This study examined contributions of academic ability tracking, disciplinary attitudes (science anxiety and self-efficacy), and discipline-specific literacy skills (science and academic vocabulary knowledge) to students' science achievement in a sample of 104 Grade 8 students (78% current or former English learners [ELs]) enrolled in high- versus…

Teachers in the United States are compensated largely on the basis of fixed schedules that reward experience and credentials. However, there is a growing interest in whether performance-based incentives based on rigorous teacher evaluations can improve teacher retention and performance. The evidence available to date has been mixed at best. This…

Teachers in the United States are compensated largely on the basis of fixed schedules that reward experience and credentials. However, there is a growing interest in whether performance-based incentives based on rigorous teacher evaluations can improve teacher retention and performance. The evidence available to date has been mixed at best. This…

In this dissertation, the researcher investigates the success of productive learning environments in Detroit Public Schools. Using interviews with three productive principals from the Detroit school system, the researcher explores three related issues in public schooling. The first issue is the definition of a productive learning environment. By…

Purpose/Objective: Under the reauthorized Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states and districts retain greater discretion over the measures included in school quality report cards. Moreover, ESSA now requires states to expand their measurement efforts to address factors like school climate. This shift toward more comprehensive measures of school…

This study examined the effectiveness of the iPad app Mathspace on high school students' algebra computation and skill maintenance. The participants in this study were four ninth grade students enrolled in beginning algebra at a large, urban high school. All four students were struggling to obtain grade-level algebra skills and were reported by…

Creativity and giftedness are frequently associated, and schools may use measures of creativity for identifying gifted and talented students. The researchers examined three aspects of elementary student creativity: (a) the relationship between a teacher's rating of student creativity and rubric-scored student writing samples, (b) group differences…

Although the shift from page to screen has dramatically redefined conceptions of writing, very little is known about how youth compose with multiple modes in digital environments. Integrating multimodality and multiliteracies theoretical frameworks, this comparative case study examined how urban twelfth-grade students collaboratively composed…

Although a quality preschool supports young children's health and safety, "quality" has been defined diversely enough that its delivery has been varied among kindergarten teachers. The current study was the first to examine and compare perceptions of school safety between urban and rural kindergarten teachers. Sixty-seven Hong Kong…

A common argument leveled against charter schools is that they attract the most motivated and intelligent students from already struggling public schools. Marcus Winters seeks to examine this claim, known as "cream-skimming," by comparing the performance of New York City's (NYC) charter middle schools with a set of traditional selective…

This study examined rural-nonrural differences in postsecondary educational expectations and the attainment of expectations for grade 10 students attending rural and nonrural high schools in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest region and how these differences compare with rural-nonrural differences in the rest of the nation. For…

Desegregated schools are linked to educational and social advantages whereas myriad harms are connected to segregated schools, yet the emphasis on school desegregation has recently receded in two North Carolina city-suburban school districts historically touted for their far-reaching efforts: Charlotte and Raleigh. In this article, we use…

Purpose: This feasibility study compared the effects of 2 movement programs, traditional and mastery climate (i.e., the Children's Health Activity Motor Program [CHAMP]), on lesson context and children's physical activity (PA) levels. A secondary aim was to examine sex differences in PA levels in both programs. Method: Seventy-two preschoolers…

Writing allows access to venues often limited by poverty, disabilities, and geography. Promoting writing skills can create bridges to overcome the isolation that often keeps communities from engaging with one another. However, most of the students in the nation's schools are not capable writers and find the persuasive genres challenging. In this…

Academic environments, such as general education classrooms, have increasingly become important learning environments for children with autism. The purpose of the study was to examine the attitudes of secondary general education and special education teachers toward inclusion of children with autism in general education classrooms. The research…