We determined the relative importance of the so-called approximate number system (ANS), symbolic number comparison (SNC) and verbal and spatial short-term and working memory (WM) capacity for mathematics achievement in 1,254 Grade 2, 4 and 6 children. The large sample size assured high power and low false report probability and allowed us to…

This is the technical index for the research brief "Education's Long COVID: 2022-23 Achievement Data Reveal Stalled Progress toward Pandemic Recovery." Using data from 6.7 million U.S. public school students currently in grades 3-8, the study examined academic gains in the 2022-23 school year relative to pre-pandemic years. It also…

Co-teaching may be a promising strategy to improve inclusive secondary mathematics education in rural schools. Professional development (PD) aids in special and general education teachers' co-teaching implementation, yet little empirical research examines how to effectively train and support co-teachers. In this study, we describe one U.S. state's…

This brief provides a policy perspective into the recent NWEA research on how COVID-19 has affected student learning. It builds on previous research showing achievement levels stalling over the 2022-23 school year from the previous year. This analysis on student learning from grades 3-8 shows that academic recovery has stalled for older learners…

Many school districts have adopted digital tools to supplement or replace teacher-led instruction, usually based on the premise that these tools can provide more personalized or individualized experiences for students and at lower cost. Rigorously evaluating whether such initiatives promote better student outcomes in the field is difficult as most…

Personal Best (PB) goals are defined as specific, challenging, and competitively self-referenced goals involving a level of performance or effort that meets or exceeds an individual's previous best. Much of the available research underpinning arguments for PB goal-setting is self-report-based; thus, the causal effect of PB goals on learning…

"University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP)" is a core mathematics curriculum that includes materials and a routinized instructional approach with an option for teacher training. The curriculum uses an inquiry-based approach with a focus on active learning where students frequently engage in hands-on activities and…

The purpose of this study is to examine the motivation type preferences of students in kindergartens and second, fourth, sixth, and eighth grades and the underlying reasons thereof after successfully completing a mathematics task. The students in the study solved an easy mathematics question. After they solved the problem, they were presented with…

Growing evidence suggests that contrary to popular belief, schools mostly do not generate achievement gaps in cognitive skills but, rather, reflect the inequalities that already exist. In the case of socioeconomic status, exposure to school often reduces gaps. Surprisingly little is known, however, about whether this pattern extends to gender gaps…

In achievement testing we assume that students will demonstrate their maximum performance as they encounter test items. Sometimes, however, student performance can decline during a test event, which implies that the test score does not represent maximum performance. This study describes a method for identifying significant performance decline and…

The study uses data from five assessment points for reading and maths. It focuses on a constant sample of students, all of whom completed a Rising Stars assessment in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also administered three teacher surveys: the first focused on the initial period of lockdown, the second focused on the autumn 2020…

New research, using data from 7 million students in grades 3-8 in 25,000 schools who took MAP Growth reading and mathematics assessments between 2020-21 and fall 2022, continues NWEA's ongoing research agenda examining how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected student achievement in reading and math. At the start of the 2022-23 school year, we…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "Progress toward Pandemic Recovery: Continued Signs of Rebounding Achievement at the Start of the 2022-23 School Year" (ED627355). The two main research questions…

The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, "Learning during COVID-19: An Update on Student Achievement and Growth at the Start of the 2021-22 School Year." The goal of this brief is to summarize student achievement…

Saint Edmond's Academy is a small, independent, Catholic school in Wilmington, Delaware. Students in Grades 4 to 7 are falling below their peers in other independent schools on standardized tests in mathematics, specifically the Educational Advisory Company Comprehensive Testing Program assessment. Within the scope of this work, my goal was to…