Background: We assessed the associations of 5 school and 7 neighborhood variables with fifth-grade students achieving Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) or Needs Improvement-Health Risk (NI-HR) on aerobic capacity (AC) and body composition (BC) physical fitness components of the state-mandated FITNESSGRAM® physical fitness test. Methods: Data for outcome…

Background: Education has much in common with professions that are using positive psychology and positive organizational scholarship to transform practice, yet the science behind peak human and group functioning has been slow to displace deficit-based framing of reform policies and improvement strategies in education. Purpose of the Study: This…

This study analyzed the required inclusion of school test scores in the yearly evaluation of school principals within the current school reform and standards and accountability movements of both the federal and state departments of education. Extant data from a single school district in Oregon was used for this study, and included: (a)…

The authors examined science achievement growth at Grades 3, 5, and 8 and parent school involvement at the same time points using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. Data were analyzed using cross-classified multilevel latent growth curve modeling with time invariant and varying covariates. School-based…

This study is to examine if implementation of the universal level of PBS is related to student achievement on the LEAP and iLEAP examinations administered as part of the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program. A second purpose is to examine whether identified student/school characteristics contribute to any difference in academic performance. To…

As charter school waitlists around the United States continue to grow, it is important to analyze the factors that are possibly attracting parents away from the traditional public school setting and into the charter school system. Using waitlist data from Pennsylvania to proxy for parental valuation, the article examines numerous factors that…

This study examined the degree to which teacher behaviors established as predictors of achievement generalize to Hispanic students. Participants included 995 students (68% Hispanic) across Grades 3 through 5 and their teachers (N = 46) in an urban school district in the Midwest. Classroom dynamics were measured using the Classroom Assessment…

This nonexperimental survey research investigated whether enrollment, location, expenditures, percentage of free and reduced lunch and percentage of minority students influenced Georgia's superintendent and board chairperson satisfaction. In addition, this study investigated whether respondents' satisfaction could predict student achievement.…

Although research has provided a substantial amount of information about key characteristics of effective school leaders, there is a growing need for continued improvement and reflective practice on the continuous development of instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent elementary principals perceive they are…