Background/Context: Schools are spending more money than ever on a growing number of educational technology programs which are designed to boost student learning outcomes, especially after the integration of online learning that was necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic school closures and disruptions (Instructure, 2024; Teras et al., 2020). Rigorous…

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of IXL Math in an elementary school context, using a randomized-control trial (RCT). This study examined mathematics achievement trajectories of 545 Grades 3-5 students across four elementary schools in a small Michigan school district during the 2022-23 school year. Teachers were randomly…

The study investigates the impact of Roadmap-formatted curriculum on student reading growth in grades 3-5 in the Ypsilanti Community Schools (Ypsilanti, MI). Classrooms in grades 3-5 were divided into two groups: those using the Roadmap-formatted, commercially-provided curriculum and those using the same commercially-provided curriculum in…

In this study, we applied the technique of piecewise linear regression to a total of 144 schools with the third to fifth grades, aimed to search for a turning point at each grade level in terms of the effects of school renewal on school reading and mathematics achievement. We did find a turning point for each school subject at each grade level,…

Although it is critical for students with autism to be included in large-scale assessment and accountability systems, it is not clear how to best measure their underlying academic skills and knowledge. Additional empirically-supported guidance is necessary to assist school teams that need to make decisions about how to best include students with…

Modern societal functions for meeting basic needs contribute to the lack of understanding many Americans have about agriculture's connection to human health and environmental quality. Consequently, this limited understanding has produced a need to measure agricultural literacy to develop programming or enhance existing agricultural educational…

This report focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kalamazoo Public Schools District in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which closed its doors to students from mid-March 2020 to June 2021. During this time, instruction transitioned from face-to-face to virtual, with students having three options for virtual instruction. In addition to individual KPS student…

Improved survival rates of pediatric oncology patients give them the opportunity to return to school. This can present a significant challenge, as returning students often become vulnerable to peer rejection. The objective of this double-arm descriptive study was to establish a framework from which to optimize a school reintegration intervention…

This collective case study uses a design-based research approach to investigate the role of 3D pens, an emerging technology, in fostering creativity during a lesson on biomes, genetics, and heredity with learners in six classes of 4th and 5th grade students from rural Michigan and Idaho. Data analyzed included video of the classroom lessons,…

As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that…

The study of water as a K-12 science idea often divorces its properties from its deeply politicized history as a resource that has been limited, compromised, and intentionally withheld from nondominant communities. Although a robust body of scholarship has aptly critiqued decontextualized and depoliticized pedagogies and called for critical…

Which occupation to pursue is one of the more consequential decisions people make and represents a key developmental task. Yet the underlying developmental processes associated with either individual or group differences in occupational choices are still not well understood. This study contributes toward filling this gap, focusing in particular on…

Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) partnered with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to conduct a multi-year study of Michigan's implementation of competency-based education in K-12 schools. This mixed-methods study seeks to investigate the implementation and effectiveness of CBE using data from surveys administered to 21j…

It has long been argued that U.S. states' differential performance on nationwide assessments may reflect differences in students' opportunity to learn the tested content that is primarily due to variation in curricular content standards, rather than in instructional quality or educational investment. To quantify the effect of differences in…

Though the immediate effect of Reading Recovery (RR) is both strong and well established, the longer term or sustained effect has been less studied and the evidence regarding it has been less conclusive. Michigan Reading Recovery students (n = 328) were compared to control students (n = 264) while in first (2009-2010), third (2011), and fourth…