This study provides a critical look at achievement of African American (AA), and Latino (L) females in third and fifth grades on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in reading, mathematics and science. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the 2007 and 2011 TAKS raw data. Data analyses indicate that AAL females had the lowest…

This article will seek to utilize Dr. William Allan Kritsonis' book "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" (2007) as a framework to improve a campus's standardized test scores, more specifically, their TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) scores. Many campuses have an improvement plan, also known as a Campus…

This research investigates the challenges faced in enacting instructional models that previous research has found to foster student learning. In order to complete this study, the researcher documented, through a strategy of reflective practice, his return to teaching high school science after having served for a time as a science specialist and…

The content area of social studies has not been given as much attention as its counterparts despite its inclusion in the state wide TAKS exam in Texas. All students in grades 8, 10, and 11 are required to take the social studies portion, and must pass it in order to graduate. The consequences of such a test and the importance of social studies in…

In the United States, an academic achievement gap has prevented many African American students from advancement and educational empowerment. Guided by Bandura's theoretical belief, which posits a relationship between social factors and an individual's perception, this non-experimental, causal comparative, control treatment group design study…

The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program funds reforms in low performing schools. Congress provided $3.5 billion for SIG in fiscal year 2009, and a total of about $1.6 billion was appropriated in fiscal years 2010-2012. SIG requirements changed significantly in 2010. Many schools receiving SIG funds must now use the funding for specific…

Recently, two of the authors (Amrein-Beardsley & Collins, 2012) studied the impact of Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS), a value-added model used to judge Houston teachers' performance. They examined the cases of four teachers who were terminated in summer 2011, at least in part because of their subpar EVAAS scores. Talking to…

School districts were faced with numerous lawsuits for violating students' due process rights in the early 1980's. In response, schools began using other disciplinary responses to discipline violators such as in-school suspension (Adams 2000; Hanson 2005). In-school suspension provided a softer and less punitive approach to discipline and allowed…

Researchers examined whether rewarding teams of teachers for student performance had an effect on student achievement or teacher practices or attitudes in a demonstration project in Round Rock, Texas. They found that the intervention had no effect in any of these areas. Students taught by teacher teams who were offered incentives scored slightly…

Research indicated that educators must consider socio-ecological accommodations because not all students learn in cooperative groups. Students must be taught how to discover the process of learning and to apply knowledge to real life situations. Gurian and Ballew (2003) identified differences in the male and female brain and the differences in how…

A long-standing question in educational research and policy discussion turns on whether technology-based instruction can improve academic performance. Finding a convincing answer to this question is important because school systems across the country have invested and continue to invest very large sums on new instructional hardware and software.…

This study examines the effect of 30 min of small group explicit instruction on reading outcomes for first-grade Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at risk of reading difficulties. Participants were 78 ELs from seven schools who were receiving Spanish only, or Spanish and English, whole group reading instruction in first grade. Students were…

Under Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the Texas Education Agency is required to establish Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for the English language acquisition and academic achievement of limited English proficient (LEP) students. This 2013 Guide to Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives provides AMAO…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of Texas public Montessori school principals as instructional leaders in science. Twelve public Montessori school principals were interviewed for this study. Two research questions were used: How do public Montessori principals perceive Texas science standards in public…

Prior research has documented that classroom-level variables have a significant effect on student outcomes; however, previous findings have typically focused on average student outcomes and have only recently begun to use hierarchical linear modeling techniques. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of classroom-level variables on the…