School accountability decisions based on standardized tests hinge on the degree of alignment of the test with a state's standards. Yet no established criteria were available for judging strength of alignment. Previous studies of alignment among tests, standards, and teachers' instruction have yielded mixed results that are difficult to interpret…

This report summarizes results from Spring 2014 focus groups held with a sample of Austin Independent School District dual language program classroom teachers to find out their opinions about the dual language program.

In this paper, we assess students' performance in Elements of Statistics, one of the popular courses in general education, using data from UWF (University of West Florida) for fall 2008, fall 2009, and fall 2010 semesters. We analyze associations between students' performance in the course and several performance related factors including: college…

There are many factors affecting student achievement. It is misguided and a waste of time and effort to pursue the failed policies of more standards, tests, and accountability. The primary problems relative to student achievement are mainly societal. Rather than more failed policies, what our nation needs is a discussion about national values,…

The aim of this work is to explore recent research in the field of leadership as related to education and to link such research to a possible research project. This research project would focus on increasing standardized test scores in California schools focusing on the elementary school level through focusing on increasing reading competency and…

This article will seek to utilize Dr. William Allan Kritsonis' book "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" (2007) as a framework to improve a campus's standardized test scores, more specifically, their TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) scores. Many campuses have an improvement plan, also known as a Campus…

In the light of budget reduction, some southern California public school districts have elected to continue serving their identified gifted and talented (GATE) population through GATE programs. Researchers, who purport acceleration, are concerned that the gifted and talented student who will remain in the regular classroom without cluster groups…

In the past few decades, nonconventional learner-centered (NLC) trends in ELT have emerged amidst the current and probably dominant conventional teacher-centered (CTC) approaches used by majority of private and public schools in the Philippines. With the implementation of the K-12 curriculum, Afro-Asian literature remained the focus of the eighth…

Instructional written materials play important roles as teachers' agents in effective teaching practices. Worksheets are one of the most frequently used materials. In this exploratory study, the relationships between worksheet usage and science achievement in 32 countries were examined through the use of TIMSS and PIRLS data and multiple…

This research project was a study that was based on a prior dissertation study that analyzed student success, as measured by achievement tests, within local communities with high poverty rates. Two Title 1 Reward high schools in the Phoenix area were examined through qualitative case studies to determine what had been implemented to help eliminate…

During the 2013-2014 school year, Austin Independent School District served more than 23,000 English language learner students in bilingual or English as a second language programs. This report summarizes these students' English language proficiency gains as well as academic performance on the state's required assessments during that school year.

Professional Development Units (PDUs) were new to the AISD REACH program in 2010-2011. This report summarizes participants' experiences with PDUs and the influence of PDUs on student performance on the state academic tests (TAKS) and Student Learning Objectives.

The purpose of this research paper was to examine the effects of standardized testing on the youth of America. It was intended to point out the shortcomings of the usage of such tests. There were comparisons of the effects testing has on different cultures of students as well as different socioeconomic classes. Court cases were brought into play…

Stress is simply the body's response to changes that create taxing demands. When one cannot cope with it, these cause distresses. Stress is not always bad. The manageable stress motivates individuals to achieve what he/she wishes to achieve. When one can cope with stress it is called "eustress" which is good. Education in many countries…

Electronic books (e-books) are gaining popularity for personal reading. Options for access to a large selection of book titles and "anytime/anywhere" reading choices have added to the increased use of e-books. For this study, 22 third-grade students completed satisfaction surveys and reading comprehension tests on three separate reading…