Sophisticated analytic strategies have been proposed as viable methods to improve the quantification of student improvement and to assist educators in making treatment decisions. The performance of three categories of latent growth modeling techniques (linear, quadratic, and dual change) to capture growth in oral reading fluency in response to a…

This dissertation focused on mathematics instruction in early grades (Pre-K-3rd grade) by exploring teachers' beliefs about mathematics teaching and the teaching practices of one teacher. I specifically examined teachers' beliefs and one teacher's practices that reflect asset-based views of students and support mathematics learning with…

Emerging bilingual learners' biliteracy abilities are often underestimated when monolingual reading assessments, such as the DIBELS, are used to identify students as having difficulties in learning or to guide literacy instruction. The authors propose a holistic form of biliterate assessment that uses writing as a means to understand what emerging…

Self-regulation describes how individuals assess and adapt to demands within and across environments. Research accumulated over the past quarter century identifies self-regulation as a powerful predictor of children's school success. However, studying young children's self-regulation in school is challenging. Tools that are easy and efficient to…

Assessment is often used to hold schools and teachers accountable for student learning. Assessment instruments are used as tools to guide curriculum choices and lesson plans, from districts to individual students. In any discipline, knowing what students know and what they have learned following a lesson is important on multiple levels. This is…

This study examined the oral language skills of grade-two anglophone children enrolled in French Immersion and English-stream programs. The study had two objectives: (1) to compare performance between the groups on measures of receptive vocabulary, narrative comprehension, and narrative production (i.e., structure and language) in English; and (2)…

Early childhood settings have the potential to support learners with diverse learning needs, including children with disabilities. However, if educators do not feel prepared to teach children with disabilities, this potential may not be fully realized. The current study examined early childhood educators' (n = 1,296) feelings of preparedness for…

We report results from children learning to read in one of four different languages: Croatian, English, Estonian and Swedish. The languages all have an alphabetical script but vary greatly on the dimension deep-shallow (or complexity-simplicity, or opacity-transparency), i.e., how close orthography and phonology are related. These languages also…

This study was conducted to explore US elementary teachers' perceptions of their experiences using rubrics as a tool for student self-assessment and metacognition (assessment for learning) to improve elementary students' achievement and their instructional decision-making at a private American elementary school in South Florida. The constructivist…

This study explores using transfer learning in machine learning for natural language processing (NLP) to create generic automated essay scoring (AES) models, providing instant online scoring for statewide writing assessments in K-12 education. The goal is to develop an instant online scorer that is generalizable to any prompt, addressing the…

STEM (Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology) education has widely been considered to have the potential to prepare students with 21st-century skills. Though the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) is concerned with developing human resources for the 21st-century, STEM education has not yet achieved a strong position in the national…

In 2006-2007, California revised its English language proficiency (ELP) assessment, the California English Language Development Test (CELDT), which resulted in more stringent criteria and higher cut scores for meeting proficiency. Using regression discontinuity designs and a difference-in-differences approach, this study examines the effects of…

In this manuscript, I present data related to my work alongside Jane Watson (pseudonym), a White female identifying, first-year, third grade teacher in a rural majority-White public school. Over a two-year period while Jane was in her final year at a teacher preparation program and into her first-year teaching, we met through both traditional and…

This study examined how teachers in Tanzania understand and implement Phonics Instructional Approach (PIA) in the teaching of reading among early graders. Specifically, the study assessed teachers' pedagogical knowledge of the use of PIA and explored effective PIA practices used by teachers in literacy skills learning. The study employed…

The goal of the continuous improvement process in North Dakota K-12 education is to review and adjust practice to best support student learning. This study considered the continuous improvement services and supports provided by North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI), such as providing training and support through regional education…