explore the attitudes of typically developing elementary school students (students 8 through 13 years of age; in the United States, third through eighth grade) toward individuals with disabilities. The intervention consisted of person-centred videos that depicted productive, successful people with…

This study investigates the relationship between mastery goal performance and achievement on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test. With policies like the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) placing increased importance on standardized-state assessments, schools are making efforts to improve scores, often by focusing…

Reading comprehension tests involve not only reading passages and answering questions but also making choices such as the test-taking strategy to use, whether to search passages for answers, and where to begin searching. We examined the associations between student characteristics, passage type, test-taking strategies, and students' time searching…

This quantitative, causal-comparative research study investigated whether school configuration has an impact on the reading performance of sixth-grade students by comparing the End-of-Grade (EOG) reading assessment Grade Level Proficiency (GLP) scores of sixth-grade students in K-8 configured schools to sixth-grade students enrolled in 6-8 grade…

Fractions are foundational for success in algebra and STEM, but they are notoriously difficult for students. In past work, two separate branches of research from psychology and math education have studied fractions knowledge using different, isolated approaches. In this dissertation, I synthesize research from both fields about proportional…

Recent studies suggest that benefiting early from both a cochlear implant (CI) and exposure to cued speech (CS, support system for the perception of oral language) positively impacts deaf children's speech perception, speech intelligibility, and reading. This study aims to show how: 1/CS-based speech perception ("cue reading"), and…

The elementary and middle years give educators a profound opportunity to impact students' long-term outcomes: in this research, students with strong grades and attendance in elementary school were more likely to graduate high school and enroll in college than their peers. Although some Chicago Public Schools (CPS) elementary schools use CPS's…