How should schools assign students to more rigorous math courses so as best to help their academic outcomes? We identify several hundred California middle schools that used 7th-grade test scores to place students into 8th-grade algebra courses and use a regression discontinuity design to estimate average impacts and heterogeneity across schools.…

Achievement gap studies examining race overwhelmingly reveal that White children and Asian children outperform Black children and Latino children, few studies have outcomes that show Black children outperforming their peers. Critical race theory frames this work, which examines the performance of English Learners (n = 198) in a large school…

Background: School-level implementation of district-level local wellness policies (LWPs) is needed to create school environments that promote nutrition and physical activity (PA). Disparities in classroom-specific LWPs implementation were examined. Methods: administrator survey (N = 756 schools; 24/24 districts) included 6 classrooms LWP…

Stereotype threat posits that students who are members of negatively stereotyped groups in school should feel more threat and less belonging, especially in schools with large achievement disparities and low racial/ethnic minority representation. This research has focused primarily on the experiences of negatively stereotyped monoracial minority…

Despite research highlighting the importance of academic performance in reducing youth's bullying involvement, little attention has focused on its role in moderating the association between peer victimization and youth maladjustment, further there have been even fewer studies examining potential racial-ethnic differences in these associations.…

Objectives: At the K-12 level, "CS for All" initiatives across the country strive to increase equitable access to and participation in computer science (CS). However, there are many open questions about the implementation and effectiveness of these initiatives, including the extent to which exposing young people to CS early on can shape…

Educational leaders through the United States have prioritized developing integrated tiered systems to assist educators in meeting students' academic, behavioral, and social and emotional well-being learning needs in an integrated fashion (McIntosh & Goodman, 2016). This is an important shift away from traditional reactive models towards…

Within secondary English language arts (ELA), concerns about the use of whitestream curricula have fueled numerous studies regarding the authorship of works included in anthologies (Applebee, 1991; Hansen, 2005; Mikkelson, 2009; Pace, 1992; Rojas, 2010) and on the lists of required full-length titles (e.g., Applebee, 1989; Hoffman, 2007;…

Providing instruction in multiple languages has the potential to simultaneously help both native English speakers and English learners to develop language proficiency. "Dual language programs" can help native English speakers develop proficiency in a second language and English learners develop proficiency in both their native language…

The Wake County Public School System's Student Engagement Survey is administered annually to measure students' perceptions of their learning experiences. This report is the first publication on student engagement results in the school system since 2018-19. Approximately 34,692 students from grades 5 through 12 responded in the spring of 2022 for a…

Region 14 Comprehensive Center and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) are collaboratively implementing projects to address high leverage problems such as student access to effective educators, supporting schools serving specific student populations, and building school district capacity to design school models aligned to parent choice.…

Race-based bullying (RBB) victimization is a significant concern among youth and can translate into a range of adjustment problems. As such, additional research is needed on possible protective factors that may buffer these effects among RBB victims. One potential factor is school equity, as it may buffer race-based bullying victims from…

This study examined bullying and cyberbullying among 185 middle school students in 4 urban middle schools in Ohio. Nearly 60% of the sample was female, and 67% of the sample was not Caucasian. The results indicated that bullying and cyberbullying are prevalent in this population. Approximately 44% of 6th-grade students felt terrible about…

Alternative certification programs provide a potential solution for teacher shortages in high-needs settings and content areas. These programs often attract career changers, who bring a passion for their content area and a desire to make it relevant to students. Research suggests that support during the first year is critical, but little is known…

Digital badges have long been assumed to possess motivational qualities that could encourage learners to engage with learning content. However, prior studies have found the effects of badges to be complex, differing by learner, type of badge, and potentially other factors. Qualitative reports suggest that individuals' perceptions of digital badges…