The question examined in this paper is whether variability in the quantity of schooling students receive in different curricular areas is a contributor to observed differences in achievement not only among students attending different high schools, but among students in the same high school. A conceptual framework enumerates the determinants of…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Washington's children. The statistical portrait is based on indicators in the areas of community population, health and safety, economic well-being, and education, for all of Washington's 39 counties as well its 3 major cities. The specific indicators include: (1) population…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), selected a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 kindergartners in the fall of 1998 and is following these children through the end of the fifth grade. Baseline data about these children, their families, and their kindergarten programs were collected…

Background: This is the fourth formal report describing the efficacy of the full-day, every day kindergarten program in the St. James School Division which was initiated in one school located in an economically-disadvantaged neighborhood in the 1997-1998 school year. The success of this undertaking led to the extension of the program in 1998-1999,…

While Part I looked at the entire cohort of 8th graders and what became of them 12-years later, this section focuses on the NELS cohort that went on to postsecondary education. For that reason, we suggest caution in comparing data herein with those in Part I. The percentages will not match up perfectly between reports because the cohorts analyzed…

This Kids Count factbook is the fifth to examine statewide and county trends in the well-being of Maryland's children. The statistical portrait is based on indicators in the domains of economic well-being, good health, safety, and preparing for adulthood. The 16 indicators are: (1) child poverty; (2) child support; (3) births to teens; (4) low…

This technical report provides data on the extent to which progress monitoring measures explain reading achievement. The four progress monitoring measures discussed are: letter sounding, phonemic segmentation, oral reading fluency, and comprehension given in either oral or written form. These measures were administered to first grade students in…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) is a large-scale, national longitudinal study designed and sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), with support from other government agencies. Beginning in the spring of 1988 with a cohort of eighth graders (25,000) attending public and private schools across…

This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's Prekindergarten Expansion grant program during 2002-2003.

The specific focus of this research was to determine how the outcomes on two alternative forms of assessment (multiple-choice and hands-on/manipulative) for science process skills were related when students were grouped on the basis of sex, race/ethnicity, and poverty level. Subjects were 1,381 fourth graders in a culturally diverse city school…

The causes of reading failure are numerous and complex. If instruction provided by the school is ineffective or insufficient, even some otherwise capable learners will have difficulty learning to read. Improving literacy instruction through professional development is an ongoing process involving all of the members of a schoolwide literacy team in…

This 7th annual Kids Count Factbook provides information on trends in the well-being of children in Maryland and its 24 jurisdictions. The statistical portrait is based on 18 indicators of well-being: (1) low birth-weight infants; (2) infant mortality; (3) early prenatal care; (4) binge drinking; (5) child deaths; (6) child injury rate; (7) grade…

This Kids Count report details statewide trends in the well-being of Maryland's children. The statistical portrait is based on 14 indicators of child well being: (1) child poverty; (2) child support; (3) births to teens; (4) low birthweight infants; (5) infant mortality; (6) lead screening; (7) child abuse and neglect; (8) child death rate; (9)…

The substance and impact of state-level reforms related to student standards are presented by: (1) providing information on the currrent state of educational reforms aimed at raising student standards; (2) summarizing research designed to identify linkages between higher standards and student outcomes; (3) exploring the strength of relationships…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized test scores are the indicator used to hold schools and school districts accountable for student achievement. Each state is responsible for constructing an accountability system, attaching consequences--or stakes--for student performance. The theory of action implied by this…