Research on secondary student reading comprehension performance is scant, yet demands for improved literacy at college and career levels indicate that an understanding of trends and growth patterns is necessary to better inform teaching and learning for high school students. To improve understanding of reading performance at the secondary level,…

The relevance of the study is determined by the increasing role of engineering and technical workers in the socio-economic development of a society. Orientation of school leavers to the choice of engineering professions becomes one of the main tasks of secondary education in the 21st century. The article clarifies the concept of "technical…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the longitudinal reciprocal relationship between achievement goals and self-determined motivation of students transitioning from middle school to high school. Participants were 3343 students from 9th to 11th grade. The overall results showed that varying degrees of self-determined motivation from middle…

This study reports on the goal structures of one rural and one urban Grade 11 class in China, based on classroom observations and teacher and student interviews. Classroom observations, conducted over a 6-month period, focused on physical settings and classroom activities. In each class, seven students and the homeroom teacher were interviewed to…

Background and Context: Understanding the effects of learner characteristics and perceived learning environment on achievement in academic fields including Computer Science (CS) is of critical importance. Objective: This study aimed at testing a hypothesized model of achievement in CS in terms of the learner and the learning environment…

Using a multilevel approach, this study examined the role of classroom emotional climate on students' academic achievement. Positive and negative emotions and homeroom teachers' support were used to assess the classroom emotional climate on the individual and class levels. To our knowledge, no study to date has investigated these specific aspects…

With a steady increase of virtual learning courses taught throughout K-12 education, limited empirical research exists to allow educational leaders and policy makers the ability to accurately identify student demographic characteristics that correlate to the acquisition of virtual course credit (Barbour, 2009). The purpose of this quantitative…

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…

Classical assessments that are not comprehensive and do not distinguish students' initial abilities make measurement results far from the actual abilities. This study was conducted to produce a computerized adaptive test for physics critical thinking skills (CAT-PhysCriTS) that met the feasibility criteria. The test was presented for the physics…

Standardized assessment is the government measurement of academic success in Texas. Currently, students in Grades 3-11 participate in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) as a measure of their comprehension of the state standards. In high school, students are required to pass the high school STAAR End of Course test in…

This dissertation joins a conversation in the special education arena about the academic and vocational agenda for special education high school students. It explores the influence of enrollment in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses on the achievement of high school special education (SPED) students. The purpose of this study was to compare…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a teacher's Professional Growth and Effectiveness System (PGES) rating is an effective indicator for student achievement. Participants in the study were 9th through 12th grade English 10, Biology, U.S. History and Algebra 2 teachers and students enrolled in their courses. The teacher participants'…