Nowadays, Malaysian ESL students struggle to read English texts, particularly narrative texts. Lacking in utilising and applying the suitable reading strategies are among factors that hinder reading comprehension. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) strategy on ESL pupils' narrative reading and…

Assessing Opportunities to Learn (OTL) implies the measurement of different aspects of the curricular implementation in the classrooms, such as the contents that the teacher selects for the course and the time of exposure and the frequency of the tasks proposed. Based on recent studies that demonstrate the influence of this curricular dimension on…

This study investigated the impact of a computer-adaptive reading program, Waterford Early Learning (WEL), in an elementary school in Indiana. The study investigated how educational technology, specifically computer-assisted instruction (CAI), would impact the literacy scores of kindergarten students when paired with traditional instruction:…

New technologies have had a large and transformative impact on education. This study explored the benefits of a comprehensive, computer-adaptive reading program for the literacy skills of young learners. Second grade students enrolled in a public school district used a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program and were evaluated at the beginning…

While prior research has examined relationships between grades and test scores (e.g., Brennan, Kim, Wenz-Gross & Siperstein, 2001; Ross & Kostuch, 2011), this study examined the influence of students' gender on the relationship between grades, what teacher "expected" students to score on end-of-grade or end-of-course (EOG/EOC)…

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Word Learning Strategies (WLS) supplementary program designed to develop upper-elementary students' vocabulary skills in order to improve reading comprehension. The study used a true, group-randomized, experimental design, which randomly assigned 46 4th grade classrooms (n=1324 students) from 12 districts…

This paper evaluates potential benefits of the community schools model. The sample consists of 20 Community Schools and 40 comparison schools. Data were obtained from the 2013 Illinois School Report Cards, including demographics, and grade-level ISAT scores by gender and subject. A matched sampling method was used to control for student…

First-time kindergartners who demonstrated positive approaches to learning behaviors more frequently in the fall of kindergarten tended to make greater gains in reading, mathematics, and science between kindergarten and second grade. For each additional point in students' fall kindergarten approaches to learning score, average gains from…

Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) are increasingly being used in evaluations of teacher effectiveness. This study investigates two properties of SGPs: 1) SGP sensitivity to reference group characteristics such as sample size, free and reduced lunch (FRL) status, and English language learner (ELL) status; and 2) variation in score changes across…

Hong Kong attained champion of the PIRLS 2011 that aroused keen interest in understanding the underlying reasons of a non-alphabetic language. The study aimed at unravelling various aspects of the student and home factors which contributed to remarkable Chinese reading performance. Totally 3,875 students from 132 primary schools completed the…

In this commentary the authors open with the assertion that contemporary education policy, whatever else it may or may not have accomplished, has narrowed the school curriculum by holding schools accountable primarily for their student scores in math and reading. They pursue this argument by pointing out that in surveys, the American public,…

The acquisition of early literacy skills prior to school can positively influence later educational outcomes. However, children from culturally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds often lack stimulating educational activities at home. This analysis provides empirical evidence for 31 education systems on the association between parental…

This study considers the issue of weak literacy development and early school leaving in Malta. In spite of a lack of a direct or indirect causal link between the two, in the case of Malta these issues seem to be almost exclusively specific to children attending the State school. Children from the Church and the Independent sectors are minimally…

In this paper we report trends over time of performance of non-Indigenous and Indigenous students on the Numeracy component of the NAPLAN tests. Possible links between student performance on the NAPLAN Numeracy test and the four components--Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Grammar--of the NAPLAN Literacy test were also explored. While the…

The issue of over or under representation of ethnic minority students in special education placement has received a great deal of attention in recent years. An equally important question that has not received as much attention centers on the impact of special education placement, particularly early in a child's education career, on subsequent…