The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 42 hr of reading instruction during summer on (a) reading performance of rising second and third graders (n = 39), who were from low-income families and who read below grade level, and (b) the fall reading outcomes between this group and their nonparticipating peers. The intervention was…

While numerous studies evaluate the effectiveness of teacher training and textbook distribution programs, few look at the effects of training programs on vulnerable students, those at the lower end of academic performance. Addressing this gap is important to improve the efficiency of student learning and address the equity gaps in early education.…

Associations between reading difficulties and problem behaviours in the classroom have been discussed controversially since the 1970s. The present paper investigates the influence of reading performance on teacher ratings of behavioural problems while taking into account behavioural autocorrelations and teacher halo effects. Teachers rated reading…

One potential contributor to student achievement that has garnered recent attention is students' mindset. A recent review of the literature on the effect of a growth mindset intervention on students' academic achievement has shown small effects, but limited research has been conducted with young students. This study investigated whether students…

This article examines the influence of teacher assistants and other personnel on outcomes for elementary school students during a period of recession-induced cutbacks in teacher assistants. Using panel data from North Carolina, we exploit the state's unique system of financing its local public schools to identify the causal effects of teacher…

Empirical evidence supports the importance of executive function (EF) in reading, but the underlying mechanism through which EF contributes to the reading process is unclear. The present study examined the direct and indirect effects of EF on reading comprehension through the indirect pathway of language and cognitive skills (i.e., syntactic…

This paper aims to explore and quantify the reading achievement of primary school students from three different regions in rural China. Using survey data on 23,143 students from Shaanxi, Guizhou, and Jiangxi provinces, we find although gaps in student reading achievement exist among the three sample provinces, all sample students exhibit low…

This study aimed to compare reading strategies and habits regarding reading achievement of selected age-group participants from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 and the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2015 within Turkey. A cohort design was utilized because it was assumed that reading literacy…

Research Findings: This study used data from a large-scale kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) to understand how well two state screening measures, administered at school entry, predicted the first-grade reading outcomes of a large sample of first-time kindergarteners (N=5,480) at high risk for future reading failure. We examined young children's…

According to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, the U.S. educational system has consistently failed Black and Brown children across both reading and mathematics. Educational research has further uncovered the ways that reading and mathematics assessment and curriculum are often biased and culturally and…

Background: The educational resources that parents provide at home are crucial to their children's development. In this study, we focused on home reading environment, a key contributor to success rates regarding the mastery of reading skills. We aimed to investigate students' home reading environments and examine its effect on the reading…

Due in part to the challenges associated with learning a new language, English language learners (ELLs) typically begin school with lower achievement than their non-ELL peers, and those achievement gaps often close slowly if at all. A separate body of research shows that achievement is associated with social-emotional learning constructs like…

In recent decades, state policymakers across the country have turned to early literacy policies to address students' reading proficiency--particularly in third grade. Though states' policies vary widely in terms of the interventions and supports provided to educators and students, their intent is similar: to get students reading on grade level by…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has periodically published reports using results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to compare the proficiency standards that states set for their students. Since standards vary across states, the results of the various state assessments cannot be used to directly compare…

This three-article dissertation explores educational innovation in charter schools. A common frame of reference for each article is the consideration of the influence of Dr. Benjamin Bloom's 2 sigma problem--the observation that one-on-one tutoring, though often cost prohibitively expensive, produces outcomes two standard deviations higher than…