Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) has become an increasingly popular multilevel method of analyzing data among nested datasets, in particular, the effect of specialized academic programming within schools. The purpose of this methodological study is to demonstrate the use of HLM to determine the effectiveness of STEM programming in an Ohio middle…

Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text (PACT) is a text- and discourse-based set of instructional practices that engage students with disciplinary texts as a means of building content knowledge and improving reading comprehension. PACT)s "efficacy" has been the subject of extensive previous trials. The purpose of this study was to…

Throughout the United States, dual enrollment programs enable high school students to earn college credit by completing college classes while in high school. In 2015, the State of Ohio expanded grade-level eligibility to participate in the state's dual enrollment program, College Credit Plus, to seventh- and eighth-grade students. The purpose of…

In this article, we focus on two components of the Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School (OCCAMS) project: the curriculum frameworks and the curriculum development process. The frameworks include the Integrated Curriculum Model (advanced content, unit themes, and process/product), culturally responsive curriculum, and talent…

Lower reading scores on standardized tests over the years are a great concern. Middle school students have negative reading attitudes due to less emphasis on reading. The problem addressed in this study was the relationship between middle school students' reading attitudes and their reading comprehension levels are not known and factors that may…

This study examined bullying and cyberbullying among 185 middle school students in 4 urban middle schools in Ohio. Nearly 60% of the sample was female, and 67% of the sample was not Caucasian. The results indicated that bullying and cyberbullying are prevalent in this population. Approximately 44% of 6th-grade students felt terrible about…

This paper describes how improving a teacher's content knowledge changes his teaching practices and its subsequent effects on student learning during a middle school volleyball instructional unit. The study was designed to challenge teacher educators' thinking about the importance of in-depth content knowledge for effective teaching by…

The research partnership among university faculty, information technology graduate students, and science content experts from school districts developed the Web-based two-dimensional and three-dimensional virtual reality science games. The games were implemented to engage middle school students in learning, retaining, and applying newly acquired…

In partnership with the Midwest Dropout Prevention Research Alliance the study team used student-level data and a five-step process to identify the most accurate indicators of students' failure to graduate from high school on time. Student-level data came from attendance records, transcripts, and discipline records of grade 8 and 9 students in…

This study analyzed data on students in three Ohio school districts who had completed grades 8 and 9 to determine which data elements were the most accurate indicators of students' failure to graduate from high school on time. The most accurate indicators varied by district and grade level, which underscores the importance of having school systems…

Several instruments previously validated for use in school library research were tested for their appropriateness in the context of public libraries' summer reading programs for youth. The researchers were also interested in whether the connection between perceived competence in one's own information skills and perceived competence in one's own…

The purpose of this study was to use the US naturalization test as a springboard to gauge the citizenship knowledge and notions of young adolescent students in Ohio and Georgia. The participants' citizenship knowledge was partially measured by administering questions from the US naturalization test in two case studies. Students from a range of…

"Saxon Math", published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is a core curriculum for students in grades K-12. This report includes studies that investigate the potential impact of "Saxon Math" for students in grades 6-8. A distinguishing feature of the curriculum is its use of an incremental approach for instruction and assessment.…

The authors of this report aim to understand the health of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and labor market in the Appalachia region -- defined as the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia -- with a focus on the mining and extraction industry. This report is the third in a three-part series.…

Background: Body image refers to an individual's thoughts and feelings about his or her body and physical appearance. To date, several qualitative and quantitative findings implicate sociocultural influences, such as the media or parental pressure, in shaping female adolescents' body image perceptions. Overall, there is not much quantitative…