Background: The past half-century has resulted in a substantial expansion of early childhood center-based care in the United States. Today, over 74% of American children aged 3-5 attend center-based care (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2021). Although public pre-k is considered socially favorable,…

To better understand Tennessee's new standardized science assessments, this quantitative study utilized a nonexperimental, descriptive-comparative design to compare the readability of the long-used science TCAP assessment with the newly created science TNReady assessment in grades three, four, and five. As new standards in the state boast higher…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between school-wide academic outcomes and the instructional modalities utilized by public schools during the 2019-2022 school years. This study also determined if there was a significant difference in assessment scores earned by public school students…

Academic achievement and absenteeism are two areas that schools are held accountable. Helping families and communities understand the correlation between achievement and attendance is an essential part of improving attendance. The purpose of this research study was to compare student attendance and academic achievement on the CASE Benchmark exams…

The purpose of the study was twofold. The first purpose of the study was to determine if a correlation existed between the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR), created and distributed by Renaissance, and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in Math and Reading for grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5.…

Value-added assessment methods have been criticized by researchers and policy makers for a number of reasons. One issue includes the sensitivity of model results across different outcome measures. This study examined the utility of incorporating multivariate latent variable approaches within a traditional value-added framework. We evaluated the…

Student persistence in online learning environments has typically been studied at the macro-level (e.g., completion of an online course, number of academic terms completed, etc.). The current examines student persistence in an adaptive learning environment, ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces). Specifically, the study explores the…

The purpose of this ex post facto study was to compare the effect the Read Well and the Reading Street curriculums had on achievement test scores. Data from the "Stanford Achievement Test, 10th ed." (SAT10) were examined using total reading scale scores for males and females at the kindergarten and first- and second-grade levels. Three…

Schools across the nation are faced with an increased urgency to seek innovative strategies to improve low academic performance of students as mandated by No Child Left Behind Legislation (Friend, 2006). Specifically, in the state of Tennessee in schools such as those located in the Shelby County Schools District who have experienced low student…

We estimate the effects of relative age in kindergarten using data from an experiment where children of the same age were randomly assigned to different kindergarten classmates. We exploit the resulting experimental variation in relative age in conjunction with variation in expected kindergarten entry age based on birth date to account for…

Early mathematics knowledge is a strong predictor of later academic achievement, but children from low-income families enter school with weak mathematics knowledge. An Early Math Trajectories model is proposed and evaluated within a longitudinal study of 517 low-income American children from age 4 to 11. This model includes a broad range of math…

This research study was conducted to examine the effects of the academic achievement of elementary level general education students in the inclusion classroom setting versus the general education students in the non-inclusion classroom in a large suburban school district in Tennessee as measured by third, fourth, and fifth grade mathematics and…

As state tests of student achievement are used for an increasingly wide array of high- and low-stakes purposes, evaluating their instructional sensitivity is essential. This article uses data from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Project to examine the instructional sensitivity of 4 states' mathematics and English…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Modified Academic Achievement Standards (TCAP MAAS) achievement test scores for special education students who receive their instruction in the resource classroom or in an inclusion classroom. The study involved third, fourth, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect that community partnerships could have on school climate and, ultimately, student achievement. Specifically, community partnerships that were formed through the PENCIL (Public Education Needs Community Involvement and Leadership) Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee were researched to determine…