This paper evaluates the Zones of Choice (ZOC) program in Los Angeles, a school choice initiative that created small high school markets in some neighborhoods but left traditional attendance-zone boundaries in place throughout the rest of the district. We study the impacts of ZOC on student achievement and college enrollment using a matched…

At the study site school for this research, the online curriculum in the current blended learning program was not promoting the desired student achievement outcomes. It was unknown if and how research-based best practices associated with blended learning were being implemented. This qualitative case study explored which elements of blended…

Middle school teachers at a rural site in a western state have faced problems in implementing Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA), as well as in resolving achievement gaps in ELA between regular education students, special education (SPED) students, English language learners (ELL), and at-risk students. The purpose…

Educational engagement and advocacy of parents is a central priority for increasing the academic performance of African American male students at risk of academic underachievement. This research explored six types of parental involvement in education to evaluate which ways of engagement have the best relationships with African American male…

The Robust and Equitable Measures to Inspire Quality Schools, or "REMIQS," project is guided by two questions. The first is, "where are the highest-performing schools in traditional settings that consistently promote improved outcomes for our most underserved students?" The second question is, "what practices, policies,…

The "achievement gap" has long dominated mainstream conversations about race and education. Some scholars warn that the discourse around racial gaps perpetuates stereotypes and promotes the adoption of deficit-based explanations that fail to appreciate the role of structural inequities. I investigate through three randomized experiments.…

The purpose of this qualitative, multi-case study was to explore the perceptions of administrators in an urban border district in deep South Texas. This study gleaned the perceptions of administrators with regard to best practices in early literacy success in underrepresented groups of students, namely English Language Learners (ELLs), in an urban…

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education granted states the opportunity to apply for waivers from the core requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. In exchange, many states implemented systems of differentiated accountability that included a focus on schools with the largest achievement gaps between subgroups of students. We use…

This paper reflects on a slow-motion video clip of the hands of three young children as they play with toys in the sand tray. It foregrounds sand and toys that are handled, as well as hands that grasp and relinquish things. Through this movement of hands that tug and pull at things, it explores how things animate bodies, and how this produces the…

Although gender differences in mathematics are smaller than they have been in the past, prominent voices still attribute these differences to a variety of fixed individual factors, such as genetic characteristics of men and women. We hold the alternative view that these differences can be ultimately attributed to malleable factors. From this…

The primary aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to describe average change in the written narrative performance of second grade students from the fall and spring of the school year; and (2) examine patterns of individual growth to test for Matthew effects. Participants included 299 children in second grade. Microstructural measures were derived…

School reform has been a topic of discussion for many years. As a result, policy makers have sought to remedy the problems plaguing America's school systems by creating high stakes accountability and testing systems. Recognizing the fact that many factors influence student achievement and the associated gap, creations and reauthorizations of these…

We used the Stanford education data archive (SEDA) data to examine the heterogeneity among urban school districts in the United States. The SEDA 2.1 includes data sets on students' mathematics (Math) and English language arts (ELA) achievement from 2008 to 2014 at the district level. Growth mixture modeling was used to uncover the underlying…

English learners (ELs) are a growing demographic in schools nationwide. ELs are expected to demonstrate proficiency in core subjects like their non-EL counterparts. However, an achievement gap exists. To address the achievement disparity for ELs, schools seek certified ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) teachers to provide the support…

Empirical evidence suggests children's socio-emotional skills--an important determinant of school achievement--vary according to socioeconomic family background. This study assesses the degree to which differences in socio-emotional skills contribute to the achievement gap between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged children. We used…