This study examined the relationship between the structural classroom environment (self-contained, team-taught, and departmentalized) and student performance on the 2014 Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in reading, Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies in grades three through five. A secondary purpose examined…

Contemporary state math standards emphasize that students must demonstrate an understanding of the mathematical ideas underlying the computations that have typically been the core of the elementary school math curriculum. The standards have put an increased emphasis on the study of fractions in upper elementary grades, which are the years during…

Growing gaps in reading and vocabulary achievement between minority and majority student subgroups have led to an intense focus on implementing effective classroom instructional strategies. Prior research concerning teachers' perceptions of using explicit instructional strategies to teach vocabulary to underperforming students has been…

Writing and photography are composition processes that help develop children's linguistic and visual competencies, respectively. Using photography in teaching writing has been found to enhance students' literacy skills by naturally invoking their interest and motivation, and eventually strengthening the reading-writing relationship. Children can…

The paper attempts to investigate the influence of textbooks on the results of international assessments such as TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] and PIRLS [Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]. It tries to consider the role and impact of school textbooks on PIRLS and TIMSS performance across countries. As…

School climate has increasingly been recognized as an essential component of school improvement owing to the established associations between a positive school climate and academic outcomes for students. Our study examines associations among a brief measure of school climate assessing elementary student perceptions and the College and Career Ready…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with Dollar General Literacy Foundation, is proud to present this issue brief examining the vital role afterschool programs play in building students' literacy skills. This issue brief will focus on the year-round support needed to help students with their reading, writing and critical thinking skills. This…

Anxiety symptoms expressed by elementary school-aged students was a problem in an elementary school south of Atlanta, Georgia. These behaviors were negatively impacting the performance and behaviors of fourth and fifth grade students in and out of the educational environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if teaching anxiety reduction…

Business leaders in Georgia cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students' lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation's most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. The state's students have made real progress in…

Scope and Method of Study: The researcher's evaluation of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance's (WAWA) programs highlighted that few if any of the offered educational programs included a program evaluation, especially the most promising, the Enviroscape® Watershed learning module. The education programs that were customized and developed by the…

With the concurrent emphasis on accountability, prevention, and early intervention, curriculum-based measurement of reading (R-CBM) is playing an increasingly important role in the educational process. This study investigated the differences in diagnostic accuracy and utility between commercial norms and local norms when making high-stakes, local…

After decades of attempting to identify effective reading programs within the United States, in recent years, the emphasis on identifying these programs has made a dramatic shift. The continuous increase in federal involvement began the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). One of the primary goals for NCLB is to drastically improve…

Students with disabilities in Grades 3-5 in a Georgia school are not meeting state academic standards. The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to ensure that all students meet these standards; those schools that do not make gains enter into School Improvement status. This study was conducted to determine if staff development that focused on…

Today's mathematics standards require teachers to use concrete math manipulatives (CMM) to increase the proficiency of students, but many upper elementary teachers fail to use these resources. The effects of this resource disuse may decrease student learning potential and impede successful standardized test results. This case study allows leaders…

Writing about the teaching artist practice should mean writing about art making. As both teacher and artist, the authors are required to be cognizant of their own art-making processes, both how it works and why it is important to them, in order to make this process visible to their students. They also need the same skills to write about how and…