The goal of this Research Brief is to identify schools in which English Language Learners (ELLs) exhibit high growth in English language acquisition. In 2015-2016, a new English Language Proficiency test, known as Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-toState for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs) was used for the…

Second language (L2) educators have proposed a unique anxiety for general L2 learning and an anxiety specific to L2 reading. Since the early 1990s, the L2 anxiety concept has been challenged on theoretical and empirical grounds. In this investigation, U.S. high school L2 learners were administered the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS)…

In a high-school reading class, the author used Reader's Theater as an instructional and motivational strategy for underachieving students. This action research focused on the extent to which implementing Reader's Theater motivated students to read and improve their reading skills. Consistent increases in scores for all students occurred over the…

The present study explores the longitudinal development between Grade 3 word level reading skills and higher level semantic skills to Grade 10 reading comprehension for 3,157 students. In particular, this work focused on how the developmental relations varied for subsamples of students who are English learners (EL; N = 308), students identified as…

Separate mixed model analyses of variance were conducted to examine the effect of textual distance on the accuracy and speed of text consistency judgments among adequate and struggling comprehenders across grades 6-12 (n = 1,203). Multiple regressions examined whether accuracy in text consistency judgments uniquely accounted for variance in…

Little attention has been paid to the question about generality versus modularity of the learning potential (LP). The main research question of our study was: Is the students' LP established with the help of a dynamic assessment of their English as a foreign language (EFL) oral proficiency general enough to predict their subsequent EFL reading and…

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model posits that reading is the product of word decoding and language comprehension and that oral language (listening) comprehension is the best predictor of reading comprehension once word-decoding skill has been established. The SVR model also proposes that there are good readers and three types of poor…

As pre-K programming increasingly garners more political attention and funding in the states, policymakers are seeking the most up-to-date and rigorous research to support decision-making and creation or expansion of these programs. High-quality pre-K has bipartisan support in part because of the vast amount of existing research detailing positive…

This executive summary report highlights Austin Independent School District English learner students' (ELs) state-required English language proficiency test performance on the 2018 Spring administration. Student performance is summarized by domain and composite ratings, and years in U.S. schools. The changes made to the test are also discussed. A…

Research findings on the presence of a therapy dog in the classroom are summarized. The authors reviewed 30 articles, book chapters, and other sources on the topic of the various uses of dogs in classrooms, published between 2001 and 2017. Ages studied ranged from 3 years to adolescence (high school). In our analysis, three categories of…

This study examined the North Carolina Virtual Public School's (NCVPS) credit recovery program and other common credit recovery options available to students in the state. The study compared short- and longer-term academic outcome data across credit recovery options, as well as correlations between the academic outcomes and characteristics of…

In Indiana and Minnesota the state education agency, state higher education agency, and the state workforce agency have collaborated to develop career and technical education courses intended to improve high school students' college and career readiness. These agencies partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest to examine whether…

In Indiana and Minnesota the state education agency, state higher education agency, and the state workforce agency have collaborated to develop career and technical education courses intended to improve high school students' college and career readiness. These agencies partnered with the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest to examine whether…

In Indiana and Minnesota, career and technical education programs are intended to provide pathways to both postsecondary education and careers after high school. Each state's education agency, higher education agency, and workforce agency collaborated to develop career and technical education courses. These agencies partnered with the Regional…

These are the appendixes for the report "Indiana and Minnesota Students Who Focused on Career and Technical Education in High School: Who Are They, and What Are Their College and Employment Outcomes? REL 2021-090." This study examined the college and employment outcomes of Indiana and Minnesota students who focused on career and…