The present study aimed to examine the effect of a dialogic book reading program on preschool children's perspective taking skills. In line with this aim, a dialogic book reading program was designed, and its effects were tested in a quasi-experimental study involving both pre/post and follow-up tests. The study group consisted of 42 five-year old…

In school year 2023-2024, the Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County (ELC PBC) led the deployment of "My Reading Academy" across the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC), across all privately operated 256 voluntary pre-k (VPK) sites and the SDPBC (public and private schools). In school year 2023-2024, pre-kindergarten…

This dissertation consists of two chapters that examine the impact of educational and positive youth development programs on students' academic and behavioral outcomes. In the first chapter, I evaluate the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a school meal provision allowing schools meeting the eligibility requirements to…

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program that serves young people ages 16 to 18 who are struggling to complete their high school credential. This is the ninth report in an annual series that RAND researchers have issued. The prior annual reports cover 2015 through 2022. Each annual report documents the…

Students in Timor-Leste face low educational outcomes due to sociopolitical factors rooted in the nation's colonial history. This study evaluates the academic impact of a low-resource afterschool supplementary tutoring program designed to address learning gaps and improve school outcomes across rural and urban settings. Using instructional design…

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…

High-impact tutoring is a research-based approach to providing individualized instruction for students and accelerating learning. It was one of the most popular uses of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) dollars, with 10 states spending a portion of their funding on large-scale tutoring initiatives. Illinois was one…

The United States is seeing a widespread teacher shortage. Enrollments in TPPs have declined over the past decades, attrition rates are high, and the COVID-19 pandemic just exacerbated the issue. National and state governments, colleges and universities, and school districts have been looking to strengthen the teacher pipeline by establishing…

The United States is seeing a widespread teacher shortage. Enrollments in TPPs have declined over the past decades, attrition rates are high, and the COVID-19 pandemic just exacerbated the issue. National and state governments, colleges and universities, and school districts have been looking to strengthen the teacher pipeline by establishing…

This dissertation comprises three complementary studies that aim to advance the understanding and practice of Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) development in special education. In the first study, we systematically reviewed empirical research measuring IEP…

Headsprout Early Reading is a computer-based program designed on behavioral principles to enhance the basic skills that underpin the initial development of reading. In a within and between groups design, and using primary schools within Northern Ireland that had a currently high proportion of disadvantaged pupils, children who were behind their…

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an applied STEM program first introduced nearly three decades ago to enhance the STEM content of Career Technical Education (CTE). Currently, more than 12,000 US high schools offer the program. Using data from three cohorts of public high school freshmen in Missouri, we investigate the impact of PLTW program offer…

The purpose of this study was to explore potential effects of a 12-week therapeutic mentoring program targeting social, emotional, and behavioral concerns in 52 children and adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age. Self-reported scores on a norm-referenced behavioral questionnaire were tracked across the span of a mentoring program, and then…

This brief focuses on the school year 2024-2025 implementation of "My Reading Academy" across 17 voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) sites in the Early Learning Coalition of Brevard County. It highlights the effects of the programs on students' development of early reading skills as well as educators' capacity to support their students'…

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…