Newsela contracted with LearnPlatform by Instructure (LearnPlatform), a third-party edtech research company, to examine the relationship between Newsela ELA usage and outcomes for students. LearnPlatform designed the study to satisfy Level II requirements (Moderate Evidence) according to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The study included…

The purpose of the current research study was to investigate the extent to which student performance was influenced by the disruption to learning that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To explain observed differences in performance, we compared outcomes from a state-wide summative testing program between students who were administered the…

This executive summary report includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2019-2020 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic programs serving students in middle and high school and describes APIE support provided to teachers' instruction. As…

In March of 2020, in response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Illinois mandated the transition to remote instruction for all schools. Although schools had the option to resume in-person instruction during the 2020-21 school year (SY21), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) acknowledged that in-person instruction may not…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 was marked by a transition to remote learning in Illinois schools and nationwide. The following school year, schools and families faced difficult decisions about how and when to return to in-person learning. School leaders, parents and caregivers, and students considered how to balance…

For over two years, schools, teachers, students, and families across Illinois have worked to adapt instruction and learning under the ever-changing conditions wrought by COVID-19. This report, the third and final in the Learning During the Pandemic in Illinois series, investigates how much time students spent learning in-person and/or remotely…

This is an executive summary of a full report that includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2018-2019 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic support programs serving students in 8th grade math classroom coaching and 12th grade college…

A data set from an urban Midwestern school district was mined to explore how the technology-based reading enrichment known as Mindplay Virtual Reading Coach (MVRC) affects children's performance on the English Language Arts (ELA) Standards state-wide assessment (N = 6098 students from Grades 3 to 9). ELA data from two times points were available,…

This report includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2019-2020 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic programs serving students in middle and high school and describes APIE support provided to teachers' instruction. As classroom instruction…

This report includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2018-2019 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic support programs serving students in 8th grade math classroom coaching and 12th grade college readiness programs, as well as, provides…

Critical thinking skills are an important topic of the United States' education system. This study examines the literature on critical thinking skills and defines them. The study also explores one specific teaching and assessment strategy known as the Socratic Method. The five-week research study used the Socratic Method for developing critical…

This evaluation report describes program outcomes for students in APIE's Middle School Math and College Readiness Coaching Programs in the 2015-2016 school years.

Throughout this action research project report, the teacher-researchers explored the problem of test anxiety among students. The purpose of this project was to alleviate test anxiety among students with various interventions in grades five through seven in the subject areas of social studies, science, and language arts. There were 66 student…

This action research project report was conducted at a middle school from August 30, 2010 to December 17, 2010. The purpose of this research project was to decrease bullying behaviors through discussing literature, role-playing, and establishing a definition of bullying in accordance with a common set of rules. There were four teacher researchers…

Texas state assessment (TAKS) data in reading/English language arts and mathematics from 2006 and 2007 for AISD students enrolled in Fall 2007 were examined to find out how many students failed both tests, passed both tests, or failed one but not the other, for two consecutive years.