The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between eighth-grade students' maths-related self-concepts and their achievements in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007. The students' maths self-concept was compared with other variables, namely their mothers' education, their fathers' education…

Beginning in sixth grade at an average age of 11.9 years, 416 adolescents and their parents participated in 4 waves of data collection involving family observations and multiple-reporter assessments. Ecological theory and the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model guided the hypotheses and analyses. Lagged, growth curve models revealed that…

The importance of motivation in learning has been widely recognized. However, due to its multidimensional and complex nature, it appears difficult to synthesize research findings on motivation across studies. Heated debates about the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on learning and their interaction have been going on since the terms…

This case study describes how one eighth-grade student, Jon, asserted Native identities in texts as he attended a middle school in the western United States. Jon--a self-described Native American, Navajo, and Paiute with verified Native ancestry--sought to share what he called his Native culture with others in his school wherein he was the only…

This second of five annual reports focuses on employment and wages in energy and advanced manufacturing-related industries and on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education indicators in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API) region, comprising twenty-seven counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Together,…

The objective of the present study was to develop a scale that is appropriate for use internationally to measure affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of student engagement. Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data of 3,420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) from 12 countries (Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia,…

The 2016 edition of the Brown Center Report (BCR) is number five in the third volume and the 15th issue overall. As is customary, this year's BCR contains three studies. Part one is on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and instruction in math and reading. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data indicate that nonfiction is…

"The United States' failure to educate its students leaves them unprepared to compete and threatens the country's ability to thrive in a global economy." Such was the dire warning recently issued by a task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. Chaired by former New York City schools chancellor Joel I. Klein and former U.S.…

This research examined the idea that children's parent-oriented motivation underlies the benefits of parents' involvement on children's engagement and ultimately achievement in school. Beginning in the fall of 7th grade, 825 American and Chinese children (mean age = 12.73 years) reported on their parents' involvement in their learning as well as…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a predictive correlation between a specific sixth grade achievement test known as the Stanford Achievement Test 10 and the eighth grade college readiness assessment instrument known as the Explore Exam for a group of North Texas students. Following an assessment during sixth grade, via the…

Traditionally, women and minorities have not been fully represented in science and engineering. Numerous studies have attributed these differences to gaps in science achievement as measured by various standardized tests. Rather than describe mean group differences in science achievement across multiple cultures, this study focused on an in-depth…

US educators express concern that students are turning away from the study of science and have little interest in pursuing science careers. Nationally, science achievement scores for 8th graders are unchanged since 1996, but 12th graders' scores have significantly decreased. A shortcoming of education reform efforts is lack of attention to…

Background: A key learning outcome in problem-solving domains is the development of procedural flexibility, where learners know multiple procedures and use them appropriately to solve a range of problems (e.g., Verschaffel, Luwel, Torbeyns, & Van Dooren, 2009). However, students often fail to become flexible problem solvers in mathematics. To…

Using nationally-representative, longitudinal data on a cohort of Spanish-speaking English language learners in the U.S., this study investigated the extent to which early oral language proficiency in Spanish and English predicts later levels and rates of growth in English reading. Latent growth models indicated that both Spanish and English…

This paper investigates achievement gaps between low and high socioeconomic students in 19 high-income countries. On average, math scores of students with indicators of high socioeconomic status (SES) are over one standard deviation above those with low SES indicators. The paper estimates the extent to which these achievement gaps can be…