Although letter naming fluency (LNF) and letter sound fluency (LSF) measures are widely available to educators for assessing early literacy skills of kindergarten children, better understanding of the contributions of these skills to reading development can help improve the interpretation of LNF and LSF data for instructional decisions. This study…

Executive leadership of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) initiated a flexibility offering from No Child Left Behind. Our work explores specific design decisions made in these state-specific accountability systems as associated with state political environments, resources, and demographic characteristics. Our analysis, focused on 42 states…

Research Findings: This study reports outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of an emergent literacy intervention for prekindergarten children at-risk for reading failure. Children (N = 2219) in 114 preschools and childcare centers were screened for eligibility in fall. Children who scored at-risk (n = 476) were randomized to fall or spring…

This paper examines the graduation rates between 2000 and 2015 of United States colleges and universities at the national, state, and institutional levels. This research focuses on two-year and four-year programs. Rates are investigated longitudinally along with variables that distinguish between public/private institutions, percentages of…

Visual processes in Grade 1 were examined for their predictive influences in nonalphanumeric and alphanumeric rapid naming (RAN) in 51 poor early and 69 typical readers. In a lagged design, children were followed longitudinally from Grade 1 to Grade 3 over 5 testing occasions. RAN outcomes in early Grade 2 were predicted by speeded and nonspeeded…

This study examines the validity of a statewide teacher evaluation system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Three hundred and thirty-eight teachers from 16 at-risk schools located in eight school districts participated in an evaluation system pilot during the 2011-2012 academic year. Teachers received ratings on six teacher effectiveness process…

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a system of assessment used to screen for students at risk for poor learning. CBM benchmark screening assessments are typically administered to all students in the fall, winter, and spring, and these data are frequently used by researchers to model and perhaps explain within-year growth. Modeling growth with…

This study utilized latent class analysis (LCA) to identify 5 discernible profiles of Latino children's (N = 1,253) social-emotional, physical, and cognitive school readiness at the time of kindergarten entry. In addition, a growth mixture modeling (GMM) approach was used to identify 3 unique literacy achievement trajectories, across Grades 2-5,…

Professional development (PD) can enhance educators' knowledge and beliefs, but research has yet to determine the nature and extent of such change. This study examined the patterns and predictors of change in knowledge and beliefs for early childhood educators participating in state-implemented PD. Results from a longitudinal piecewise growth…

Conceptualizations of developmental trends are driven by the particular method used to analyze the period of change of interest. Various techniques exist to analyze developmental data, including individual growth curve analysis in observed and latent frameworks, cross-lagged regression to assess interrelations among variables, and multilevel…

The objective of this study is to examine the trajectory of internalizing problems across middle childhood among a population sample of Australian children, and to understand the timing of explanatory factors related to children's development of internalizing problems, by using multiple-indicator latent growth curve modeling. Participants were…

Signed into Law on January 8, 2002, the 1,180 page No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) shifted the course of public education in America. For the first time accountability was firmly placed at the center of school operations by requiring a systematic approach to achieving reform and improving all areas of school life (Wanker & Christie, 2005). As…

This is a keynote presentation given at AERA on developing a validity agenda for growth models in a large scale (e.g., state) setting. The emphasis of this presentation was to indicate that growth models and the validity agenda designed to provide evidence in supporting the claims to be made need to be personalized to meet the local or…