This study compared students' performance on Istation, a computer-based progress-monitoring tool, and easyCBM, a paper-pencil progress-monitoring tool. Participants included 106 students in Grades K-6 from a rural school in New Mexico. Teachers in these grade levels administered both assessments three times during the school year. Results…

The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

This study examined how attaining English proficiency and being reclassified as fluent English proficient affected achievement in English language arts and math in the first year after student reclassification in grades 3-8 in New Mexico. State policy in New Mexico bases student reclassification decisions on whether students attain a minimum…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that examined how attaining English proficiency and being reclassified as fluent English proficient affected achievement in English language arts and math in the first year after student reclassification in grades 3-8 in New Mexico. New Mexico established a state-level policy that requires…

The "Effects of Reclassifying English Learner Students on Student Achievement in New Mexico" study examined being reclassified as fluent English proficient and achievement in English language arts and math in the first year after student reclassification. The study focused on achievement among English learner students in 2014/15-2018/19…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Inquiry-based teaching methods have been found to enhance students' abilities to understand the process of scientific inquiry. The purpose of this study was to determine if middle school students taught through an inquiry-based teaching approach consisting of scientific skill development, scientific knowledge, and scientific reasoning were more…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Inquiry-based science interventions aim to improve students' science proficiency by helping them understand scientific processes. In these interventions, students conduct hands-on investigations of science concepts and everyday phenomena, construct explanations for what they observe, consider alternative explanations, and communicate and justify…

Improving youth science comprehension is critical to youth development, yet this intended outcome is often overlooked in terms of how Extension programs are delivered. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to determine through the assessment of potential student growth whether applying features of a youth science comprehension…

The rapid expansion of charter schools reflects a growing interest in education reform and school turnaround efforts across the United States. However, national research on charter school performance remains inconclusive. Of particular debate is the impact of transferring from a traditional public school to a charter school on student achievement…

At the intersection of biology and computer science is the growing field of bioinformatics--the analysis of complex datasets of biological relevance. Despite the increasing importance of bioinformatics and associated practical applications, these are not standard topics in elementary and middle school classrooms. We report on a pilot project and…

New analytical tools have facilitated the exploration of the trajectories of alcohol use; however, there are a limited number of studies that explore early adolescence. A sample of 5,903 youths followed from sixth through eighth grade was used to (1) examine the trajectories of alcohol use and (2) determine the degree to which common correlates…

Northwest Evaluation Association™ (NWEA™) is committed to providing partners with useful tools to help make inferences from the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) interim assessment scores. One important tool is the concordance table between MAP and state summative assessments. Concordance tables have been used for decades to relate scores on…

Improving youth science comprehension in the United States is imperative to reverse current trends in student achievement and to meet an expected shortage of scientists in the future. This lag in achievement scores and need for future scientists is a problem. One challenge is to link inquiry-based learning and experiential education with…