Reading Horizons partnered with LearnPlatform by Instructure to investigate the relationship between teacher implementation of Reading Horizons Discovery (RHD) and student literacy outcomes. The study involved 83 educators and 1,242 students across seven elementary schools in North Carolina during the 2022-23 school year. Researchers used mCLASS…

A Vygotskian approach to assessment is proposed by invoking the distinction between the development of lower and higher psychological functions. Higher psychological functions are specifically human and develop with the use of cultural tools via mediation. Accordingly, a distinction is made between tests that are based on association, which have…

This research study was conducted to gain a better understanding of teacher perceptions, in both low-performing and high-performing urban charter schools, of the impact of administrative support, professional development, and teacher preparation in closing the achievement gap among fourth grade students. The trend over the last five years among…

Although high-quality early care and education (ECE) is widely accepted as one of the most effective means for promoting early learning and development, many ECE programs have limited impact perhaps because of issues with how ECE quality is defined and measured. This study seeks to expand definitions of ECE quality by asking which preschool ECE…

Wilburn implemented the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) from 2008-09 through 2014-15. TIF [Teacher Incentive Fund] funding supported the performance pay component since 2010-11. All TAP principles were implemented. However, challenges occurred related to staff turnover, scheduling, and the extra work involved. Many teachers did not find the TAP…

Care Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs) have advanced and matured, a number of states and localities have undertaken evaluations to validate the systems. Such efforts stem from the desire to ensure that the system is designed and operating in the ways envisioned when the system was established. Given that a central component in a QRIS…

Successful professional development programs for teachers are necessary conditions for school success. They include those that are scientifically- and/or evidence-based, such as a product-based model. This case study examined the impact of a product-based model of professional development on K-6 students' performances on the North Carolina…

The disparity between the results of state accountability tests in reading and the fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has left many educators dismayed and concerned. In this article the authors describe a comparison of assessment approaches evident in NAEP to the approaches taken in a sample of state tests. The authors…