Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

Student' achievement in science can be affected by teacher subject matter knowledge, ineffective instructional methods, and lack of student engagement. Although all schools provide professional development opportunities, not all teachers choose to engage in a program that provides teaching and learning through experiential techniques for the…

Test-score data show that both low-income and racial-minority children score lower, on average, on states' elementary-school accountability tests compared with higher-income children or white children. This report explores the relationship between racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps in New England metropolitan areas and two factors associated…

In this paper we discuss how the products of student work during long-term, interdisciplinary curricular units at King Middle School, a grades 6-8 public school in Portland, Maine, through their aesthetic qualities, transformed people's understanding of what children were capable of. We argue that, to effectively understand student work of this…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…

This paper profiles Maine's test score trends through 2008-09. In 2006, the mean scale score on the state 4th grade reading test was 445 for non-Title I students and 438 for Title I students. In 2009, the mean scale score in 4th grade reading was 477 for non-Title I students and 441 for Title I students. Between 2006 and 2009, the mean scale score…

The percentage of variance in student achievement that is explained by student SES--"poverty's power rating," as some call it--tends to be less among smaller schools than among larger schools. Smaller schools, we are told, are able to somehow disrupt the association between SES and student achievement. Using eighth-grade data for 215…

The proportion of variance in student achievement that is explained by student SES-"poverty's power rating," as some dub it--tends to be lower among smaller schools than among larger schools. Small schools, many claim, are able to somehow disrupt the seemingly axiomatic association between SES and student achievement. Using eighth-grade…

Finds no relationships between school district size and academic achievement in Maine's eighth grade students. Provides evidence that school systems within single level jurisdiction vary in the level of pupil achievement produced. Reports positive significant relationship that better qualified teachers are associated with larger school systems.…

The purpose of this study was to determine what, or part of what, makes academic success probable or improbable for a student. The core research question was, Which practices, characteristics, and circumstances of students, families, schools, school districts, and communities tend to give Maine students a higher probability of meeting state…

The relationship between educational expenditures and pupil achievement has been a topic of increasing interest to legislators, school boards, and more recently, the courts. This paper examines the relationships among various measures of school district wealth and spending, other school district characteristics, and student achievement within the…

In 163 Maine schools, the performance of eighth-grade students on standardized tests, especially reading achievement, was highest in elementary settings (K-8, K-9, 3-8) and lowest in junior-senior high school settings (6-12, 7-12, 8-12), when socioeconomic status and teacher experience were controlled. (SV)

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state or territory. In 1996, 44 states, the District of Columbia, Guam,…

This report presents statistical data on the characteristics, distribution, enrollment rate, and academic achievement of language-minority children in Maine. The report contains three parts: (1) summative data on the total numbers of K-12 English monolingual and bilingual children in the state, private and public school survey return rates,…