This study investigated children and adolescents' school performance over time focusing on two variables that may influence it: developmental context and gender. The sample comprised 627 participants (M[subscript age]?=?11.13, SD?=?1.8), 51% of them female, from grade one to eight, living either with family (n?=?474) or in care institutions…

Recent national and state standards of accountability have focused on increasing student performance and achievement as well as teacher quality. Included in this challenge is the issue of teacher compensation and how it has evolved with the efforts of providing quality instruction in order to improve the performance of students. Texas has…

Abydos is a professional development program that includes a three-week writing institute. It provides school districts with teachers who, after a year of implementation and another year of professional development, can train other teachers, thus providing ongoing staff development. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) implemented Abydos…

The current study examines data from students in grades 4-8 who participated in a statewide computer-based benchmark writing assessment that featured automated essay scoring and automated feedback. We examined whether the use of automated feedback was associated with gains in writing quality across revisions to an essay, and with transfer effects…

This study examined the relationship between fifth-grade students' out-ofschool reading habits and measures of their reading comprehension and writing abilities. The sample was composed of forty-two students attending an urban school in Northeastern Massachusetts. Each morning, for fifteen consecutive weeks, students recorded an approximation of…

This research involved a 14-month qualitative case study of a fourth-grade bilingual class embarking on a one-to-one netbook computer initiative. Students in this program had unlimited use of the netbooks during the school day. The main foci of the data collected were student achievement, teacher instruction, and student and teacher perceptions of…

The 6+1 Trait[R] Writing model (Culham 2003) emphasizes writing instruction in which teachers and students analyze writing using a set of characteristics, or "traits," of written work: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. The Ideas trait includes the main content and message, including…

In this quasi-experimental design study, I investigated the impact of a current summer literacy approach on writing performance and writer self-perception of urban Housing Authority children. In addition, current campers and former CampUs Scholarship recipients provided feedback about personal experiences as well as shared the potential impact of…

Data is reported as percentages based on proficiency in the subject. "Low-income" on this data sheet means students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Reading data is from 2009 National Center for Education Statistics assessments and writing data is from 2002 and 2007. A brief list of references and resources is included.

The advent of No Child Left Behind led to increased teacher accountability for student performance and placed strict sanctions in place for failure to meet a certain level of performance each year. With instructional time at a premium, it is imperative that educators have brief academic assessments that accurately predict performance on…

The Houston Independent School District offered five different bilingual programs for language minority students during the 2012-2013 school year. In the Pre-Exit phase of bilingual education, students transition to a predominantly English-language instruction program in core subject areas. This report summarizes the performance of students who…

This Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) is designed to keep Florida moving forward toward national and international competitiveness. Florida will compare its National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores to those of the top five states and its Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International…

The ability to express meaning in prose is a foundational skill in our society. Given the importance of being a competent writer, concern with the quality of writing instruction is a recurring theme among American educators (Cutler & Graham, 2008; Gilbert & Graham, 2010; National Commission on Writing, 2003, 2004, 2006). Research shows…

A challenge for todays instructional leaders is identifying the most effective method of educating English Language Learners (ELLs) who participate in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The primary purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of three programs used for ESL students in twelve elementary schools in a Urban…

Over the last decade, the number of one-to-one laptop programs in U.S. schools has steadily increased. Though technology advocates believe that such programs can assist student writing, there has been little systematic evidence for this claim, and even less focused on technology use by at-risk learners. This study examined the effect of daily…