In recent years, the regression discontinuity design (RDD) has gained widespread recognition as a quasi-experimental method that when used correctly, can produce internally valid estimates of causal effects of a treatment, a program or an intervention (hereafter referred to as treatment effects). In an RDD study, subjects or groups of subjects…

In this paper, we examine the validity and precision of two nonexperimental study designs (NXDs) that can be used in educational evaluation: the comparative interrupted time series (CITS) design and the difference-in-difference (DD) design. In a CITS design, program impacts are evaluated by looking at whether the treatment group deviates from its…

This study examined the effects of a peer tutoring program that used a Direct Instruction (DI) reading curriculum. Students identified as gifted and talented delivered instruction, using the DI reading program, to their struggling reading peers. The students used a cross-skill peer tutoring instructional format. The results indicated that all of…

The relationship between the intentional teaching of reading strategies and the increase in reading comprehension was studied. The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) reading pretest and posttest scores of 57 subjects were analyzed to see if there was a significant increase in performance after the reading strategies were taught. The study…

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 (MCKV), which provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs), is almost a decade old, yet no evaluations of its academic effectiveness have been reported. Using a systems theory framework, the authors answer the question of whether homeless students in grade 6 from LEAs…

"Read Well"[R] is a reading curriculum for kindergarten and first-grade students whose goal is to increase students' literacy abilities. The program provides instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed five studies on "Read Well"[R] for English…

This study investigated three techniques designed to increase the chances that second language (L2) readers look up and learn unfamiliar words during and after reading an L2 text. Participants in the study, 137 college students in Belgium (L1 = Dutch, L2 = German), were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, forming combinations of two…

In this 1-year experimental study of 254 students across 27 high-poverty preschool classrooms in an urban setting in the northeast, use of a technology-based prekindergarten literacy curriculum in addition to the district curriculum was compared with the use of the district curriculum alone. Results indicated no main effects for the experimental…

This investigation examined the comparative effects of "Reading Success Level B" on the reading comprehension skills of 78 fifth graders across three general education classrooms. Three student subgroups were formed based on pretest Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) reading levels including high (n = 14), average (n = 50), and low (n = 14)…

Test-based education reform efforts continue to limit the number of minority teachers in the United States. Minority-serving institutions face numerous challenges in recruiting and preparing highly qualified minority teacher candidates for the academic demands of a changing teaching climate and the influx of a diverse student population in public…

This article examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates, especially pretests, improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Empirical findings from five urban school districts indicate that (1) pretests can reduce the number of randomized…

Once every three years, school districts receiving Chapter 1 funds are required to conduct a study of the sustained effects of their Chapter 1 programs. To meet this requirement, the Columbus Public Schools employed a fall-spring-fall test design to determine the degree to which pupils who participated in the Compensatory Language Experiences and…

For many reasons, students do not always perform on tests in ways that are congruent with their true abilities or achievement levels. Problems of this sort may be especially common on Title I evaluations where the tests administered are too difficult for a large percentage of the students. Such considerations raise the questions of whether…

In this paper four classes of procedures for measuring the instructional sensitivity of reading comprehension test items are reviewed. True experimental designs are not recommended because some of the most important reading comprehension variables do not lend themselves to experimental manipulation. "Ex post facto" factorial designs are…

Compares two approaches for preparing students to take standardized reading tests. Discusses study that used a pretest-posttest design with reading-comprehension passages and questions to assess improvement. Suggests that measurable gain in short-term developmental programs may require focusing on a more modest number of teaching objectives,…