This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study on why students often experience a decline in academic achievement as they transition to middle school. Academic mindsets, such as a belief in the malleability of ability (growth mindset) or a reluctance to engage academically because of embarrassment or a fear of failure (performance…

Prior research in mathematical assessments has indicated varying results of predictive variables and further research has been recommended to support students, parents, teachers, and school administration. The purpose of this research was to determine how well a student's performance on a mathematics domain at the state level may be predicted…

This "ex post facto," causal-comparative quantitative study assessed the math and English language arts (ELA) 7th to 8th-grade academic growth among Black students enrolled in Philadelphia's black-operated public charter schools, non-black operated charter schools, and traditional public schools while controlling for 6th-grade exam…

This report focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kalamazoo Public Schools District in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which closed its doors to students from mid-March 2020 to June 2021. During this time, instruction transitioned from face-to-face to virtual, with students having three options for virtual instruction. In addition to individual KPS student…

Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) functioning within schools has historically been considered in the context of educational impact. Currently, traditional models in education do not readily take into account changing ecological considerations for students, as they experience heightened population-wide academic and SEB concerns, increasing…

This study was grounded in the social cognitive career theoretical framework (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). The purpose of this four-year longitudinal study was to examine the factors that may have contributed to students' motivation to develop STEM interest during secondary school years. The participants in our study were 9th-11th grade high…

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…