The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) conducted a Special Circumstance Review of Philippi Middle School at the specific direction of the State Superintendent beginning on November 9, 2023, to examine compliance with the laws and policies affecting students' safety and well-being, discipline and administrative protocols, and academic…

This case presented in this article involves a transgender middle school student-athlete (BPJ) and the West Virginia State Board of Education (WVSSAC). BPJ, who at the time was preparing to enter sixth grade at a new school, alleges that Defendants Burch, Stutler, the WVSSAC, and Attorney General Morrisey deprived her of equal protection under the…

Peer assessment is an underutilized tool in mathematics classrooms. We examined how peer assessment could be used in a mathematics course to improve mathematical communication and mathematical proficiency. To describe in what ways peer reviews compared to teacher reviews, we analyzed ratings and feedback of 32 6th graders and their mathematics…

Background: Preventing student academic failure is crucial to student health and life success. Previous studies suggest a positive school climate may reduce students' risk for academic failure and contribute to academic success. The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal associations between school climate and academic grades in a…

Initiation of substance use often starts during adolescence, with tobacco and alcohol use frequently preceding the use of marijuana and other illicit drugs. Studies suggest that a positive school climate may prevent substance use while promoting healthy student behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal associations…

The purpose of this paper is to showcase new research that seeks to provide guidance on the heterogeneity of treatment effects by utilizing the variance of demographic differences in state assessments. This study is focused on a simple randomized block design where students are nested within schools, and within each school students are randomized…

This evaluation study provides information about the implementation and outcomes of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program in West Virginia, from September 2015 through May 2016, in which 12,388 students participated overall. The report draws on information from online surveys of directors of thirty six 21st CCLC programs…

Research indicates that mathematics anxiety interferes with solving math problems in everyday life as well as academic situations. In classrooms across the country, educators have utilized different methods to help students alleviate their irrational fears of completing even basic math problems. Critical constructivist educators have utilized…

Randomized experiments are often considered the strongest designs to study the impact of educational interventions. Perhaps the most prevalent class of designs used in large scale education experiments is the cluster randomized design in which entire schools are assigned to treatments. In cluster randomized trials (CRTs) that assign schools to…

"Reading Edge" is a middle school literacy program that emphasizes cooperative learning, goal setting, feedback, classroom management techniques, and the use of metacognitive strategy, whereby students assess their own skills and learn to apply new ones. The program is a component of the "Success for All"[superscript 2]…

In America, there is a growing consensus that educational video games should be used in the classroom to meet the needs of 21st Century learners. According to the American Federation of Scientists (2006), students that "have grown up with digital technology and video games are especially poised to take advantage of the features of educational…

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.…

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…

Ravenswood (WV) Middle School is located on a quiet residential street, adjacent to the high school, the town library, and a community park in the small town of historic Ravenswood, West Virginia. The unassuming exterior of the building belies the school's record of continued academic growth and achievement and the warm, caring environment that it…

We conducted an evaluation study of the Middle School Algebra Readiness Initiative, a middle school mathematics intervention that was implemented in two West Virginia school districts during the 2011-2012 school year. In participating middle schools, the Carnegie Learning MATHia® software intervention and accompanying classroom curriculum were…