Statement of Purpose and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationships between co-curricular scheduling models, student choice of co-curricular courses, and scores on the English Language Arts and mathematics Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) scale for students in sixth, seventh, and eighth…

Over the past 60 years, the federal government has paid much attention to and devoted resources for combating reading failure for children in the United States. Several policies have been enacted over time, from the Reading Excellence Act of 1985, to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to the adoption of the Common Core State Standards in 2010.…

Researchers frequently evaluate rater judgments in performance assessments for evidence of differential rater functioning (DRF), which occurs when rater severity is systematically related to construct-irrelevant student characteristics after controlling for student achievement levels. However, researchers have observed that methods for detecting…

The centralized compilation and use of educational materials for the three subjects of language arts, ethics and the rule of law (ideology and politics), and history are important moves in the fundamental task of creating educational materials to build up the state's authority and instill virtue and nurturing the young. Here, centrally compiled…

In this study, we describe long-term trends in students' academic performance, documenting persistent and systematic disparities in academic outcomes across several student subgroups. We leverage administrative data from longitudinal student records to examine academic outcomes for English learners (ELs), students with Individualized Education…

Teacher discourse is one way to scaffold instruction for students and is especially important for multilingual learners (MLs). With an ever-growing population of MLs, this topic demands attention. This study takes steps to meet this demand by presenting a language-based approach to content instruction (LACI), a guiding framework comprised of six…

Although the Every Student Succeeds Act sets the parameters for parents and families to be involved in their children's education, there are no specified guidelines on how that involvement should be designed to best impact student achievement. The purpose of this study was to compare Grade 3-5 students' mean Milestones test scores in English…

To become successful readers, adolescents have to navigate multiple internal factors related to their literacy, namely their capability, identity, and self-efficacy as readers. They also must journey through the literacy demands of a school day, and their resulting experiences continuously shape their self-perceptions of identity and…

The present study investigates the correlation between teachers' implementation of Universal or Learning (UDL) in Mathematics and English/language arts (ELA) instruction and students' performance as measured by the state-wide standardised tests. Teacher participants included ELA and Mathematics teachers in grades 3-8 from a district in the United…

This study investigated the effects of the Leader in Me (LiM), a social-emotional learning program implemented in thousands of schools. A mixed-method design included (1) a collective case study in four diverse, high-implementing elementary schools and (2) a post hoc quasi-experiment using propensity score 1:3 matching of 117 LiM and 348 non-LiM…

Science often takes a back burner to English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. With ELA and Math being tested from early years and school funding relying on each, many teachers are pushed by administrators to spend as much time as possible on those two subjects. During the authors' years as classroom teachers and professional development providers,…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the program initiated by EdReports.org for analysing instructional materials, improving local decision making for selecting materials, and providing professional learning to support implementation of high-quality materials in schools. The Context Input Process Product model was used to evaluate…

This qualitative case study explores the perceptions of fifth grade students in a predominantly White school and community about race, analyzes the effects on student learning when Common Core Language Arts instruction is blended with the Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias objectives (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2014a), and describes the tensions and…

Often in classrooms meaning-making skills are not acknowledged and therefore not fostered. In addition, there are many high school ELA classrooms that prioritize students' reaching one correct answer, or one best interpretation of literature. Yet, some ELA teachers do engage their students in rich meaning-making processes, and do not privilege one…

This research study explored in-service teacher reflective practices. Data were collected via survey and interview to answer questions about how teachers define and engage in reflective practice, how teachers develop as reflective practitioners, and how reflective practice influences student achievement. The survey population included 170…