The purpose of this descriptive case study was to review practices aimed at improving literacy outcomes for multilingual language learners (MLLs). This was done by studying the internal coherence practices of a superintendent in Community School District 100 (a pseudonym), an urban school district in the northeast region of the United States.…

Purpose: In this paper, the authors engage with embodied critical literacies through an exploration of the possibilities provided by the use of improvisational comedy (improv) in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to extend understandings of critical literacy to consider how embodied critical literacy may be transformative for both…

Despite the importance of analytic text-based writing, relatively little is known about how to teach to this important skill. A persistent barrier to conducting research that would provide insight on best practices for teaching this form of writing is a lack of outcome measures that assess students' analytic text-based writing development and that…

This study contributes to the paucity of research on transformative approaches to civic education in elementary school classrooms. In this dissertation, I explore how culturally and linguistically diverse fourth graders and their teacher in a Spanish-English two-way bilingual education (TWBE) classroom engaged in transformative civic education.…

Improving the reading ability of young students could hardly be a more urgent priority for our elementary schools. Two thirds of American fourth and eighth graders are not able to read proficiently--and the outcomes are far worse for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The National Assessment of Educational Progress in 2019 showed that only…

The Performance Evaluation for Alaska's Schools (PEAKS) assessment is administered annually statewide to students in grades 3 through 9 in ELA and mathematics. It provides students the opportunity to show their understanding of "Alaska's English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Standards." The assessments provide information to…

The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the impact of the district's use of the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System on 3rd grade students' reading achievement as measured by the SC READY ELA test. Educators are increasingly using assessment data in determining students' knowledge and progress. Brady, 2011 stated that…

The purpose of the study was to assess the volume of academic vocabulary in elementary grades disciplinary textbooks. Academic vocabulary was examined in a corpus of best-selling elementary grades textbooks in three disciplinary areas--science, mathematics, and social studies. Academic words in texts were determined through automated procedures…

Pandemic-related policies are typically developed by districts and translated to all schools for implementation. Understanding the degree to which the pandemic impacted school-level performance would provide additional perspective for researchers looking to help district and school officials move forward. The main purpose of this study is to…

The disruptions to schooling created by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted nationwide concern about negative impacts on academic proficiency, particularly for vulnerable student populations. Pennsylvania's 2021 statewide assessments offered the first opportunity since the pandemic began to assess how students across the Commonwealth were faring,…

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs are school-based preventive interventions that aim to improve children's social-emotional skills and behaviors. Although meta-analytic research has shown that SEL programs implemented in early childhood can improve academic and behavioral outcomes in the short-term, there is limited work examining program…

Although Montessori is the most common unconventional education model, no multi-state study has compared standardized test proficiency of Montessori schools with districts. Here we report on this for the 10 states/regions with the most public Montessori schools (n = 195). In 3rd grade, Montessori schools were less proficient in math but more…

As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that…

Due to increased use of computer-based assessments, comparability studies are moving beyond paper-and-pencil versus computer-based assessments to analyze variances with computers. It is therefore practically important to determine whether screen size and definition of the device affect students' performance. Using data from a large school district…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning of a class of second graders' fairy tale learning experiences. This study is unique four key reasons. First, it focuses on a group of students whose school has been lagging in state English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency tests; second, it provides perspectives on how fairy tales affect the…