Inquiry-based learning methods, coupled with advanced technology, hold promise for closing the science literacy gap for English learners (ELs) and students with learning difficulties (SWLDs). Project ESCOLAR (Etext Supports for Collaborative Online Learning and Academic Reading) created collaborative online learning units for middle school science…

Several reliable and valid fidelity surveys are commonly used to assess Tier 1 implementation in School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS); however, differences across surveys complicate consequential decisions regarding school implementation status when multiple measures are compared. To address this concern, the current…

This technical report is one of a series of four technical reports that describe the results of a study comparing eight alternative models for estimating school academic achievement using data from the Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania accountability systems. The purpose of these reports was to evaluate a broad range of models…

Introduction: Alcohol consumption, including heavy drinking, is the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Youth who engage in heavy drinking are likely to experience a number of problems associated with their use. In 2015, U.S. prevalence of heavy drinking was 17% among 12th graders. These data suggest a clear need for…

The Common Planning Time Project of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG) of the American Educational Research Association provided an avenue through which researchers from throughout the United States could investigate numerous aspects of common planning time in schools. Although several studies have investigated…

Background: Few HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs for youth in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have been rigorously evaluated despite sexual health disparities in this population. This study reports the evaluation of a culturally adapted Internet-based HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention program for AI/AN youth, Native…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of a middle school flexible interdisciplinary block schedule would increase eighth-grade students' reading scores, as measured by the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). A 90-minute middle school flexible interdisciplinary block schedule served as the independent variable and…

As part of state transitions to college- and career-ready (CCR) standards, including the Common Core State Standards in more than 40 states (NGA & CCSSO, 2010), states are for the first time administering new summative assessments aligned to those standards and aiming for a higher bar in assessment quality. For a majority of states, this means…

This study examines the rates of exclusionary discipline (i.e., suspensions and expulsions) among English learners and non-English learners in six diverse Oregon districts that serve a third of the state's English learner students. Using 2011/12 databases from the Oregon Department of Education, the study found that differences in suspension and…

Although advances in prevention science over the past two decades have produced a growing list of tested and effective programs and policies for preventing adolescent delinquency and drug use, widespread dissemination and high-quality implementation of effective programs and policies in communities has not been achieved. The Community Youth…

Results from the 2013 NAEP assessments show fourth-and eighth-graders making progress in mathematics and reading. Nationally representative samples of more than 376,000 fourth-graders and 341,000 eighth-graders were assessed in either mathematics or reading in 2013. Results are reported for public and private school students in the nation, and for…

Results from the 2013 NAEP assessments show fourth- and eighth-graders making progress in mathematics and reading. Nationally representative samples of more than 376,000 fourth-graders and 341,000 eighth-graders were assessed in either mathematics or reading in 2013. Results are reported for public and private school students in the nation, and…

A vertical scale, in principle, provides a common metric across tests with differing difficulties (e.g., spanning multiple grades) so that statements of "absolute" growth can be made. This paper compares 16 states' 2007-2008 effect size growth trends on vertically scaled reading and math assessments across grades 3 to 8. Two patterns…

Guided by a new framework, the NAEP science assessment was updated in 2009 to keep the content current with key developments in science, curriculum standards, assessments, and research. The 2009 framework organizes science content into three broad content areas. Physical science includes concepts related to properties and changes of matter, forms…

A representative sample of 122,000 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science assessment, which is designed to measure students' knowledge and abilities in the areas of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. This report covers the overall results, achievement level…