Learning to read by the end of third grade is a pathway to a successful life (Keesler, 2019). Research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that students who are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school and are ineligible for a majority of jobs in the United States (Hernandez,…

The purpose of this causal-comparative, ex post facto quantitative study was to determine "What are the differences in third-grade reading at the college and career readiness level in charter schools compared to traditional public schools?" The study took place in North Carolina charter and traditional public schools. The sample…

Indiana public school districts are seeing a decline in third-graders' reading proficiency, and as of 2019, Indiana public school districts have implemented the national professional teaching standards for three decades. Previous research studies do not provide a consensus if a statistically significant relationship exists between employing…

This study looked at any potential effect of early childhood education on future academic success for economically disadvantaged students. The early childhood education program used in this study was the pre-kindergarten program that the state of Texas uses in most of its elementary schools. This program is federally funded, and district run. This…

The purpose of this study was to determine if ongoing, sustained professional development in the area of reading resulted in an increase in student achievement on reading scores using i-Ready reading comprehension data. For the purpose of this study, students were divided into two groups: Group 1 was taught by teachers who received ongoing,…

The increasing number of students who struggle to read has become a significant challenge for the nation's public schools. This study aimed to investigate the use of an online instructional reading program on the academic achievement of students with disabilities compared to race, gender, socioeconomic status, and family structure. The i-Ready…

This study examined the effect of small class size intervention on student outcomes using reading achievement scores as measured by the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), a standardized, norm-referenced test, while controlling for independent variables inclusive of students' gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and environment. This…

Learning to read is essential, especially for our youngest learners, as the foundational skills for learning to read can determine the future success of our students. The disruptions to learning from the COVID-19 pandemic have affected education. Researchers are still working to understand the depth of learning loss students have experienced.…

The present study examined Latinx school readiness and 3rd grade student achievement, considering differences based on social categories of gender, race, ethnicity, and home language. The sample included 683 racially diverse children (M[subscript age] = 4.94; SD = 0.57) of Dominican- or Mexican-origin from Spanish-English or Spanish-only…

Acceleration of digital communication has changed the nature of reading and young people today need to engage multimodal skills for reading success in the digital world. While historically there have been social justice issues for marginalised students in terms of reading, the digital age is creating new equity issues across the globe. This…

This causal-comparative study analyzed third grade reading scores from the National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) K-2011, by one of five school types, and four U.S. geographical regions. Forty-one of 50 states were represented. The problem studied is the unexplained elementary reading performance…

The state of Arkansas adopted ACT 1063 in 2017, which was designed to improve reading achievement for all students. Included in the law was the requirement that "curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on the instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic be implemented (Division of…

Nationally, public school districts utilize student achievement as the indicator of success or failure. In Texas, student achievement is measured by the yearly State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) assessment in Grades 3 through 12. Existing studies examined mentoring as a way of creating positive change for principals. Much of…

Public policies often target individuals but within-family externalities of such interventions are understudied. Using a regression discontinuity design, we document how a third grade retention policy affects both the target children and their younger siblings. The policy improves test scores of both children while the spillover is up to 30% of…

This study is the first to empirically examine how school districts allocate resources in response to capital investment revenue from statewide penny sales taxes (called SAVE funds), and whether SAVE funds affect student outputs (i.e., educational achievement). We found evidence that school districts do not use SAVE funds to increase capital…