Inherent challenges affect first-generation students' persistence from as early as the first college year. Using cultural capital as a guide, this study is unique in that it investigates the contribution of first-year policies and programs to the success of first-generation students in 57 bachelor's degree-granting institutions across five states…

In this paper, we will introduce partial results from our 3-year NSF funded grant titled "Inverted and Active Learning Pedagogies (IALP) for Student Success." We will present our results comparing student achievement between inverted (flipped) classrooms and traditional lecture formats in statistics classes at Texas Lutheran University.…

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to define the roles of school librarians as perceived by librarians and principals in regard to the ALA/AASL Standards for the Initial Preparation of School Librarians (2010). This study was designed to explore the perceptions of librarians and principals on the role of the librarian in the…

As the COVID-19 pandemic has proved, maintaining student financial wellness is key to keeping students enrolled. The Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) was administered a year and a half into the pandemic, during a time when vaccinations were allowing schools to return to in-person learning, but the pandemic was continuing to have a strong…

This chapter presents a case study of scaling up the T-STEM initiative in Texas. Data come from the four-year longitudinal evaluation of the Texas High School Project (THSP). The evaluation studied the implementation and impact of T-STEM and the other THSP reforms using a mixed-methods design, including qualitative case studies; principal,…

Current professional development efforts in writing at the secondary level have not resulted in student improvement on large-scale writing assessments. To maximize funding resources and instructional time, school leaders need a way to determine professional development content for writing teachers that aligns with specific student outcomes. The…

To increase participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers, some states have promoted inclusive STEM high schools. This study addressed the question of whether these high schools improve the odds that their graduates will pursue a STEM major in college. State higher education records were obtained for…

The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation level of best practice strategies for middle level education in the state of Texas described by This We Believe (AMLE, 2010) and to determine the relationship of those practices with the schools' academic achievement in math and reading. A survey was distributed to principals of all…

This report summarizes how school and district leaders and academic coaches in two Texas school districts used assessment and other types of data to assess the quality of teaching and learning, to coach and supervise teachers, and to guide management decisions. The report also describes how district and school leaders supported teachers' use of…

Colleges and universities are increasingly adopting various software solutions to raise degree completion rates and lower costs (Ferguson, 2012; Vendituoli, 2014; Yanosky, 2014). Student success software, also known as Integrated Planning and Advising Services (IPAS), appears to be in high demand among both students and faculty (Dahlstrom &…

This case describes how a newly appointed superintendent implemented systematic changes across the school district to increase academic performance and keep schools open and operational. The district superintendent and leadership team were forced by the state educational system to promote rapid and drastic organizational and academic changes to…

In the age of accountability, schools are struggling to reach every student to bring them up to the high academic standards mandated by the federal and state governments. Teachers must use research-based strategies to help decrease the learning gap for all students (Kimmelman, 2006). While the use of technology to engage students is a popular…

In this investigation, we examined the extent to which instructional expenditures were related to student academic achievement for students enrolled in Texas public schools for the 2005-2006 through the 2009-2010 school years. Student performance on the state-mandated assessments for all school districts in Texas for these five school years was…

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was to closely examine the leadership practices utilized by K-12 urban school superintendents to influence and increase the academic achievement of Hispanic students. The research consisted of a quantitative study approach where 30 superintendents completed a 47-question…

This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between teacher perceptions of educational change and student achievement. Teacher perceptions of change represented the independent variable and the dependent variable consisted of eleventh grade math Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, cohort completion rates, and math…