This study examines the hypothesis that having an older sister causes one to perform relatively better at reading. For the analysis, a cross-subject analysis is conducted to examine a student's relative reading test score (reading test score minus math test score) based on older sibling gender. We found that a student's relative reading test score…

Studies have identified negative effects of cortisol, a stress hormone, on academic performance. Because natural disasters induce community-wide stress, students who experience natural disasters may subsequently perform worse academically. Our study is the first to examine the immediate effects of close exposure to a natural disaster on academic…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether suprasegmental speech perception contributes unique variance in predictions of reading decoding and comprehension for prelingually deaf children using two devices, at least one of which is a cochlear implant (CI). Method: A total of 104, 5- to 9-year-old CI recipients completed tests of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between face-to-face learning environments before the pandemic during the 2018-2019 school year and varied learning modalities after the pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year. NWEA MAP Growth data was collected for third-grade students in elementary schools in a rural school district…

Group differences in test scores are a key metric in education policy. Response time offers novel opportunities for understanding these differences, especially in low-stakes settings. Here, we describe how observed group differences in test accuracy can be attributed to group differences in latent response speed or group differences in latent…

The purpose of this correlational study is to determine the nature of the relationship between school and demographic factors and student achievement using data from the individual schools reported by a school district in Northern Texas. Answers to the following questions were sought: Do the teacher demographic factors (years of experience,…

This study aims to find the potential relationship between emotioncy (sense-induced emotions), reading strategy use, and reading comprehension test performance among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To this end, 514 intermediate and upper-intermediate EFL learners were asked to complete a 30-item multiple-choice reading comprehension…

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which Grade 4 Black students differed in their reading performance on the Texas state-mandated assessment by their gender and by their economic status. Specifically addressed was the degree to which differences were presented in their ability to…

Despite ongoing efforts to reform schools, the longstanding racial/ethnic achievement gap still persists, particularly for boys of color; in many cases, the gap is widening, particularly for students transitioning from elementary to middle school. The focus of this study was to examine the impact of effective instructional practices for struggling…

Large-scale standardized tests are regularly used to measure student achievement overall and for student subgroups. These uses assume tests provide comparable measures of outcomes across student subgroups, but prior research suggests score comparisons across gender groups may be complicated by the type of test items used. This paper presents…

The purpose of the current research is to determine the effect of changing the English Language Art curriculum on the reading growth of fourth-grade students who attended a public school district located in a suburban community in the Northeastern part of the United States. This ex-post facto study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the…

This embedded experimental mixed-methods study examined the implementation and outcomes of World Music Drumming (WMD) curriculum on reading fluency in primary elementary children and teacher perceptions of its effectiveness in student-to-curriculum, student-to-student, and student-to-teacher interactions in a summer camp setting. WMD, with its…

Girls tend to do better than boys academically, in part because they are more engaged in school. What if they weren't? Using nationally representative data, I examine how equal starting points and trajectories of behavioral engagement in elementary school could change gender test score gaps. I find that equal engagement patterns could entirely…

Background: Data-driven investigations of how students transit pages in digital reading tasks and how much time they spend on each transition allow mapping sequences of navigation behaviours into students' navigation reading strategies. Objectives: The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to identify students' navigation patterns in…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which enrollment in a Title I, Part A school was related to the reading performance of Grade 4 students on the Texas state-mandated reading assessment. Specifically examined was the extent to which boys and girls enrolled in Title I, Part A schools and non-Title…