Focusing on a large study of the implementation of secondary English Language Arts curriculum in California and Washington, we assess how teachers use learning goals to support students developing expert learning practices. Highlighting the value of goal setting to support students' agency in learning to write, we describe teachers' reasons for…

Prior work has shown that students' self-reported levels on social-emotional measures predict achievement levels and gains, but we have little evidence on whether within-student changes in self-reports on social-emotional surveys are predictive of changes in theoretically related academic and behavioral outcomes. We use large-scale data from the…

The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the impact of i-Ready Personalized Instruction on ELA achievement, as measured by SBA scores. We compared "striving learner" students who were assigned to use i-Ready Personalized Instruction (Treatment students) and "striving learner" students assigned to only receive i-Ready…

While policymakers have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for "science of reading" initiatives, the evidence on the impact of related reforms when implemented at scale is limited. In this pre-registered, quasi-experimental study, we examine California's recent initiative to improve early literacy across the state's lowest-performing…

Tiered instructional supports are on a steep growth trajectory in the US and getting underway internationally as a means to providing equitable education to all student groups. In the US, the Department of Education funded the expansion of multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) through school and personnel improvement grants to states. This…

We address the concern that classification of English learners (ELs) primarily based on standardized tests does not accurately reflect what students know and can do with English. While qualitative classroom discourse analyses show that ELs' language-in-use is not as limited as test scores indicate, available evidence is sparse and prone to…

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…

Purpose: We aim to better understand the curricular, staffing, and achievement trade-offs entailed by expansions of high-school computer science (CS) for students, schools, and school leaders. Methods: We use descriptive, correlational, and quasi-experimental methods to analyze statewide longitudinal course-, school-, and staff-level data from…

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…

Supportive, respectful teacher-student interactions are essential to a positive learning environment for linguistically and culturally diverse students. In this article, I focus on one case from a larger study that examined the teaching practices and perspectives of four secondary teachers of immigrant-origin students of generation 1.0, 1.5, and…

Purpose: Recent attempts to measure schools' influence on students' social-emotional learning (SEL) show differences across schools, but whether these estimated differences measure the true effects of schools remain unclear. To better understand these measures, we examine the stability of estimated school-by-grade effects across 2 years using…

The goal of this study was to examine IXL usage among high school students in California and its relation to academic performance in math and ELA, as measured by the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment (SBA). At the high school level in California, the SBA is taken only by 11th- grade students each year. We analyzed students' math and ELA SBA…

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced teaching and learning in dramatic ways. Educators have made significant efforts to facilitate learning in dynamically changing formats, and students have experienced a very difficult time to learn in non-traditional environments and settings. This study focuses on participation rates of 5th grade students on a…

This study examines how emergent bilinguals seek help in language arts and how peers respond to their requests for help. Using 6 months of naturally occurring student talk in a U.S. fourth grade classroom, this article shows that (a) emergent bilinguals more frequently use general requests than specific requests to obtain help, (b) only 41% of…

A growing body of research points to the substantial influence of principals on school conditions and students' learning. But how can principals learn to be good leaders? And are there professional learning strategies that make a difference in principal effectiveness? This study, which is part of a larger project synthesizing the research on…