This study is to examine how participation in Texas public Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) is associated with performance on the 3rd Grade State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading assessment. The study focused on five major independent school districts (ISDs) in Texas (Austin ISD, Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Houston ISD, and San…

This study examines the intermediate effects of a community-based college preparation program in a fast growth, high-needs exurban district in Texas. Participants and a matched group of nonparticipants were compared on a variety of academic and noncognitive measures. Findings indicate program participation is associated with higher scores on the…

This annual report provides information for the 2013-14 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…

This annual report provides information for the 2014-15 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…

These maps are representing State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) passing rates for each AISD campus, for grades 3 through 12 in school year 2012-2013.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program when implemented within Head Start programs by measuring children's language proficiency scores. Participants were kindergarteners concurrently enrolled in both a Head Start program and the Home Instruction for Parents of…

Third grade is a critical checkpoint in a child's educational journey. By the end of third grade, children need literacy skills that prepare them for increasing curriculum demands in fourth grade and beyond. Students who are not reading on grade level by this point are significantly more likely to drop out of high school or fail to graduate on…

This quantitative non-experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Istation, a computer-assisted instruction program, as a form of intervention to improve students' overall reading ability score after use for three consecutive full years (2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015). Achievement was measured by Istation's Indicators of…

In this study, we examined the role of morphology, an important yet largely understudied source of difficulty, in reading ability among 7th grade students in one junior high school in the southwestern United States. We sought to find out how much variance in reading ability is accounted for by these students' morphological knowledge, and whether…

This study examined the predictive validity of formative assessments embedded in a Tier 2 intervention curriculum for kindergarten students identified as at risk for reading difficulty. We examined when (i.e., months during the school year) measures could predict reading outcomes gathered at the end of kindergarten and whether the predictive…

The present study examined the amount, type, and quality of Tier 1 and supplemental reading instruction provided to fourth-grade struggling readers and whether specific elements of instruction predicted growth in reading skills. 110 students identified as having reading difficulty, receiving school-based reading instruction in 22 classrooms…

There has been little to no data indicating that candidate scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Assessment, entrance GPA, and basic skills were effective measures for success in educator preparation programs. This study contributed to the body of knowledge by evaluating whether candidate scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Assessment, entrance GPA,…

Chappell, Stephens, Kinnison, and Pettigrew (2009) conducted a study investigating educational diagnosticians knowledge of early reading development. Our study replicated the work of Chappell et al. through a mixed methods design that investigated educational diagnosticians' perceptions and knowledge of early reading development. Additionally, our…

This study investigates the impact of using an adaptive computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program in early childhood education. The Waterford Early Reading Program (ERP) is a CAI program that was assigned to kindergarten and first grade students in a school district in Texas for the 2015-2016 school year. The Texas Primary Reading Inventory…

The authors' purpose was to examine adolescents' reading motivation in relation to standardized assessments of reading comprehension and fluency. After a reading pretest, 60 ninth-grade students (M age = 14.9 years) were randomly assigned to two groups. Compared to those in the control condition, those administered brief oral feedback intended to…