The purpose of this study was to examine the directionality of the relationship between text reading prosody and reading comprehension in the upper grades of primary school. We compared 3 theoretical possibilities: Two unidirectional relations from text reading prosody to reading comprehension and from reading comprehension to text reading prosody…

In this study, the authors tested the effects of Tekster [Texter], a comprehensive strategy-focused writing instruction program, using a switching replication design with three measurement occassions. The program was implemented by fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers (N = 76) in 60 general education classrooms in the Netherlands. Students (n =…

This article reports on 2 studies that attempted to replicate the findings of a study by Szmalec, Loncke, Page, and Duyck (2011) on Hebb repetition learning in dyslexic individuals, from which these authors concluded that dyslexics suffer from a deficit in long-term learning of serial order information. In 2 experiments, 1 on adolescents (N = 59)…

Little is known about factors other than students' abilities and background variables that shape teachers' achievement expectations. This study was aimed at investigating the role of teachers' perceptions of students attributes (working habits, popularity, self-confidence, student--teacher relationships, and classroom behavior) in shaping…

The theory of triarchic intelligence posits that, in addition to the widely acknowledged analytical reasoning abilities, creative and practical abilities should be included in the assessments of intellectual capacities and identification of gifted students. To find support for such an approach, the present study examined the psychometric…

Background: Changing demographics in societies through international migration have led to an increasing number of bi-ethnic individuals. The focus of this study is on bi-ethnic students with one parent with an ethnic majority background and one parent with an ethnic minority background. Most studies worldwide have grouped these bi-ethnic students…

Schools frequently increase the instructional time to improve primary school children's math and reading skills. There is, however, little evidence that math and reading skills are effectively improved by these instruction-time increases. This study evaluates "Playing for Success" (PfS), an extended school day program for underachieving…

Individual differences in strategy use (choice and accuracy) were analyzed. A sample of 362 Grade 6 students solved complex division problems under 2 different conditions. In the choice condition students were allowed to use either a mental or a written strategy. In the subsequent no-choice condition, they were required to use a written strategy.…

In the Netherlands, national assessments at the end of primary school (Grade 6) show a decline of achievement on problems of complex or written arithmetic over the last two decades. The present study aims at contributing to an explanation of the large achievement decrease on complex division, by investigating the strategies students used in…

The authors addressed the following research question: Does composition of dyads in terms of gender and ability affect student participation, the level of cognitive elaborations during a collaborative activity, and individual student achievement? The study involved 24 6th-grade dyads paired as follows: a low-ability student with a medium-ability…

Differences between traditional linear regression and a Bayesian approach to classification are discussed. Classification consists of assigning subjects to one of several available treatments on the basis of their test scores when the success of each treatment is measured by a different criterion. Formulating this problem as an empirical Bayes…