The Early Fractions Test is a paper-pencil test designed to measure mathematics achievement of third- and fourth-grade students in the domain of fractions. The purpose, or intended use, of the Early Fractions Test is to serve as a student pretest covariate and a test of baseline equivalence in the larger study. In this report, we discuss our…

Pioneer Valley Books (PVB) contracted McREL International to investigate the effects of the third grade Literacy Footprints (LFP) guided reading system on English language arts (ELA) performance on state assessments. LFP is a research-based, comprehensive, small-group literacy tool that facilitates explicit and systematic guided reading…

The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study was to examine to what extent if any, there was a difference in academic and recreational reading motivation and reading achievement between third grade students who participated in the Accelerated Reading curriculum (AR) (reading software management system), as defined in definitions and…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs serving students from low socioeconomic areas are understudied in the literature. More research studies need to be conducted to make informed instructional decisions for students who may be at a disadvantage compared to their peers from higher socioeconomic areas. The purpose of…

This report provides a description of the development process, field testing, and psychometric properties of the fall 2015 grades 3-5 Elementary Mathematics Student Assessment (EMSA), a student mathematics test designed to be administered in a whole-group setting to students in grades 3, 4, and 5. The test was administered to 2,614 participating…

A recent NBER [National Bureau of Economic Research] working paper examines Florida's policy to retain many low-scoring third graders. The report concludes that third-grade retention has immediate positive effects on the following year's test results, but these effects fade over the next six years, with no effect on graduation. The regression…

A phenomenological case study by Counsell (2007) explored and investigated the phenomenon of what happened as Florida's A+ Plan intersected with the life histories of one beginning African American female third grade teacher and one veteran White female third grade teacher at demographically different school communities in one Florida school…

This study examines model selection indices for use with dichotomous mixture item response theory (IRT) models. Five indices are considered: Akaike's information coefficient (AIC), Bayesian information coefficient (BIC), deviance information coefficient (DIC), pseudo-Bayes factor (PsBF), and posterior predictive model checks (PPMC). The five…

A vertical scale, in principle, provides a common metric across tests with differing difficulties (e.g., spanning multiple grades) so that statements of "absolute" growth can be made. This paper compares 16 states' 2007-2008 effect size growth trends on vertically scaled reading and math assessments across grades 3 to 8. Two patterns…

The student population that is targeted for online learning has expanded to younger students. This article discusses the theory and practice of using online learning with K-5 students. When trying to adapt adult oriented distance education protocols for use with younger children a number of issues must be considered. These include differences in…

This study examined the effectiveness of the Too Good for Violence Prevention Program (TGFV), a multifaceted interactive intervention. Grounded in Bandura's Social Learning Theory, the TGFV curricula focus on developing personal and interpersonal skills to solve conflict non-violently and resist social influences that lead to violence.…