The reading framework for the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) presents the assessment's conceptual base and discusses its content. The framework describes the types of texts and questions that should be included in the assessment, as well as how the questions should be designed and scored. This report provides highlights of…

The Peter Effect (Applegate & Applegate, 2004) claimed that one cannot be expected to give what one does not possess. We applied this notion to reading teacher preparation and hypothesized that teacher educators who do not possess an understanding of basic language constructs would not prepare teacher candidates with an understanding of these…

As the U.S. population has become increasingly diverse--a continuing trend led by children--there has been an accompanying rise in the number of children who grow up hearing and learning more than one language. Dual language learners represent an important asset for our nation's future, since those who have fluency in more than one language have…

Countless policy makers and researchers have flocked to observe the education systems of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, which are among the top five performers in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009 reading assessment. Many visitors have been particularly impressed by the fact that these education systems succeed in…

The Internet has become the primary source for obtaining information at work, at home, and for school. Because Internet reading increasingly is becoming one of the central ways students are acquiring information, in 2016, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) was extended to include ePIRLS--an innovative assessment of online…

This study investigated teachers' efficacy and implementation in the context of a supplemental intervention for struggling adolescent readers. It examined teachers' efficacy at the start of their intervention training and investigated relationships among teachers' efficacy, implementation, and students' reading progress. The efficacy and…

The ACT is a national college admissions exam that tests English, math, reading, and science content. Students take the ACT during their junior/senior year of high school. This report describes ACT test results for AISD students in 2012-2013.

This report analyzes how AISD students with disabilities (SDs) performed on 2011 NAEP reading and mathematics compared: (1) with their peers in similar TUDA districts; (2) over time; and (3) with AISD non-SD students.

Although children with Down syndrome (DS) can learn to read, few studies have explored parental perspectives on the reading development of this group of children. This article, written by Leila Ricci and Anna Osipova, from California State University, explores visions and expectations regarding reading held by parents of children with Down…

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through The Nation's Report Card, the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in…

For more than a century, urban public schools have provided economic opportunities through education to some of the nation's largest, most diverse, and neediest populations. By embracing these challenges, our nation's urban schools have provided the know-how and backbone upon which our cities have grown and thrived. In this report, the Council of…

One of the most enduring and contentious debates in education circles concerns the best way to hold schools and districts accountable for improving outcomes for students and closing achievement gaps. Lawmakers, teachers, district administrators, parents, and other stakeholders--all with strong and differing opinions--have wrestled for decades with…

Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) students continue to fare well on the SAT test compared to students in the state and nation. While there was a slight decline in the overall average score in 2012 compared to the previous year, the scores continue a trend of measurable improvement over time. In addition, most major ethnic groups continue to…

This study investigates whether a common set of student attitudes and behavioral tendencies can account for academic achievement across different, especially high-performing, countries via analysis of the PISA 2009 international data set. The 13 countries examined are 5 of the top-performing Eastern countries/systems, namely Shanghai China, South…

As the ACT has become part of North Carolina's mandatory testing program, SAT participation in Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) and North Carolina has declined in recent years. However, SAT performance in WCPSS remains high compared to state and national averages. In 2012-13, students in WCPSS continued to score 50-60 points higher on the…