Due to House Bill (HB) 3, passed by the 86th Legislature, Texas public independent school districts are mandated to assess early childhood students using a universal screener. This bill focuses on forming high-quality educational programs and improving reading success in pre-kindergarten through third grade. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) State…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the effects of a tutorial program on first-grade children's reading skills and their tutors' (also preservice teachers) knowledge of reading instruction. Participants consisted of a group of 30 first-grade children served in the program and a control group of 30 children. Literacy…

This statewide, multiyear study was an examination of industry-based certification attainment rates by the economic status of Texas public high school graduates. Data analyzed were provided by the Texas Education Agency via the Texas Academic Performance Reports for the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years. Inferential statistical…

We present findings across three randomized trials of "Descubriendo la Lectura" (DLL), an intervention designed to improve literacy skills of Spanish-speaking first graders struggling with reading. DLL is a one-to-one Spanish-language literacy program lasting 12-20 weeks offered to a school's lowest performing emerging bilingual first…

Facility with learning from multiple text documents is critical for college and career readiness. However, children with reading difficulties and disabilities have been largely excluded from research on multiple document comprehension. Accordingly, little is known about how children with reading difficulties and disabilities perform on…

Museums are literacy-rich environments where visitors may interact with text in a variety of ways. Examining the environment for indicators of literacy learning provides insight into how the museum is meeting its mission as a cultural and educational institution, particularly for museums geared towards children as visitors. The purpose of this…

Some children come to school with a smaller vocabulary than their peers. If children do not have knowledge of the meaning of the words they read in texts, they will fail to comprehend those texts and struggle to keep up with their peers. This is critical because the link between vocabulary and comprehension is very clear (Sticht et al., 1974, as…

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021…

The importance of contextualization within postsecondary contexts has been embraced by the state of Texas, as shown by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's (THECB) Accelerate Texas Initiative (THECB, n.d.). Contextualization, in short, is the teaching and development of basic skills and knowledge within a specific disciplinary topic…

Many high school graduates begin college and quickly realize that there is a discrepancy between their high school reading experiences and the expectations of reading for college classes. These students are often placed into developmental reading courses, often based on standardized test scores, to improve their vocabulary, reading comprehension,…

This study investigated the effectiveness of My Reading Academy, a digital learning program designed to develop foundational reading skills in early childhood education. The research examined whether the implementation of this adaptive game-based curriculum could strengthen early reading skills and increase student interest in learning to read…

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs focus on growing the STEM workforce. The problem is many middle and high school students in Texas require support from the STEM teacher to comprehend complex science texts. Research shows interest in science begins to decline in adolescence leading to a shortage of employees to…

The intent of this annual report is to shine light on the Texas Education Agency's commitment to ensuring that every one of the more than five million public school students in Texas is prepared for success in college, a career or the military. The achievements of Texas students are a testament to the hard work of educators across the state. Their…

This study was designed to investigate whether teacher literacy content knowledge affects student achievement in Texas schools. Teacher participants from Texas public schools completed a three-part survey. In Parts 1 and 2, teachers completed a demographic section and teacher knowledge of foundational reading skills. The survey consisted of…

The referral process of early elementary grade level students can be long and complex. National statistics show that most of the referrals are done during or after fourth grade. This study worked around the decreasing number of students referred to the Special Education Program during the early grade level stages. The purpose of this qualitative…