This quantitative study focused on the Algebra 1 End-Of-Course Exam Program (EOCEP) exam that students must complete if they are enrolled in beginning algebra classes. The research focused on one school, the high schools within this school's district, and South Carolina. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a relationship between…

Statewide assessments in reading and math are required every year under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, at an annual expense of billions of taxpayer dollars. Analyzing 10 years of school-level results from public schools in two states-- Nebraska and Texas--we found that year-to-year correlations of schools' test scores were…

Newsela contracted with LearnPlatform by Instructure (LearnPlatform), a third-party edtech research company, to examine the relationship between Newsela ELA usage and outcomes for students. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level II requirements (Moderate Evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The study included…

Based extensive fieldwork and interviews, this study explains teacher evaluation policy enactment as shaped by three conditions: (1) a principal's backgrounds, role perceptions, knowledge of instruction, and interactions with teachers; (2) teachers' perspectives; and (3) environmental demands. Notably, principals may lack the backgrounds,…

These are the appendixes for the report, "English Proficiency and the Pandemic: How Texas English Learner Students Fared during the COVID-19 Pandemic. REL 2023-144." This study examined levels of English proficiency before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among English learner students in grades 3-12 in Texas. In 2020-2021, nearly…

Evidence in psychology and economics has converged on an understanding of what matters for students' learning and what influences their life trajectories. While earlier work focused on the role of large scale assessment test scores, more recent research emphasizes the importance of socioemotional skills, experiences, and mindsets--such as conflict…

This research study investigates the impact of the rapid transition from paper-based to online administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams on student performance in a South Texas school district. The transition, mandated by House Bill 3261, presented Texas public schools with a tight timeline for adapting…

Montessori instructional approach closely aligns with The Science of Reading. Standardized test scores and student background data from statewide data sets were reviewed to produce empirical evidence that students instructed in reading in schools using Montessori methods and curriculum achieve results significantly higher than the state average…

This qualitative study investigates the perceptions of alternative school administrators in North Carolina about the impact of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on them and their campuses. The study interviewed four alternative high school administrators with schools labeled as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) during the 2018-2019…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires annual data collection to monitor the provision of special education services, yet federal reports rarely disaggregate trends for English learners (ELs). In merging all available annual data files required under IDEA from 2006 to 2020, the present study provides the first large-scale…

After the passage of "No Child Left Behind," and especially after Obama-era Race to the Top initiatives, rising accountability for improved achievement and widespread dissatisfaction with the instructional value of statewide test reports led many school districts to purchase computer-adaptive "interim" testing systems. A common…

In 1967, Martin Luther King affirmed, "In elementary schools, Negroes lag one to three years behind Whites, and their segregated schools received substantially less money per student than do the White schools." (as cited in Startz, 2020, para. 1) Two years prior, the main intent of the ESEA of 1965, which also created Title I, had been…

HB5 of 2013 eliminated many end of course exams and lowered the course-taking requirements for many high school students. What were the main consequences? College readiness as measured by high school exams dropped precipitously. However high-school course-taking patterns were largely unchanged. The goal of the research project presented in this…

This study investigated the impact of AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) English General Paper courses on the academic progress of 10th-grade students with disabilities, specifically their performance in Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) scores. The primary objective was to examine the correlation between ninth-grade FSA…

Multilingual learners (MLs) are students whose primary language is not English and are eligible for English language development services through the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP). Eligible MLs receive TBIP services until they become proficient in English. During the 2022-23 school year, 149,357 students were identified as…