This article explores how the associations between student achievement and achievement growth influence our understanding of the role schools play in academic inequality. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), we constructed parallel growth and lagged score…

This study builds on a 2019 Fordham Institute report that examined the relationship between charter school enrollment share--the share of students in a community who enroll in a charter school--and the average achievement of all the students in that community, including those in traditional public schools. Like its predecessor, this report seeks…

Background: Student attention is a stable predictor of academic performance, with lower levels of attention associated with poorer grades. Claims about students' attention may better reflect social processes than student deficits. School social workers may be especially situated to address the interaction of child and classroom factors impeding…

The present study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 to examine whether the relationship between first-grade word-reading and reading-comprehension growth through eighth grade was different for language-minority learners (LMs) versus native English-speaking students (NEs). Among high word…

The impact that removal of students from the educational setting has on student reading achievement (and later life outcomes) was the impetus for this study which sought to identify whether a relationship existed between an increasingly greater frequency of out of school suspension (OSS days) and reading achievement for middle school students.…

The purpose of the current study was to examine features of adolescent reading comprehension trajectories and make within-person and between-person analyses of growth that occurs during the high school grades. Racial and socioeconomic group differences of the adolescent reading trajectories were also investigated and compared. This examination…

Research on language-minority student outcomes has revealed sizeable and persistent achievement gaps. The reasons for these gaps are often closely linked with other factors related to underperformance, including generational status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Using sociocultural second-language acquisition theories and community…

An abundance of research exists related to student and school factors that influence student achievement; however, due to the increase in value-added assessment models and the number of states that are instituting such models, there is a significant need to investigate school characteristics and programs that promote academic growth as measured…

The influence that students with special educational needs may exert on the schooling outcomes of their siblings without special educational needs has been given minimal attention in published research. Hence, the authors bring forth a unique contribution by evaluating the within-family effects of being a child without special educational needs in…

In the current educational climate, school districts and states are being held accountable for the progress of all students. Students who speak another language at home and have limited English proficiency, known as English Language Learners (ELLs), continue to underperform when compared to English proficient peers. The purpose of the study was to…

Many school districts have chosen to invest their federal funds in computer-based integrated learning systems that focus on literacy to increase high-stakes test scores and academic gains (Becker, 1994). Buly and Velencia (2002) supported the belief that a student's reading ability can improve substantially when instruction is integrated with…

Lead is a neurotoxin that has been shown to have a long and lasting impact on the brains, bodies, and behaviors of those who are poisoned. It also has a greater presence in communities with high levels of poverty and minority populations. Compounded over time, the effects of lead poisoning, even at low levels of exposure, impact a child's…

The authors examined the differential effects of teachers on female, minority, and low-socioeconomic status (SES) students' achievement in Grade 4. They used data from a randomized experiment (Project STAR) and its follow-up study (LBS). Student outcomes included Grade 4 SAT scores in mathematics, reading, and science and student demographics…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 propelled high stakes testing to an unprecedented level of significance. Decisions based on the results of such mandated assessments is flawed in that the tests are not an accurate measure of actual knowledge and neglect to address environmental, socio-cultural, and economic factors influencing student…

Statistical data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics were analyzed to identify correlations between race/ethnicity, age, and prose literacy among adults in 1992. According to the analysis, prose literacy was highest among those adults with the highest levels of educational attainment, and adults aged 19-54 had higher average…