This practice guide provides evidence-based practices that can help teachers tailor their instructional approaches and/or their mathematics intervention programs to meet the needs of their students.

This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills, and is a companion to the practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade.

This practice guide provides four recommendations for improving elementary students’ writing. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common roadblocks. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared toward teachers, literacy coaches, and other educators who want to improve the writing of their elementary students.

Students who read with understanding at an early age gain access to a broader range of texts, knowledge, and educational opportunities, making early reading comprehension instruction particularly critical. This guide recommends five specific steps that teachers, reading coaches, and principals can take to successfully improve reading comprehension for young readers.

This practice guide presents five recommendations intended to help educators improve students’ understanding of fractions. Recommendations include strategies to develop young children’s understanding of early fraction concepts and ideas for helping older children understand the meaning of fractions and the computations involved. The guide also highlights ways to build on students’ existing strategies to solve problems involving ratios, rates, and proportions.

Out-of-school time programs can enhance academic achievement by helping students learn outside the classroom.

Taking early action may be key to helping students struggling with mathematics.

This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement.

Designed for elementary school educators and school- and district-level administrators, this guide offers prevention, implementation, and schoolwide strategies that can be used to reduce problematic behavior that interferes with the ability of students to attend to and engage fully in instructional activities.

The target audience for this guide is a broad spectrum of school practitioners such as administrators, curriculum specialists, coaches, staff development specialists and teachers who face the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English language learners in the elementary grades.

The objective of this guide is to provide teachers with specific recommendations that can be carried out in the classroom without requiring systemic change.

This guide includes a set of concrete actions relating to the use of instructional and study time that are applicable to subjects that demand a great deal of content learning, including social studies, science, and mathematics.

This guide offers five recommendations to help educators effectively use data to monitor students’ academic progress and evaluate instructional practices.

This guide identifies practices that can improve the performance of chronically low-performing schools—a process commonly referred to as creating "turnaround schools."

Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a classroom management strategy designed to help teachers create a positive learning environment by decreasing disruptive behavior and improving social skills and prosocial behaviors among students.

Good Behavior Game is a classroom management strategy that aims to improve social skills, minimize disruptive behaviors, and create a positive learning environment. Teachers place students into teams and reward them for demonstrating appropriate behaviors and following classroom rules.

Success for All (SFA®) is a whole-school reform model (that is, a model that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports) for students in prekindergarten through grade 8. SFA® includes a literacy program, quarterly assessments of student learning, a social-emotional development program, computer-assisted tutoring tools, family support teams for students’ parents, a facilitator who works with school personnel, and extensive training for all intervention teachers. The literacy program emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for all students. Teachers provide reading instruction to students grouped by reading ability for 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week. In addition, certified teachers or paraprofessionals provide daily tutoring to students who have difficulty reading at the same level as their classmates.

Teach For America (TFA) is a highly selective route to teacher certification that aims to place non-traditionally trained teachers in high-need public schools. Many TFA teachers hold bachelors’ degrees from selective colleges and universities, in fields outside of education. TFA teachers commit to teach for at least 2 years. TFA teachers receive 5–7 weeks of in-person training over the summer before they begin teaching, then continue to receive professional development and one-on-one coaching from TFA while teaching, in addition to support provided by their schools and districts. As full-time employees of the public schools where they work, TFA teachers receive the same salary and benefits as other first- or second-year teachers in their school or district.

Dual language programs are long-term instructional programs that provide content and literacy instruction to all students through two languages—English and a partner language—with the goals of promoting academic achievement, bilingualism and biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. Dual language programs can be implemented with students from one language group (in one-way programs) or with students from two language groups (in two-way programs).

Achieve3000® is a supplemental online literacy program that provides nonfiction reading content to students in grades preK–12 and focuses on building phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. Achieve3000® is designed to help students advance their nonfiction reading skills by providing differentiated online instruction. Teachers use the program with an entire class but the assignments are tailored to each student’s reading ability level. For example, teachers assign an article and related activities to an entire class; the program then tailors the version of the article to each student by automatically increasing the difficulty of text when a student is ready for more challenging text. Achieve3000® provides lessons that follow a five-step routine: (1) respond to a Before Reading Poll, (2) read an article, (3) answer activity questions, (4) respond to an After Reading Poll, and (5) answer a Thought Question. Progress reports and student usage data, provided by the online tool, enable teachers to track both whole-class and individual student progress. The program is designed for diverse student groups, including general education students, struggling readers in need of intensive tutoring, and English learners.

Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition^® (CIRC^®) is a comprehensive reading and writing program for students in grades 2–8. It includes story-related activities, direct instruction in reading comprehension, and integrated reading and language arts activities. Pairs of students (grouped either by or across ability levels) read to each other, predict how stories will end, summarize stories, write responses, and practice spelling, decoding, and vocabulary. Within cooperative teams of four, students work to understand the main idea of a story and work through the writing process. The CIRC^® process includes teacher instruction, team practice, peer assessment, and team/partner recognition. A Spanish version of the program was also designed for grades 2–5.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program for grades K–6 that aims to improve student proficiency in several disciplines. During the 30-35 minute peer-tutoring sessions, students take turns acting at the tutor, coaching and correcting one another as they work through problems. The designation of tutoring pairs and skill assignment is based on teacher judgement of student needs and abilities, and teachers reassign tutoring pairs regularly.  

Balanced Leadership® is a professional development program for school principals and other current and aspiring school leaders in schools serving kindergarten through grade 12. School leaders participate in professional development sessions with trained facilitators over one or two years, practice what they learn between sessions, and can receive additional coaching and online support. McREL International, the company that developed the Balanced Leadership® program, based the framework and content of the professional development on research identifying key actions and behaviors of school leaders that are associated with improved student outcomes.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is an individualized problem-solving process for addressing student problem behavior. An assessment is conducted to identify the purpose or function of a student's problem behavior. This assessment process involves collecting information about the environmental conditions that precede the problem behavior and the subsequent rewards that reinforce the behavior. The information that is gathered is then used to identify and implement individualized interventions aimed at reducing problem behaviors and increasing positive behaviors. Accordingly, the studies evaluating FBA examine different FBA-based interventions identified for each student. FBA-based interventions can be used to address diverse problem behaviors, such as disruptive and off-task behaviors, noncompliance, and inappropriate social interactions.

Everyday Mathematics® is a core curriculum for students in prekindergarten through grade 6. At each grade level, the Everyday Mathematics® curriculum provides students with multiple opportunities to learn concepts and practice skills. Across grade levels, concepts are reviewed and extended in varying instructional contexts. The distinguishing features of Everyday Mathematics® are its focus on real-life problem solving, student communication of mathematical thinking, and appropriate use of technology. This curriculum also emphasizes balancing different types of instruction (including collaborative learning), using various methods for skills practice, and fostering parent involvement in student learning.

Open Court Reading© is a reading program for grades K–6 that is designed to teach decoding, comprehension, inquiry, and writing in a three-part progression. Part One of each unit, Preparing to Read, focuses on phonemic awareness, sounds and letters, phonics, fluency, and word knowledge. Part Two, Reading and Responding, emphasizes reading literature for understanding, comprehension, inquiry, and practical reading applications. Part Three, Language Arts, focuses on writing, spelling, grammar, usage, mechanics, and basic computer skills.

Spelling Mastery is designed to explicitly teach spelling skills to students in grades 1–6. One of several Direct Instruction curricula from McGraw-Hill that precisely specify how to teach incremental content, Spelling Mastery includes phonemic, morphemic, and whole-word strategies.

Read Naturally is an elementary and middle school supplemental reading program designed to improve reading fluency using a combination of books, audiotapes, and computer software. The program has three main strategies: repeated reading of text for developing oral reading fluency, teacher modeling of story reading, and systematic monitoring of student progress by teachers and the students themselves. Students work at a reading level appropriate for their achievement level, progress through the program at their own rate, and, for the most part, work on an independent basis. Read Naturally® can be used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, resource rooms, or computer or reading labs. Although the program was not originally developed for English language learners, additional materials for these students are currently available.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program for grades K–6 that aims to improve student proficiency in several disciplines. During the 30-35 minute peer-tutoring sessions, students take turns acting at the tutor, coaching and correcting one another as they work through problems. The designation of tutoring pairs and skill assignment is based on teacher judgement of student needs and abilities, and teachers reassign tutoring pairs regularly.  

Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science (TEEMSS) is a physical science curriculum for grades 3–8 that uses computers, sensors, and interactive models to support investigations of real-world phenomena. Through 15 inquiry-based instructional units, students interact with computers, gather and analyze data, and formulate ideas for further exploration. This information is managed by software in a handheld computer and transmitted to other students and to the teacher. The program includes a web-based teacher-reporting tool that allows teachers to review student portfolios and gather student responses for assessment and class discussion.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program for grades K–6 that aims to improve student proficiency in several disciplines. During the 30-35 minute peer-tutoring sessions, students take turns acting at the tutor, coaching and correcting one another as they work through problems. The designation of tutoring pairs and skill assignment is based on teacher judgement of student needs and abilities, and teachers reassign tutoring pairs regularly.  

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program for grades K–6 that aims to improve student proficiency in several disciplines. During the 30-35 minute peer-tutoring sessions, students take turns acting at the tutor, coaching and correcting one another as they work through problems. The designation of tutoring pairs and skill assignment is based on teacher judgement of student needs and abilities, and teachers reassign tutoring pairs regularly.  

Accelerated Reader™ is a computerized supplementary reading program that provides guided reading instruction to students in grades K–12. It aims to improve students’ reading skills through reading practice and by providing frequent feedback on students’ progress to teachers. The Accelerated Reader™ program requires students to select and read a book based on their area of interest and reading level. Upon completion of a book, students take a computerized quiz based on the book’s content and vocabulary. Quiz performance allows teachers to monitor student progress and to identify students who may need additional reading assistance.

Reading Mastery is designed to provide systematic reading instruction to students in grades K–6. Reading Mastery can be used as an intervention program for struggling readers, as a supplement to a school’s core reading program, or as a stand-alone reading program, and is available in three versions. During the implementation of Reading Mastery, students are grouped with other students at a similar reading level, based on program placement tests. The program includes a continuous monitoring component.

Fast ForWord® is a computer-based reading program intended to help students develop and strengthen the cognitive skills necessary for successful reading and learning. The program, which is designed to be used 30 to 100 minutes a day, five days a week, for 4 to 16 weeks, includes two components.

Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition^® (CIRC^®) is a comprehensive reading and writing program for students in grades 2–8. It includes story-related activities, direct instruction in reading comprehension, and integrated reading and language arts activities. Pairs of students (grouped either by or across ability levels) read to each other, predict how stories will end, summarize stories, write responses, and practice spelling, decoding, and vocabulary. Within cooperative teams of four, students work to understand the main idea of a story and work through the writing process. The CIRC^® process includes teacher instruction, team practice, peer assessment, and team/partner recognition. A Spanish version of the program was also designed for grades 2–5.

Read Naturally is an elementary and middle school supplemental reading program designed to improve reading fluency using a combination of books, audiotapes, and computer software. The program has three main strategies: repeated reading of text for developing oral reading fluency, teacher modeling of story reading, and systematic monitoring of student progress by teachers and the students themselves. Students work at a reading level appropriate for their achievement level, progress through the program at their own rate, and, for the most part, work on an independent basis. Read Naturally® can be used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, resource rooms, or computer or reading labs. Although the program was not originally developed for English language learners, additional materials for these students are currently available.

Success for All (SFA®) is a whole-school reform model (that is, a model that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports) for students in prekindergarten through grade 8. SFA® includes a literacy program, quarterly assessments of student learning, a social-emotional development program, computer-assisted tutoring tools, family support teams for students’ parents, a facilitator who works with school personnel, and extensive training for all intervention teachers. The literacy program emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for all students. Teachers provide reading instruction to students grouped by reading ability for 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week. In addition, certified teachers or paraprofessionals provide daily tutoring to students who have difficulty reading at the same level as their classmates.

Earobics® is an interactive software that provides students in prekindergarten through grade 3 with individual, systematic instruction in early literacy skills as students interact with animated characters. Earobics® Foundations is the version for prekindergaten, kindergarten, and grade 1. Earobics® Connections is for grades 2 and 3 and older struggling readers. The program builds students’ skills in phonemic awareness, auditory processing, and phonics, as well as the cognitive and language skills required for comprehension. Each level of instruction addresses recognizing and blending sounds, rhyming, and discriminating phonemes within words, adjusting to each student’s ability level. The software is supported by music, audiocassettes, and videotapes, and includes picture/word cards, letter–sound decks, big books, little books, and leveled readers for reading independently or in groups.

Corrective Reading is designed to promote reading accuracy (decoding), fluency, and comprehension skills of students in grade 3 or higher who are reading below their grade level. The program has four levels that correspond to students’ decoding skills. All lessons in the program are sequenced and scripted. Corrective Reading can be implemented in small groups of 4–5 students or in a whole-class format. Corrective Reading is intended to be taught in 45-minute lessons 4–5 times a week.

The Wilson Reading System® is a reading and writing program. It provides a curriculum for teaching reading and spelling to individuals of any age who have difficulty with written language. The Wilson Reading System® directly teaches the structure of words in the English language, aiming to help students learn the coding system for reading and spelling. The program provides interactive lesson plans and uses a sequential system with extensive controlled text. The Wilson Reading System® is structured to progress from phoneme segmentation to more challenging tasks, and seeks to improve sight word knowledge, fluency, vocabulary, oral expressive language development, and reading comprehension.

Failure Free Reading is a language development program designed to improve vocabulary, fluency, word recognition, and reading comprehension for students in kindergarten through grade 12 who score in the bottom 15% on standardized tests and who have not responded to conventional beginning reading instruction. The three key dimensions of the program are: 1) repeated exposure to text, 2) predictable sentence structures, and 3) story concepts that require minimal prior knowledge. The program combines systematic, scripted teacher instruction; talking software; workbook exercises; and independent reading activities.

ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) is a peer-assisted instructional strategy designed to be integrated with most existing reading curricula. This approach provides students with increased opportunities to practice reading skills by asking questions and receiving immediate feedback from a peer tutor. Pairs of students take turns tutoring each other to reinforce concepts and skills initially taught by the teacher. The teacher creates age-appropriate peer teaching materials for the peer tutors; these materials take into account tutees’ language skills and disabilities.

Peer Tutoring and Response Groups aims to improve the language and achievement of English learners by pairing or grouping students to work on a task. The students may be grouped by age or ability, or the groups may be mixed. Peer tutoring typically consists of two students assuming the roles of tutor and tutee, or “coach and player” roles. Peer response groups give four or five students shared responsibility for a task, such as editing a passage or reading and answering comprehension questions. Both peer tutoring pairs and peer response groups emphasize peer interaction and discussion to complete a task.

Caring School Community™ (CSC) is a modified version of a program formerly known as the Child Development Project. CSC is a multiyear school improvement program that involves all students in grades K–6. The program aims to promote core values, prosocial behavior, and a schoolwide feeling of community. The program consists of four elements originally developed for the Child Development Project: class meeting lessons, cross-age “buddies” programs, “homeside” activities, and schoolwide community. Class lessons provide teachers and students with a forum to get to know one another, discuss issues, identify and solve problems collaboratively, and make a range of decisions that affect classroom life. Cross-age buddies activities pair whole classes of older and younger students for academic and recreational activities that build caring cross-age relationships and create a schoolwide climate of trust. Homeside activities include short conversational activities that are sent home with students for them to do with parents or caregivers and then to discuss back in their classroom. The activities incorporate the families’ perspectives, cultures, and traditions, thereby promoting interpersonal understanding. Schoolwide community-building activities bring students, parents, and school staff together to create new school traditions.

Positive Action, at its core, teaches the philosophy that you feel good about yourself when you do positive actions and there is always a positive way to do everything. It is illustrated by the the Thoughts-Actions-Feelings about self Circle where positive thoughts lead to positive actions, which in turn lead to positive feelings about oneself. It also teaches the positive actions for physical, intellectual, social and emotional areas—the whole self. It is a Pre-K-12 school-based program that aims to promote good behavior while disrupting problem behaviors, improves academics, and develops social-emotional and character skills while improving mental and physical health and self-concept. Lessons are scripted and use a wide variety of strategies: classroom discussion, role-play, games, songs, journals, manipulatives and activity sheets and text booklets.

The Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC) program, an adaptation of the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) program, was designed to help Spanish-speaking students succeed in reading Spanish and then making a successful transition to English reading. In the adaptation, students complete tasks that focus on reading, writing, and language activities in Spanish and English, while working in small cooperative learning groups. The intervention focuses on students in grades 2–5.

The goal of Instructional Conversations is to help English learners develop reading comprehension ability along with English language proficiency. Acting as facilitators, teachers engage students in discussions about stories, key concepts, and related personal experiences, allowing students to appreciate and build on each others’ experiences, knowledge, and understanding. Literature Logs require students to respond in writing to prompts or questions related to sections of stories. These responses are then shared in small groups or with a partner.

Too Good for Violence promotes character values, social-emotional skills, and healthy beliefs in elementary and middle school students. The program includes seven lessons per grade level for elementary school (K–5) and nine lessons per grade level for middle school (6–8). All lessons are scripted and engage students through role-playing and cooperative learning games, small group activities, and classroom discussions. Students are encouraged to apply these skills to different contexts. Too Good for Violence also includes optional parental and community involvement elements.

Connect with Kids aims to promote prosocial attitudes and positive behavior of elementary (grades 3–5) and secondary (grades 6–12) school students by teaching core character values. Lesson plans include videos, story summaries, discussion questions, student games, and activities for both core and supplemental character traits. The classroom curriculum is reinforced by a website component and schoolwide and community outreach components. The program can be incorporated into an existing curriculum or used as a standalone program. The school or teacher decides on the number of character traits covered in each session, so the program duration may vary from one semester to an entire academic year.

Reading Mastery is designed to provide systematic reading instruction to students in grades K–6. Reading Mastery can be used as an intervention program for struggling readers, as a supplement to a school’s core reading program, or as a stand-alone reading program, and is available in three versions. During the implementation of Reading Mastery, students are grouped with other students at a similar reading level, based on program placement tests. The program includes a continuous monitoring component.

Fast ForWord® is a computer-based reading program intended to help students develop and strengthen the cognitive skills necessary for successful reading and learning. The program, which is designed to be used 30 to 100 minutes a day, five days a week, for 4 to 16 weeks, includes two components.

Too Good for Drugs™ is designed to promote elementary and middle school students’ life skills, character values, resistance skills to negative peer influence, and resistance to the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The program is based on classroom discussions and structured activities that center on interactive learning and skill-building exercises. Students engage in role-play and cooperative learning games and are encouraged to apply the skills to different contexts. Too Good for Drugs™ also includes the optional elements of parental and community involvement.

The Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) program is intended to build capacity for implementing inquiry-based science curricula in schools and districts. When participating in LASER, school or district teams attend leadership development institutes to plan the implementation of inquiry-based science curricula. These school or district teams receive support for key aspects of implementation such as professional development for teachers, access to instructional materials, and support for selecting appropriate assessments. LASER also helps schools and districts partner with scientists, science educators, and local business and community leaders who can promote and further support the implementation of inquiry-based science instruction.

The Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS®) program is a curriculum that aims to promote emotional and social competencies and to reduce aggression and behavior problems in elementary school children. PATHS® is delivered through short lessons given two to three times a week over the school year. The program is based on the principle that understanding and regulating emotions are central to effective problem solving. The lessons focus on (1) self-control, (2) emotional literacy, (3) social competence, (4) positive peer relations, and (5) interpersonal problem-solving skills. There is a separate curriculum for each grade.

Achieve3000® is a supplemental online literacy program that provides nonfiction reading content to students in grades preK–12 and focuses on building phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. Achieve3000® is designed to help students advance their nonfiction reading skills by providing differentiated online instruction. Teachers use the program with an entire class but the assignments are tailored to each student’s reading ability level. For example, teachers assign an article and related activities to an entire class; the program then tailors the version of the article to each student by automatically increasing the difficulty of text when a student is ready for more challenging text. Achieve3000® provides lessons that follow a five-step routine: (1) respond to a Before Reading Poll, (2) read an article, (3) answer activity questions, (4) respond to an After Reading Poll, and (5) answer a Thought Question. Progress reports and student usage data, provided by the online tool, enable teachers to track both whole-class and individual student progress. The program is designed for diverse student groups, including general education students, struggling readers in need of intensive tutoring, and English learners.

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) establishes standards for accomplished teachers and awards professional certification to teachers who can demonstrate that their teaching practices meet those standards. Educators and experts in child development and related fields established the organization, and these experts work to develop and refine the standards for accomplished teaching based on the knowledge and skills that effective teachers demonstrate. The standards reflect five core propositions: (1) effective teachers are committed to students and their learning, (2) effective teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students, (3) effective teachers manage and monitor student learning, (4) effective teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience, and (5) effective teachers are members of learning communities. Those seeking certification from the NBPTS must complete a computer-based assessment and three portfolio entries. The certification process can take 1 to 5 years.

Accelerated Math®, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K–12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. Accelerated Math® creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress. The software is typically used with the math curriculum being used in the classroom to add practice for students and help teachers differentiate instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data.

Accelerated Math®, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K–12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. Accelerated Math® creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress. The software is typically used with the math curriculum being used in the classroom to add practice for students and help teachers differentiate instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data.

Saxon Math is a curriculum for students in grades K–12. The amount of new math content students receive each day is limited and students practice concepts every day. New concepts are developed, reviewed, and practiced cumulatively rather than in discrete chapters or units.

Accelerated Reader™ is a computerized supplementary reading program that provides guided reading instruction to students in grades K–12. It aims to improve students’ reading skills through reading practice and by providing frequent feedback on students’ progress to teachers. The Accelerated Reader™ program requires students to select and read a book based on their area of interest and reading level. Upon completion of a book, students take a computerized quiz based on the book’s content and vocabulary. Quiz performance allows teachers to monitor student progress and to identify students who may need additional reading assistance.

The New Teacher Center (NTC) Induction Model is a comprehensive and systemic approach to support beginning teachers (i.e., teachers new to the profession). The induction model aims to accelerate the effectiveness of beginning teachers at increasing student learning by providing one-on-one mentoring and professional development in a supportive school environment. The NTC works with school districts and state departments of education to design, develop, and implement induction programs that are aligned with both district priorities and NTC standards.

TAP™ (formerly known as the Teacher Advancement Program) is a comprehensive educator effectiveness program that aims to improve student achievement through supports and incentives that attract, retain, develop, and motivate effective teachers. The program provides teachers with leadership opportunities and associated salary increases; ongoing, school-based professional development; rigorous evaluations; and annual performance bonuses based on a combination of teacher value added to student achievement and observations of their classroom teaching.

Reading Mastery is designed to provide systematic reading instruction to students in grades K–6. Reading Mastery can be used as an intervention program for struggling readers, as a supplement to a school’s core reading program, or as a stand-alone reading program, and is available in three versions. During the implementation of Reading Mastery, students are grouped with other students at a similar reading level, based on program placement tests. The program includes a continuous monitoring component.

Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics is a core curriculum for students at all ability levels in kindergarten through grade 6. The program supports students’ understanding of key math concepts and skills, and it covers a range of mathematical content across grades. The curriculum focuses on questioning strategies, problem-solving skills, embedded assessment, and exercises tailored to students of different ability levels. The program provides explicit problem-solving instruction, hands-on activities, and opportunities to extend students’ mathematical understanding through reading and writing connections.

Saxon Math is a curriculum for students in grades K–12. The amount of new math content students receive each day is limited and students practice concepts every day. New concepts are developed, reviewed, and practiced cumulatively rather than in discrete chapters or units.

Read Naturally is an elementary and middle school supplemental reading program designed to improve reading fluency using a combination of books, audiotapes, and computer software. The program has three main strategies: repeated reading of text for developing oral reading fluency, teacher modeling of story reading, and systematic monitoring of student progress by teachers and the students themselves. Students work at a reading level appropriate for their achievement level, progress through the program at their own rate, and, for the most part, work on an independent basis. Read Naturally® can be used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, resource rooms, or computer or reading labs. Although the program was not originally developed for English language learners, additional materials for these students are currently available.

Fast ForWord® is a computer-based reading program intended to help students develop and strengthen the cognitive skills necessary for successful reading and learning. The program, which is designed to be used 30 to 100 minutes a day, five days a week, for 4 to 16 weeks, includes two components.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program for grades K–6 that aims to improve student proficiency in several disciplines. During the 30-35 minute peer-tutoring sessions, students take turns acting at the tutor, coaching and correcting one another as they work through problems. The designation of tutoring pairs and skill assignment is based on teacher judgement of student needs and abilities, and teachers reassign tutoring pairs regularly.  

Success for All (SFA®) is a whole-school reform model (that is, a model that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports) for students in prekindergarten through grade 8. SFA® includes a literacy program, quarterly assessments of student learning, a social-emotional development program, computer-assisted tutoring tools, family support teams for students’ parents, a facilitator who works with school personnel, and extensive training for all intervention teachers. The literacy program emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for all students. Teachers provide reading instruction to students grouped by reading ability for 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week. In addition, certified teachers or paraprofessionals provide daily tutoring to students who have difficulty reading at the same level as their classmates.

Open Court Reading© is a reading program for grades K–6 that is designed to teach decoding, comprehension, inquiry, and writing in a three-part progression. Part One of each unit, Preparing to Read, focuses on phonemic awareness, sounds and letters, phonics, fluency, and word knowledge. Part Two, Reading and Responding, emphasizes reading literature for understanding, comprehension, inquiry, and practical reading applications. Part Three, Language Arts, focuses on writing, spelling, grammar, usage, mechanics, and basic computer skills.

Reading Mastery is designed to provide systematic reading instruction to students in grades K–6. Reading Mastery can be used as an intervention program for struggling readers, as a supplement to a school’s core reading program, or as a stand-alone reading program, and is available in three versions. During the implementation of Reading Mastery, students are grouped with other students at a similar reading level, based on program placement tests. The program includes a continuous monitoring component.

Accelerated Math®, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K–12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. Accelerated Math® creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress. The software is typically used with the math curriculum being used in the classroom to add practice for students and help teachers differentiate instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data.

Accelerated Math®, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K–12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. Accelerated Math® creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress. The software is typically used with the math curriculum being used in the classroom to add practice for students and help teachers differentiate instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data.

ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) is a peer-assisted instructional strategy designed to be integrated with most existing reading curricula. This approach provides students with increased opportunities to practice reading skills by asking questions and receiving immediate feedback from a peer tutor. Pairs of students take turns tutoring each other to reinforce concepts and skills initially taught by the teacher. The teacher creates age-appropriate peer teaching materials for the peer tutors; these materials take into account tutees’ language skills and disabilities.

Corrective Reading is designed to promote reading accuracy (decoding), fluency, and comprehension skills of students in grade 3 or higher who are reading below their grade level. The program has four levels that correspond to students’ decoding skills. All lessons in the program are sequenced and scripted. Corrective Reading can be implemented in small groups of 4–5 students or in a whole-class format. Corrective Reading is intended to be taught in 45-minute lessons 4–5 times a week.

Project Read® is a multisensory language arts curriculum designed for use in a classroom or group setting. Two main objectives of the program are to use language in all its forms, and to use responsive instruction rather than preplanned textbook lessons. The program emphasizes direct instruction, and lessons move from letter-sounds to words, sentences, and stories. Project Read® has three strands: Phonics/Linguistics, Reading Comprehension, and Written Expression, which are integrated at all grade levels, though the emphasis of the specific strands differs by grade.

Read Naturally is an elementary and middle school supplemental reading program designed to improve reading fluency using a combination of books, audiotapes, and computer software. The program has three main strategies: repeated reading of text for developing oral reading fluency, teacher modeling of story reading, and systematic monitoring of student progress by teachers and the students themselves. Students work at a reading level appropriate for their achievement level, progress through the program at their own rate, and, for the most part, work on an independent basis. Read Naturally® can be used in a variety of settings, including classrooms, resource rooms, or computer or reading labs. Although the program was not originally developed for English language learners, additional materials for these students are currently available.

The Wilson Reading System® is a reading and writing program. It provides a curriculum for teaching reading and spelling to individuals of any age who have difficulty with written language. The Wilson Reading System® directly teaches the structure of words in the English language, aiming to help students learn the coding system for reading and spelling. The program provides interactive lesson plans and uses a sequential system with extensive controlled text. The Wilson Reading System® is structured to progress from phoneme segmentation to more challenging tasks, and seeks to improve sight word knowledge, fluency, vocabulary, oral expressive language development, and reading comprehension.

Accelerated Reader™ is a computerized supplementary reading program that provides guided reading instruction to students in grades K–12. It aims to improve students’ reading skills through reading practice and by providing frequent feedback on students’ progress to teachers. The Accelerated Reader™ program requires students to select and read a book based on their area of interest and reading level. Upon completion of a book, students take a computerized quiz based on the book’s content and vocabulary. Quiz performance allows teachers to monitor student progress and to identify students who may need additional reading assistance.

Accelerated Math®, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K–12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. Accelerated Math® creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress. The software is typically used with the math curriculum being used in the classroom to add practice for students and help teachers differentiate instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data.

Project Read® is a multisensory language arts curriculum designed for use in a classroom or group setting. Two main objectives of the program are to use language in all its forms, and to use responsive instruction rather than preplanned textbook lessons. The program emphasizes direct instruction, and lessons move from letter-sounds to words, sentences, and stories. Project Read® has three strands: Phonics/Linguistics, Reading Comprehension, and Written Expression, which are integrated at all grade levels, though the emphasis of the specific strands differs by grade.

Houghton Mifflin Mathematics is a core mathematics curriculum for students at all ability levels in kindergarten through grade 6. At each grade level, the program focuses on basic skills development, problem solving, and vocabulary expansion to help students master key math concepts. Students practice daily math lessons through instructional software, enrichment worksheets, manipulatives, and workbooks, in addition to student textbooks. The program incorporates assessments—including lesson-level interventions to meet the needs of all learners—to monitor students’ progress.

An Ethics Curriculum for Children, a read-aloud literature-based curriculum, aims to teach elementary school students seven universal attributes of good character. Lessons and home assignments are organized around multicultural stories. The program activities are designed to connect the experiences of characters in the stories to students’ own lives. Optional parts of the Heartwood Ethics Curriculum for Children also include integration of character education themes across curricular topics and parental notification and involvement.

Open Court Reading© is a reading program for grades K–6 that is designed to teach decoding, comprehension, inquiry, and writing in a three-part progression. Part One of each unit, Preparing to Read, focuses on phonemic awareness, sounds and letters, phonics, fluency, and word knowledge. Part Two, Reading and Responding, emphasizes reading literature for understanding, comprehension, inquiry, and practical reading applications. Part Three, Language Arts, focuses on writing, spelling, grammar, usage, mechanics, and basic computer skills.

The purpose of this study was to examine the treatment effects of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM), a universal classroom management intervention, on the outcomes of children with aggressive behavior in elementary school. Classroom management has been demonstrated as a factor in either escalating children's aggressive behavior or decreasing those problematic behaviors. Participants included 1,817 students (Grade K to 3) and 105 teachers from nine elementary schools in a large urban Midwestern school district. Teachers were randomly assigned to receive IY TCM or to a wait-list comparison group. The hypotheses were that baseline levels of aggression would moderate the relationship between intervention status and outcomes. Findings indicated the hypothesized moderation effect on several outcome variables; specifically, children with baseline aggression problems who were in IY TCM classrooms had significantly improved math achievement, emotional regulation, prosocial behaviors, and observed aggression in comparison to similar peers in the control classrooms. Implications for practice and future research based on the findings are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a comprehensive program model originally developed by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder (NPDC). Sixty elementary schools with 486 participants were randomly assigned to an NPDC and services as usual condition (SAU). Significantly greater changes in program quality occurred in the inclusive NPDC programs as compared with the SAU schools. Teachers in NPDC schools reported using more evidence-based practices (EBPs) and implemented EBPs with significantly greater fidelity than teachers in SAU schools. Autistic students in NPDC schools had significantly higher total attainment of educational goals than students in SAU schools, and the two groups made equivalent progress on standardized assessment outcomes across the school year. [This is the online first version of an article published in "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders."]

The recent wave of test-based accountability reforms has negatively impacted the provision of K-12 arts educational experiences. Advocates contend that, in addition to providing intrinsic benefits, the arts can positively influence academic and social development. However, the empirical evidence to support such claims is limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 10,548 3rd-8th grade students who were enrolled in 42 schools that were assigned by lottery to receive substantial influxes of arts education experiences provided through school-community partnerships with local arts organizations, cultural institutions, and teaching-artists. We find that these increases in arts educational experiences significantly reduce the proportion of students receiving disciplinary infractions by 3.6 percentage points, improve STAAR writing achievement by 0.13 of a standard deviation, and increase students' compassion for others by 0.08 of a standard deviation. For students in elementary schools, which comprise 86 percent of the sample, we find that these arts educational experiences also significantly improve school engagement, college aspirations, and arts-facilitated empathy. These findings provide strong evidence that arts educational experiences can produce significant positive impacts on student academic and social development. Policymakers should consider these multifaceted educational benefits when assessing the role and value of the arts in K-12 schools.

Data-based problem solving is a hallmark of research-supported practices such as positive behavioral interventions and supports. In this study, we provided members of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) teams from 38 elementary schools with professional development focused on a research-supported problem-solving model (Team-Initiated Problem Solving). We used direct observations to document procedures, practices, and outcomes before and after participating in the professional development workshop. Within the context of a randomized waitlist controlled trial, team members in the Immediate Group demonstrated greater improvement in (a) problem-solving procedures, (b) decision-making practices, and (c) meeting outcomes than did members of PBIS teams in the Waitlist Group. Our findings extend what is known about team-based problem solving and provide a framework for future research and improved practice related to decision making by school teams.

Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students' test scores in reading, mathematics, and science, and on English learners' (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13 to 22 percent of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance, but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners' probabilities of remaining classified as EL are three to four percentage points lower than those of their counterparts. This effect is stronger for ELs whose native language matches the partner language. [This article was published in: "American Educational Research Journal" v54 n1 suppl p282S-306S Apr 2017 (EJ1155308).]

With national focus on reading and math achievement, science and social studies have received less instructional time. Yet, accumulating evidence suggests that content knowledge is an important predictor of proficient reading. Starting with a design study, we developed content-area literacy instruction (CALI) as an individualized (or personalized) instructional program for kindergarteners through 4th graders to build science and social studies knowledge. We developed CALI to be implemented in general education classrooms, over multiple iterations (n = 230 students), using principles of design-based implementation research. The aims were to develop CALI as a usable and feasible instructional program that would, potentially, improve science and social studies knowledge, and could be implemented during the literacy block without negatively affecting students' reading gains (i.e., no opportunity cost). We then evaluated the efficacy of CALI in a randomized controlled field trial with 418 students in kindergarten through 4th grade. Results reveal that CALI demonstrates promise as a usable and feasible instructional individualized general education program, and is efficacious in improving social studies (d = 2.2) and science (d = 2.1) knowledge, with some evidence of improving oral and reading comprehension skills (d = 0.125).

Success for All (SFA), one of the best-known school reform models, aims to improve the reading skills of all children but is especially directed at schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families. First implemented in 1987, SFA combines a challenging reading program, whole-school reform elements, and an emphasis on continuous improvement, with the goal of ensuring that every child learns to read well in the elementary grades. This is the third and final report from an independent evaluation of the scale-up demonstration of the SFA elementary school reading program. Both the demonstration and the evaluation have been funded under the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) competition. Conducted by MDRC--a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research organization--the evaluation examines SFA's implementation and impacts in five school districts over a three-year period (the 2011-2012 school year through the 2013-2014 school year). It also includes an analysis of program costs. Finally, it considers the scale-up process itself--the methods employed and the extent to which the Success for All Foundation (SFAF), the organization that developed and provides technical assistance to schools operating the program, achieved its scale-up goals. [This report was written with Emma Alterman, Herbert Collado, and Emily Pramik. For the executive summary of this report, see ED579090. For the Early Findings report, see ED545452. For the Interim Report, see ED546642.]

This study reports on an evaluation of the "Reading Partners" program, which uses community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in underresourced elementary schools. Established in 1999 in East Menlo Park, California, the mission of "Reading Partners" is to help children become lifelong readers by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction with measurable results. This report builds on those initial findings by describing the "Reading Partners" program and its implementation in greater detail, exploring whether the program is more or less effective for particular subgroups of students, and assessing some of the potential explanations for the program's success to date. In addition, this report includes an analysis of the cost of implementing the Reading Partners program in 6 of the 19 sites. The following are appended: (1) Implementation Study Methods; (2) Impact Study Methods and Teacher Survey; (3) Tutor Background Characteristics and Additional Impact Findings; (4) Cost Study Methods; and (5) Additional Cost Findings. [This report was written with A. Brooks Bowden and Yilin Pan.]

We describe the development and initial evaluation of the efficacy of "We Have Skills!" (WHS), a video-based social skills instructional program for early elementary school students. The components of WHS were designed to be scientifically sound, maximally useful to elementary school teachers, and effective in increasing students' social skills. Results from feasibility and social validity testing showed that teachers felt the program was easy to implement and highly recommended its use. The initial efficacy evaluation of WHS conducted with 70 classrooms randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions showed that teachers in the intervention group scored significantly higher on self-efficacy than teachers in the control group. Students in the intervention classrooms were rated significantly higher on key social skills by their teachers at posttest compared to students in the control group. Implications for further testing of WHS are discussed, along with study limitations and recommendations for future research and practice.

One way to improve struggling schools' access to effective teachers is to use selective transfer incentives. Such incentives offer bonuses for the highest-performing teachers to move into schools serving the most disadvantaged students. In this report, we provide evidence from a randomized experiment that tested whether such a policy intervention can improve student test scores and other outcomes in low-achieving schools. The intervention, known to participants as the Talent Transfer Initiative (TTI), was implemented in 10 school districts in seven states. The highest-performing teachers in each district--those who ranked in roughly the top 20 percent within their subject and grade span in terms of raising student achievement year after year (an approach known as value added)--were identified. These teachers were offered $20,000, paid in installments over a two-year period, if they transferred into and remained in designated schools that had low average test scores. The main findings from the study include: (1) The transfer incentive successfully attracted high value-added teachers to fill targeted vacancies; (2) The transfer incentive had a positive impact on test scores (math and reading) in targeted elementary classrooms; and (3) The transfer incentive had a positive impact on teacher-retention rates during the payout period; retention of the high-performing teachers who transferred was similar to their counterparts in the fall immediately after the last payout. Seven appendixes are included: (1) Supplemental Materials for Chapters I and II; (2) Value-Added Analysis to Identify Highest-Performing Teachers; (3) Supplemental Materials for Chapter III; (4) Identification of Focal Teachers; (5) Supplemental Materials for Chapter IV; (6) Supplemental Materials for Chapter V; and (7) Supplemental Materials for Chapter VI. (Contains 114 footnotes, 61 figures, and 92 tables.) [For the executive summary, see ED544268.]

Domestic attempts to use financial incentives for teachers to increase student achievement have been ineffective. In this paper, we demonstrate that exploiting the power of loss aversion--teachers are paid in advance and asked to give back the money if their students do not improve sufficiently--increases math test scores between 0.201 (0.076) and 0.398 (0.129) standard deviations. This is equivalent to increasing teacher quality by more than one standard deviation. A second treatment arm, identical to the loss aversion treatment but implemented in the standard fashion, yields smaller and statistically insignificant results. This suggests it is loss aversion, rather than other features of the design or population sampled, that leads to the stark differences between our findings and past research.

Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a universal, schoolwide prevention strategy that is currently implemented in over 9,000 schools across the nation to reduce disruptive behavior problems through the application of behavioral, social learning, and organizational behavioral principles. SWPBIS aims to alter school environments by creating improved systems and procedures that promote positive change in student behavior by targeting staff behaviors. This study uses data from a 5-year longitudinal randomized controlled effectiveness trial of SWPBIS conducted in 37 elementary schools to examine the impact of training in SWPBIS on implementation fidelity as well as student suspensions, office discipline referrals, and academic achievement. School-level longitudinal analyses indicated that the schools trained in SWPBIS implemented the model with high fidelity and experienced significant reductions in student suspensions and office discipline referrals. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

In this article, the authors report achievement outcomes of a multisite cluster randomized field trial of Open Court Reading 2005 (OCR), a K-6 literacy curriculum published by SRA/McGraw-Hill. The participants are 49 first-grade through fifth-grade classrooms from predominantly minority and poor contexts across the nation. Blocking by grade level within schools, the trial includes 27 classrooms receiving the OCR curricular materials and professional development and 22 "business-as-usual" control classrooms. Multilevel analyses of classroom-level effects of assignment to OCR reveal statistically significant treatment effects on all three of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, 5th edition, Terra Nova literacy posttests. The OCR effect sizes are d = 0.16 for the Reading Composite, d = 0.19 for Vocabulary, and d = 0.12 for Reading Comprehension. These effects achieved across 27 classrooms and 5 schools demonstrate the potential for replicating improved literacy outcomes through the scale-up of OCR. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)

Using a cluster randomization design, schools were randomly assigned to implement Success for All, a comprehensive reading reform model, or control methods. This article reports final literacy outcomes for a 3-year longitudinal sample of children who participated in the treatment or control condition from kindergarten through second grade and a combined longitudinal and in-mover student sample, both of which were nested within 35 schools. Hierarchical linear model analyses of all three outcomes for both samples revealed statistically significant school-level effects of treatment assignment as large as one third of a standard deviation. The results correspond with the Success for All program theory, which emphasizes both comprehensive school-level reform and targeted student-level achievement effects through a multi-year sequencing of literacy instruction. (Contains 5 tables.)

This paper reports on a randomized experiment to study the impact of an alternative teacher preparation program, Teach for America (TFA), on student achievement and other outcomes. We found that TFA teachers had a positive impact on math achievement and no impact on reading achievement. The size of the impact on math scores was about 15 percent of a standard deviation, equivalent to about one month of instruction. The general conclusions did not differ substantially for subgroups of teachers, including novice teachers, or for subgroups of students. We found no impacts on other student outcomes such as attendance, promotion, or disciplinary incidents, but TFA teachers were more likely to report problems with student behavior than were their peers. The findings contradict claims that such programs allowing teachers to bypass the traditional route to the classroom harm students.

Teach For America (TFA) was founded in 1989 to address the educational inequities facing children in low-income communities across the United States by expanding the pool of teacher candidates available to the schools those children attend. TFA recruits seniors and recent graduates from colleges around the country, people who are willing to commit to teach for a minimum of two years in low-income schools. TFA focuses its recruitment on people with strong academic records and leadership capabilities, whether or not they have planned to teach or have taken education courses. TFA is particularly interested in candidates that have the potential to be effective in the classroom but in the absence of TFA would not consider a teaching career. Consequently, most TFA recruits do not have education-related majors in college and therefore have not received the same training that traditional teachers are expected to have. After an executive summary and introduction, this discussion paper addresses the following: (1) How TFA Works; (2) Study Design; (3) Who Teaches in the Schools Where TFA Places Teachers?; (4) What Does Our Sample of Students Look Like?; (5) Were TFA Teachers Effective in the Classroom?; and (6) Did TFA Have an Impact on Other Student Outcomes? Primary findings from the study include: from the perspective of a community or a school faced with the opportunity to hire TFA teachers, TFA offers an appealing pool of candidates; from the perspective of TFA and its funders, the organization is making progress toward its primary mission of reducing inequities in education--it supplies low-income schools with academically talented teachers who contribute positively to the academic achievement of their students; and from the perspective of policymakers who are trying to improve the educational opportunities of children in poor communities, many of the control teachers in the study were not certified or did not have formal pre-service training, highlighting the need for programs or policies that offer the potential of attracting good teachers to schools in the most disadvantaged communities--the findings show that TFA is one such program. Appended are: (1) Supplementary Tables; and (2) Estimation Approach. (Contains 17 tables and 6 figures.)

Because standardized tests in science are not given to PreK-3 students in Ohio, this report examined the longitudinal effects of learning from a teacher who had participated in the NURTURES professional development program. Specifically, it looked at the effects on students' mathematics and reading learning in grades 2-5 and science learning in 5th grade in 2017. Students who were in 5th grade at that time could have had a NURTURES-trained teacher at any time between kindergarten and 3rd grade. Thus, the study followed students up to 5 years after having a NURTURES teacher. The sample included the population of students enrolled in the 41 elementary schools in the Toledo Public School District. Students who never learned from a teacher who participated in NURTURES served as the control group. The data came from the 2017 administration of the Ohio Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) (NWEA, 2019) for mathematics and reading and the Ohio Achievement Test in Science for science (Ohio Achievement Assessment, 2015). The total number of students from these schools who took the May 2017 reading MAP was 6759 and the total number who took mathematics was 6703. The number of those students who had at least one NURTURES teacher was 2801 (41.4%) for reading and 2707 (41.6%) for mathematics. Analysis of the reading scores showed 2.14 advantage points for NURTURES students as compared to the average non-intervention student to an annual growth rate of 7.02 units (p < .001). The treatment effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.12. For mathematics there were 1.55 advantage points to an annual growth rate estimated to be 8.17 units (p < .001) as compared to the average non-intervention student. The treatment effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.09. Analysis of the 5th grade Ohio Achievement Science Subtest showed that students associated with at least one NURTURES-trained teacher was modeled to have a 5.86 advantage points as compared to the average non-intervention student. The treatment effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.08, which is to be interpreted as a treatment group having, on average, 0.08 higher scores in standard deviation units as compared to the scores of the control cohort. When compared with our earlier evaluation report (2016; revised in 2018), we see that students who had a NURTURES-trained teacher, on average, continued to show greater gains compared to students who did not. In addition, the achievement gaps between non-minority and minority students in reading and mathematics were reduced when the minority students had a NURTURES-trained teacher and the non-minority students did not. In science, the impact of the intervention roughly compensated for the attainment gap between boys and girls and partially ameliorated the gap between minority and non-minority children's scores associated with these demographic factors. [Published May 6, 2020 with minor revisions based in WWC inquiries published January 5, 2024.]

In 2013, the NYC Leadership Academy (NYCLA) developed a leadership intervention--the Targeted Intensive School Support (TISS) program--in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) to support schools that were facing particular challenges. NYCLA asked the RAND Corporation to provide an independent evaluation of the program's implementation and effects, and those findings are detailed in this report. The TISS program consisted of five key components: (1) teaming and collaborative training in aligned preservice preparation programs for a principal and assistant principal (AP); (2) coplacement of a principal and AP into an NYC DOE school; (3) team-based coaching to support the principal and AP; (4) 328 hours of extended coaching over the first three years after placement; and (5) use of a diagnostic process to guide goal setting and coaching according to school needs. Implementation findings suggest that only two of the five key components were implemented with fidelity. A propensity weighting approach was used to compare schools with TISS principals to other schools with new principals trained through residency-based preservice programs who did not participate in TISS. Findings suggest no statistically significant differences between TISS schools and comparison schools on measures of student achievement, school culture, and principal retention. TISS schools underperformed relative to comparison schools on the measure of chronic student absenteeism. [Sponsored by NYC Leadership Academy through a subgrant from the U.S. Department of Education.]

With the launch of the New York City Community Schools Initiative (NYC-CS) in 2014, the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has increased its focus on the implementation of a holistic strategy of education reform to address the social consequences of poverty as a means to improving student outcomes. NYC-CS is a strategy to organize resources in schools and share leadership among stakeholders so that academics, health and wellness, youth development, and family engagement are integrated into the fabric of each school. New York City is implementing this strategy at a scale unmatched nationally. In this study, the authors assessed the impact of the NYC-CS through the 2017-2018 school year. The authors assessed the effects along seven outcome domains and explored the extent to which there is heterogeneity in programmatic impact based on student- and school-level characteristics. The authors leveraged innovative quasi-experimental methodology to determine whether students in the community schools are performing better than they would be had their schools not been designated as Community Schools. The findings of this report will contribute to the emerging evidence base on the efficacy of the community school strategy and will be useful for other school district- and state-level policymakers interested in developing or refining similar interventions that support students' and communities' academic, social, and emotional well-being. [The research described in this report was prepared for the New York City Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity).]

A growing body of research points to the ways in which principals influence teachers, classrooms, and, ultimately, student achievement. New Leaders aims to prepare transformational school leaders by partnering with districts and charter schools to offer rigorous, research-based training for aspiring principals. The Aspiring Principals program is New Leaders' signature program and has three core features: selective recruitment and admission, training and endorsement, and support for principals early in their tenure. This report is a follow-up to the 2014 evaluation of New Leaders' Aspiring Principals program. Focusing on the revised program, which was first implemented in 2012, the authors present evidence of the effectiveness of the revised Aspiring Principals program and share lessons that can inform principal-preparation policy and practice. To assess the effect of New Leaders' Aspiring Principals program, researchers analyzed whether schools and students led by graduates of the program outperformed comparison schools and students in the same district, focusing on student achievement and principal retention. They also examined program graduate placement and satisfaction with the Aspiring Principals program. [For the appendixes, see ED605724.]

The three-tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework promotes the development of systems and data analysis to guide the selection and implementation of evidence-based practices across multiple tiers. The current study examined the effects of universal (tier 1) or school-wide PBIS (SW-PBIS) in one state's scale-up of this tier of the framework. Annual propensity score weights were generated to examine the longitudinal effects of SW-PBIS from 2006-07 through 2011-12. School-level archival and administrative data outcomes were examined using panel models with an autoregressive structure. The sample included 1,316 elementary, middle, and high schools. Elementary schools trained in SW-PBIS demonstrated statistically significantly lower suspensions during the fourth and fifth study years (i.e., small effect size) and higher reading and math proficiency rates during the first two study years as well as in one and two later years (i.e., small to large effect sizes), respectively. Secondary schools implementing SW-PBIS had statistically significantly lower suspensions and truancy rates during the second study year and higher reading and math proficiency rates during the second and third study years. These findings demonstrate medium effect sizes for all outcomes except suspensions. Given the widespread use of SW-PBIS across nearly 26,000 schools in the U.S., this study has important implications for educational practices and policies. [This paper was published in the "Journal of School Psychology" v73 p41-55 Apr 2019 (ISSN 0022-4405).]

The UPSTART Summer program is a federally funded i3 validation project that uses a computer-based program to maintain and develop the literacy skills of elementary school students in rural Utah during the summer months when school is out of session. Researchers used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the impact of the program in forestalling literacy learning loss during several summer periods. Students in the treatment group participated in the UPSTART Summer program, in the summer periods after kindergarten, first grade, and/or second grade. A second group of children, who were not enrolled in the program served as a comparison. Statistical matching procedures were used to create separate treatment and comparison analytic samples for each outcome measure that were equivalent on baseline scores and demographic variables (e.g., school, gender, race, language learner status, household income, Title 1 school enrollment, etc.). Standardized literacy assessments of letter knowledge, phonics, and reading fluency were administered prior to program commencement at the end of the academic school year and upon program completion at the beginning of the following school year. Results revealed that the UPSTART Summer program had a significant impact in reducing literacy learning loss in rising first graders on assessments of letter naming fluency, nonsense word fluency (correct letter sounds), and a reading composite score when compared to a matched comparison group. There were no differences in learning loss rates between rising first graders and comparison students on assessments measuring phoneme segmentation fluency or nonsense word reading (whole words read). Additionally, the UPSTART Summer program did not have an impact on literacy learning loss prevention in rising second or third grade students as measured by assessments of nonsense word reading, oral reading fluency, or overall reading composites. Taken together these results suggest that the UPSTART program helps to maintain early literacy skills in the summer months between Kindergarten and first grade.

The English Language and Literacy Acquisition--Validation (ELLA-V) study was a five-year evaluation of a program that provided professional development, coaching, and curricula that targeted English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for teachers of K-3 English learners (ELs). ELLA-V was implemented in 10 school districts in Texas in the 2013-14 through 2016-17 school years. The project was federally funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund (PR/Award Number U411B120047). Professors at Texas A&M University were the recipients of the grant and developed the professional development, the coaching program, and the curricula. Researchers at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University were contracted to conduct the independent evaluation. The evaluation of ELLA-V was a multi-site cluster randomized trial designed to meet the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for rigorous education research (WWC, 2017). The study used a mixed method design to estimate program impacts on student and teacher outcomes and document the fidelity of implementation and perceived quality of the program. [This report was published at the Center for Research and Reform in Education (ED594703). Principal Investigators were Rafael Lara-Alecio, Beverly Irby, and Fuhui Tong. Cindy Guerrero and Laura Cajiao-Wingenbach were Lead Coordinators.]

Across the country, school districts, their stakeholders, and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about suspensions, particularly about suspending students from elementary school and disproportionately suspending ethnic/racial minority students. Suspended students are less likely to graduate, possibly because they miss the instructional time they need to advance academically. Restorative practices have gained buy-in in the education community as a strategy to reduce suspension rates. Proactively improving relationships among students and staff and building a sense of community in classrooms and schools may make students less inclined to misbehave. And addressing severe misbehavior through a restorative approach may help students realize the impacts of their actions and make them less likely to offend again. This study of the implementation of restorative practices in the Pittsburgh Public Schools district (PPS) in school years 2015-16 and 2016-17 represents one of the first randomized controlled trials of the effects of restorative practices on classroom and school climates and suspension rates. The authors examined a specific restorative practices program -- the International Institute for Restorative Practices' SaferSanerSchools™ Whole-School Change program -- implemented in a selected group of PPS schools under a program called Pursuing Equitable and Restorative Communities, or PERC. The researchers found that PERC achieved several positive effects, including an improvement in overall school climates (as rated by teachers), a reduction in overall suspension rates, and a reduction in the disparities in suspension rates between African American and white students and between low- and higher-income students. Key Findings: Effects of the Pursuing Equitable and Restorative Communities (PERC) program in Pittsburgh Public Schools: (1) Implementation of restorative practices through PERC improved overall school climates, as rated by teachers; (2) Implementation of restorative practices reduced the average suspension rate: During the study period, average suspension rates decreased in both PERC and non-PERC schools, but rates decreased more in PERC schools; (3) Suspension rates of African American students and of those from low-income families also went down in PERC schools, shrinking the disparities in suspension rates between African American and white students and between low- and higher-income students; (4) Academic outcomes did not improve in PERC schools, and actually worsened for grades 6-8; and (5) Arrest rates among PERC schools did not decrease. Recommendations: (1) Given the constraints on teachers' time, emphasize restorative practices that can be woven into the school day; (2) Ensure that school leaders understand and can model restorative practices, including by providing mandatory professional development, books and other materials, and coaching on restorative practices; (3) Establish a mechanism for school staff to meet at least once per month as a professional learning community on restorative practices; (4) Ensure that leaders at the district level can coordinate this work; (5) Set, and update, clear expectations regarding the use of restorative practices; and (6) Implement data collection systems to collect accurate information on all types of behavioral incidents and remedies.

We study the effectiveness of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in Washington State, which has one of the largest populations of National Board-Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in the nation. Based on value-added models in math and reading, we find that NBPTS-certified teachers are about 0.01-0.05 student standard deviations more effective than non-NBCTS with similar levels of experience. Certification effects vary by subject, grade level, and certification type, with greater effects for middle school math certificates. We find mixed evidence that teachers who pass the assessment are more effective than those who fail, but that the underlying NBPTS assessment score predicts student achievement.

Behavioral trajectories during middle childhood are predictive of consequential outcomes later in life (e.g., substance abuse, violence). Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are designed to promote trajectories that reflect both growth in positive behaviors and inhibited development of negative behaviors. The current study used growth mixture models to examine effects of the "Positive Action" program (PA) on behavioral trajectories of social-emotional and character development (SECD) and misconduct using data from a cluster-randomized trial that involved 14 schools and a sample of predominately low-income, urban youth followed from 3rd through 8th grade. For SECD, findings indicated that PA was similarly effective at improving trajectories within latent classes characterized as "High/declining" and "Low/stable". Favorable program effects were likewise evident to a comparable degree for misconduct across observed latent classes that reflected "Low/rising" and "High/rising" trajectories. These findings suggest that PA and perhaps other school-based universal SEL programs have the potential to yield comparable benefits across subgroups of youth with differing trajectories of positive and negative behaviors, making them promising strategies for achieving the intended goal of school-wide improvements in student outcomes. [This paper was published in "Prevention Science" v18 p214-224 2017.]

In 2013-14, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) launched Achieve3000 as a randomized controlled trial in 16 elementary schools. Achieve3000 is an early literacy program that differentiates non-fiction reading passages based on individual students' Lexile scores. Twoyear results show that Achieve3000 did not have a significant impact on student outcomes. However, both intent-to-treat and treatment-on-treated estimates show that in 2015, the second year of implementation, students in the treatment group outperformed their control-group counterparts by 0.13 standard deviation units (SD) on the year-end Achieve3000 LevelSet Lexile test. This effect size is consistent with mean empirical effect sizes reported by Lipsey et al. (2012). Yet in neither the pooled nor annual results did Achieve3000 significantly impact student performance on additional Lexile outcomes (EOG or DIBELS ORF). Both implementation and impact results for Achieve3000 suggest that the ability of this particular technology-based literacy solution to improve student performance beyond that of a control group fell short of vendor-defined and empirical expectations.

The current teacher workforce is younger, less experienced, more likely to turnover, and more diverse in preparation experiences than the workforce of two decades ago. Research shows that inexperienced teachers are less effective, but we know little about the effectiveness of teachers with different types of preparation. In this study, we classify North Carolina public school teachers into "portals"--fixed and mutually exclusive categories that capture teachers' formal preparation and qualifications upon first entering the profession--and estimate the adjusted average test score gains of students taught by teachers from each portal. Compared with undergraduate-prepared teachers from in-state public universities, (a) out-of-state undergraduate-prepared teachers are less effective in elementary grades and high school, (b) alternative entry teachers are less effective in high school, and (c) Teach For America corps members are more effective in STEM subjects and secondary grades.

New Leaders is a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure high academic achievement for all students by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. Its premise is that a combination of preparation and improved working conditions for principals, especially greater autonomy, would lead to improved student outcomes. Its approach involves both preparing principals and partnering with school districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) to improve the conditions in which its highly trained principals work. As part of the partnerships, New Leaders agrees to provide carefully selected and trained principals who can be placed in schools that need principals and to provide coaching and other support after those principals are placed. The districts and CMOs agree to establish working conditions that support, rather than hinder, the principals' efforts to improve student outcomes. This report describes how the New Leaders program was implemented in partner districts, and it provides evidence of the effect that New Leaders has on student achievement. [The research in this report was produced within RAND Education. For the appendices that accompany this report, see ED561154. For the research brief, "Principal Preparation Matters: How Leadership Development Affects Student Achievement. Research Brief," see ED561155.]

This is the final report in a five-year evaluation of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). This report features analyses of student achievement growth four years after the authors carefully assembled longitudinal study panels of MPCP and Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students in 2006-07. The MPCP, which began in 1990, provides government-funded vouchers for low-income children to attend private schools in the City of Milwaukee. The maximum voucher amount in 2010-11 was $6,442, and 20,996 children used a voucher to attend either secular or religious private schools. The MPCP is the oldest and largest urban school voucher program in the United States. This evaluation was authorized by 2005 Wisconsin Act 125, which was enacted in 2006. The primary purpose of the evaluation is twofold: 1) to analyze the effectiveness of the MPCP in promoting growth in student achievement as compared to MPS; and 2) to examine the educational attainment--measured by high school graduation and college enrollment rates--of MPCP and MPS students. The first purpose is accomplished by gauging growth in student achievement--as measured by the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examinations (WKCE) in math and reading in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10--over a five-year period for a sample of MPCP students and a carefully matched group of MPS students. The second purpose is accomplished by following the 2006-07 8th and 9th grade MPCP and matched MPS cohorts over a five-year period during which they would have had the opportunity to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Appended are: (1) Descriptive Statistics; (2) Attrition Study; and (3) Stability of the Sample. (Contains 4 figures, 12 tables and 14 footnotes.) [For the "MPCP Longitudinal Educational Growth Study: Fourth Year Report. SCDP Milwaukee Evaluation. Report # 23", see ED518597. Additional support for this report was provided by the Robertson Foundation.]

School leaders are increasingly being asked, whether by rhetoric or policy, to measurably improve student achievement. The resultant need to assist school leaders in their ability to improve teaching and learning for all students in their schools led to the establishment of the National Institute of School Leadership's (NISL's) Executive Development Program. The NISL program emphasizes the role of principals as strategic thinkers, instructional leaders, and creators of a just, fair, and caring culture in which all students meet high standards. The current national focus on the importance of effective, instructional leadership has, in turn, led to calls for principal evaluation to be tied directly to student achievement (Davis, Kearney, Sanders, Thomas, and Leon, 2011). Within this milieu, effective and proven principal leadership development programs are crucial. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) [This report was produced by the Center for Educational Partnerships, Old Dominion University.]

We explored how a progress monitoring and instructional management system can be used to help educators differentiate instruction and meet the wide-ranging learning needs of their increasingly diverse classrooms. We compared classrooms in 24 states that used a curriculum-based progress monitoring and instructional management system, Accelerated Math, to same school control classrooms that did not use it. Among the major findings were the following: (1) At every grade level there were large differences in grade equivalent score and percentile gains for students in the experimental and control classrooms; (2) Gains were experienced across the achievement spectrum. An analysis of low-, middle-, and high-achieving students showed consistent rates of gain for each math objective mastered; (3) Intervention integrity had a significant effect on student achievement; (4) Teachers using the progress monitoring and instructional management system spent more time providing individual versus group instruction and felt better able to meet the individual needs of their students; and (5) Significantly more students who were in classrooms where teachers used the progress monitoring and instructional management system reported that they like math, help each other with math, and like math better this year than last year. Addition of a progress monitoring and instructional management system to ongoing mathematics instruction improves mathematics outcomes for students. The effects of the program clearly are a function of intervention integrity; when progress monitoring and instructional management practices are implemented with high fidelity or integrity, the mathematics performance of all students is significantly enhanced. Implications for practice are discussed.

Investigates the value of a tiered model of staff development for five districts using "teacher consultants" drawn from a parent district with a long writing project history. Evaluates preconditions, processes and outcomes. Discusses results in terms of student achievement and classroom practices. (SR)

Effects of variations in a schoolwide restructuring program, Success for All, in Baltimore (Maryland) on student reading achievement and other outcomes in elementary schools with large numbers of disadvantaged children are presented. Strong positive effects of the intervention are recognized, and program replication is discussed. (SLD)

Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood are increasingly pervasive and associated with numerous, negative long-term outcomes. The current study examined whether adding a brief, home-visitation intervention to an existing, multi-component (child and teacher) intervention, would improve social-emotional and behavioral outcomes for young children with challenging behavior in home and school settings who required intensive support. A total of 379 teacher-parent-student triads were screened for elevated levels of behavioral risk in school and home settings and then randomly assigned to school only intervention (i.e., teacher and student components), home only intervention (i.e., parent), both combined, or business-as-usual control conditions. We examined baseline and posttest outcomes across prosocial behavior, problem behavior, and academic domains. The results demonstrated substantial support for the teacher and child-focused condition and combined conditions, and modest support for the parent-focused condition. The study advances the literature by increasing the knowledge base related to these interventions implemented alone and in combination.

Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood are increasingly pervasive and associated with numerous, negative long-term outcomes. The current study examined whether adding a brief, home-visitation intervention to an existing, multi-component (child and teacher) intervention, would improve social-emotional and behavioral outcomes for young children with challenging behavior in home and school settings who required intensive support. A total of 379 teacher-parent-student triads were screened for elevated levels of behavioral risk in school and home settings and then randomly assigned to school only intervention (i.e., teacher and student components), home only intervention (i.e., parent), both combined, or business-as-usual control conditions. We examined baseline and posttest outcomes across prosocial behavior, problem behavior, and academic domains. The results demonstrated substantial support for the teacher and child-focused condition and combined conditions, and modest support for the parent-focused condition. The study advances the literature by increasing the knowledge base related to these interventions implemented alone and in combination.

Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood are increasingly pervasive and associated with numerous, negative long-term outcomes. The current study examined whether adding a brief, home-visitation intervention to an existing, multi-component (child and teacher) intervention, would improve social-emotional and behavioral outcomes for young children with challenging behavior in home and school settings who required intensive support. A total of 379 teacher-parent-student triads were screened for elevated levels of behavioral risk in school and home settings and then randomly assigned to school only intervention (i.e., teacher and student components), home only intervention (i.e., parent), both combined, or business-as-usual control conditions. We examined baseline and posttest outcomes across prosocial behavior, problem behavior, and academic domains. The results demonstrated substantial support for the teacher and child-focused condition and combined conditions, and modest support for the parent-focused condition. The study advances the literature by increasing the knowledge base related to these interventions implemented alone and in combination.

An ABAB design was used to analyze the effects of positive peer reporting plus a randomized dependent group contingency (PPR + DGC). This intervention package was implemented across three classrooms in an alternative school setting for students diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders. The DGC consisted of the teacher randomly choosing a student to watch throughout the 45-min class period to determine if that student was following classroom rules. If so, the entire class earned a randomly selected reward at the end of class period. The intervention package also included two opportunities, one at the start and one at the end of class, for students to engage in positive reporting sessions. Results indicated an increase in engagement and a decrease in off-task and disruptive behavior while the intervention was implemented. The effects on positive and negative peer statements were ultimately minimal throughout all classrooms and phases. Social validity data indicated that teachers found the intervention package to be easy to include in their daily routine and stated that they would continue using this intervention package in the future. Discussion focuses on implications for practice and the need for additional research examining the effects of positive peer reports on student behavior.

The purpose of this study was to explore the paths by which word-problem intervention, with versus without embedded prealgebraic reasoning instruction, improved word-problem performance. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 304) were randomly assigned to a business-as-usual condition or 1 of 2 variants of word-problem intervention. The prealgebraic reasoning component targeted relational understanding of the equal sign as well as standard and nonstandard equation solving. Intervention occurred for 16 weeks, 3 times per week, 30 min per session. Sequential mediation models revealed main effects, in which each intervention condition significantly and substantially outperformed the business-as-usual condition, corroborating prior research on the efficacy of schema word-problem intervention. Yet despite comparable effects on word-problem outcomes between the two word-problem conditions, the process by which effects accrued differed: An indirect path via equal-sign understanding and then equation solving was significant only for the word-problem intervention condition with embedded prealgebraic reasoning instruction. Additionally, the effect of this condition on equal-sign reasoning was strong. Given the link between equal-sign reasoning for success with algebra and the importance of algebra for success with advanced mathematics, results suggest an advantage for embedding prealgebraic reasoning instruction within word-problem intervention.

Teachers may benefit from using classroom-delivered, low-intensity strategies to increase engagement of students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders and academic failure in the general education classroom. This project focused on empowering teachers to be involved in every step of the research process: screening, planning, data collection, and intervention implementation. Six teachers utilized instructional choice to improve engagement during reading for one targeted student in their second- or third-grade class. Teachers implemented practices with high levels of treatment integrity and collected momentary time sampling data with high levels of reliability. Using a withdrawal design, we observed a clear functional relation between instructional choice and increases in student's academic engagement for three students with improved outcomes for five. Both teachers and students rated intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes as acceptable. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

We assessed the effects of a whole-school equity intervention implemented within a school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) framework on racial inequities in school discipline in eight elementary schools with inequitable referrals for Black students. The intervention involved assessing patterns of racial disparities in school discipline decisions and providing professional development on adapting school-wide behavior systems to improve cultural responsiveness through concrete strategies targeting the patterns. After consent and matching on existing levels of racial inequities, half of the schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention. Analyses showed that schools receiving the intervention had significant decreases in racial disparities in school discipline and rates of office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students, while control schools had minimal change. Results are discussed in terms of improving equity in school discipline within multitiered systems of support.

Research indicates that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may engage in severe disruptions and off-task behaviors in the classroom setting that adversely impact the learning environment. This leads to many students identified as having EBD being placed in alternative education settings, such as restrictive schools or residential facilities. Due to placement in more restrictive environments and high rates of disciplinary actions, it is especially critical to decrease disruptive behaviors for students diagnosed with EBD. In addition, classroom teachers report disruptive behaviors and conduct problems as a major barrier to teaching their students. An ABC multiple baseline across classes design was used in an alternative school setting to evaluate the effects of explicit social skills training combined with a group contingency on class-wide levels of engagement and disruptive behavior. Participants were students in the first through sixth grade diagnosed with EBD. Through the class-wide intervention, social skills acquisition deficits were targeted through social skills instruction and social skills performance deficits were targeted through reinforcement programs. Results showed an increase in engagement and a decrease in disruptive behavior across all classrooms as a result of the intervention package.

The purpose of this conceptual replication study was to investigate the efficacy of an early literacy intervention when it was implemented by special educators in general education classrooms with students in the class participating in the lessons. The study was conducted in 16 schools in three states. Eighty students with severe disabilities participated in the study. Students in the intervention group received Early Literacy Skills Builder (ELSB) instruction, and students in the "business-as-usual" control group received literacy instruction planned by special education teachers to address the students' individualized education program literacy goals. Literacy assessments were conducted in five waves scheduled across the school year. Results showed that students receiving ELSB instruction made greater gains in assessed literacy skills than students in the control group. These findings provide evidence that students with severe disabilities can benefit from comprehensive emergent literacy instruction when it is implemented in general education settings. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED601011.]

The purposes of this study were to assess the effects of fractions intervention for students who are at-risk for poor outcomes and to examine whether a component that combines self-regulated learning with growth mindset instruction (SR-GM) provides added value for improving outcomes. At-risk students (N = 84) were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: fractions intervention, fractions intervention with embedded SR-GM, and a control group. Intervention was conducted 3 times per week for 35 min per session for 13 weeks. Multilevel models indicated both fractions intervention conditions produced strong effects, with no added value for SR-GM. Posttest fractions achievement gaps for both intervention conditions held steady, narrowed, or closed, while the control group's gaps remained sizeable or grew. Results suggest that intervention can address challenging mathematics standards for at-risk learners and that SR-GM instruction may not be necessary in the context of strong intervention. [This is the in press version of an article published in "Exceptional Children."]

Students with and at-risk for academic and behavioral challenges often have low levels of academic engagement. Providing instructional choice is one way to increase engagement in the classroom. In this study, we replicated and extended previous inquiry by investigating the effects of across-activity choices offered by third-grade teachers during reading instruction to participating students with behavioral (one with internalizing and two with internalizing and externalizing patterns) and academic needs. Using a standardized professional development module, teachers learned to implement instructional choice during reading instruction while collecting direct observation data on a student's academic engagement. Teachers implemented practices with integrity and collected momentary time sampling data for one student in their classroom with high levels of reliability. Results of a withdrawal design indicated a functional relation between the introduction of instructional choice and increases in the academic engagement for the three students. Teachers and students rated the intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes as acceptable. Limitations and future directions are presented.

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of fractions intervention with and without an embedded self-regulation (SR) component for third-grade students at risk for mathematics disabilities. Fractions intervention focused on magnitude understanding and word problems. Embedded SR was designed to support a growth mindset (fostering belief that intellectual and academic abilities can be developed) along with SR processes in which students set goals, self-monitor, and use strategies to engage motivationally, metacognitively, and behaviorally through challenging tasks. Students (n = 69) were randomly assigned to business-as-usual control and the two versions of fractions intervention. Multilevel models, accounting for the nested structure of the data, identified a moderation effect on fraction word problems: For students receiving fractions intervention with embedded SR, response to intervention was robust across the continuum of students' pretest word problem skill; by contrast, without SR, response to fractions intervention depended on students' pretest word problem skill. On the remaining outcomes, results reflected stronger outcomes when fractions intervention embedded SR instruction without moderation. [This paper will be published in the "Journal of Learning Disabilities."]

Models are central to the practice and teaching of science. Yet people often fail to grasp how scientific models explain their observations of the world. Realizing the explanatory power of a model may require aligning its relational structure to that of the observable phenomena. The present research tested whether "relational scaffolding"--guided comparisons between observable and modeled events--enhances children's understanding of scientific models. We tested relational scaffolding during instruction about the day-night cycle, a topic that involves relating "Earth-based" observations to a "space-based" model of Earth rotation. Experiment 1 found that 3rd graders (N = 108) learned more from instruction that incorporated relational scaffolding. Experiment 2 (N = 99) found that guided comparison--not merely viewing observable and modeled events--is a critical component of relational scaffolding, especially for children with low initial knowledge. Relational scaffolding could be applied broadly to assist the many students who struggle with science. [This is the in press version of an article to be published in "Psychological Science."]

Effectively managing a classroom is crucial in promoting positive student outcomes. Behavior-specific praise is an empirically supported strategy to reinforce desirable student behaviors. Following a review of the literature, we identified tactile prompting and self-monitoring as effective methods to increase teachers' use of behavior-specific praise while sustaining intervention long enough until teachers contacted natural maintaining contingencies. We created electronic tactile awareness prompting with self-monitoring (eTAPS) by combining two applications on an Apple Watch. Using a multiple-baseline-across-participants design, this study primarily investigated the effects of eTAPS on special education teachers' use of behavior-specific praise. Secondarily, this study investigated the impact that behavior-specific praise would have on the on-task behaviors of targeted students with disabilities demonstrating frequent off-task behaviors. Results indicated that eTAPS was effective in increasing and maintaining behavior-specific praise rates. Furthermore, significant increases in student on-task behavior occurred. Implications of results and future research are discussed.

Students in the elementary grades often experience difficulty setting up and solving word problems. Using an equation to represent the structure of the problem serves as an effective tool for solving word problems, but students may require specific pre-algebraic reasoning instruction about the equal sign as a relational symbol to set up and solve such equations successfully. We identified students with mathematics difficulty (n = 138) from a sample of 916 third-grade students. We randomly assigned students to a word-problem intervention with a pre-algebraic reasoning component, a word-problem intervention without pre-algebraic reasoning, or the business-as-usual. Students in the 2 active intervention conditions participated in 45 individual sessions and learned about 3 additive word-problem schemas. Students who received word-problem intervention with a pre-algebraic reasoning component demonstrated improved nonstandard equation solving, equal sign understanding, and word-problem solving compared to students in the other two conditions. [The paper will be published in "ZDM Mathematics Education."]

Objective: There are currently no empirically-supported, comprehensive school-based interventions (CSBIs) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without concomitant intellectual and language disability. This study compared outcomes for a CSBI (schoolMAX) to typical educational programming (services-as-usual [SAU]) for these children. Method: A total of 103 children (ages 6-12 years) with ASD (without intellectual and language disability) were randomly assigned by school buildings (clusters) to receive the CSBI (n=52 completed) or SAU (n=50 completed). The CSBI was implemented by trained school personnel and targeted social competence and ASD symptoms using social skills groups, emotion recognition instruction, therapeutic activities, behavioral reinforcement, and parent training. Outcome measures tested the effects of the CSBI on social competence and ASD symptoms, as well as potential collateral effects on academic achievement. Outcomes (baseline-to-follow-up) were assessed using tests of social-cognition and academic skills and behavioral observations (by masked evaluators) and parent-teacher ratings of ASD symptoms and social/social-communication skills (non-masked) [ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03338530, https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/]. Results: The CSBI group improved significantly more than the SAU group on the test of emotion recognition skills and parent-teacher ratings of ASD symptoms (primary outcomes) and social/social-communication skills (secondary outcome). No differences between groups were detected for recess social interactions or academic skills. Conclusions: The CSBI improved several core areas of functioning for children with ASD compared to usual educational programming. Additional intervention elements may be needed to expand the efficacy of the CSBI so that the observed skills/symptom improvements generalize to recess social interactions and/or academic skills are enhanced. [This paper was published in the "Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology" v48 n6 p922-933 Dec 2019.]

Instructional choice is a low-intensity strategy that can improve academic engagement. In this study, we investigated the effects of within-activity choices offered during math by third-grade teachers to participating students with behavioral and academic needs. We utilized a professional development model to train teachers to implement instructional choice in the classroom while collecting direct observation data on student's academic engagement. Teachers were able to implement practices with high levels of integrity and collect momentary time sampling data on one student with high levels of reliability. Using a withdrawal design, we found no clear functional relation between instructional choice and increases in student's academic engagement. However, some students demonstrated an increase in level upon the introduction of the intervention. Both teachers and students rated the intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes as acceptable. Possible reasons for a lack of treatment effect on student academic engagement are discussed.

The purpose of the study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to demonstrate efficacy of the Class-wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) program. The study was designed to replicate an initial RCT conducted by the CW-FIT developers in 1 site, with 2 additional research groups not involved in its development. The study was conducted across 3 states, in 21 culturally diverse schools, and with 83 teachers (classrooms) assigned to CW-FIT and 74 teachers (classrooms) assigned to the comparison group. The CW-FIT intervention included teaching prosocial skills and use of differential attention (teacher praise and points) for appropriate behaviors using a group contingency, class teams, goal setting, points, and rewards. Class-wide student on-task behavior improved, teacher praise and attention to appropriate behaviors increased, and reprimands decreased in the CW-FIT classes with significantly fewer changes over time for the comparison group.

This article presents findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the impact of a novel coaching approach utilized as one element of the Double Check cultural responsivity and student engagement model. The RCT included 158 elementary and middle school teachers randomized to receive coaching or serve as comparisons; all participating teachers were exposed to school-wide professional development activities. Pre-post nonexperimental comparisons indicated improvements in self-reported culturally responsive behavior management and self-efficacy for teachers in both conditions following professional development exposure. With regard to the experimental findings, trained observers recorded significantly more proactive behavior management and anticipation of student problems by teachers, higher student cooperation, less student noncooperation, and fewer disruptive behaviors in classrooms led by coached teachers relative to comparison teachers. Taken together, the findings suggest the potential promise of coaching combined with school-wide professional development for improving classroom management practices and possibly reducing office discipline referrals among Black students.

This study reports the results of a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC), a family-school partnership intervention, on children's behaviors, parents' skills, and parent-teacher relationships in rural community and town settings. Participants were 267 children, 267 parents, and 152 teachers in 45 Midwestern schools. Using an Intent to Treat approach and data analyzed within a multilevel modeling framework, CBC yielded promising results for some but not all outcomes. Specifically, children participating in CBC experienced decreases in daily reports of aggressiveness, noncompliance, and temper tantrums; and increases in parent-reported adaptive skills and social skills at a significantly greater pace than those in a control group. Other outcomes (e.g., parent reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors) suggested a nonsignificant effect at post-test. CBC parents reported using more effective parenting strategies, gaining more competence in their problem-solving practices, and feeling more efficacious for helping their child succeed in school than parents in the control group. Parents participating in CBC also reported significant improvements in the parent-teacher relationship, and the parent-teacher relationship mediated the effect of CBC on children's adaptive skills. Implications for practice in rural communities, study limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. [This article was published in "Journal of School Psychology" v62 p81-101 2017.]

The achievement gaps between poor and more affluent students are persistent and chronic, as many students living in poverty are also members of more isolated communities where dialects such as African American English and Southern Vernacular English are often spoken. Non-mainstream dialect use is associated with weaker literacy achievement. The principal aims of the two experiments described in this paper were to examine whether second through fourth graders, who use home English in contexts where more formal school English is expected, can be taught to dialect shift between home and school English depending on context; and whether this leads to stronger writing and literacy outcomes. The results of two randomized controlled trials with students within classrooms randomly assigned to DAWS (Dialect Awareness, a program to explicitly teach dialect shifting), editing instruction, or a business as usual group revealed (1) that DAWS was more effective in promoting dialect shifting than instruction that did not explicitly contrast home and school English; and (2) that students in both studies who participated in DAWS were significantly more likely to use school English in contexts where it was expected on proximal and distal outcomes including narrative writing, morphosyntactic awareness, and reading comprehension. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Efficacy of an intensive reading intervention implemented during the nonacademic summer was evaluated in children with reading disabilities or difficulties (RD). Students (ages 6-9) were randomly assigned to receive Lindamood-Bell's "Seeing Stars" program (n = 23) as an intervention or to a waiting-list control group (n = 24). Analysis of pre- and posttesting revealed significant interactions in favor of the intervention group for untimed word and pseudoword reading, timed pseudoword reading, oral reading fluency, and symbol imagery. The interactions mostly reflected (a) significant declines in the nonintervention group from pre- to posttesting, and (2) no decline in the intervention group. The current study offers direct evidence for widening differences in reading abilities between students with RD who do and do not receive intensive summer reading instruction. Intervention implications for RD children are discussed, especially in relation to the relevance of summer intervention to prevent further decline in struggling early readers.

School psychologists will likely become more involved in supporting the reading achievement of English language learners (ELLs). This requires evidence-based interventions that are validated for ELL students. Incremental rehearsal (IR) is an evidence-based intervention for teaching words, but the resource intensity often precludes its use. Using peers as interventionists may increase the contextual validity of IR while maintaining the benefits when compared with other drill techniques. This efficacy study examined if (a) peer-mediated IR (PMIR) was effective for teaching ELL students high-frequency words and (b) improvements in word reading generalized to changes in students' oral reading fluency. Five ELL students participated in a randomized multiple-baseline design across participants. Results indicated that PMIR was functionally related to an increase in word reading for all 5 participants. Effect sizes estimated using TauU and multilevel modeling indicated that PMIR had a large effect on sight-word reading. No functional relationship between PMIR and oral reading fluency was observed. PMIR was generally acceptable to target students and peer tutors. Limitations and potential implications of the results are discussed.

Objectives: This study evaluated the efficacy of a novel psychosocial intervention (Collaborative Life Skills, CLS) for primary-school students with ADHD symptoms. CLS is a 12-week program consisting of integrated school, parent, and student treatments delivered by school-based mental health providers. Using a cluster randomized design, CLS was compared to usual school/community services on psychopathology and functional outcomes. Methods: Schools within a large urban public school district were randomly assigned to CLS (12 schools) or usual services (11 schools). Approximately six students participated at each school (N = 135, mean age = 8.4 years, grade range = 2nd-5th, 71% boys). Using PROC GENMOD (SAS 9.4) the difference between the means of CLS and usual services for each outcome at post-treatment was tested. To account for clustering effects by school, the Generalized Estimating Equation method was used. Results: Students from schools assigned to CLS, relative to those assigned to usual services, had significantly greater improvement on parent and teacher ratings of ADHD symptom severity and organizational functioning, teacher-rated academic performance and parent ratings of ODD symptoms and social/interpersonal skills. Conclusions: These results support the efficacy of CLS relative to typical school and community practices for reducing ADHD and ODD symptoms and improving key areas of functional impairment. They further suggest that existing school-based mental health resources can be re-deployed from non-empirically supported practices to those with documented efficacy. This model holds promise for improving access to efficient, evidence-based treatment for inattentive and disruptive behavior beyond the clinic setting. [This article was published in the "Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry," v55 p762-770 2016.]

The passage of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act has highlighted the importance of all students having access to the general education curriculum. Because students with disabilities are being included in the general education classroom in greater numbers, teachers need to implement research-based instructional strategies. To extend research on one effective strategy, the authors used a single case ABAB reversal design to investigate the effects of using response cards on active student responding and on-task behavior for five students with intellectual disabilities during science and social studies lessons in the general education classroom. Results suggest increased active student responding and on-task behavior for all five participants. A discussion of study limitations, implications, and future research directions is included.

Schools continue to strive for the use of evidenced-based interventions and policies to foster well-managed classrooms that promote improved student outcomes. The present study examined the effects of the Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), a group contingency intervention, on the on-task and disruptive behavior of elementary school students with or at risk for emotional behavior disorders (EBD). Seventeen elementary schools, 159 general education teachers, and 313 students participated in the randomized-control group design study. Fidelity of implementation was strong for intervention group teachers and was measured across groups and throughout baseline conditions. Results suggest that CW-FIT can be used to increase on-task behavior and reduce the disruptive behavior of students with or at risk for EBD. In addition, teachers in intervention classes increased praise and reduced reprimands to individual students and along with their students, reported high levels of consumer satisfaction.

The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of the Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) program for improving students' on-task behavior, and increasing teacher recognition of appropriate behavior. The intervention is a group contingency classroom management program consisting of teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors (i.e., getting the teacher's attention, following directions, and ignoring inappropriate behaviors of peers). Seventeen elementary schools, the majority in urban and culturally diverse communities, participated in a randomized trial with 86 teachers (classrooms) assigned to CW-FIT, and 73 teachers (classrooms) assigned to the comparison group. Class-wide student on-task behavior improved over baseline levels in the intervention classes. Teachers were able to implement the intervention with high fidelity overall, as observed in adherence to 96% of the fidelity criteria on average. Teacher praise and attention to appropriate behaviors increased, and reprimands decreased. These effects were replicated in new classrooms each of the 4 years of the study, and for all years combined.

Chicago Public Schools initiated the Excellence in Teaching Project, a teacher evaluation program designed to increase student learning by improving classroom instruction through structured principal-teacher dialogue. The pilot began in forty-four elementary schools in 2008-09 (cohort 1) and scaled up to include an additional forty-eight elementary schools in 2009-10 (cohort 2). Leveraging the experimental design of the roll-out, cohort 1 schools performed better in reading and math than cohort 2 schools at the end of the first year, though the math effects are not statistically significant. We find the initial improvement for cohort 1 schools remains even after cohort 2 schools adopted the program. Moreover, the pilot differentially impacted schools with different characteristics. Higher-achieving and lower-poverty schools were the primary beneficiaries, suggesting the intervention was most successful in more advantaged schools. These findings are relevant for policy makers and school leaders who are implementing evaluation systems that incorporate classroom observations.

This intervention study compared the efficacy of small-group tutoring on the mathematics learning of third-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulty using either a school-provided standards-based curriculum (SBC) or a schema-based instruction (SBI) curriculum. The SBI curriculum placed particular emphasis on the underlying mathematical structure of additive problems to represent and solve word problems. At-risk students (N = 136) from 35 classrooms scoring below a proficiency level on their district accountability assessment were assigned randomly to treatment groups. Results indicated interaction effects on the word problem-solving (WPS) posttest and retention tests such that SBI students with higher incoming (pretest) WPS scores outperformed SBC students with higher pretest scores, whereas SBC students with lower pretest scores outperformed SBI students with lower pretest scores. No effects were found on number combinations automaticity, and mathematics and reading achievement. Implications to improve the problem-solving performance of at-risk students are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

This study compared the effects of delivering a supplemental, small-group tutoring intervention on the mathematics outcomes of third-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulties (MD) who were randomly assigned to either a schema-based instruction (SBI) or control group. SBI emphasized the underlying mathematical structure of additive problems. All students at risk for MD identified through screening received a mathematics intervention in groups of 2-4 for 12 weeks across the school year. Results revealed that students in the SBI group outperformed students in the control group on a word problem solving (WPS) posttest ("g" = 0.46). The effect of SBI proved to be equivalent for students in both high and low at-risk subgroups. On a district-administered mathematics achievement test, SBI students scored significantly higher than control students (g = 0.34); however, there were no significant effects on the WPS retention test (8 weeks later). (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction and cognitive abilities on word problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD). Elementary school children (N = 120) with and without MD were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: general-heuristic (e.g., underline question sentence), visual-schematic presentation (diagrams), general-heuristic + visual-schematic, and an untreated control. When compared to the control condition that included children with MD, an advantage at posttest was found for children with MD for the visual-schematic-alone condition on measures of problem solving and calculation accuracy, whereas all strategy conditions facilitated posttest performance in correctly identifying problem solving components. The results also suggested that strategy conditions drew upon different cognitive resources. The General-heuristic condition drew primarily upon the executive component of working memory (WM), Visual-schematic condition drew upon the visual component of WM and the combined strategies condition drew upon number processing skills.

This study examined the effects of e-mailed daily behavior report cards (DBRC) on students' disruptive classroom behaviors. Additionally, teacher acceptability of e-mailed DBRC as an intervention was assessed. Participants included 46 elementary students (37 males and 9 females), that were assigned to one of three conditions; delayed treatment control, e-mailed DBRC, and e-mailed DBRC with performance feedback. Student behaviors were measured by direct observations and teacher ratings. Results suggest that e-mailed DBRC can decrease students' disruptive behaviors, that e-mailed DBRC with performance feedback did not produce superior outcomes, and that e-mailed DBRC was perceived as acceptable. (Contains 1 table.)

This study examined whether practice with arithmetic problems presented in a nontraditional problem format improves understanding of mathematical equivalence. Children (M age = 8;0; N = 90) were randomly assigned to practice addition in one of three conditions: (a) traditional, in which problems were presented in the traditional "operations on left side" format (e.g., 9 + 8 = 17); (b) nontraditional, in which problems were presented in a nontraditional format (e.g., 17 = 9 + 8); or (c) no extra practice. Children developed a better understanding of mathematical equivalence after receiving nontraditional practice than after receiving traditional practice or no extra practice. Results suggest that minor differences in early input can yield substantial differences in children's understanding of fundamental concepts.

Aimed at low-income families in six of New York City's highest-poverty communities, Family Rewards ties cash rewards to a pre-specified set of activities and outcomes thought to be critical to families' short- and long-term success in the areas of children's education, family preventive health care, and parents' employment. The purpose of this project is to experimentally evaluate the effects of this three-year innovative holistic conditional cash transfer (CCT) initiative. This paper presents initial findings from an ongoing and comprehensive evaluation of Family Rewards. It examines the program's implementation in the field and families' responses to it during the first two of its three years of operations, and early findings on the program's impacts on children's educational processes and outcomes. More specifically, this paper addresses the following questions: (1) What are the effects of ONYC-Family Rewards on family income, poverty, and financial hardship?; (2) What are the effects of ONYC-Family Rewards on use of health care and health insurance?; (3) What are the effects of ONYC-Family Rewards on parents' employment and educational attainment?; and (4) What are the effects of ONYC-Family Rewards on children's educational outcomes? Overall, this study shows that, despite an extraordinarily rapid start-up, the program was operating largely as intended by its second year. Although many families struggled with the complexity of the program, most were substantially engaged with it and received a large amount of money for meeting the conditions it established. Specifically, nearly all families (98 percent) earned at least some rewards in both program years, with payments averaging more than $6,000 during the first two program years combined. The program reduced current poverty and hardship; increased savings; increased families' continuous use of health insurance coverage and increased their receipt of medical care; and increased employment in jobs that are not covered by the unemployment insurance (UI) system but reduced employment in UI-covered jobs. The program has had mixed success in improving children's academic performance specifically. Contrary to expectations, Family Rewards did not affect school attendance or annual standardized test scores in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for either group of youngest children, but did lead to notable gains for a group of more academically prepared high school students. The program also had important effects on several key proposed mediators of the intervention. However, these effects vary by parents with different age groups of children. Appended are: (1) References; and (2) Tables and Figures. (Contains 2 tables.)

The District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, passed by Congress in January 2004, established the first federally funded, private school voucher program in the United States. Since that time, more than 8,400 students have applied for what is now called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), and a rigorous evaluation of the Program, mandated by Congress, has been underway. This last formal report from the ongoing evaluation describes the impacts of the Program at least four years after families who applied and were given the option to move from a public school to a participating private school of their choice. The research priorities for the evaluation were shaped largely by the primary topics of interest specified in the statute. This legislative mandate led the evaluators to focus on the following research questions: (1) What is the impact of the Program on student academic achievement? (2) What is the impact of the Program on other student measures? (3) What effect does the Program have on school safety and satisfaction? (4) What is the effect of attending private versus public schools? (5) To what extent is the Program influencing public schools and expanding choice options for parents in Washington, DC? These research questions are consistent with the topics that scholars and policymakers have identified as important questions of interest surrounding private school scholarship programs. The report found that that the Program had mixed longer-term effects on participating students and their parents, including: (1) No conclusive evidence that the OSP affected student achievement overall, or for the high-priority group of students who applied from "schools in need of improvement"; (2) The Program significantly improved students' chances of graduating from high school, according to parent reports. Overall, 82 percent of students offered scholarships received a high school diploma, compared to 70 percent of those who applied but were not offered scholarships. This graduation rate improvement also held for the subgroup of OSP students who came from "schools in need of improvement."; and (3) Although parents had higher satisfaction and rated schools as safer if their child was offered or used an OSP scholarship, students reported similar ratings for satisfaction and safety regardless of whether they were offered or used a scholarship. Appendices include: (1) Research Methodology; (2) Benjamini-Hochberg Adjustments for Multiple Comparisons; (3) Sensitivity Testing; (4) Relationship Between Attending a Private School and Key Outcomes; (5) Detailed ITT Tables; (6) Exploration of Whether Parents Get What They Seek From School Choice; (7) To What Extent Are Treatment Effects of the OSP Observed Across the Outcome Test-Score Distribution? Quantile Regression Analysis of the OSP; and (8) Intermediate Outcome Measures. (Contains 99 tables, 31 figures, and 61 footnotes.)

Much research has established the contribution of summer reading setback to the reading achievement gap that is present between children from more and less economically advantaged families. Likewise, summer reading activity, or the lack of it, has been linked to summer setback. Finally, family socioeconomic status has been linked to the access children have to books in their homes and neighborhoods. Thus, in this longitudinal experimental study we tested the hypothesis that providing elementary school students from low-income families with a supply of self-selected trade books would ameliorate summer reading setback. Thus, 852 students from 17 high-poverty schools were randomly selected to receive a supply of self-selected trade books on the final day of school over a 3-year period, and 478 randomly selected students from these same schools received no books and served as the control group. No further effort was provided in this intervention study. Outcomes on the state reading assessment indicated a statistically significant effect (p = 0.015) for providing access to books for summer reading along with a significant (d = 0.14) effect size. Slightly larger effects (d = 0.21) were found when comparing the achievement of the most economically disadvantaged students in the treatment and control groups. (Contains 3 tables and 2 notes.)

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects of strategic counting instruction, with and without deliberate practice with those counting strategies, on number combination (NC) skill among students with mathematics difficulties (MD). Students (n = 150) were stratified on MD status (i.e., MD alone versus MD with reading difficulty) and site (proximal versus distal to the intervention developer) and then randomly assigned to control (no tutoring) or 1 of 2 variants of NC remediation. Both remediations were embedded in the same validated word-problem tutoring protocol (i.e., Pirate Math). In 1 variant, the focus on NCs was limited to a single lesson that taught strategic counting. In the other variant, 4-6 min of practice per session was added to the other variant. Tutoring occurred for 16 weeks, 3 sessions per week for 20-30 min per session. Strategic counting without deliberate practice produced superior NC fluency compared to control; however, strategic counting with deliberate practice effected superior NC fluency and transfer to procedural calculations compared with both competing conditions. Also, the efficacy of Pirate Math word-problem tutoring was replicated. (Contains 6 tables.)

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects of strategic counting instruction, with and without deliberate practice with those counting strategies, on number combination (NC) skill among students with mathematics difficulties (MD). Students (n = 150) were stratified on MD status (i.e., MD alone versus MD with reading difficulty) and site (proximal versus distal to the intervention developer) and then randomly assigned to control (no tutoring) or 1 of 2 variants of NC remediation. Both remediations were embedded in the same validated word-problem tutoring protocol (i.e., Pirate Math). In 1 variant, the focus on NCs was limited to a single lesson that taught strategic counting. In the other variant, 4-6 min of practice per session was added to the other variant. Tutoring occurred for 16 weeks, 3 sessions per week for 20-30 min per session. Strategic counting without deliberate practice produced superior NC fluency compared to control; however, strategic counting with deliberate practice effected superior NC fluency and transfer to procedural calculations compared with both competing conditions. Also, the efficacy of Pirate Math word-problem tutoring was replicated. (Contains 6 tables.)

The purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of remedial tutoring for 3rd graders with mathematics difficulty, to investigate whether tutoring is differentially efficacious depending on students' math difficulty status (mathematics difficulty alone vs. mathematics plus reading difficulty), to explore transfer from number combination (NC) remediation, and to examine the transportability of the tutoring protocols. At 2 sites, 133 students were stratified on mathematics difficulty status and site and then randomly assigned to 3 conditions: control (no tutoring), tutoring on automatic retrieval of NCs (i.e., Math Flash), or tutoring on word problems with attention to the foundational skills of NCs, procedural calculations, and algebra (i.e., Pirate Math). Tutoring occurred for 16 weeks, 3 sessions per week and 20-30 min per session. Math Flash enhanced fluency with NCs with transfer to procedural computation but without transfer to algebra or word problems. Pirate Math enhanced word problem skill as well as fluency with NCs, procedural computation, and algebra. Tutoring was not differentially efficacious as a function of students' mathematics difficulty status. The tutoring protocols proved transportable across sites. (Contains 5 tables and 8 footnotes.)

The purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of remedial tutoring for 3rd graders with mathematics difficulty, to investigate whether tutoring is differentially efficacious depending on students' math difficulty status (mathematics difficulty alone vs. mathematics plus reading difficulty), to explore transfer from number combination (NC) remediation, and to examine the transportability of the tutoring protocols. At 2 sites, 133 students were stratified on mathematics difficulty status and site and then randomly assigned to 3 conditions: control (no tutoring), tutoring on automatic retrieval of NCs (i.e., Math Flash), or tutoring on word problems with attention to the foundational skills of NCs, procedural calculations, and algebra (i.e., Pirate Math). Tutoring occurred for 16 weeks, 3 sessions per week and 20-30 min per session. Math Flash enhanced fluency with NCs with transfer to procedural computation but without transfer to algebra or word problems. Pirate Math enhanced word problem skill as well as fluency with NCs, procedural computation, and algebra. Tutoring was not differentially efficacious as a function of students' mathematics difficulty status. The tutoring protocols proved transportable across sites. (Contains 5 tables and 8 footnotes.)

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of fact retrieval tutoring as a function of math difficulty (MD) subtype, that is, whether students have MD alone (MD-only) or have concurrent difficulty with math and reading (MDRD). Third graders (n = 139) at two sites were randomly assigned, blocking by site and MD subtype, to four tutoring conditions: fact retrieval practice, conceptual fact retrieval instruction with practice, procedural computation/estimation instruction, and control (no tutoring). Tutoring occurred for 45 sessions over 15 weeks for 15-25 minutes per session. Results provided evidence of an interaction between tutoring condition and MD subtype status for assessment of fact retrieval. For MD-only students, students in both fact retrieval conditions achieved comparably and outperformed MD-only students in the control group as well as those in the procedural computation/estimation instruction group. By contrast, for MDRD students, there were no significant differences among intervention conditions.

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of fact retrieval tutoring as a function of math difficulty (MD) subtype, that is, whether students have MD alone (MD-only) or have concurrent difficulty with math and reading (MDRD). Third graders (n = 139) at two sites were randomly assigned, blocking by site and MD subtype, to four tutoring conditions: fact retrieval practice, conceptual fact retrieval instruction with practice, procedural computation/estimation instruction, and control (no tutoring). Tutoring occurred for 45 sessions over 15 weeks for 15-25 minutes per session. Results provided evidence of an interaction between tutoring condition and MD subtype status for assessment of fact retrieval. For MD-only students, students in both fact retrieval conditions achieved comparably and outperformed MD-only students in the control group as well as those in the procedural computation/estimation instruction group. By contrast, for MDRD students, there were no significant differences among intervention conditions.

At the request of the State of Pennsylvania, the School District of Philadelphia, in the summer of 2002, asked three for-profit firms to assume responsibility for 30 of its lowest-performing schools and it asked four nonprofit managers to assume the management of 16 other low-performing schools. A difference-in-differences analysis is used to estimate the impact of nonprofit and for-profit management on individual student achievement. Gains in test scores at the treated schools are estimated by comparing them with gains in other low-performing schools in the district. Students at schools under for-profit management outperformed those at schools under nonprofit management in all six years in both reading and math. Most estimations are statistically significant. Impacts of for-profit management relative to district management were positive in math, but no reading impacts could be detected. At nonprofits, students appear to have learned substantially less, especially in math, at nonprofit schools, than had their school remained under regular district management. However, impacts fell short of statistical significance. (Propensity Score Analysis is appended. Contains 21 endnotes and 9 tables.)

This study replicates research on the efficacy of a repeated reading intervention with word-level instruction for students in Grades 2 and 3 with low to moderate fluency skills, examines differences between treatment implementers, and tests unique contributions of treatment-related variables on outcomes. Students from 13 schools were randomly assigned to dyads; dyads were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Schools were matched into treatment implementer groups (teachers or paraeducators) at study onset. Tutoring occurred during school hours for 15 weeks (M = 25.5 hr). Multilevel model results showed treatment students (n = 98) gained more than controls (n = 104) on measures of letter-sound knowledge (d = 0.41), fluency (d = 0.37-0.38), and comprehension (d = 0.30-0.31); students tutored by teachers gained more than their paraeducator-tutored peers on word reading and fluency. Finally, dyads tutored with greater fidelity gained more in word reading and fluency; dyads that read more complex words in their texts gained less on letter-sounds, fluency, and comprehension. (Contains 9 tables.)

This article reports on a randomized controlled trial of the First Step to Success early intervention that was conducted over a 4-year period in Albuquerque Public Schools. First Step is a selected intervention for students in Grades 1 through 3 with externalizing behavior problems, and it addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. It consists of three modular components (screening, school intervention, parent training); lasts approximately 3 months; and is initially set up, delivered, and coordinated by a behavioral coach (e.g., school counselor, behavior specialist, social worker). Project Year 1 of this efficacy trial was devoted to gearing-up activities (e.g., hiring, training, planning, logistical arrangements); Years 2 and 3 each involved implementing First Step with approximately 100 behaviorally at-risk students. Students, teachers, and classrooms were randomly assigned to either intervention or usual care comparison conditions. Year 4 activities focused on conducting long-term, follow-up assessments and implementing sustainability procedures to preserve achieved gains. Pre-post teacher and parent ratings of student behavior and social skills showed moderately robust effect sizes, ranging from 0.54 to 0.87, that favored the intervention group. Direct measures of academic performance (oral reading fluency, letter-word identification) were not sensitive to the intervention. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

The "District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003," passed by the Congress in January 2004, established the first federally funded, private school voucher program in the United States. The purpose of the new scholarship program was to provide low-income residents, particularly those whose children attend schools in need of improvement or corrective action under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act," with "expanded opportunities to attend higher performing schools in the District of Columbia" (Sec. 303). As part of this legislation, the Congress mandated a rigorous evaluation of the impacts of the Program, now called the "DC Opportunity Scholarship Program" (OSP). This report presents findings from the evaluation on the impacts three years after families who applied were given the option to move from a public school to a participating private school of their choice. The evaluation is based on a randomized controlled trial design that compares the outcomes of eligible applicants randomly assigned to receive (treatment group) or not receive (control group) a scholarship through a series of lotteries. The main findings of the evaluation so far include: (1) After 3 years, there was a statistically significant positive impact on reading test scores, but not math test scores; (2) The OSP had a positive impact overall on parents' reports of school satisfaction and safety, but not on students' reports; (3) This same pattern of findings holds when the analysis is conducted to determine the impact of using a scholarship rather than being offered a scholarship; (4) The OSP improved reading achievement for 5 of the 10 subgroups examined; and (5) No achievement impacts were observed for five other subgroups of students, including those who entered the Program with relative academic disadvantage. Six appendices are included: (1) Research Methodology; (2) Benjamini-Hochberg Adjustments for Multiple Comparisons; (3) Sensitivity Testing; (4) Detailed ITT Tables; (5) Relationship Between Attending a Private School and Key Outcomes; and (6) Intermediate Outcome Measures.. (Contains 115 footnotes, 15 figures and 129 tables.) [For Executive Summary, see ED504784. For "Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts after Two Years", see ED501696. For "Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts after One Year", see ED497154.]

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) assesses teaching practice based on videos and essays submitted by teachers. We compared the performance of classrooms of elementary students in Los Angeles randomly assigned to NBPTS applicants and to comparison teachers. We used information on whether each applicant achieved certification, along with information on each applicant's NBPTS scaled score and subscores, to test whether the NBPTS score was related to teacher impacts on student achievement. We found that students randomly assigned to highly-rated applicants performed better than students assigned to comparison teachers, while students assigned to poorly-rated applicants performed worse. Estimates were similar using data on pairs of teachers that were not randomly assigned. Our results suggest a number of changes that would improve the predictive power of the NBPTS process.

This study assessed the effects of preventative tutoring on the math problem solving of third-grade students with math and reading difficulties. Students (n = 35) were assigned randomly to continue in their general education math program or to receive secondary preventative tutoring 3 times per week, 30 min per session, for 12 weeks. Schema-broadening tutoring taught students to (a) focus on the mathematical structure of 3 problem types; (b) recognize problems as belonging to those 3 problem-type schemas; (c) solve the 3 word-problem types; and (d) transfer solution methods to problems that include irrelevant information, 2-digit operands, missing information in the first or second positions in the algebraic equation, or relevant information in charts, graphs, and pictures. Also, students were taught to perform the calculation and algebraic skills foundational for problem solving. Analyses of variance revealed statistically significant effects on a wide range of word problems, with large effect sizes. Findings support the efficacy of the tutoring protocol for preventing word-problem deficits among third-grade students with math and reading deficits. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study assessed the effects of small-group tutoring with and without validated classroom instruction on at-risk students' math problem solving. Stratifying within schools, 119 3rd-grade classes were randomly assigned to conventional or validated problem-solving instruction (Hot Math, schema-broadening instruction). Students identified as at risk (n = 243) were randomly assigned, within classroom conditions, to receive or not receive Hot Math tutoring. Students were tested on problem-solving and math applications measures before and after 16 weeks of intervention. Analyses of variance, which accounted for the nested structure of the data, revealed that the tutored students who received validated classroom instruction achieved better than the tutored students who received conventional classroom instruction (effect size = 1.34). However, the advantage for tutoring over no tutoring was similar whether students received validated or conventional classroom instruction (effect sizes = 1.18 and 1.13). Tutoring, not validated classroom instruction, reduced the prevalence of math difficulty. Implications for responsiveness-to-intervention prevention models and for enhancing math problem-solving instruction are discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote.)

This study assessed the effects of small-group tutoring with and without validated classroom instruction on at-risk students' math problem solving. Stratifying within schools, 119 3rd-grade classes were randomly assigned to conventional or validated problem-solving instruction (Hot Math, schema-broadening instruction). Students identified as at risk (n = 243) were randomly assigned, within classroom conditions, to receive or not receive Hot Math tutoring. Students were tested on problem-solving and math applications measures before and after 16 weeks of intervention. Analyses of variance, which accounted for the nested structure of the data, revealed that the tutored students who received validated classroom instruction achieved better than the tutored students who received conventional classroom instruction (effect size = 1.34). However, the advantage for tutoring over no tutoring was similar whether students received validated or conventional classroom instruction (effect sizes = 1.18 and 1.13). Tutoring, not validated classroom instruction, reduced the prevalence of math difficulty. Implications for responsiveness-to-intervention prevention models and for enhancing math problem-solving instruction are discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure and 1 footnote.)

The major purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of tutoring to remediate 3rd-grade computational deficits and to explore whether remediation is differentially efficacious depending on whether students experience mathematics difficulty alone or concomitantly with reading difficulty. At 2 sites, 127 students were stratified on mathematics difficulty status and randomly assigned to 4 conditions: word recognition (control) tutoring or 1 of 3 computation tutoring conditions: fact retrieval, procedural computation and computational estimation, and combined (fact retrieval + procedural computation and computational estimation). Results revealed that fact retrieval tutoring enhanced fact retrieval skill, and procedural computation and computational estimation tutoring (whether in isolation or combined with fact retrieval tutoring) enhanced computational estimation skill. Remediation was not differentially efficacious as a function of students' mathematics difficulty status. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)

The Technology Enhanced Elementary and Middle School Science II project (TEEMSS), funded by the National Science Foundation, produced 15 inquiry-based instructional science units for teaching in grades 3-8. Each unit uses computers and probeware to support students' investigations of real-world phenomena using probes (e.g., for temperature or pressure) or, in one case, virtual environments based on mathematical models. TEEMSS units were used in more than 100 classrooms by over 60 teachers and thousands of students. This paper reports on cases in which groups of teachers taught science topics without TEEMSS materials in school year 2004-2005 and then the same teachers taught those topics using TEEMSS materials in 2005-2006. There are eight TEEMSS units for which such comparison data are available. Students showed significant learning gains for all eight. In four cases (sound and electricity, both for grades 3-4; temperature, grades 5-6; and motion, grades 7-8) there were significant differences in science learning favoring the students who used the TEEMSS materials. The effect sizes are 0.58, 0.94, 1.54, and 0.49, respectively. For the other four units there were no significant differences in science learning between TEEMSS and non-TEEMSS students. We discuss the implications of these results for science education.

We examined the extent to which use of a technology-enhanced continuous progress monitoring system would enhance the results of math instruction, examined variability in teacher implementation of the program, and compared math results in classrooms in which teachers did and did not use the system. Classrooms were randomly assigned to within-school experimental and control groups. Participating students were pre- and post-tested using two standardized, nationally normed tests of math achievement. When teachers implemented the continuous progress monitoring system as intended, and when they used the data from the system to manage and differentiate instruction, students gained significantly more than those for whom implementation was limited or nil. Failure to take into account intervention integrity would have made it look like continuous progress monitoring did not enhance math results. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study examined the effectiveness of the Too Good for Violence Prevention Program (TGFV), a multifaceted interactive intervention. Grounded in Bandura's Social Learning Theory, the TGFV curricula focus on developing personal and interpersonal skills to solve conflict non-violently and resist social influences that lead to violence. Participants were 999 third grade students and 46 teachers in ten elementary schools. The schools were matched on student characteristics and academic performance and assigned to treatment or control conditions. Teachers and students completed checklists assessing students' behaviors prior to, following, and 20 weeks after program delivery. Results show that treatment students, as compared to control students, were perceived by teachers as evidencing more frequent use of personal and social skills and of prosocial behaviors after program delivery. Student survey data show that treatment students, as compared to control students, evidenced more positive scores in the areas of emotional competency skills, social and resistance skills, and communication skills after program delivery. The benefits of the TGFV program continued to be observed at the 20-week follow-up. (Contains 6 tables.)

This study assessed the effects of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), a reciprocal classwide peer-tutoring strategy, on the reading performance of native Spanish-speaking students with learning disabilities (LD) and their low-, average-, and high-achieving classroom peers. Participants were 132 native Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELL) in Grades 3 through 6, along with their 12 reading teachers. Teachers were assigned randomly to PALS and contrast groups. PALS sessions were conducted 3 times a week for 15 weeks. Students were tested before and after treatment. PALS students outgrew contrast students on reading comprehension, and those effects were not mediated by student type.

Second- and 3rd-grade children with poor word-level skills were randomly assigned to 8 months of explicit instruction emphasizing the phonologic and orthographic connections in words and text-based reading or to remedial reading programs provided by the schools. At posttest, treatment children showed significantly greater gains than control children in real word and nonword reading, reading rate, passage reading, and spelling, and largely maintained gains at a 1-year follow-up. Growth curve analyses indicated significant differences in growth rate during the treatment year, but not during the follow-up year. Results indicate that research-based practices can significantly improve reading and spelling outcomes for children in remedial programs.

Used a matched-schools design, school-level achievement, and disciplinary data to evaluate the effectiveness of the elementary-level Positive Action program on students' performance and behavior over time. Results indicated that program participation improved student behavior, school involvement, and academic achievement into high school. The program had equally strong behavioral effects in higher risk schools. There was a clear dose-response relationship for most outcomes. (SM)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a phonologically based reading program delivered to first- through sixth-grade impaired readers (N=115) in small groups. Post-tests after program completion found the program resulted in significantly better phonological awareness, decoding, reading accuracy, comprehension, and spelling. Improved skills were evident regardless of original level of deficiency and were not limited to specific grades. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Reports the results of an evaluation of a popular literature-based character education program using a sample of first to sixth grade students (n=965). Finds that the curriculum had a positive effect on cognitive outcomes and that an emphasis of character throughout the curriculum contributed to achieving character outcomes. Includes references. (CMK)

Compared effects of a computer-assisted remedial reading program providing speech-supported reading in context with or without explicit phonological training. Found that phonologically trained second to fifth graders gained more in phonological skills and untimed word reading than untrained children. Children with more contextual reading gained more in time-limited word reading. Lower level readers benefited more than higher level readers. (Author/KB)

Reports on the development and evaluation of a transitional bilingual program for grades 2 through 5. Evaluation results based on achievement of 42 students and 42 comparisons show that the program is more effective than the transition program students typically receive. Discusses implications for education of English learners. (SLD)

Examined the differential effects of two instructional strategies (explicit schema-based and traditional-based) on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of mathematical word problem solving among elementary students at risk or with mild disabilities. Pretesting and posttesting indicated that both groups' performance increased from pretest to posttest, though students in the schema-based increased more significantly. (Author/SM)

The effects of a cooperative learning program, Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC), on the Spanish and English reading, writing, and language achievement of second and third graders of limited English proficiency in Spanish bilingual programs in El Paso (Texas) were studied. BCIRC was expected to improve student achievement during the transition from Spanish to English by giving students daily opportunities to use language to find meanings and solve problems, and by applying well- established principles of cooperative learning to increase student motivation and achievement. A comparison of standardized test scores in three BCIRC and four comparison schools generally supported these expectations. On the Spanish Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, second graders scored significantly better than comparison students in writing and marginally better in reading. On the English Norm-referenced Assessment Program for Texas third graders scored better than comparison students in reading, but not language. Third graders in BCIRC for 2 years scored better than control students on both scales, and BCIRC third graders met criteria for exit from bilingual education at a significantly higher rate than did comparison students. Qualitative evidence shows that students in cooperative groups are making meaning for themselves, enjoying the program and having success in writing contests. (Contains 6 tables and 43 references.) (Author/SLD)

A classwide peer tutoring program in reading, implemented at 12 elementary and middle schools in three contiguous districts in the middle of a southern state, was evaluated for its effectiveness with three learner types: low achievers with disabilities, low achievers without disabilities, and learners of average achievement. Twenty teachers implemented the Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) program for 15 weeks, and 20 teachers who did not implement it served as controls. The PALS program involves having pairs of students engage in three strategic reading activities: partner reading with retell, paragraph summary, and prediction relay. In each of the 40 classrooms, data were collected systematically on three students representing the three learner types. Pre- and post-treatment reading achievement data were collected on three measures of the Comprehensive Reading Assessment Battery. Findings indicated that, irrespective of type of measure and type of learner, students in peer tutoring classrooms demonstrated greater reading progress than control students. (Contains approximately 120 references.) (DB)

The cooperative elementary school model uses cooperation, particularly cooperative learning, as a philosophy for educational change. A 2-year study of the cooperative elementary school model in 2 treatment and 3 comparison schools involving 1,012 students demonstrates positive effects on academic achievement and social relations. (SLD)

Trial spanning grades 1-4 reported changes in classroom processes produced by ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) Program covaried with statistically and educationally significant levels of growth in at-risk students' academic achievement. Investigated follow-up outcomes at end of sixth grade. Found continued improved academic outcomes in students at risk for academic delay resulting from sustained use of CWPT in early grades. (Author/NB)

The impact of direct instruction on reading comprehension strategies and the degree to which cooperative learning processes enhanced students' learning of strategies were studied using 486 third and fourth graders in Pennsylvania. Subjects identified main ideas of passages. Pretest-posttest data highlight the significant impact of direct instruction and cooperative learning. (SLD)

A study of the effects of peer-pairing and integrative motivation on both formal language performance and actual language behavior with Korean immigrant children is presented. The formal language learning was measured by tests of oral production and listening comprehension, and actual language behavior was measured by observations in a natural school environment. Both oral production and listening comprehension posttests were administered four-and-a-half months after pretest administration. Thirty elementary school children (11 boys and 19 girls) were randomly assigned to two groups, resulting in 14 children (8 girls and 6 boys) in the peer-paired group and 16 (11 girls and 5 boys) in the no-paired group. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that (1) peer-pairing was a significant predictor for listening comprehension and the actual language behavior, and (2) prior language knowledge was the best predictor of formal language learning. The theoretical implications are that peer-pairing not only facilitates formal listening comprehension and actual language behavior, but also enhances social relationships between second-language learners and the target-language speakers. (MSE)

Istation is a digital-based instructional intervention tool for various content areas aimed at pre-K through 8th grade learners. The Istation Reading program consists of formative assessments, named Istation Indicators of Progress (ISIP™), which are computer-adaptive and diagnostic literacy assessments designed to track student growth over time. Istation Reading also includes an adaptive, online curriculum, which generates personalized learner data profiles that teachers can use to make data-driven instructional decisions and assign custom learning interventions. Istation's Early Reading (ER) program was designed specifically for students in grades K-3, focusing on the critical areas of early reading, including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency. The ISIP became the state of Idaho's early literacy assessment in the 2018-19 school year. The state-mandated early literacy assessment for students in grades K-3 is referred to as the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI). The state of Idaho used a different assessment in previous years and switched to using the ISIP for the IRI in the 2018-19 school year. The IRI is administered to all K-3 public school students in the state, and is intended to serve as an early reading diagnostic and screener. A sample of public elementary schools in Idaho piloted the ISIP and the Istation curriculum during the 2017-18 school year. In the 2018-19 school year, all public elementary schools in Idaho administered the ISIP. Schools were required to administer the ISIP in both the fall and spring, and had the option to administer it more frequently for yearly progress monitoring. Schools also had the option of purchasing Istation's related curricular resources. This study examines effects of the Istation ER program on student reading achievement in the state of Idaho and the validity of the ISIP for predicting student performance on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). It also highlights implementation successes and challenges experienced by educators who piloted Istation's ER program during the 2017-18 school year. [Istation contracted with the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to conduct a study of the predictive validity of Istation's Early Reading (ER) program in the state of Idaho.]

A two-cutoff regression discontinuity design (RDD) was used to assign 321 students in grades 1 through 6 at a Title I elementary school to two types of Tier 2 reading interventions administered by paraeducators: (a) direct instruction (DI) and (b) computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Students scoring at or below a lower cutoff pretest score were assigned to the DI reading intervention. Students scoring between the lower cutoff score and an upper cutoff score on the pretest were assigned to a CAI reading intervention. Student reading ability was reassessed in January and May. Results indicated that the DI intervention was significantly more effective than the CAI interventions at the lower cutoff (p < 0.01). No significant treatment effect was detected at the upper cutoff, but the estimation power of the design at this cutoff was limited to medium-to-large effect size. Findings suggest that the DI intervention was superior to the CAI interventions for at-risk readers. Implications for practice, including fidelity of paraeducator implementation, are discussed.

This study examined the effects of a phonics-based intervention on the reading outcomes of non-Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs). Thirty-six K-3, primarily Karen- and Hmong-speaking ELs were randomly assigned to receive a modified version of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS; Fuchs et al., 2001b) combined with Incremental Rehearsal (IR; Tucker, 1989; treatment), 30 min per day for 27-36 sessions in small groups or to continue with business as usual (control). A between-subjects pre-/post-test design using five Formative Assessment System for Teachers™ (FAST; Christ et al., 2014) earlyReading and CBMReading subtests was implemented. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variances (MANOVAs and ANOVAs) on the fluency and error rate of participants indicated treatment students outperformed control students at post-test in letter-sound identification (p = 0.006) with a large effect size (g = 0.88) and had significantly fewer errors (p = 0.002) with a moderately-strong effect size (g = 0.69). There were no significant differences between the treatment and control group in consonant-vowel-constant, nonsense and sight words or passage reading fluency or error rate. Effect sizes were small to moderate (g = -0.28-0.45). Results suggest that modified K-PALS with IR may be an effective intervention to improve the letter-sound identification skills of non-Spanish-speaking ELs, but further research is needed to verify this claim. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

National reports reveal one third of American fourth graders read below basic level on measures of comprehension. One critical component of comprehension is fluency: rapid, accurate, expressive reading with automaticity and prosody. Many fluency studies and classroom interventions focus only on reading rate, but this alone is not sufficient. This experimental study focused on QuickReads, which uses science and social studies texts to build reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. We explored the impact of QuickReads in print-only and print + technology formats for 1,484 students in second through fifth grades. Using hierarchical linear modeling with pre-post design, we found significant gains in fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary for students in all grades using either QuickReads format over control. Results generalized across achievement groups, ethnicities, and ELL levels. Implementation measures indicated high teacher fidelity to intervention techniques, lending robustness to student results. This study provides an example of scaling up validated instructional practices and lends support for important elements of fluency instruction: emphasizing prosody as well as rate, including content area topics, supported and independent practice, vocabulary and comprehension development, and motivational aspects such as ease of use.

The Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) offers publicly funded vouchers to moderate- and low-income students in low-performing public schools to enroll in participating private schools. Established in 2008 as a pilot program in New Orleans, the LSP expanded statewide in 2012. Drawing upon the random lotteries that placed students in LSP schools, we estimate the causal impact of using an LSP voucher to enroll in a private school on student achievement on the state accountability assessments in math, English Language Arts, and science over a four-year period, as well as on the likelihood of enrolling in college. The results from our primary analytic sample indicate substantial negative achievement impacts, especially in math, that diminish after the first year but persist after four years. In contrast, when considering the likelihood of students entering college, we observe no statistically significant difference between scholarship users and their control counterparts.

The purpose of this study was to explore the paths by which word-problem intervention, with versus without embedded prealgebraic reasoning instruction, improved word-problem performance. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 304) were randomly assigned to a business-as-usual condition or 1 of 2 variants of word-problem intervention. The prealgebraic reasoning component targeted relational understanding of the equal sign as well as standard and nonstandard equation solving. Intervention occurred for 16 weeks, 3 times per week, 30 min per session. Sequential mediation models revealed main effects, in which each intervention condition significantly and substantially outperformed the business-as-usual condition, corroborating prior research on the efficacy of schema word-problem intervention. Yet despite comparable effects on word-problem outcomes between the two word-problem conditions, the process by which effects accrued differed: An indirect path via equal-sign understanding and then equation solving was significant only for the word-problem intervention condition with embedded prealgebraic reasoning instruction. Additionally, the effect of this condition on equal-sign reasoning was strong. Given the link between equal-sign reasoning for success with algebra and the importance of algebra for success with advanced mathematics, results suggest an advantage for embedding prealgebraic reasoning instruction within word-problem intervention.

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their existing curriculum across all content areas. This report presents the results on implementation of LDC in the New York City Department of Education during the third year of the intervention, and the impact of the program across multiple years. As of 2018-2019, participating schools included 13 from Cohort 1, which began implementation during the 2016-2017 school year, and 23 from Cohort 2, which commenced at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. Our primary impact analyses, presented in this report for the first time, pool teachers from both cohorts to measure their impact after participating in LDC for 2 consecutive years (2017-2018 student outcomes for Cohort 1 and 2018-2019 student outcomes for Cohort 2). Teachers and administrators appreciated LDC and perceived positive impact on their practice and their students' learning. Quasi-experimental analyses tended to produce positive estimates for the impact of LDC on student English language arts (ELA) assessment scores, but the differences did not reach the level of statistical significance. [For the 2017-2018 evaluation report, see ED606884.]

This i3 scale-up study examined the implementation and effectiveness of a 3-year literacy intervention developed by the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI). The study was a school-level cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 55 elementary schools from four states. Implementation results showed a high level of fidelity of intervention implementation across the treatment schools in the four urban school districts that had not previously worked with CLI. Intent-to-treat analyses of observation data showed that the intervention's effects on classroom literacy environment and teacher practices were not statistically significant in Year 1. By Year 3, however, treatment teachers who had taught in intervention schools for all 3 years were rated significantly higher in both the quality of classroom environment and the quality of literacy instructional practices than their peers in control schools. Analyses of student achievement data indicated that the CLI intervention had no statistically significant impact on students' reading achievement in any of the 3 intervention years. This held true for the overall student sample and for grade-specific subsamples, based on the overall literacy test score and for literacy subtest scores. In addition, differential impact analyses revealed that the impact of the CLI intervention on students' literacy achievement did not differ significantly by the level of students' baseline achievement. Further evidence from exploratory analyses showed that the intervention had no statistically significant impact on the English proficiency of English learner students or on teachers' knowledge of beginning reading practices. Because of the high amount of teacher attrition, an additional exploratory analysis that restricted the sample to only students of teachers who were stable across all 3 years in both conditions. There were positive and statistically significant effects for students in the CLI intervention condition who had stable teachers (teachers who had greater opportunity for intervention exposure) and who entered in Grade 1 and progressed to Grade 3 during the course of the study.

The three-tiered Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework promotes the development of systems and data analysis to guide the selection and implementation of evidence based practices across multiple tiers. The current study examined the effects of universal (tier 1) or school-wide PBIS (SW-PBIS) in one state's scale-up of this tier of the framework. Annual propensity score weights were generated to examine the longitudinal effects of SW-PBIS from 2006–07 through 2011–12. School-level archival and administrative data outcomes were examined using panel models with an autoregressive structure. The sample included 1316 elementary, middle, and high schools. Elementary schools trained in SW-PBIS demonstrated statistically significantly lower suspensions during the fourth and fifth study years (i.e., small effect size) and higher reading and math proficiency rates during the first two study years as well as in one and two later years (i.e., small to large effect sizes), respectively. Secondary schools implementing SW-PBIS had statistically significantly lower suspensions and truancy rates during the second study year and higher reading and math proficiency rates during the second and third study years. These findings demonstrate medium effect sizes for all outcomes except suspensions. Given the widespread use of SW-PBIS across nearly 26,000 schools in the U.S., this study has important implications for educational practices and policies.

The study examined the effect of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in instructional leadership roles, operationalized as mentors to novice teachers, on (a) classroom practices of mentored novice teachers in Grades K-12 and (b) student achievement of mentored teachers' students in Grades 4-8. The study compared outcomes between NBCT mentors and non-NBCT mentors. The study examined the effect of NBCT mentors after one academic year and was conducted in San Francisco Unified School District. Using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, we examined novice teachers' classroom practices on the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, Instructional Support, and across all three domains. The results did not reach statistical significance, but the effect sizes for Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and a global measure across all domains suggest meaningful differences between classroom practices of novice teachers mentored by NBCTs and non-NBCTs. These effect sizes were 0.28, 0.28, and 0.21 standard deviations, respectively. The effect size for the domain of Instructional Support was near zero at -0.06 standard deviations. Our sample size for the analysis of classroom practices did not have sufficient power to estimate differences at a statistically significant level. We examined student achievement using the state's standardized test scores in mathematics and English language arts. Our achievement measure includes either subject: That is, we did not estimate effects separately for mathematics and English language arts. The results suggest that students taught by teachers mentored by NBCTs had a higher level of achievement than students mentored by non-NBCTs. The difference was statistically significant at a p value of 0.05, and the effect size was meaningful at 0.18 standard deviations. Small sample sizes and low statistical power prevent us from making confident conclusions about the effect of NBCTs in instructional leadership roles on classroom practices of supported teachers and student achievement. However, the evidence is encouraging and warrants additional rigorous research on the impact of NBCTs as instructional leaders.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG, Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969) and the PATHS Curriculum (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies; Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, & Quamma, 1995) represent 2 universal, elementary school, preventive interventions which have been shown in large-scale, randomized controlled trials to have an immediate and beneficial impact (GBG, Dolan et al., 1993; PATHS, Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group [CPPRG], 1999) on aggressive/disruptive and off-task behavior. Importantly, both risk behaviors are strong predictors of antisocial behavior, drug abuse, and low educational and occupational attainment in adolescence and young adulthood (Kellam et al., 2008). What has yet to be explored within a randomized controlled trial is whether the combination of these interventions would yield significantly greater impact on aggressive/disruptive and off-task behavior than the GBG alone. One reason for expecting additive if not synergistic effects as a result of combining the two interventions is that the GBG, by increasing attention to task and reducing disruptive behavior in the classroom, may facilitate the acquisition of the emotion regulation, social problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills taught in PATHS. To that end, a group randomized, effectiveness trial was carried out, wherein 27 schools were randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions, (a) the PAX GBG Alone (Embry, Staatemeier, Richardson, Lauger, & Mitich, 2003), (b) PATHS to PAX (that is, the PAX GBG + PATHS), or (c) a standard setting (control) condition. Classroom observations and teacher ratings of student behavior were carried out at pretest and 6 months later at posttest. Limited evidence of the superiority of the combined approach was found and potential reasons why and future directions are discussed.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG, Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969) and the PATHS Curriculum (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies; Greenberg, Kusche, Cook, & Quamma, 1995) represent 2 universal, elementary school, preventive interventions which have been shown in large-scale, randomized controlled trials to have an immediate and beneficial impact (GBG, Dolan et al., 1993; PATHS, Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group [CPPRG], 1999) on aggressive/disruptive and off-task behavior. Importantly, both risk behaviors are strong predictors of antisocial behavior, drug abuse, and low educational and occupational attainment in adolescence and young adulthood (Kellam et al., 2008). What has yet to be explored within a randomized controlled trial is whether the combination of these interventions would yield significantly greater impact on aggressive/disruptive and off-task behavior than the GBG alone. One reason for expecting additive if not synergistic effects as a result of combining the two interventions is that the GBG, by increasing attention to task and reducing disruptive behavior in the classroom, may facilitate the acquisition of the emotion regulation, social problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills taught in PATHS. To that end, a group randomized, effectiveness trial was carried out, wherein 27 schools were randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions, (a) the PAX GBG Alone (Embry, Staatemeier, Richardson, Lauger, & Mitich, 2003), (b) PATHS to PAX (that is, the PAX GBG + PATHS), or (c) a standard setting (control) condition. Classroom observations and teacher ratings of student behavior were carried out at pretest and 6 months later at posttest. Limited evidence of the superiority of the combined approach was found and potential reasons why and future directions are discussed.

This study leverages naturally occurring lotteries for oversubscribed Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program sites between 2007 and 2011, for 3,182 children (M = 4.5 years old) to estimate the impacts of winning a first choice lottery and enrolling in Boston prekindergarten versus losing a first choice lottery and not enrolling on children's enrollment and persistence in district schools, grade retention, special education placement, and third-grade test scores. There are large effects on enrollment and persistence, but no effects on other examined outcomes for this subsample. Importantly, children who competed for oversubscribed seats were not representative of all appliers and almost all control-group children attended center-based preschool. Findings contribute to the larger evidence base and raise important considerations for future prekindergarten lottery-based studies. [This is the online version of an article published in "Child Development" (ISSN 0009-3920).]

The Parent Leadership Institute (PLI) of Children's Aid (CA), funded via a 2013 Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant operated between the 2014-15 through 2018-19 school years. Key goals of the PLI included: (1) improving the capacity of parents to effectively engage in the school community in support of their child; and (2) increasing the capacity of school staff to create and support environments which are welcoming to and supportive of the active engagement of parents as key members of the school community. Through implementation of the PLI, CA expanded its partnership with six schools located in the South Bronx community of Morrisania, an area characterized by high levels of poverty, health disparities, and crime, and low levels of academic achievement and attainment among both children and adults. This report serves as the final report on this phase of the PLI and includes an exploration of implementation during year 4 (2016-17 school year) and analyses of quantitative data on student academic performance. [This report was prepared for Children's Aid New York.]

In this methodological illustration, we examined Tier 2 social skills interventions to support school success for students with or at risk for emotional or behavior disorders. We presented findings examining the usability and feasibility of the "Social Skills Improvement System-Intervention Guide" and "Positive Action Counselor's Kit," which emphasize teaching and reinforcing social skills associated with success within and beyond school settings. We described how data-informed decision-making processes were conducted to design, implement, and evaluate social skills interventions, including monitoring student outcomes across the two programs. We end with a discussion of barriers and enablers toward conducting data-informed social skills interventions in authentic educational settings.

This study explores preliminary results from a pedagogical intervention designed to improve instruction for all students, particularly emergent bilinguals in the United States (or English language learners). The study is part of a larger efficacy randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Instructional Conversation (IC) pedagogy for improving the school achievement of upper elementary grade students. Standardized achievement student data were gathered from (N = 74) randomized teachers' classrooms. Preliminary ordinary least squares analyses of the intervention appear promising for English language arts in general. Limitations in baseline equivalency for students after teacher randomization are discussed along with strategies to overcome them and implications concerned with the education of all students, notably those whose parents speak languages other than English at home.

"INSPIRE" is an Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant funded by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. "INSPIRE" provides an innovative integrated K-12 STEM pipeline approach focused on STEM course content and instructional redesign. The INSPIRE model was implemented in Cabarrus County Schools (CCS), which is among the largest school systems in North Carolina, serving nearly 30,000 students in 39 schools. The impact evaluation included two studies that examined the effect of INSPIRE on mathematics and science achievement as measured by North Carolina standardized End-of-Grades assessments. The elementary study (Study 1) used a three-year, longitudinal, single-cohort quasi-experimental design (QED) to assess the impact of INSPIRE on math achievement at the end of 5th grade after two years of program exposure. The secondary study (Study 2) used an individual-level, longitudinal, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with blocking by school level and cohort to assess the effects of INSPIRE on math and science achievement at the end of 7th and 10th grades after two years of program exposure. For both studies, we compared the outcomes of INSPIRE students with similar students from schools that did not offer a STEM program. For the elementary study, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match INSPIRE elementary students and comparison student samples at baseline (on pre-test math achievement scores, gender, minority status, and economically disadvantaged status) and baseline equivalence was established all pre-test assessment measures; this study met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Group Design Standards with Reservations. For the secondary study, the overall and differential attrition rates were low based on the WWC attrition standards (WWC, 2017); this study met WWC Group Design Standards without Reservations. The results of the elementary study indicated a statistically significant difference between the "INSPIRE" treatment group and the business-as-usual comparison group on the math achievement outcome. Comparison students reported a statistically significant higher increase in math achievement than "INSPIRE" students. Results of the secondary study indicated no statistically significant difference between the "INSPIRE" treatment group and the business-as-usual comparison group on the math and science achievement outcome. The duration of students' exposure to INSPIRE, fidelity of implementation, alignment between PBL instruction and NC standardized assessments, and contextual factors that might have weakened the intervention strength relative to business-as-usual conditions are discussed as possible factors that account for these findings. The report concludes with suggestions for future research and implications for education policy.

We examined the efficacy of an afterschool multicomponent reading intervention for third- through fifth-grade students with reading difficulties. A total of 419 students were identified for participation based on a 90 standard score or below on a screening measure of the Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension. Participating students were randomly assigned to a business as usual comparison condition or one of two reading treatments. All treatment students received 30 min of computer-based instruction plus 30 min of small-group tutoring for four to five times per week. No statistically significant reading comprehension posttest group differences were identified (p > 0.05). The limitations of this study included high attrition and absenteeism. These findings extend those from a small sample of experimental studies examining afterschool reading interventions and provide initial evidence that more instruction, after school, may not yield the desired outcome of improved comprehension.

Disruptive student behavior, a common concern for teachers, presents particular challenges for those who teach art. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a multitiered intervention for implementing effective classroom management strategies aligned with schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports. CW-FIT has proven effective in general education classrooms, with its emphasis on social skills instruction, teacher praise, group contingency, and positive reinforcement. This first study of CW-FIT implementation in elementary art classrooms examined its effects on student on-task behavior. The researchers used a single-subject (AB) design in one classroom and reversal designs (ABAB) in two classrooms. Results indicated student on-task behavior significantly improved, and the teacher was able to implement CW-FIT with fidelity as well as increase her praise-to-reprimand ratios. Both teacher and students found the intervention to be socially valid. Study implications and limitations are discussed.

The Good Behaviour Game (GBG) is a universal behaviour management intervention that aims to to improve pupil behaviour with the following core elements: classroom rules, team membership, monitoring of behaviour, and positive reinforcement (rewards). While it is primarily used with children in primary schools, it can also be implemented in early years and secondary education settings. Over the course of implementation, it is intended that there is a natural progression in terms of the types of rewards given (from tangible rewards such as stickers to more abstract rewards such as free time), how long the game is played for (from 10 minutes to a whole lesson), at what frequency (from three times a week to every day), and when rewards are given (at the end of the game, the end of the day, and the end of the week). A randomised controlled trial design was used in which 77 schools were randomly allocated to implement the GBG for two years (38 schools) or continue their normal practices (39 schools). The target cohort was pupils in Year 3 (aged 7-8) in the first year of implementation (N=3084). The project was designed as an efficacy trial. Alongside the assessment of outcomes, the evaluators undertook a comprehensive mixed-methods implementation and process evaluation involving observations, interviews and focus groups. Findings showed: (1) no evidence that the GBG improves pupils' reading; (2) no evidence that the GBG improves pupils' behaviour (specifically, concentration problems, disruptive behaviour, and pro-social behaviour); (3) implementation was variable and in particular, the frequency and duration with which the GBG was played did not reach the levels expected by the developer; (4) higher levels of pupil engagement with the game were associated with improved reading, concentration, and disruptive behaviour scores at follow-up; and (5) tentative evidence that boys identified as at-risk of developing conduct problems at the beginning of the project benefitted from the GBG.

The present study is a wait-list controlled, randomized study investigating a teacher coaching approach that emphasizes formative assessment and visual performance feedback to enhance elementary school teachers' classroom practices. The coaching model targeted instructional and behavioral management practices as measured by the Classroom Strategies Assessment System (CSAS) Observer and Teacher Forms. The sample included 89 general education teachers, stratified by grade level, and randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) immediate coaching, or (b) waitlist control. Results indicated that, relative to the waitlist control, teachers in immediate coaching demonstrated significantly greater improvements in observations of behavior management strategy use but not for observations of instructional strategy use. Observer- and teacher-completed ratings of behavioral management strategy use at postassessment were significantly improved by both raters; ratings of instructional strategy use were significantly improved for teacher but not observer ratings. A brief coaching intervention improved teachers' use of observed behavior management strategies and self-reported use of behavior management and instructional strategies.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a school-wide attendance and truancy intervention and universal procedures (ATI-UP) on student attendance. Student attendance was measured through average daily attendance and the percentage of students who would be considered chronically absent, i.e., missing 10% or more of school. The sample included 27 elementary schools in Oregon implementing school-wide positive behavior intervention and supports (SWPBIS) with varying levels of fidelity. Results indicate that schools can have a moderate effect on increasing average daily attendance (ADA) and a small effect on decreasing chronic absenteeism, although these results were not statistically significant. SWPBIS implementation did not act as a statistically significant moderator on the ATI-UP effects, although the treatment effect on ADA decreased with higher SWPBIS implementation. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-component consultation package in improving teachers' classroom management skills, particularly among teachers with lower baseline levels of knowledge, skills, and intervention-supportive beliefs. Participants were 58 elementary school teachers (93% female; 50% Non-Hispanic White) who received up to eight biweekly consultation sessions focused on general classroom management strategies and implementation of a daily report card (DRC) intervention with one target student with or at-risk for ADHD. Teachers were randomly assigned to either a comparison consultation condition designed to mirror current best practices (Frank & Kratochwill, 2014; Noell & Gansle, 2014) or a multi-component condition designed to simultaneously address teacher knowledge, skills, and beliefs as possible barriers to implementation of classroom interventions. Teachers in both conditions showed significant improvements in labeled praise, appropriate response to student rule violations, and general competence in classroom management. In support of the hypotheses, teachers with lower baseline levels of knowledge, skills, and intervention-supportive beliefs demonstrated more improvement in key outcomes in response to multi-component consultation, as compared to the comparison consultation (Cohen's "d" ranged from 0.33 to 1.12). Implications for research and practice in school consultation are discussed. [This paper was published in "School Mental Health" v9 p218-234 2017.]

Understanding teachers' stress is of critical importance to address the challenges in today's educational climate. Growing numbers of teachers are reporting high levels of occupational stress, and high levels of teacher turnover are having a negative impact on education quality. Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE for Teachers) is a mindfulness-based professional development program designed to promote teachers' social and emotional competence and improve the quality of classroom interactions. The efficacy of the program was assessed using a cluster randomized trial design involving 36 urban elementary schools and 224 teachers. The CARE for Teachers program involved 30 hr of in-person training in addition to intersession phone coaching. At both pre- and postintervention, teachers completed self-report measures and assessments of their participating students. Teachers' classrooms were observed and coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Analyses showed that CARE for Teachers had statistically significant direct positive effects on adaptive emotion regulation, mindfulness, psychological distress, and time urgency. CARE for Teachers also had a statistically significant positive effect on the emotional support domain of the CLASS. The present findings indicate that CARE for Teachers is an effective professional development both for promoting teachers' social and emotional competence and increasing the quality of their classroom interactions.

Students with deficits in social skills have been found to experience both short- and long-term problems, including interpersonal conflicts and academic difficulties. These problems are compounded for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT), a multi-tiered classroom management program, has been shown to be effective in increasing on-task behavior and decreasing disruptive behavior of students at risk for EBD. The present study examined the effects of CW-FIT on teachers' ratings of students' social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence. A randomized control trial was completed with 160 elementary school teachers located in 19 schools across three states. Teachers completed rating scales on 350 students identified as at risk for EBD, for whom consent had been obtained. After being randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions, CW-FIT was implemented for approximately four months in treatment classrooms, after which teachers completed post-test ratings on all students. CW-FIT implementation was associated with significantly improved teacher ratings of social skills and academic competence for students at risk for EBD, but no significant changes in teacher ratings of student problem behaviors were found. Higher fidelity of CW-FIT implementation was associated with improved outcomes. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are addressed. [This paper was published in "Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions."]

This article reports on 2 experiments in inner-city Baltimore evaluating a computer-assisted tutoring approach, Tutoring With Alphie (TWA), in which 1 paraprofessional can work with up to 6 children at a time. In Study 1, we randomly assigned 14 schools to receive TWA or to continue with whatever approaches they were currently using. Each experimental school (n = 8) received a half-time paraprofessional tutor. Struggling readers in the lowest 30% of Grades 1-3 received tutoring using TWA. In comparison to control schools (n = 6), reading outcomes strongly favored TWA (effect size = +0.46, p < 0.01). In Study 2, new students in 7 of the 8 TWA schools received tutoring, and 6 schools continued as controls. Results again favored the TWA group (effect size = +0.40, p < 0.001). The findings support the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using technology to offer tutoring to many more students than could have received it individually.

This article reports on 2 experiments in inner-city Baltimore evaluating a computer-assisted tutoring approach, Tutoring With Alphie (TWA), in which 1 paraprofessional can work with up to 6 children at a time. In Study 1, we randomly assigned 14 schools to receive TWA or to continue with whatever approaches they were currently using. Each experimental school (n = 8) received a half-time paraprofessional tutor. Struggling readers in the lowest 30% of Grades 1-3 received tutoring using TWA. In comparison to control schools (n = 6), reading outcomes strongly favored TWA (effect size = +0.46, p < 0.01). In Study 2, new students in 7 of the 8 TWA schools received tutoring, and 6 schools continued as controls. Results again favored the TWA group (effect size = +0.40, p < 0.001). The findings support the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of using technology to offer tutoring to many more students than could have received it individually.

During the fall of the 2016-17 school year, first, second, and third grade students in six elementary schools -- two in St. Paul and Eagan, Minnesota, and four in Bedford County in the Piedmont region of Virginia -- were assigned to take part in randomized efficacy trials carried out for the purpose of rigorously evaluating the impact of "Tutoring with the Lightning Squad" on reading outcomes. The study was designed to follow procedures that could qualify for "meets standards without reservation" in the What Works Clearinghouse (Standards 3.0). "Tutoring with the Lightning Squad" showed a significant and substantial impact on Woodcock measures of Passage Comprehension and Word Attack for students who received at least 25 sessions of tutoring. No significant differences were seen for Letter-Word Identification -- a result which can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that this skill is specifically addressed only in the earliest levels of the program. Results did not vary for students by grade, gender, or ethnicity. In summary, this efficacy study suggests that "Tutoring with the Lightning Squad" has the potential to provide schools with a cost-effective tool for increasing reading levels, as the impacts of our program among students in small groups supervised by a paraprofessional tutor compare favorably with the much more expensive one-to-one tutoring models considered the most effective intervention for struggling readers.

Data-based instructional programs have proliferated in American schools despite limited evidence of their effectiveness in improving educator practice and raising student achievement. We report results from a two-year school-randomized evaluation of the Achievement Network (ANet), a program providing schools with standards-aligned interim assessments and intensive supports for instructional data use. Survey data show that ANet increased teacher satisfaction with the timeliness and clarity of the data they receive and available supports for instructional data-use and caused them to review and use interim assessment data more often. ANet did not, however, affect their confidence in data use or how frequently they differentiated instruction. Student impact estimates show no overall effect on student achievement in English language arts or mathematics. Despite the lack program effects on student achievement, we find that achievement is positively correlated with our survey-based measures of teacher perceptions and practices around instructional data use. Exploratory analyses suggest that the success of ANet in improving teacher practice and student achievement varies with the pre-existing capacity of schools to engage in data-based instruction. Schools rated by program staff as having a high level of readiness to implement the intervention prior to random assignment experienced positive impacts on student achievement, while those rated as a having a low level of readiness experienced negative impacts. The following are appended: (1) School Screener Scoring Rubric; (2) Year 2 School Leader and Teacher Survey Scale Items; and (3) School Leader and Teacher Survey Impact Tables.

In August 2010, the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) received a grant of more than $25 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) program for a five-year study to validate its Leadership Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) model in three very diverse regions of the United States: rural North Carolina, northern New Mexico, and the Houston Independent School District (HISD). This current report focuses on the confirmatory and exploratory research questions submitted to i3 for the two studies conducted for the LASER i3 validation grant, providing clarifying detail related to methodology and instrumentation. The studies were conducted to answer two confirmatory research questions and two exploratory research questions.

To improve the reading comprehension outcomes of children in high-poverty schools, policymakers need to identify reading interventions that show promise of effectiveness at scale. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost and large-scale summer reading intervention that provided comprehension lessons at the end of the school year and stimulated home-based summer reading routines with narrative and informational books. We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 59 elementary schools, 463 classrooms, and 6,383 second and third graders and examined outcomes on the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) reading comprehension test administered nine months after the intervention, in the children's third- or fourth-grade year. We found that on this delayed outcome, the treatment had a statistically significant impact on children's reading comprehension, improving performance by 0.04 SD (standard deviation) overall and 0.05 SD in high-poverty schools. We also found, in estimates from an instrumental variables analysis, that children's participation in home-based summer book reading routines improved reading comprehension. The cost-effectiveness ratio for the intervention compared favorably to existing compensatory education programs that target high-poverty schools.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons Project on the literacy and life skills of students in grades 3, 4, and 5. A4L Lessons is a supplementary literacy curriculum designed to blend the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to raise student achievement in reading and writing, as well as to develop literacy and life skills. A cluster-randomized trial was employed, randomly assigning 32 elementary schools in the Beaverton School District in Oregon to receive the A4L intervention or the status-quo control condition. Participants included approximately 5,700 students in the 16 intervention schools and approximately 6,100 students in the 16 control schools. Nearly 40% of the participants qualified for free/reduced-price lunch, approximately 17% were English language learners, and nearly 50% were racial/ethnic minorities. Achievement on the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) Reading/Literature test (i.e., the state reading test) were compared for the two groups. Achievement on the Comprehensive Cross Unit (CCU) Assessments (i.e., tests designed specifically to measure the impact of the A4L Lessons Project on literacy and life skills) were compared for a subset of six intervention and six control schools. Results from confirmatory analyses revealed no statistically significant impacts of the A4L Lessons Project on students' achievement on the OAKS Reading/Literature test. The effect sizes based on differences between the treatment and control students on the OAKS Reading/Literature test after one, two, and three years of program participation were very small, ranging from -0.03 to 0.05. Results from exploratory analyses revealed that treatment students in grade 4 scored significantly higher than control students on the CCU Assessment, indicating a positive impact of the A4L Lessons Project on student literacy and life skills. The effect sizes indexing the differences ranged from 0.30 to 0.36 across study years. Results from exploratory analyses using the CCU Assessments with students in grades 3 and 5 did not reach statistical significance, indicating that the A4L Lessons Project did not produce a positive impact on student literacy and life skills in these grades. Further research relying on more dependently sensitive assessments may be needed to better determine the impact of the A4L Lessons on students' literacy achievement. Tables are appended.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI)--an i3-funded early learning program aimed at improving the quality of teaching and student outcomes in grades PreK through third grade in high need schools. The FMTI schools participated in four program components: (1) a job-embedded graduate degree program with an early childhood specialization, (2) a Teacher Fellows program through which teachers engage in yearlong inquiry projects around their practice, (3) a Principal Fellows program during which principals work together to strengthen their facilitative leadership skills, and (4) Summer Leadership Institutes to review data and engage in action planning. The impact evaluation had two primary goals: (1) to assess the school-level impact of FMTI on teachers and students; and (2) to assess the impact of FMTI on teachers enrolled in the job-embedded early childhood graduate degree program and their students. To achieve the first goal, the evaluation used a cluster random assignment design, in which 40 Miami-Dade County Title I public elementary schools were randomly assigned to the FMTI program or a status-quo control condition. To achieve the second goal, the evaluation used an embedded quasi-experimental design using propensity score matching and difference-in-differences approaches. SRI International administered schoolwide surveys at baseline and in the final year of the grant in both intervention and control schools; conducted classroom observations of job-embedded graduate program teachers and a matched comparison group using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) early in the teachers' first year of the graduate program and a follow-up observation occurred after or near the end of the program, with program teachers and sample of comparison teachers; and gathered student reading and math achievement data on children in kindergarten through fifth grade who were at the 40 study schools at the time of random assignment for a total of more than 10,000 students in the FMTI schools and a similar number of students in the control schools. The study did not find school-level impacts on student achievement or on the majority of outcomes measured through the teacher survey. Analysis of the impact of the job-embedded graduate degree program found a positive difference of 1.7 points for participating teachers in the instructional quality domain of the CLASS compared to matched comparison teachers. The evaluation also found positive and statistically significant results for the graduate program teachers compared to comparison teachers on the teacher survey in the areas of engagement in leadership activities, engagement in governance activities, engagement in outreach activities, self-reported early childhood knowledge, and self-reported general instructional knowledge. No significant differences in math or reading achievement were found for students of the graduate program teachers compared to students of a matched sample of teachers in control schools. The implementation of the FMTI program was not sufficiently robust to definitively determine its effectiveness. FMTI treatment schools that achieved medium or high fidelity of implementation across the three years experienced more positive outcomes. The evaluation has illuminated lessons about how to effectively provide job-embedded professional development to support teacher quality improvement. The following are appended: (1) Methods; (2) Implementation Fidelity; and (3) Impact Estimates.

This study uses a randomized design to assess the impact of the Balanced Leadership program on principal leadership, instructional climate, principal efficacy, staff turnover, and student achievement in a sample of rural northern Michigan schools. Participating principals report feeling more efficacious, using more effective leadership practices, and having a better instructional climate than control group principals. However, teacher reports indicate that the instructional climate of the schools did not change. Furthermore, we find no impact of the program on student achievement. There was an impact of the program on staff turnover, with principals and teachers in treatment schools significantly more likely to remain in the same school over the 3 years of the study than staff in control schools.

TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement was launched in 1999 as a comprehensive educator effectiveness model to offer career advancement and leadership opportunities for educators, a fair and transparent evaluation process linked to job-embedded professional development and performance-based compensation, which culminate in improved instructional practices and student achievement. This study illustrates the impact of the TAP System in 66 Louisiana schools. These are primarily high-need schools, with average free/reduced price lunch eligibility of 86%, impacting more than 32,000 students each year. The authors report evidence of a positive effect of the TAP System on student achievement using two complementary analysis strategies: (1) They found a significant positive effect of TAP on 2012-13 K-8 Assessment Index scores, controlling for previous achievement, percentage of students receiving free or reduced price lunch, school configuration, school size (number of students), and percentage of English language learners. The 66 TAP schools scored 3.7 points higher on average than non-TAP schools statewide; and (2) They also found that the TAP schools had significantly greater 2012-13 Assessment Index scores than a group of matched control schools. The TAP schools scored 5.5 points higher on average than their matched controls.

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction on solution accuracy in children with and without serious math difficulties (MD) in problem solving. Children's posttest solution accuracy was compared on standardized and experimental measures as a function of strategy conditions. Strategy conditions included curriculum materials that gradually increased the number of irrelevant propositions within word problems. Children in Grade 3 (N = 193) were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: materials + verbal strategies (e.g., underlining the question), materials + verbal + visual strategies, materials + visual strategies (e.g., correctly placing numbers in diagrams), materials only-no overt strategies, and an untreated control. Compared to children with MD in the control condition, posttest outcomes for children with MD on standardized measures improved significantly under verbal + visual conditions, whereas posttest scores on the experimental problem-solving measures improved under the materials-only condition. Those strategy conditions found least effective made substantial demands on children's working memory capacity. The authors discuss benefits and limitations of strategy instruction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of explicit, direct, and generative strategy training and working memory capacity (WMC) on mathematical word problem-solving accuracy in elementary schoolchildren. In this study, children in third grade ("N" = 82) identified as at risk for math difficulties (MD) were randomly assigned (within classrooms) to one of three treatment conditions that explicitly directed students' attention to different propositions within word problems--paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete)--or an untreated control condition. A significant treatment by covariate design indicated that generative strategy outcomes were conditional on the level of pretest WMC. A clear advantage in posttest problem-solving accuracy and solution planning was found for the complete generative condition relative to the control condition, but this advantage was conditional on setting WMC to a high level. Although no significant treatment advantages were found for solution accuracy when WMC was set to a low level, treatment advantages relative to the control condition were found for measures of schema activation. The results indicated that the effectiveness of generative strategies among children at risk for MD was directly dependent on the level of WMC.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of explicit, direct, and generative strategy training and working memory capacity (WMC) on mathematical word problem-solving accuracy in elementary schoolchildren. In this study, children in third grade ("N" = 82) identified as at risk for math difficulties (MD) were randomly assigned (within classrooms) to one of three treatment conditions that explicitly directed students' attention to different propositions within word problems--paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete)--or an untreated control condition. A significant treatment by covariate design indicated that generative strategy outcomes were conditional on the level of pretest WMC. A clear advantage in posttest problem-solving accuracy and solution planning was found for the complete generative condition relative to the control condition, but this advantage was conditional on setting WMC to a high level. Although no significant treatment advantages were found for solution accuracy when WMC was set to a low level, treatment advantages relative to the control condition were found for measures of schema activation. The results indicated that the effectiveness of generative strategies among children at risk for MD was directly dependent on the level of WMC.

A randomized trial involving 19 elementary schools (K-5) was conducted to replicate and extend two previous experimental studies of the effects of a voluntary summer reading program that provided (a) books matched to students' reading levels and interests and (b) teacher scaffolding in the form of end-of-year comprehension lessons. Matched schools were randomly assigned to implement one of two lesson types. Within schools, students were randomly assigned to a control condition or one of two treatment conditions: a basic treatment condition replicating procedures used in the previous studies or an enhanced treatment condition that added teacher calls in the summer. During summer vacation, students in the treatment conditions received two lesson books and eight books matched to their reading level and interests. Overall, there were no significant treatment effects, and treatment effects did not differ across lesson type. However, there was a significant interaction between the treatment conditions and poverty measured at the school level. The effects of the treatments were positive for high-poverty schools (Cohen's d = 0.08 and 0.11, respectively), defined as schools where 75-100% of the students were receiving free or reduced-price lunch (FRL). For moderate-poverty schools (45-74% FRL), the effects of the treatments were negative (Cohen's d = -0.11 and -0.12, respectively). The results underscore the importance of looking at patterns of treatment effects across different contexts, settings, and populations.

Previous research has linked inquiry-based science instruction (i.e., science instruction that engages students in doing science rather than just learning about science) with greater gains in student learning than text-book based methods (Vanosdall, Klentschy, Hedges & Weisbaum, 2007; Banilower, 2007; Ferguson 2009; Bredderman, 1983; Shymansky, Hedges, & Woodworth, 1990). The LASER model, being validated in the current study, has already been the subject of a number of case studies (RMC Research Corporation, 2010; Horizon Research, 2010; Vanosdall et al., 2007). However, experimental studies of the type that might establish a causal link between program implementation, student science learning, and other valued outcomes have yet to be conducted. Only a handful of studies have involved random assignment, and most of these have involved random assignment of students in a relatively small number of classrooms (see Furtak et al. 2009). With support from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (i3), the current validation study of the LASER Model encompasses approximately 60,000 students, 1,900 teachers, and over 140 district administrators and principals. The efficacy of the LASER program has important implications for both research and practice when working with high-poverty schools and districts, who have limited resources and time available for science interventions. LASER's initial success with early learners also demonstrates its potential for reducing the development of chronic, long-term deficiencies and academic problems. One table and one figure are appended.

Children with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) struggle to achieve social and academic outcomes. Many studies have demonstrated self-management interventions to be effective at reducing problem behavior and increasing positive social and academic behaviors. Functional behavior assessment (FBA) information may be used in designing effective self-management interventions. The purpose of this study was to link self-management procedures to hypothesized behavior function in three children with E/BD. Results demonstrated that self-monitoring (SM) alone could be enhanced using information derived from FBA and that consequences delivered by teachers were less effective than a self-management treatment package.

Cognitive strategies are important tools for children with math difficulties (MD) in learning to solve word problems. The effectiveness of strategy training, however, depends on working memory capacity (WMC). Thus, children with MD but with relatively higher WMC are more likely to benefit from strategy training, whereas children with lower WMC may have their resources overtaxed. Children in Grade 3 (N = 147) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) verbal strategies (e.g., underlining question sentence), (b) visual strategies (e.g., correctly placing numbers in diagrams), (c) verbal plus visual strategies, or (d) an untreated control. In line with the predictions, children with MD and higher WMC benefited from verbal or visual strategies relative to those in the control condition on posttest measures of problem solving, calculation, and operation span. In contrast, cognitive strategies decreased problem-solving accuracy in children with low WMC. Thus, improvement in problem solving and related measures, as well as the impairment in learning outcomes, was moderated by WMC.

Cognitive strategies are important tools for children with math difficulties (MD) in learning to solve word problems. The effectiveness of strategy training, however, depends on working memory capacity (WMC). Thus, children with MD but with relatively higher WMC are more likely to benefit from strategy training, whereas children with lower WMC may have their resources overtaxed. Children in Grade 3 (N = 147) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) verbal strategies (e.g., underlining question sentence), (b) visual strategies (e.g., correctly placing numbers in diagrams), (c) verbal plus visual strategies, or (d) an untreated control. In line with the predictions, children with MD and higher WMC benefited from verbal or visual strategies relative to those in the control condition on posttest measures of problem solving, calculation, and operation span. In contrast, cognitive strategies decreased problem-solving accuracy in children with low WMC. Thus, improvement in problem solving and related measures, as well as the impairment in learning outcomes, was moderated by WMC.

In this study, we examined the contribution of the extinction procedure in function-based interventions implemented in the general education classrooms of three at-risk elementary-aged students. Function-based interventions included antecedent adjustments, reinforcement procedures, and function-matched extinction procedures. Using a combined ABC and reversal phase design (A-B-A-B-C-B), a functional relation between the full intervention and dramatically improved levels of on-task behavior were clearly established. On removal of the extinction procedure, on-task behavior rapidly dropped to lower levels. Reinstatement of the full intervention occurred following the partial intervention condition. In every case, on-task levels rapidly improved. Using the "Intervention Rating Profile-15" and "Children's Intervention Rating Profile," acceptability ratings were highest for full intervention. Limitations and implications for further research are presented. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)

This article reports on the effectiveness of First Step to Success, a secondary-level intervention appropriate for students in early elementary school who experience moderate to severe behavior problems and are at risk for academic failure. The authors demonstrate the intervention's short-term effects on multiple behavioral and academic outcomes as delivered off-the-shelf in a variety of classrooms and schools across the country--effects that were mitigated by fidelity of implementation. Furthermore, the authors assess the body of evidence on First Step to Success against the standards for effectiveness and widespread dissemination promulgated by the Society for Prevention Research, thereby suggesting directions for further research. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

In a randomized controlled trial, 205 students were followed from grades 1 to 3 with a focus on changes in their writing trajectories following an evidence-based intervention during the spring of second grade. Students were identified as being at-risk (n = 138), and then randomized into treatment (n = 68) versus business-as-usual conditions (n = 70). A typical group also was included (n = 67). The writing intervention comprised Lesson Sets 4 and 7 from the Process Assessment of the Learner (PAL), and was conducted via small groups (three to six students) twice a week for 12 weeks in accordance with a response-to-intervention Tier 2 model. The primary outcome was the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II Written Expression Scale. Results indicated modest support for the PAL lesson plans, with an accelerated rate of growth in writing skills following treatment. There were no significant moderator effects, although there was evidence that the most globally impaired students demonstrated a more rapid rate of growth following treatment. These findings suggest the need for ongoing examination of evidence-based treatments in writing for young elementary students.

This study investigated the role of generative strategies and working memory capacity on word problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD). Within classrooms, children in Grade 3 with MD ("n" = 69) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete), or to an untreated control. An additional control group included children without MD ("n" = 22). Mixed regression modeling showed that generative strategies significantly improved posttest scores for children with MD compared with the control condition, but outcomes were related to the type of dependent measures. The Relevant and Complete treatment conditions improved problem-solving accuracy, the Complete condition improved problem component identification, and the Restate and Relevant conditions improved operation span performance when compared with the control conditions. Only the Relevant and Complete generative learning treatments allowed children with MD to catch up to children without MD, but the results were moderated by working memory capacity.

This study investigated the role of generative strategies and working memory capacity on word problem solving accuracy in children with math difficulties (MD). Within classrooms, children in Grade 3 with MD ("n" = 69) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: paraphrase question propositions (Restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (Relevant), and paraphrase all propositions (Complete), or to an untreated control. An additional control group included children without MD ("n" = 22). Mixed regression modeling showed that generative strategies significantly improved posttest scores for children with MD compared with the control condition, but outcomes were related to the type of dependent measures. The Relevant and Complete treatment conditions improved problem-solving accuracy, the Complete condition improved problem component identification, and the Restate and Relevant conditions improved operation span performance when compared with the control conditions. Only the Relevant and Complete generative learning treatments allowed children with MD to catch up to children without MD, but the results were moderated by working memory capacity.

This study explored the effects of a web-based decision support system ("Tutorial") for writing standards-based Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). A total of 35 teachers and 154 students participated across two academic years. Participants were assigned to one of three intervention groups based on level of "Tutorial" access: Full, Partial, or Comparison. Direct effects of the intervention on procedural and substantive elements of IEPs revealed that, although all groups had initial IEPs of similar quality, the Full Intervention group's post-"Tutorial" IEPs had a significantly higher proportion of substantive items rated as adequate than did the IEPs of other groups. The intervention's indirect effects were examined using student scores on the State Reading Assessment. The Full Intervention group demonstrated a higher rate of reading score gain than the other two groups during the academic year in which the IEP prepared with access to the "Tutorial" was implemented. Implications for educational practices and future research directions are discussed.

This study highlights the connections between two facets of teachers' skills--those supporting teachers' mathematical instructional interactions and those underlying social interactions within the classroom. The impact of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach and use of RC practices on the use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices was investigated in third-grade classrooms. Eighty-eight third-grade teachers from 24 elementary schools in a large suburban district were selected from a sample of teachers participating in a larger randomized-control study. Results showed that teachers at schools assigned randomly to receive training in the RC approach showed higher use of standards-based mathematics teaching practices than teachers in control schools. These findings were supported by analyses using fidelity of implementation: greater adherence to the intervention predicted the use of more standards-based mathematics teaching practices. Findings support the use of the RC approach for creating classroom social environments that facilitate standards-based mathematical practices. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)

Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) conducted a randomized-treatment experiment during the 2006-2007 school year to test the efficacy, for Title I students, of the technological and individualized EPGY Kindergarten through Grade 5 Mathematics Course Sequence, modified for the Title I schools. Restricting attention to students who were in the top half of the distribution of correct first-exercise attempts (a measure of work and engagement), we found substantial and statistically significant improvements in the 2007 California Standard Math Tests (CST07) scores compared to those of matched control students. Gains in second grade were larger than those in Grades 3 to 5. Less able students, as measured by their 2006 CST mathematics scores, also had, on average, larger gains.

Background: School-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs can influence not only SECD but also academic-related outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of one SECD program, Positive Action (PA), on educational outcomes among low-income, urban youth. Methods: The longitudinal study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design. Student-reported disaffection with learning and academic grades, and teacher ratings of academic ability and motivation were assessed for a cohort followed from grades 3 to 8. Aggregate school records were used to assess standardized test performance (for entire school, cohort, and demographic subgroups) and absenteeism (entire school). Multilevel growth-curve analyses tested program effects. Results: PA significantly improved growth in academic motivation and mitigated disaffection with learning. There was a positive impact of PA on absenteeism and marginally significant impact on math performance of all students. There were favorable program effects on reading for African American boys and cohort students transitioning between grades 7 and 8, and on math for girls and low-income students. Conclusions: A school-based SECD program was found to influence academic outcomes among students living in low-income, urban communities. Future research should examine mechanisms by which changes in SECD influence changes in academic outcomes.

Interim assessments are increasingly common in U.S. schools. We use high-quality data from a large-scale school-level cluster randomized experiment to examine the impact of two well-known commercial interim assessment programs on mathematics and reading achievement in Indiana. Results indicate that the treatment effects are positive but not consistently significant. The treatment effects are smaller in lower grades (i.e., kindergarten to second grade) and larger in upper grades (i.e., third to eighth grade). Significant treatment effects are detected in Grades 3 to 8, especially in third- and fourth-grade reading and in fifth- and sixth-grade mathematics.

The New York City Leadership Academy represents a unique experiment by a large urban school district to train and develop its own school leaders. Its 14-month Aspiring Principals Program (APP) selects and prepares aspiring principals to lead low-performing schools. This study provides the first systematic evaluation of achievement in APP-staffed schools after 3 or more years. We examine differences between APP principals and those advancing through other routes, the extent to which APP graduates serve and remain in schools, and their relative performance in mathematics and English language arts. On balance, we find that APP principals performed about as well as other new principals. If anything, they narrowed the gap with comparison schools in English language arts but lagged behind in mathematics. (Contains 2 figures, 9 tables, and 23 notes.)

The present study is a large-scale randomized trial testing the efficacy of a family-school partnership model (i.e., conjoint behavioral consultation) for promoting behavioral competence and decreasing problem behaviors of students identified by their teachers as disruptive. The focus of this study is on student behavioral outcomes and the potential role of parent-teacher relationships as a mediating variable. Two hundred seven students, from 82 classrooms, and their families and teachers participated. Results indicated that, relative to the control group, students in the conjoint behavioral consultation condition demonstrated greater increases in adaptive behaviors and social skills over the 8-week intervention period. Compared to teachers in the control group, those in the experimental conjoint behavioral consultation condition demonstrated significantly greater change in their reported relationships with parents. Furthermore, improvements in teacher-reported relationships with parents mediated the effects of conjoint behavioral consultation on positive changes in children's behaviors. Interpretation and implications of these findings are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

This study investigated the effects of functional communication training (FCT) implemented with concurrent schedules of differing magnitudes of reinforcement in lieu of extinction to reduce inappropriate behaviors and increase alternative mands. Participants were four adolescent students diagnosed with severe emotional and behavior disorders (SEBD), and mild to severe intellectual disabilities. Functional analyses revealed inappropriate behaviors as escape maintained. During subsequent FCT, the reinforcement provided for inappropriate behaviors was escape from task for 30 s (S[superscript R-]). The reinforcement for the alternative mand was a 30-s escape from task during which access to a preferred activity was provided (S[superscript R-]/PA). Results for three of the participants who had mild to moderate intellectual disabilities were highly successful. Time on task and generalization data also were recorded for two of the participants All sessions were implemented in the participants' natural classrooms by their classroom teachers, without the adverse side effects of extinction. (Contains 2 figures.)

In the first study, using a randomized experiment to measure the impact of school vouchers on college enrollment, Matthew Chingos and Paul Peterson, professor of government at Harvard University, examine the college-going behavior through 2011 of students who participated in a voucher experiment as elementary school students in the late 1990s. They find no overall impacts on college enrollment but do find large, statistically significant positive impacts on the college going of African-American students who participated in the study. Their estimates indicate that using a voucher to attend private school increased the overall college enrollment rate among African Americans by 24 percent. The original data for the analysis come from an experimental evaluation of the privately funded New York School Choice Scholarships Foundation Program, which in the spring of 1997 offered three-year scholarships worth up to a maximum of $1,400 annually to as many as 1,000 low-income families. Chingos and Peterson obtained student information that allowed them to identify over 99 percent of the students who participated in the original experiment so that their college enrollment status could be ascertained by means of the college enrollment database maintained by the National Student Clearinghouse for institutions of higher education that serve 96 percent of all students in the United States. In addition to finding impacts on overall college-going for African Americans, the authors report significant increases in full-time college attendance, enrollment in private four-year colleges, and enrollment in selective four-year colleges for this group of students. Observational and Quasi-Experimental Research are appended. (Contains 7 tables and 19 endnotes.)

In the 2007-2008 school year, the New York City Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers jointly implemented the Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program in a random sample of the city's high-needs public schools. The program lasted for three school years, and its broad objective was to improve student performance through school-based financial incentives. The question, of course, was whether it was doing so. To examine its implementation and effects, the department tasked a RAND Corporation-led partnership with the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University to conduct a two-year study of the program that would offer an independent assessment. This report describes the results of our analyses for all three years of the program, from 2007-2008 through 2009-2010. This work built on past research and was guided by a theory of action articulated by program leaders. Researchers examined student test scores; teacher, school staff, and administrator surveys; and interviews with administrators, staff members, program sponsors, and union and district officials. The researchers found that the program did not, by itself, improve student achievement, perhaps in part because conditions needed to motivate staff were not achieved (e.g., understanding, buy-in for the bonus criteria) and because of the high level of accountability pressure all the schools already faced. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 12 figures and 66 tables.) [Additional funding for this paper was provided by the New York City Fund for Public Schools. For "What New York City's Experiment with Schoolwide Performance Bonuses Tells Us about Pay for Performance. Research Brief," see ED521918.]

Students with high-incidence disabilities struggle with reading comprehension due to difficulties in background knowledge and metacognitive skills, including use of self-monitoring and other strategies. In the United States, these students typically receive the majority of their instruction in general education settings. However, there is little research comparing reading comprehension interventions with the typical basal curricula used in these classrooms. We compared the effects of an explicit reading comprehension intervention to those of a typical language-arts curriculum on upper elementary and middle school students' (n = 38) retells of passages and understanding of main ideas. A 2 x 4 repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant differences between instructional groups. These results indicate systematic and explicit reading comprehension instruction can be delivered successfully to students with high-incidence disabilities in general education settings. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)

Analyzing mathematics and reading achievement outcomes from a district-level random assignment study fielded in over 500 schools within 59 school districts and seven states, the authors estimate the 1-year impacts of a data-driven reform initiative implemented by the Johns Hopkins Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education (CDDRE). CDDRE consultants work with districts to implement quarterly student benchmark assessments and provide district and school leaders with extensive training on interpreting and using the data to guide reform. Relative to a control condition, in which districts operated as usual without CDDRE services, the data-driven reform initiative caused statistically significant districtwide improvements in student mathematics achievement. The CDDRE intervention also had a positive effect on reading achievement, but the estimates fell short of conventional levels of statistical significance. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, and 16 notes.)

Financial incentives for teachers to increase student performance is an increasingly popular education policy around the world. This paper describes a school-based randomized trial in over two-hundred New York City public schools designed to better understand the impact of teacher incentives on student achievement. I find no evidence that teacher incentives increase student performance, attendance, or graduation, nor do I find any evidence that the incentives change student or teacher behavior. If anything, teacher incentives may decrease student achievement, especially in larger schools. The paper concludes with a speculative discussion of theories that may explain these stark results.

This article reports the outcomes of a multiyear study comparing the English and Spanish language and reading performance of Spanish-dominant children randomly assigned, beginning in kindergarten, to transitional bilingual education (TBE) or structured English immersion (SEI) for periods of up to 5 years. On the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and its Spanish equivalent (Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody) and on the English and Spanish versions of three Woodcock Reading Scales, first graders in TBE performed significantly better in Spanish and worse in English than did their SEI counterparts. Differences diminished in second and third grades, and by fourth grade, when all students in TBE had transitioned to English-only instruction, there were no significant differences on English reading measures. These findings suggest that Spanish-dominant students learn to read in English equally well in TBE and SEI and that policy should therefore focus on the quality of instruction rather than on the language of instruction for English-language learners. (Contains 1 note and 8 tables.)

This paper reports the fifth-year results of a study comparing the English and Spanish language and reading performance of Spanish-dominant children randomly assigned beginning in kindergarten to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) or Structured English Immersion (SEI). This is the first randomized study to compare TBE and SEI reading approaches over a period as long as five years. As expected, on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and its Spanish equivalent (TVIP) and on English and Spanish versions of three Woodcock Reading Scales, kindergartners and first graders in TBE performed significantly better in Spanish and worse in English than their SEI counterparts, controlling for PPVT and TVIP. After transitioning to English, TBE children in grades 2-4 scored significantly lower than those in SEI on the measure of receptive vocabulary, the PPVT, but there were no significant differences on most English reading measures. On the Spanish language (TVIP) and reading measures, TBE students scored significantly higher than SEI in grades K-3, but not grade 4. Both groups gained substantially in English receptive language skills over the years. These findings suggest that Spanish-dominant students learn to read in English (as well as Spanish) equally well in TBE and SEI. (Contains 4 tables.)

Teacher compensation schemes are often criticized for lacking a performance-based component. Proponents of merit pay argue that linking teacher salaries to student achievement will incentivize teachers to focus on raising student achievement and stimulate innovation across the school system as a whole. In this paper, we utilize a policy experiment conducted in the New York City public school system to explore the effects of one performance-based bonus scheme. We investigate potential impacts of group-based incentive pay over two academic years (2007-2008 and 2008-2009) on a range of outcomes including: teacher effort, student performance in math and reading, and classroom activities, measured through environmental surveys of teachers and students. We also explore impacts on the market for teachers by examining teacher turnover and the qualifications of newly hired teachers. Overall, we find the bonus program had little impact on any of these outcomes. We argue that the lack of bonus program impacts can be explained by the structure of the bonus program. Group bonuses led to free-riding, which significantly reduced the program's incentives. Once we account for free-riding, we find evidence that the program led teachers to increase their effort through a significant reduction in absenteeism. When considering the effectiveness of performance-based teacher pay, the structure of incentives matter. (Contains 11 tables, 3 figures and 24 footnotes.)

This article reports the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-based social-emotional and character education program on school-level achievement, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. The "Positive Action" Hawai'i trial included 20 racially/ethnically diverse schools (M enrollment = 544) and was conducted from the 2002-03 through the 2005-06 academic years. Using school-level archival data, analyses comparing change from baseline (2002) to 1-year posttrial (2007) revealed that intervention schools scored 9.8% better on the TerraNova (2nd ed.) test for reading and 8.8% on math, that 20.7% better in Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards scores for reading and 51.4% better in math, and that intervention schools reported 15.2% lower absenteeism and fewer suspensions (72.6%) and retentions (72.7%). Overall, effect sizes were moderate to large (range = 0.5-1.1) for all of the examined outcomes. Sensitivity analyses using permutation models and random-intercept growth curve models substantiated results. The results provide evidence that a comprehensive school-based program, specifically developed to target student behavior and character, can positively influence school-level achievement, attendance, and disciplinary outcomes concurrently. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to conduct a large-scale evaluation of comprehensive teacher induction. The purpose of the study was to determine whether augmenting the set of services districts usually provide to support beginning teachers with a more comprehensive program improves teacher and student outcomes. This is the study's third and final report on the program's impacts. This report compares retention, achievement, and classroom practices of teachers who were offered comprehensive induction services to teachers who were offered the support normally offered by the school. Teachers assigned to receive comprehensive induction for either one or two years were supported by a full-time mentor who received ongoing training and materials to support the teachers' development. The teachers also were offered monthly professional development sessions and opportunities to observe veteran teachers. The teachers were followed for three years. Data was collected from 1,009 beginning teachers in 418 schools in 17 districts. Districts included in the study were not already offering comprehensive induction services, including paying for full-time mentors. Novice teachers in approximately half of the schools were assigned by lottery to receive comprehensive induction services. In 10 of the districts, these teachers were provided one year of comprehensive induction services; in the remaining 7 districts, the teachers were provided two years of services. Teachers in the schools not assigned to receive comprehensive induction services were provided the support normally offered to novice teachers by the school. Teacher practices were measured via classroom observations conducted in the spring of 2006. Data on teacher retention were collected via surveys administered in the fall of 2006, 2007, and 2008. Student test scores were collected from district administrative records for the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 school years. Key findings include: (1) During the comprehensive induction program, treatment teachers received more support than control teachers; (2) The extra induction support for treatment teachers did not translate into impacts on classroom practices in the first year; (3) For teachers who received one year of comprehensive induction, there was no impact on student achievement; (4) For teachers who received two years of comprehensive induction, there was no impact on student achievement in the first two years. In the third year, there was a positive and statistically significant impact on student achievement; and (5) Neither exposure to one year nor exposure to two years of comprehensive induction had a positive impact on retention or other teacher workforce outcomes. The following are appended: (1) Supplemental Information for Chapters II and III; (2) Supplemental Information for Chapter IV; (3) Sensitivity Analyses and Supplemental Information for Chapter V; and (4) Sensitivity Analyses and Supplemental Information for Chapter VI.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects of strategic counting instruction, with and without deliberate practice with those counting strategies, on number combination (NC) skill among students with mathematics difficulties (MD). Students (n = 150) were stratified on MD status (i.e., MD alone versus MD with reading difficulty) and site (proximal versus distal to the intervention developer) and then randomly assigned to control (no tutoring) or 1 of 2 variants of NC remediation. Both remediations were embedded in the same validated word-problem tutoring protocol (i.e., Pirate Math). In 1 variant, the focus on NCs was limited to a single lesson that taught strategic counting. In the other variant, 4-6 min of practice per session was added to the other variant. Tutoring occurred for 16 weeks, 3 sessions per week for 20-30 min per session. Strategic counting without deliberate practice produced superior NC fluency compared to control; however, strategic counting with deliberate practice effected superior NC fluency and transfer to procedural calculations compared with both competing conditions. Also, the efficacy of Pirate Math word-problem tutoring was replicated. (Contains 6 tables.)

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) make up a considerable proportion of students who receive special education services in schools. The present study aimed to enhance the outcomes of students with ADHD in special education settings by using a daily report card (DRC). Thirty-three children with ADHD in special education placements were randomly assigned to an intervention condition wherein behavioral consultants worked with the teacher and parent to construct and implement a DRC based on the child's individualized education plan goals and objectives. These children were compared to 30 children in a business as usual control condition. Results indicated positive effects of the DRC on observations of classroom functioning, individualized education plan goal attainment, and teacher ratings of academic productivity and disruptive behavior in the classroom. Further, a greater percentage of children with ADHD in the DRC group were normalized on measures of disruptive behavior and impairment. The intervention did not result in incremental improvement in academic achievement, teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms or impairment, or the student-teacher relationship. The implications of these results for working with children with ADHD in special education settings are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

This study was conducted to explore the effects of a two-way immersion bilingual program on maintenance/acquisition of Spanish-language proficiency and on reading and mathematics achievement in English over a period of 4 academic years. The researchers used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) techniques to compare the effects of two different program models on Spanish-language proficiency of participating students from Spanish- and non-Spanish-language backgrounds. In addition, they employed multivariate matching algorithms to construct a comparison group of schools and students that matched program students academically and demographically and then used HLM methods to compare academic achievement in reading and mathematics of students in program and comparison groups. The researchers found that students in the program model that offered Spanish instruction in language arts and one content area performed better in reading comprehension in Spanish than students in the program model that offered only Spanish language arts instruction. The researchers also found that program students exhibited achievement levels in reading and mathematics that were on par with or higher than those of demographically and academically similar students not in the program. In addition, the researchers determined and that average annual learning rates in both academic disciplines were similar for program and comparison students. (Contains 5 figures, 2 footnotes, and 3 tables.)

This study was conducted to explore the effects of a two-way immersion bilingual program on maintenance/acquisition of Spanish-language proficiency and on reading and mathematics achievement in English over a period of 4 academic years. The researchers used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) techniques to compare the effects of two different program models on Spanish-language proficiency of participating students from Spanish- and non-Spanish-language backgrounds. In addition, they employed multivariate matching algorithms to construct a comparison group of schools and students that matched program students academically and demographically and then used HLM methods to compare academic achievement in reading and mathematics of students in program and comparison groups. The researchers found that students in the program model that offered Spanish instruction in language arts and one content area performed better in reading comprehension in Spanish than students in the program model that offered only Spanish language arts instruction. The researchers also found that program students exhibited achievement levels in reading and mathematics that were on par with or higher than those of demographically and academically similar students not in the program. In addition, the researchers determined and that average annual learning rates in both academic disciplines were similar for program and comparison students. (Contains 5 figures, 2 footnotes, and 3 tables.)

Difficulty learning how to read is a risk factor for school failure, low grades, behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, truancy, unemployment, jail time, and substance abuse. Reading difficulties are common in the educational setting, afflicting anywhere from 20-40 percent of students. Read Naturally is a computer-based reading program which targets the third "big idea" (i.e., accuracy and fluency with reading). The current study assessed the efficacy of the Read Naturally program in second through fourth grade elementary students in a public elementary school. Additionally, this study assessed whether improving reading abilities resulted in changes in classroom behavior problems or self-esteem. Eighty-two students from a small, public elementary school who were in need of additional reading support, according to the DIBELS Benchmark Assessments, participated in the current study. Students were matched on DIBELS scores, grade, race, and gender and then randomly assigned to either the Read Naturally condition or the Education as Usual condition. Students used the Read Naturally program for 30-45 minutes each day, five days a week, for eight weeks. Results suggested that, throughout the 16 weeks of intervention, significant improvements were generally seen on all of the reading measures over time, regardless of the condition to which students were assigned, although small effect sizes generally favored the Read Naturally intervention. Additionally, students in higher grades generally demonstrated more improvement on the WJ-III Summary Scores, WJ-III Passage Comprehension subscale, and the WJ-III Word Attack subscale, regardless of the condition to which they were assigned. Student measures suggest that Read Naturally does not result in increased self-esteem, even with improvements in academic performance. Behavior measures were inconclusive. Generally, the effects of the Read Naturally intervention appear discernible, but not incremental, suggesting that Read Naturally may not be more efficacious than typical education, but may have benefits in terms of targeting larger groups of students, being individualized to each student, and may allow another way for teachers to target the third "big idea." Future research is warranted. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of fact retrieval tutoring as a function of math difficulty (MD) subtype, that is, whether students have MD alone (MD-only) or have concurrent difficulty with math and reading (MDRD). Third graders (n = 139) at two sites were randomly assigned, blocking by site and MD subtype, to four tutoring conditions: fact retrieval practice, conceptual fact retrieval instruction with practice, procedural computation/estimation instruction, and control (no tutoring). Tutoring occurred for 45 sessions over 15 weeks for 15-25 minutes per session. Results provided evidence of an interaction between tutoring condition and MD subtype status for assessment of fact retrieval. For MD-only students, students in both fact retrieval conditions achieved comparably and outperformed MD-only students in the control group as well as those in the procedural computation/estimation instruction group. By contrast, for MDRD students, there were no significant differences among intervention conditions.

This study addresses two questions related to teacher preparation and certification: (1) What are the relative effects on student achievement of teachers who chose to be trained through different routes to certification and how do observed teacher practices vary by chosen route to certification?; and (2) What aspects of certification programs (such as the amount of coursework, the timing of coursework relative to being the lead teacher in the classroom, the core coursework content) are associated with teacher effectiveness? In 63 study schools, every grade that contained at least one eligible alternatively certified (AC) and one eligible traditionally certified (TC) teacher was included. Students in these study grades were randomly assigned to be in the class of an AC or a TC teacher. Students were tested at the beginning of the school year as a baseline measure and at the end of the year as an outcome. Classroom instruction was observed at one point during the year as an outcome. Reported findings include: (1) Both the AC and the TC programs with teachers in the study were diverse in the total instruction they required for their candidates; (2) While teachers trained in TC programs receive all their instruction (and participate in student teaching) prior to becoming regular full-time teachers, AC teachers do not necessarily begin teaching without having received any formal instruction; (3) There were no statistically significant differences between the AC and TC teachers in this study in their average scores on college entrance exams, the selectivity of the college that awarded their bachelor's degree, or their level of educational attainment; (4) There was no statistically significant difference in performance between students of AC teachers and those of TC teachers; (5) There is no evidence from this study that greater levels of teacher training coursework were associated with the effectiveness of AC teachers in the classroom; and (6) There is no evidence that the content of coursework is correlated with teacher effectiveness. Supplementary Technical Information on Data Collection, Response Rates, and Analyses is appended. (Contains 90 footnotes and 28 exhibits.)

In practice, teacher induction is common, but induction that is intensive, comprehensive, structured, and sequentially delivered in response to teachers' emerging pedagogical needs is less so. Congressional interest in formal, comprehensive teacher induction has grown in recent years. The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance within the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Institute of Education Sciences (IES) contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR), to evaluate the impact of structured and intensive teacher induction programs. The study examines whether comprehensive teacher induction programs lead to higher teacher retention rates and other positive teacher and student outcomes as compared to prevailing, generally less comprehensive approaches to supporting new teachers. More specifically, the study is designed to address five research questions on the impacts of teacher induction services: (1) What is the effect of comprehensive teacher induction on the types and intensity of induction services teachers receive compared to the services they receive from the districts' current induction programs?; (2) What are the impacts on teachers' classroom practices?; (3) What are the impacts on student achievement?; (4) What are the impacts on teacher retention?; and (5) What is the impact on the composition of the district's teaching workforce? Statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups were identified in the amount, types, and content of induction support teachers reported having received, both in the fall and the spring of the intervention year. Although treatment teachers reported receiving more mentoring than did control teachers; were more likely than control teachers to report participating in specific induction activities; and spent more time in certain professional activities than did control teachers during the three months prior to the spring survey, summarized comparisons between treatment and control groups found: (1) No impacts on teacher practices; (2) No positive impacts on student test scores; (3) No impacts on teacher retention; and (4) No positive impacts on composition of district teaching workforce. This report focused on the first year of findings only. The research team is conducting longer term follow-up to include additional collection of test score and teacher mobility data. Eight appendices are included: (1) National Data on Teacher Induction; (2) Analysis Weights; (3) Impact Estimation Methods; (4) Classroom Observation Methods; (5) Reference Tables for Chapter II; (6) Supplemental Tables for Chapter IV; (7) Supplemental Tables for Chapter V; and (8) Supplemental Figures. (Contains 43 footnotes, 15 figures and 101 tables.)

This study evaluated the impact of a curriculum called the Early Literacy Skills Builder on the language and early literacy skills of students with significant developmental disabilities. Students in the control group received the ongoing sight word and picture instruction prescribed by their individualized education programs. Results indicate statistically significant interaction effects for the treatment group for two research team-designed measures of early literacy (the Nonverbal Literacy Assessment and a pretest/posttest for the experimental curriculum). Significant interaction effects were also found for two standardized measures (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III and Memory for Sentences of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery). Implications and future research needs are provided.

The major purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of tutoring to remediate 3rd-grade computational deficits and to explore whether remediation is differentially efficacious depending on whether students experience mathematics difficulty alone or concomitantly with reading difficulty. At 2 sites, 127 students were stratified on mathematics difficulty status and randomly assigned to 4 conditions: word recognition (control) tutoring or 1 of 3 computation tutoring conditions: fact retrieval, procedural computation and computational estimation, and combined (fact retrieval + procedural computation and computational estimation). Results revealed that fact retrieval tutoring enhanced fact retrieval skill, and procedural computation and computational estimation tutoring (whether in isolation or combined with fact retrieval tutoring) enhanced computational estimation skill. Remediation was not differentially efficacious as a function of students' mathematics difficulty status. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)

The major purposes of this study were to assess the efficacy of tutoring to remediate 3rd-grade computational deficits and to explore whether remediation is differentially efficacious depending on whether students experience mathematics difficulty alone or concomitantly with reading difficulty. At 2 sites, 127 students were stratified on mathematics difficulty status and randomly assigned to 4 conditions: word recognition (control) tutoring or 1 of 3 computation tutoring conditions: fact retrieval, procedural computation and computational estimation, and combined (fact retrieval + procedural computation and computational estimation). Results revealed that fact retrieval tutoring enhanced fact retrieval skill, and procedural computation and computational estimation tutoring (whether in isolation or combined with fact retrieval tutoring) enhanced computational estimation skill. Remediation was not differentially efficacious as a function of students' mathematics difficulty status. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)

This study examined effects of a repeated reading intervention, Quick Reads, with incidental word-level scaffolding instruction. Second- and third-grade students with passage-reading fluency performance between the 10th and 60th percentiles were randomly assigned to dyads, which were in turn randomly assigned to treatment (paired tutoring, n = 82) or control (no tutoring, n = 80) conditions. Paraeducators tutored dyads for 30 min per day, 4 days per week, for 15 weeks (November-March). At midintervention, most teachers with students in the study were formally observed during their literacy blocks. Multilevel modeling was used to test for direct treatment effects on pretest-posttest gains as well as to test for unique treatment effects after classroom oral text reading time, 2 pretests, and corresponding interactions were accounted for. Model results revealed both direct and unique treatment effects on gains in word reading and fluency. Moreover, complex interactions between group, oral text reading time, and pretests were also detected, suggesting that pretest skills should be taken into account when considering repeated reading instruction for 2nd and 3rd graders with low to average passage-reading fluency. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate the efficacy of scaffolded silent reading (ScSR) compared with the evidence-based practice of guided repeated oral reading (GROR) with feedback on 3rd-grade students' fluency and comprehension growth. Using a mixed-model dominant-less dominant design, the authors collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative results indicated no significant differences between these 2 forms of reading fluency practice on 3rd-grade students' fluency and comprehension development with the exception of 1 significant difference favoring ScSR on expression of a single passage. Qualitative results indicated that either ScSR or GROR approaches used exclusively tended toward tedium and reduced overall student enjoyment and motivation. The authors discuss how the ScSR approach represents a viable alternative or companion to GROR for promoting 3rd-grade students' reading fluency and comprehension growth. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

A total of 46 children in Grades 2 and 3 with low word-level skills were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that received supplemental phonics-based reading instruction. One group received intervention October through March (21.5 hours), and one group served as a control from October through March and later received intervention March through May (17.5 hours). Paraeducators trained in a standard treatment protocol provided individual instruction for 30 min per day, 4 days per week. At the March posttest, the early treatment (ET; n = 23) group outperformed the controls (late treatment, LT; n = 20) on reading accuracy and passage fluency. Across both groups, second graders outperformed third graders on these same measures. At the 3-month follow-up, the ET group showed no evidence of decline in reading accuracy, passage fluency, or words spelled; however, 3rd-grade ET students had significantly higher spelling skills compared to 2nd graders. The LT group demonstrated significant growth during their intervention in reading accuracy and spelling, but not passage fluency. When we compared the ET and LT groups on their gains per instructional hour, we found that the ET group made significantly greater gains than the LT group across all 3 measures. The results support the value of paraeducator-supplemented reading instruction for students below grade level in word identification and reading fluency.

This study evaluated the effects of a fluency-based reading program with 15 second and third grade students and 15 matched controls. Gains in oral reading fluency on untrained CBM probes were evaluated using a matched-pairs group-comparison design, whereas immediate and two-day retention gains in oral reading fluency on trained passages were evaluated using an adapted changing criterion design. Increases in WRCM due to training and number of trainings to criterion were also evaluated as a function of pre-training fluency levels. Results showed statistically significant gains on dependent measures for the treatment group, mean increases of two to three grade levels in passages mastered, and an optimal pre-training fluency range of 41-60 WRCM. Implications for fluency-based reading programs are discussed.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, nearly 4 in 10 fourth graders read below the basic level. These literacy problems get worse as students advance through school and are exposed to progressively more complex concepts and courses. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of four remedial reading programs in improving the reading skills of 3rd and 5th graders, whether the impacts of the programs vary across students with difference baseline characteristics, and to what extent can this instruction close the reading gap and bring struggling readers within the normal range--relative to the instruction normally provided by their schools. The study took place in elementary schools in 27 districts of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit outside Pittsburgh, PA during the 2003-04 school year. Within each of 50 schools, 3rd and 5th grade students were identified as struggling readers by their teachers. These students were tested and were eligible for the study if they scored at or below the 30th percentile on a word-level reading test and at or above the 5th percentile on a vocabulary test. The final sample contains a total of 742 students. There are 335 3rd graders ? 208 treatment and 127 control students. There are 407 5th graders ? 228 treatment and 179 control students. Four existing programs were used: Spell Read P.A.T., Corrective Reading, Wilson Reading, and Failure Free Reading. Corrective Reading and Wilson Reading were modified to focus only on word-level skills. Spell Read P.A.T. and Failure Free Reading were intended to focus equally on word-level skills and reading comprehension/vocabulary. Teachers received 70 hours of professional development and support during the year. Instruction was delivered in small groups of 3 students, 5 days a week, for a total of 90 hours. Seven measures of reading skill were administered at the beginning and end of the school year to assess student progress: Word Attack, Word Identification Comprehension (Woodcock Reading Mastery Test); Phonemic Decoding Efficiency and Sight Word Efficiency (Test of Word Reading Efficiency); Oral Reading Fluency (Edformation); and Passage Comprehension (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation). After one year of instruction, there were significant impacts on phonemic decoding, word reading accuracy and fluency, and comprehension for 3rd graders, but not for 5th graders. For third graders in the reading programs, the gap in word attach skills between struggling readers and average readers was reduced by about two-thirds. It was found that reading skills of 3rd graders can be significantly improved through instruction in word-level skills, but not the reading skills of 5th graders. The following are appended: (1) Details of Study Design and Implementation; (2) Data Collection; (3) Weighting Adjustment and Missing Data; (4) Details of Statistical Methods; (5) Intervention Impacts on Spelling and Calculation; (6) Instructional Group Clustering; (7) Parent Survey; (8) Teacher Survey and Behavioral Rating Forms; (9) Instructional Group Clustering; (10) Videotape Coding Guidelines for Each Reading Program; (11) Supporting Tables; (12) Sample Test Items; (13) Impact Estimate Standard Errors and P-Values; (14) Association between Instructional Group Heterogeneity and The Outcome; (15) Teacher Rating Form; (16) School Survey; and (17) Scientific Advisory Board. [This report was produced by the Corporation for the Advancement of Policy Evaluation. Additional support provided by the Barksdale Reading Institute, and the Haan Foundation for Children.]

This study compared two instructional methods for teaching spelling to elementary students with learning disabilities (LD). Forty-two elementary students with LD were randomly assigned to one of two instructional groups to teach spelling words: (a) a rule-based strategy group that focused on teaching students spelling rules (based on the "Spelling Mastery Level D" program) and (b) a traditional instruction group that provided an array of spelling activities (i.e., introducing the words in the context of story, defining the meaning of the words, sentence writing, and dictionary skill training) to teach spelling words. Daily instructional sessions lasting 30 minutes were conducted for 4 consecutive weeks. Four different word types (i.e., regular, morphological, spelling rule, and irregular) were introduced as instruction progressed. After receiving instruction in one of the instructional groups, the students were compared on scores from unit tests, a standardized test, a sentence-writing test, a transfer test, and a maintenance test. Overall results indicated that the rule-based strategy group using "Spelling Mastery Level D" was more effective in increasing student-spelling performance, particularly for the regular, morphological, and spelling-rule words. The instructional implications of these findings are discussed. (Contains 7 tables.)

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, nearly 4 in 10 fourth graders read below the basic level. These literacy problems get worse as students advance through school and are exposed to progressively more complex concepts and courses. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of four remedial reading programs in improving the reading skills of 3rd and 5th graders, whether the impacts of the programs vary across students with difference baseline characteristics, and to what extent can this instruction close the reading gap and bring struggling readers within the normal range--relative to the instruction normally provided by their schools. The study took place in elementary schools in 27 districts of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit outside Pittsburgh, PA during the 2003-04 school year. Within each of 50 schools, 3rd and 5th grade students were identified as struggling readers by their teachers. These students were tested and were eligible for the study if they scored at or below the 30th percentile on a word-level reading test and at or above the 5th percentile on a vocabulary test. The final sample contains a total of 742 students. There are 335 3rd graders ? 208 treatment and 127 control students. There are 407 5th graders ? 228 treatment and 179 control students. Four existing programs were used: Spell Read P.A.T., Corrective Reading, Wilson Reading, and Failure Free Reading. Corrective Reading and Wilson Reading were modified to focus only on word-level skills. Spell Read P.A.T. and Failure Free Reading were intended to focus equally on word-level skills and reading comprehension/vocabulary. Teachers received 70 hours of professional development and support during the year. Instruction was delivered in small groups of 3 students, 5 days a week, for a total of 90 hours. Seven measures of reading skill were administered at the beginning and end of the school year to assess student progress: Word Attack, Word Identification Comprehension (Woodcock Reading Mastery Test); Phonemic Decoding Efficiency and Sight Word Efficiency (Test of Word Reading Efficiency); Oral Reading Fluency (Edformation); and Passage Comprehension (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation). After one year of instruction, there were significant impacts on phonemic decoding, word reading accuracy and fluency, and comprehension for 3rd graders, but not for 5th graders. For third graders in the reading programs, the gap in word attach skills between struggling readers and average readers was reduced by about two-thirds. It was found that reading skills of 3rd graders can be significantly improved through instruction in word-level skills, but not the reading skills of 5th graders. The following are appended: (1) Details of Study Design and Implementation; (2) Data Collection; (3) Weighting Adjustment and Missing Data; (4) Details of Statistical Methods; (5) Intervention Impacts on Spelling and Calculation; (6) Instructional Group Clustering; (7) Parent Survey; (8) Teacher Survey and Behavioral Rating Forms; (9) Instructional Group Clustering; (10) Videotape Coding Guidelines for Each Reading Program; (11) Supporting Tables; (12) Sample Test Items; (13) Impact Estimate Standard Errors and P-Values; (14) Association between Instructional Group Heterogeneity and The Outcome; (15) Teacher Rating Form; (16) School Survey; and (17) Scientific Advisory Board. [This report was produced by the Corporation for the Advancement of Policy Evaluation. Additional support provided by the Barksdale Reading Institute, and the Haan Foundation for Children.]

This independent evaluation of 2 commonly used approaches for accelerating reading achievement and reducing inappropriate special education referrals, Success for All (SFA) and Open Court, was conducted in 12 Title I schools in a large urban district in northern California. To compare the effects of these approaches, we collected data on 936 grade 2 and 3 students over 2 years and 5,694 K through 6 students over 3 years to determine academic and special education enrollment outcomes, respectively. Results supported the prediction that students who used Open Court would outperform those who used SFA on mean SAT9 scores in reading and language but not the prediction that SFA would help students in the bottom quartile of SAT9 score higher or reduce demand for special education services more than Open Court. Neither Open Court nor SFA was associated with reductions in special education enrollment rates, except in Title I schools with the least poverty. A follow-up survey of 17 teachers and an analysis of lesson pacing plans suggested why the teachers saw Open Court as superior on academic outcomes and SFA on social outcomes.

Two studies--one quasi-experimental and one randomized experiment--were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental instruction in structural analysis and oral reading practice for second- and third-grade students with below-average word reading skills. Individual instruction was provided by trained paraeducators in single- and multiletter phoneme-grapheme correspondences; structural analysis of inflected, affixed, and multi-syllable words; exception word reading; and scaffolded oral reading practice. Both studies revealed short-term word level and fluency effects.

In this paper, we describe the results a study assessing the relationship between the certification of teachers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and elementary level student achievement. We examine whether NBPTS assesses the most effective applicants, whether certification by NBPTS serves as a signal of teacher quality, and whether completing the NBPTS assessment process serves as catalyst for increasing teacher effectiveness. We find consistent evidence that NBPTS is identifying the more effective teacher applicants and that National Board Certified Teachers are generally more effective than teachers who never applied to the program. The statistical significance and magnitude of the "NBPTS effect," however, differs significantly by grade level and student type. We do not find evidence that the NBPTS certification process itself does anything to increase teacher effectiveness. Data tables are appended. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure, and 49 endnotes.)

This study evaluated the efficacy of the computer-assisted intervention program known as Fast ForWord Language? in a sample of migrant students in Grades 1 through 6 who were native Spanish speakers. Fast ForWord Language? combines intensive training in multiple receptive English language skills with adaptive acoustic waveform lengthening and amplification to purportedly accelerate the English language learning skills of children who are nonnative English language speakers. Students either were randomly assigned to a treatment or no-contact control condition or were matched on grade, English language proficiency, and nonverbal IQ. All students were assessed in five domains before and immediately after the 4- to 8-week intervention: (a) spoken English language proficiency; (b) oral language competency; (c) phonological awareness; (d) basic reading skills; and (e) classroom behavior. Except for performance on a measure of sight-word recognition, on which children in the treatment group achieved a significantly greater gain than those in the control group, changes in test scores from pretest to posttest were equivalent for the two groups. However, when students who were least fluent in spoken English in each group were compared, the children in the treatment group demonstrated superior gains in expressive language, sight-word recognition, and pseudoword decoding. Thus, Fast ForWord Language? had a substantial, albeit limited impact on the oral language skills and reading performance of migrant children in this study. However, due to methodological weaknesses and limited treatment fidelity, the study results must be interpreted cautiously.

In this study, the authors examined the long-term effectiveness of the PATHS (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) curriculum on the adjustment of school-age children with special needs. The PATHS curriculum focuses on promoting children's emotional development, self-regulation, and social problem-solving skills. Eighteen special education classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions in this controlled trial. Teachers received both training and ongoing consultation and provided PATHS to students in Grades 1 through 3. Data were collected before the intervention and for 3 successive years. Growth curve analysis indicated that the intervention reduced the rate of growth of teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors 2 years after the intervention and produced a sustained reduction in depressive symptoms reported by the children. Discussion focuses on the need for social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in special education and factors that can promote SEL among children with special needs.

This study explored the results of aligning functional behavioral assessment (FBA) information with positive behavior support plans (PBS plans) designed with consideration for teacher acceptability. The independent variable had the three major components of a package, including assessment and planning (FBA), training (teachers, students, and peers) and student interventions (PBS plans). The student PBS plans included a combination of selfmonitoring, teacher-peer mediated support, and positive reinforcement including praise and a token economy. Same age peers were used as change agents to mediate these PBS plans that had been designed for 2 male third grade students who were at-risk for social and academic failure. The effects of this package were examined in relationship to a response class of socially appropriate classroom behaviors. Single subject ABAB designs were used to evaluate the student interventions. The at-risk students showed immediate, marked improvement in their socially appropriate classroom behavior; treatment gains maintained as reinforcement was thinned. Social validity was measured by social comparison with a normative sample of same-aged students and subjectively by the teachers, students, and peers who participated.

Although schools across the country are investing heavily in computers in the classroom, there is surprisingly little evidence that they actually improve student achievement. In this paper, we present results from a randomized study of a well-defined use of computers in schools: a popular instructional computer program, known as Fast ForWord, which is designed to improve language and reading skills. We assess the impact of the program on students having difficulty learning to read using four different measures of language and reading ability. Our estimates suggest that while use of the computer program may improve some aspects of students' language skills, it does not appear that these gains translate into a broader measure of language acquisition or into actual readings skills.

This study examined the reading gains of students with mild disabilities who were taught with one of two programs: "Horizons Fast Track A-B" (Engelmann, Engelmann, & Seitz-Davis, 1997) or "Reading Mastery Fast Cycle" (Engelmann & Bruner, 1995). A quasi-experimental design with preexisting groups was used to examine changes from pretest to posttest. Results revealed a pattern of small differences favoring "Reading Mastery Fast Cycle" on measures of decoding; however, these differences were not statistically significant. Both programs were effective in producing statistically significant improvements in word attack, comprehension, letter and word identification, phonemic awareness, and print awareness skills. Participating teachers agreed that both programs were effective; however, anecdotal information from teacher interviews suggested that all participating teachers preferred "Horizons Fast Track." (Contains 4 tables.)

Spanish-dominant bilingual students in grades 2-5 were tutored 3 times per week for 40 minutes over 10 weeks, using 2 English reading interventions. Tutoring took place from February through April of 1 school year. One, Read Well, combined systematic phonics instruction with practice in decodable text, and the other, a revised version of Read Naturally, consisted of repeated reading, with contextualized vocabulary and comprehension instruction. The progress of tutored students (n = 51) was compared to that of nontutored classmates (n = 42) using subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised. Students who received systematic phonics instruction made significant progress in word identification but not in word attack or passage comprehension. There were no significant effects for students in the repeated reading condition.

A study evaluated the effects of supplemental reading instruction for 256 students in kindergarten through Grade 3 (158 Hispanic). Children who received the supplemental reading instruction performed significantly better on measures of word attack, word identification, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension after 15 to 16 months of instruction. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/CR)

Special education teachers (N=22) monitored the mathematics progress of 42 students (grades 2-8) with mild to moderate disabilities (mostly learning disabilities) for 20 weeks using curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Evaluation of instructional adjustments based on individual CBM results found that students whose instruction had been individually adjusted performed significantly better on a global achievement test than comparison students. (Contains references.) (DB)

Examines the effects of classwide peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) in mathematics incorporating the use of curriculum-based measurement on acquisition and transfer learning of three types of students (average-achieving student, low-achieving students, and students with a learning disability). Analysis of variance indicates superior mathematics growth for students in PALS condition. (Author/JDM)

Implemented structured cooperative-learning strategy for reading, Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC), in nine third-grade classes (n=198) and compared with nine control group classes (n=194). CIRC group outgained controls on Reading Comprehension as measured by California Achievement Test. When groups were divided into reading levels, significant differences were found for lower group that favored CIRC. (Author/NB)

The effects of on-going curriculum-based measurement of student growth and expert system instructional consultation on teacher planning and student achievement in mathematics operations were studied for 33 elementary teachers assigned to one control or 2 experimental groups. Each teacher worked with two learning disabled or emotionally disturbed students. (SLD)

This study compared the effectiveness of 3 procedures for teaching 62 elementary students with learning disabilities to identify the correct algorithm in solving addition and subtraction word problems. The group receiving strategy teaching and sequencing practice problems and the group receiving strategy teaching only scored higher than sequencing-only students. (Author/JDD)