Although previous research showed that discrete social-emotional skills such as empathy, motivation, and social relationships in school significantly predict achievement, students tend to use various social-emotional skills in combination. As such previous investigations cannot comment on how different combinations or profiles of students'…

In studies of educational achievement, students' self-reported number of books in the family home is a frequently used proxy for social, cultural, and economic background. Absent hard evidence about what this variable captures or how well, its use has been motivated by strong associations with student outcomes. I show that these associations rest…

Important educational policy decisions, like whether to shorten or extend the school year, often require accurate estimates of how much students learn during the year. Yet, related research relies on a mostly untested assumption: that growth in achievement is linear throughout the entire school year. We examine this assumption using a dataset…

One of the goals of education systems is to equip all students, irrespective of their individual characteristics, with market-relevant skills. Poor or inadequate skills limit access to better-paying and more rewarding jobs and, ultimately, to better living and health conditions, and higher social and political participation. Yet, inequalities in…

Oral reading fluency was investigated as a predictor of standard scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III Broad Reading Cluster (BRC). Participants included first- through third-grade students (n = 1301) from elementary schools in and around Houston, Texas. Median words correct per minute scores from three oral reading passages were…

Every summer, the news is filled with stories about summer learning loss. The warnings sound dire: two months of math learning lost for most students every summer, and two to three months of reading learning lost for low-income students, according to the National Summer Learning Association. By the ninth grade, "summer learning loss during…

Cheating detection is an important issue in standardized testing, especially in large-scale settings. Statistical approaches are often computationally intensive and require specialised software to conduct. We present a two-stage approach that quickly filters suspected groups using statistical testing on an IRT-based answer-copying index. We also…

The percentage of students with lower academic achievement than their peers due to their socio-economical disadvantages is globally accepted as an indicator of inequality. Some students, despite their disadvantages, are as successful as their advantaged peers. The family and individual characteristics and academic experiences of these students,…

Young children are often enrolled in either AM (morning) or PM (afternoon) sessions in early childhood programs. However, little research is available on this routine practice. We used multilevel analysis to investigate if there are differences in the literacy, math, and social outcomes for children who participate in AM or PM sessions beyond…

This report presents the Education Policy Institute and Renaissance Learning's first assessment of the learning loss experienced by pupils in England as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The analysis is based on the results achieved by pupils in the first half of the 2020/21 autumn term (up to and including 25 October 2020) in…

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.…

Florida, from 1971 to 2014 has used the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) as a yearly accountability tool throughout the education system in the state (Bureau of K-12 Assessment, 2005). Schools use their own assessments to determine if students are making progress throughout the year. In one school district within Florida, Performance…

This report provides a brief overview of Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices, an innovative framework intended to address discipline disparities and improve school climate and culture at ten AISD schools. This work is part of a 5-year, $3.5 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Data…

The discourse of quality has permeated everyday discussions about education, yet the concept as such remains complex. Moreover, during the constant struggle to improve educational quality, governments have increasingly devoted attention to the results of international large-scale assessments. As those results are used to inform policy decisions to…

Background/Context: Increasing evidence suggests a connection between racial differences in rates of exclusionary discipline (suspensions/expulsions) and academic achievement by (Losen & Martinez, 2020; Reardon et al., 2018). Black students receive out-of-school suspensions and expulsions at disproportionately higher rates, which is associated…