Inequality in education and other domains of life stands in the way of economic and civic progress in the United States. It forestalls social mobility and economic productivity and impairs social cohesion. As a result, national and international leaders--from big-city mayors to Pope Francis--recognize that, as President Obama (2013) put it,…

Early identification of behavioral and emotional risk has been identified as one strategy to help decrease rates of childhood behavioral and emotional problems. This study compares two methods for early identification (teacher nomination and universal screening) to determine how each strategy may differentially identify at-risk students. A sample…

Children with emotional difficulties often experience problems at school in terms of academic progress and within peer relationships. They are also more likely to continue to experience emotional problems in their adult lives. Nurture groups (NGs) were developed in the 1960s by the educational psychologist Majorie Boxall and their aim is to…

A meta-analysis found that attending full-day (or all-day) kindergarten had a positive association with academic achievement (compared to half-day kindergarten) equal to about one quarter standard deviation at the end of the kindergarten year. But the association disappeared by third grade. Reasons for this fade-out are discussed. Social…

Background: Students' instructional experiences--that is, their experiences working with subject matter during classroom instruction--are a major determinant of how they learn. Given the importance of classroom instruction, valid, generalizable evidence is needed by policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Over the past two decades, a wealth…

The notion that vitamins, minerals, and other "supplemental" nutrients profoundly change behavior, mood, and intellect has origins as old as recorded history. Research has indeed suggested connections between nutrient deficiencies and behavior problems, but correlations are not the same as causality. This "Abell Report" is an…

Discusses problem solving, problem-based learning, and collaborative learning, and describes a university study that investigated the effects of individual Web-based learning versus computer-mediated collaborative Web-based learning and ability grouping on learner performance in solving ill-defined problems. Considers time on task, participant…

Studies published since 1965 on the relationship between classroom behavior and academic achievement are reviewed. Criteria are established for selecting the studies, the research is assessed, and recommendations for future research are made. (MH)

Because many school funding studies are seriously flawed, valid conclusions cannot be reached concerning the effects of school funding in the United States. New evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and two international achievement tests shows that differences among U.S. public school districts (and states) in funding and…

This paper addresses early identification, services, supports, and intervention for young children, birth through 4 years, who demonstrate delays in development that may place them at risk for later identification as having a learning disability (LD). Such delays include atypical patterns of development in cognition, communication, emergent…

The Council of Chief State School Officers has raised some issues pertinent to the implementation of a national project to collect statistical indicators of academic achievement and to compare them across states. The United States Department of Education shares this concern, with an emphasis on sampling schools for a school level analysis which…

Meta-analysis techniques were used to examine almost 200 studies that considered the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement. Results indicated that as SES is typically defined and used, it is only weakly correlated with academic achievement. (Author/RH)

Reviews data related to the relationship between religious background and educational attainment for males and females during the second half of the twentieth century. Data indicate that the net influence of religious background on educational attainment has never been very large. (Author/DB)

Areas of concern regarding the relationship between collegiate achievement are suggested for further study, along with guidelines for research. (JMF)