School leaders fail to recognize parents' and teachers' perceptions of factors that affect children's learning in elementary schools, resulting in the problem of low parental involvement and academic achievement. The purpose of this quantitative method comparative design study was to examine the perception of parents and teachers concerning…

This study is a historical comparison of an urban (San Antonio College) and a rural (Navarro College) community college in Texas from their establishment until 1980. Based on oral histories and archival research at each of the institutions, this comparison seeks to humanize the history of the community college through in-depth investigation of…

The engage2learn approach to educator support provides an in-person and virtual coaching system that builds capacity and engagement in public schools. Engage2learn hired LXD Research to conduct an independent evaluation and analysis of NWEA Math and Reading data collected during the 2021-2022 school year. The goal was to measure how engage2learn…

The state of Texas has committed to increased access to Higher Education (HE) for all state residents. Among the steps Texas has undertaken to raise inclusion is specific attention to equitable placement testing in community colleges. The purpose of this study was to determine if placement is affected by the instrument applicants use,…

This study examines the long-term effects of a home visiting program, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters, on students from mostly low-income, Latino families (n = 254). Children who were in the home visiting program during their early years were compared with a similar demographic group who participated in prekindergarten in the…

According to the Nation's Report Card (2015), American schools are suffering a double-digit academic gap between minority and non-minority students in reading proficiency scores and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mediated reading (MR) across the curriculum on the achievement of at-risk low-SES minority…

Over the last two decades, our nation has seen an array of reform initiatives that support lofty goals for student achievement. An underexplored issue in the literature is how this school reform set against the backdrop of high-stakes testing has impacted the students it is designed to assist. Now armed with years of student data, critics of…

This case study examined action research conducted by bilingual education teachers in urban schools as a tool for progressing from novice-to-expert teachers. We described a longitudinal study across four cohorts of first-year bilingual education teachers as action researchers (n = 9). The study investigated the following: (1) how school leaders…

There has been a drastic increase in the use of technology in the classroom over the past 20 years. As computers and tablets permeate our schools, their presence is oftentimes seen as a cure to whatever problems may exist. While the promise of technology has held true within some domains, little has been done to examine its efficacy in some areas.…

Drawing on assets-oriented, sociocultural theories of imagination and learning, the authors argue that the improvisational qualities and expanded resources of dramatic approaches to teaching make a positive difference in the quality of and persistence in students' story writing. The authors describe findings from a controlled quasi-experimental…

This study examined a sample of community college students from a diverse, large urban community college system in Texas. To gain a deeper understanding about the effects of background characteristics on student borrowing behaviors and enrollment outcomes, the study employed descriptive statistics and regression techniques to examine two separate…

Student success rates for academic track and workforce track students were examined for thousands of students at a large urban Texas Community College. The study covered fall 2009 through spring 2011, a two year period. Data were collected from the institution's data base regarding students who successfully completed the courses in which they were…

It is widely believed that teacher turnover adversely affects the quality of instruction in urban schools serving predominantly disadvantaged children, and a growing body of research investigates various components of turnover effects. The evidence at first seems contradictory, as the quality of instruction appears to decline following turnover…

Using secondary analysis, the author examined outcomes of academics, attendance, and discipline problems for 999 students placed in disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs) during the 2005-06 academic school year utilizing the Boys Town Educational Model as the intervention. Surprisingly, academic averages decreased, average attendance…

Children from low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds have demonstrated substantially lower levels of math achievement than their middle class majority peers for decades. The present study addressed two research questions: (1) when used as a supplement to typical classroom instruction and in isolation from the larger curriculum, does Building…