A wide body of literature documents the important role that parents play in supporting children's academic success in school (Houtenville & Conway, 2008; Barnard, 2004; Fan & Chen, 2001). Drawing on this literature, national taskforces and federal legislation consistently identify increased parental involvement as a central goal of…

This study examines the efficacy and moderators of New York State interventions for schools in need of improvement under NCLB, including: (1) school transfer, (2) supplementary education service (3) corrective action, (4) planning for restructuring, and (5) restructuring. Despite the fact that schools in increasingly aggressive treatment groups…

This study compares school-wide Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) results in Indiana schools earning the Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation (n = 75) with a sample of control schools stratified by level and locale (n = 226). K-12 schools earning the RAMP designation in 2007, 2008, and 2009 comprise the experimental group. Findings indicate…

This study investigated the effect of electronic communication has on parent's involvement with their high school child's education. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) specifically requires that schools find ways to increase parental involvement; this requirement stemmed from evidence that involvement tends to decline as the students…

Success in Sight focuses on the interrelated parts of an education system. This systemic school improvement intervention is designed to address schools' specific needs while building their capacities to plan, implement, and evaluate school improvement practices. It is intended to help schools, leadership teams, and teachers systemically engage in…

This article presents findings from an investigation of the overall effectiveness of Michigan's Freedom to Learn (FTL) One-to-One initiative. The major goal of the FTL initiative was to help students to gain 21st century knowledge and skills while increasing their learning and achievement through the integration of over 20,000 laptop computers…

Improving teacher effectiveness is a key strategy to ensure student readiness for college and careers and to address achievement gaps and persistent low performance. In response to the new Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) the National Writing Project (NWP) created a professional development (PD) program to support…

With the onset of No Child left behind legislation, the English Language Learner (ELL) subgroup gained new attention. Schools and districts failing to meet accountability targets began to seek out programs and strategies that would better ensure the academic progress of those students who were learning grade-level content while learning English.…

The purpose of this study was to determine ways "Digital Biographies," a Project Based Learning Unit, developed 21st century skills while simultaneously supporting NCLB accountability standards. The main goal of this study was to inform professional practice by exploring ways to address two separate, seemingly opposing, demands of…

"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA") and "No Child Left Behind" ("NCLB") now mandate that all at-risk students receive empirical, scientific research-based interventions. "Brain Gym" is a movement-based program designed to address a diverse range of students' academic and behavior…

Despite the ever-increasing number of online professional development (OPD) programs, relatively few studies have been conducted to examine the efficacy of such programs for teachers and students. This manuscript presents findings from an impact study of OPD courses in fractions, algebraic thinking, and measurement on 79 fifth grade teachers'…

The No Child Left Behind Act is comprised of four pillars, one of which is "proven education methods." This paper attempts to provide a historical context for the development of evidence-based education by examining its foundation in medical practice. Next, the rationale for evidence of educational effectiveness based on a scientific…

The research study examined whether a difference existed between the reading achievement scores of an experimental group and a control group in standardized reading achievement. This difference measured the effect of systematic oral reading fluency instruction with repeated readings. Data from the 4Sight Pennsylvania Benchmark Reading Assessments…

A study examined the impact of the "Closing the Achievement Gap" (CAG schools) program on the academic achievement of students in 30 schools serving high percentages of African American and economically disadvantaged students in West Virginia (WV), 2004-2008. The program assigned experienced educators, "CAG liaisons", to the…

Rigorous research provides information that will allow other schools and districts to select interventions that have a scientifically based track record of effectiveness. All Striving Reader grants include the mandate to evaluate literacy intervention(s) targeted to adolescents who are reading significantly below grade level. Although all studies…