Underachievement in education and the exploration of its factors have been in constant interest in educational research for years. According to McFarland et al., 2017) previously conducted research has found a relationship between family risk factors and negative educational outcomes which include low academic achievement, student retention, and…

National interest is growing in Integrated Student Support (ISS) interventions, which offer schools systematic ways to reduce barriers to learning. The present study exploits the random component embedded within the school assignment system of a large urban school district to estimate the effect of schools providing ISS on student academic…

Improving achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is essential for elevating individual success and solving societal challenges. Yet national and international assessments paint a poor picture of students' STEM competencies (NAEP, 2019; OECD, 2018). An untapped avenue to improve STEM education lies in developing…

We estimate the effects of federal pandemic-relief funding (ESSER III) for K12 schools on district-level student achievement growth in 2023. We rely on student test achievement data from over 5,000 school districts across 30 states. Our novel identification strategy exploits variation in ESSER attributable to its allocation rules and their…

This dissertation investigates the impact of attending a STEM-designated elementary school on students' math, ELA (English Language Arts), and science achievement and growth scores. As technology continues to advance in education, educators are exploring innovative instructional methods. With a concerning decline in math proficiency nationwide,…

Grade-level retention is a common educational practice with the goal of improving academic performance, but the evidence of its influence is mixed. This study examines the academic effect of repeating kindergarten, first grade, second grade, or third grade on English Language Arts performance at the end of fourth grade. This study also examines…

Developing schedules is one of the most challenging undertakings that school and district leaders do every year. It's also one of the most important. School schedules often have significant inefficiencies that impact student experiences and outcomes, like course offerings that don't align with student needs; mismatches in resources across schools;…

The events that came to pass within the past few years have created quite a stir within the educational community. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a shift from brick & mortar to virtual learning, which many academic experts and stakeholders needed to prepare for. Due to the major shutdowns, there have been many concerns about…

A variety of databases were used to answer questions about charter and public schools with regard low-income students, special education students, and academic performance. Charter schools in Dallas and Detroit served comparable numbers of poor children, but charter schools enrolled far fewer students in special education.…

Recent research seeks to develop more comprehensive learner models for adaptive learning software. For example, models of reading comprehension built using data from students' use of adaptive instructional software for mathematics have recently been developed. These models aim to deliver experiences that consider factors related to learning beyond…

The role of student choice reading on engagement and academic achievement from the perspective of teachers is the topic of this study. The problem addressed is that middle school students often struggle with reading due to a lack of engagement in English Language Arts courses. Students and educators are mainly impacted by this problem; however,…

A substantial number of experimental studies on stereotype threat explores performance of girls in mathematics. Only few concentrated on gender differences favoring girls in language performance. However, gender differences in a reading test in the Program for International Student Assessment are three times larger than in mathematics.…

The purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine if and to what extent there was a statistically significant difference in social media participation in the MAP Growth scores in math, science, and language arts for students from a public high school in Illinois. The framework for this study was the connectivism theory. The…

The causal-comparative research study examined if academic achievement differs between African American 8th-grade students in schools where they constitute the majority versus the minority in Clarendon County, South Carolina. The research questions investigated 8th-grade African American students' academic performance in English Language Arts and…

The purpose of this ex-post facto quantitative study was to compare English Language Arts (ELA) and math Tennessee Compressive Assessment Program (TCAP) scores of students in grades four through eight who attended school virtually or in-person during the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district in this study allowed…