Children in Florida who will be 4 years old on or before September 1st of the school year are eligible to attend a Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK), provided by either the public school districts or other private providers, regardless of family income. There are several different VPK programs, including Head Start, Title I, and…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tutoring has gained popularity as a strategy to improve the academic achievement of struggling students. Intensive, relationship-based tutoring is a highly effective academic support for many students. A range of tutoring approaches are available to accelerate young students' literacy. Sarah Novicoff and Susanna Loeb…

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively recent entrant into the U.S. early education landscape, combining features of public pre-K and regular kindergarten. We provide the first estimates of the impact of Michigan's TK program on 3rd grade test scores. Using an augmented regression discontinuity design, we find that TK improves 3rd grade…

The purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine to what extent, if any, there were differences in ELA achievement and OSS percentages among schools with grades 3, 4, and 5 that used literacy station instruction (LSI) with students who had individualized education plans (IEP) and schools that did not use literacy station…

Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 participated in a monthlong experiential program conducted at a residential camp. The children were deemed "at risk" due to one or more of the following concerns: poor academic performance, behavioral issues, and extremely low self-esteem. The program consisted of tutoring in social issues and academic…

The effectiveness of Tier 2 interventions may depend on the variability of student skills within an intervention group. We investigated the effect of initial variability within intervention groups using data from a large-scale study of ROOTS, a Tier 2 kindergarten mathematics intervention. Our research questions were as follows: Does mathematics…

The effectiveness of Tier 2 interventions may depend on the variability of student skills within an intervention group. We investigated the effect of pretest variability within intervention groups using data from a large-scale study of ROOTS, a Tier 2 kindergarten mathematics intervention. Our research questions were as follows: Does mathematics…

This paper presents evidence of the effects of dual language immersion (DLI) programs on the academic outcomes of students in elementary grades. Leveraging enrollment lotteries from four cohorts of DLI applicants across 10 oversubscribed programs, analyses estimate the intent-to-treat effect of access to bilingual education on reading and math…

The Literacy Footprints Digital Reader provides elementary grade students and teachers with online access to books and resources from the Literacy Footprints Complete System of Guided Reading. Teachers can create a bookshelf of appropriate books for students to read independently and can create assignments for individuals or groups of students.…

This report finds that participation in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) has a number of short term and sustained benefits for students, regardless of family income level. DPIL participation was associated with lower retention rates in kindergarten, 3rd grade, and at any point from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Participants in DPIL also…

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively new model of early childhood education, with little evidence on whether and how it affects children's development. This study provides new evidence using data from Michigan, which has the nation's second-largest TK program. Using survey data (N=171) from administrators in 2021-2022, the paper…

In the study, problem-solving educational software (ProSES) was developed to reduce the challenges and mistakes experienced by primary school third-grade students in mathematical problem solving and to provide scaffolding and hint support for teacher help for the students using mobile technologies. The study aimed to determine the impact of the…

This single qualitative case study explored teacher and parent perceptions of the kindergarten transition program at a small, rural school district in a Midwestern state. Thirteen subjects met the criteria of either being a kindergarten transition teacher or a parent of an incoming kindergarten student and participated in this study. Data was…

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the effects of a schoolwide program, Bookworms K-5 Reading and Writing, on student achievement. Method: The study included seven cohorts of students (N = 8,806) in grades 2-5 in 17 elementary schools across three school years. We used a comparative interrupted time-series design, conducting multilevel growth…

Transitional kindergarten (TK) is a relatively recent entrant into the US early education landscape, combining features of public pre-K and regular kindergarten. We provide the first estimates of the impact of Michigan's TK program on third-grade test scores. Using an augmented regression discontinuity design, we find that TK improves third-grade…