Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between ubiquitous laptop use and academic achievement. It was hypothesized that students with ubiquitous laptops would score on average higher on standardized tests than those without such computers. Methods: Data were obtained from two sources. First, demographic…

This study is to examine if implementation of the universal level of PBS is related to student achievement on the LEAP and iLEAP examinations administered as part of the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. A second purpose is to examine whether identified student/school characteristics contribute to any difference in academic performance. To…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference over time on standardized test scores for reading and math between fourth grade students attending Title I and Non-Title I schools in three select school systems within District 8 of North Alabama. In an effort to determine if Title I schools are successfully closing the…

There has been a long-standing concern among education researchers and policy makers that public school choice may lead to increased racial isolation. Improving on aggregate comparisons, I examine the sorting of students into charter schools by tracking individual students from their charter school of enrollment back to the school they were…

In this article, Jessica Wolpaw Reyes investigates the link between lead exposure and student achievement in Massachusetts. Childhood exposure to even low levels of lead can adversely affect neurodevelopment, behavior, and cognitive performance. Using a panel dataset of cohorts of children born in the 1990s who were third and fourth graders in the…

Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)-the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the…

The current study examined the link between academic enablers and different types of reading achievement measures. Academic enablers are skills and behaviors that support, or enable, students to perform well academically, such as engagement, interpersonal skills, motivation, and study skills. The sample in this study consisted of 61 third-,…

This annual report provides information for the 2012-13 school year on grade-level retention and student performance in the Texas public school system. Student retention and promotion data are reported with data on the performance of students in Grades 3-8 on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and mathematics…

As part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding of words as used in literary and informational texts. This focus on students' understanding of word meaning highlights the importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension. This report provides an overview of…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students be proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014, and students in subgroups to make Adequate Yearly Progress. One of these groups is students with disabilities, who continue to score well below their general education peers. This quantitative study identified scoring differences between disability…

With a focus on assisting at-risk middle-school students in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to succeed in school and graduate from high school, HISD and several area law enforcement agencies partnered together to conduct the Law Enforcement Mentoring Program. The purpose of this report is to assess the impact of the law enforcement…

To meet the constantly changing needs of schools and diverse learners, educators must frequently monitor student learning, revise curricula, and improve instruction. Consequently, it is critical that careful analyses of student performance data are ongoing components of curriculum decision-making processes. The primary purpose of this study is to…

This article provides provide a new, systematic profile of more than 18,000 homeless students in Michigan, utilizing rich administrative data from all test-taking students in Grades 3-9 during three academic years. These data are part of a larger study of school choice and student mobility in that state. Homelessness is a condition found…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between virtual school size and student achievement in virtual schools in a southwestern state. Enrollment size and the following areas were studied in an attempt to determine student achievement: STAAR English Language Arts/Reading, STAAR Math, STAAR Science, and STAAR Social Studies…

Children who struggle in mathematics may also lack cognitive awareness in mathematical problem solving. The cognitively-driven program IMPROVE, a multidimensional method for teaching mathematics, has been shown to be helpful for students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD). Guided by cognitive theory, the purpose of this…