This technical report provides detailed information regarding the technical, statistical, and measurement attributes of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) for the Grades 3-8 Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics 2014 Operational Tests. This report includes information about test content and test development, item (i.e.,…

The main purpose of the present study was to examine the long-term effects of a previous quasi-experiment that used inner speech as a tool to promote appropriate strategies in multiplication. Results one year after the intervention were published by Ostad and Askeland. This is a follow-up study. The 50-week intervention program was conducted in…

In 2010, the federal government increased accountability expectations by placing more emphasis on monitoring teacher performance. Using a model that focuses on the New York State teacher evaluation system, that is comprised of a rubric for observation, local student assessment scores, and student state assessment scores, this…

Publishing podcasts, writing digital stories with "choose your own adventure" endings, and collaborating with students around the country through wikis, Skype, and VoiceThread, Julie D. Ramsay never imagined that she and her fifth grade students would be forging a new frontier using technology to support writing lessons. In a school district with…

This study is to investigate the effectiveness of using mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad/android phone/tablet to facilitate mobile learning in aural skills. The application "Auralbook" was designed in 2011 by an engineer/musician to use mobile devices to learn aural skills. This application enables students to sing, record, clap and…

This study examined the validity of test accommodation in third-eighth graders using differential item functioning (DIF) and mixture IRT models. Two data sets were used for these analyses. With the first data set (N = 51,591) we examined whether item type (i.e., story, explanation, straightforward) or item features were associated with item…

This study describes key challenges and necessary supports related to implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) identified by rural math educators in the Northeast. The research team interviewed state and district math coordinators and surveyed teachers in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, to assess their…

Background: Cluster-randomized experiments that assign intact groups such as schools or school districts to treatment conditions are increasingly common in educational research. Such experiments are inherently multilevel designs whose sensitivity (statistical power and precision of estimates) depends on the variance decomposition across levels.…

Analyses examined academic achievement data across third through eighth grades ("N" = 26,474), comparing students identified as homeless or highly mobile (HHM) with other students in the federal free meal program (FM), reduced price meals (RM), or neither (General). Achievement was lower as a function of rising risk status (General…

This research study is a case study of the development of an African-centered school over a 20-year period. The study describes how the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade institution was established. Interview questions focused on: 1. Establishment of an African-centered institution 2. Challenges of setting up an African-centered institution 3.…

Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A funds are provided to Houston Independent School District (HISD) through the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Both funds focus on enhancing student achievement: Title I, Part A provides supplemental…

This study originated from the realization that many community college students have significant difficulties with the concepts related to linear functions and their graphs even though these topics are included in the mathematics curriculum from about third grade onward. It is an attempt to identify possible gaps in the math standards in this…

The "GeoLiteracy for English language learners" (ELLs) program is a curriculum that enhances reading and writing skills while teaching geography content for US students in kindergarten through eighth grades. The program includes 85 lesson plans that address all US national geography standards, a quarter of which address environmental…

This study examined relationships between three factors related to teacher self-efficacy (use of inclusive instruction, collaboration with others, and managing disruptive behaviour) and practicing teachers' sentiments, attitudes, and concerns about inclusive education of students with developmental disabilities. We calculated Pearson…

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…