This study examined the effects and fidelity of collaborative strategic reading (CSR) implemented by experienced CSR teachers (participated in previous study; Vaughn et al., 2011) on the reading comprehension outcomes of students in English/Language Arts (ELA) or Reading classes. Eligible teachers (12 of 17; others reassigned to teach…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) serves as an instructional approach to classroom teaching and learning that is designed to engage students in the investigation of real-world problems to create meaningful and relevant educational experiences. The causal-comparative study compared 7th and 8th students who had utilized the PBL with a comparison group in…

New analytical tools have facilitated the exploration of the trajectories of alcohol use; however, there are a limited number of studies that explore early adolescence. A sample of 5,903 youths followed from sixth through eighth grade was used to (1) examine the trajectories of alcohol use and (2) determine the degree to which common correlates…

This investigation addressed the hypothesized effects of the proportional size of a district's special education population on the overall student achievement in selected school districts in Texas. The size of a district's special education population (independent variable) was compared to districts' achievement (dependent variables) in order to…

Northwest Evaluation Association™ (NWEA™) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on…

This study examines the use of cross-classified random effects models (CCrem) and cross-classified multiple membership random effects models (CCMMrem) to model rater bias and estimate teacher effectiveness. Effect estimates are compared using CTT versus item response theory (IRT) scaling methods and three models (i.e., conventional multilevel…

The integration of knowledge during reading was tested in 1,109 secondary school students. Reading times for the second sentence in a pair (Jane's headache went away) were compared in conditions where the first sentence was either causally or temporally related to the first sentence (Jane took an aspirin vs. Jane looked for an aspirin).…

English learner students are challenged by the difficult task of learning English concurrently with learning content in areas such as reading and math. English learner students who have not attained proficiency in English or learned core course content by the middle and upper grades may not have the requisite skills to enroll in courses required…

Accountability measures with increased emphasis placed on assessment for all students have led more special education students to be placed in the general education classroom. The sample included students identified with specific learning disabilities at two high schools, 4A or larger, in South Texas. ANCOVA was utilized to analyze the data. This…

This study examined differences in Texas middle school student achievement in science by school district enrollment size. Quantitative research utilized analysis of variance to determine whether significant differences existed between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8th grade science results and four school…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of a teacher's preparation program on the academic achievement of eighth grade students in the areas of mathematics, reading, science, and social studies. Prior to the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001, the majority of classroom teachers earned their teaching…

The study reviewed in this paper examined the effects of the instructional practice "Promoting Acceleration of Comprehension and Content Through Text" ("PACT"), an approach that aims to improve social studies content knowledge and reading comprehension. This study took place in two middle schools in a near-urban district in…

During the 79th Texas Legislature, the bill "Advancement of College Readiness in Curriculum" was passed (THECB). As a response to this, high schools and colleges have combined forming an early college high school. The result of this union was a program that condensed the time it took to complete both the high school diploma and up to two…

Despite policy efforts to encourage multiple measures of performance in newly developing teacher evaluation systems, practical constraints often result in evaluations based predominantly on formal classroom observations. Yet there is limited knowledge of how these observational measures relate to student achievement. This article leverages the…

This annual report provides information for the 2012-13 school year on grade-level retention and student performance in the Texas public school system. Student retention and promotion data are reported with data on the performance of students in Grades 3-8 on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and mathematics…