Whether instructional-communication feedback sent to struggling students and succeeding students following course exams would significantly increase their exam scores and significantly decrease their exam-skipping behavior relative to students in the control group was investigated. An experimenter-blind study utilizing feedback and the…

In this article, multiple-baseline across participants designs were used to evaluate the impact of a precision teaching (PT) program, within a Tier 2 Response to Intervention framework, targeting fluency in foundational reading skills with at risk kindergarten readers. Thirteen multiple-baseline design experiments that included participation from…

Research has demonstrated the efficacy of mentoring at-risk students in a number of fields from physical education to math and science. While separate research has found that many at-risk students lack effective communication skills, little research has explored the potential of communication mentoring in improving at-risk students' communication…

We examined the role of six psychosocial factors (PSFs) in explaining gender gaps in English Composition (n = 8,633) and College Algebra (n = 2,261) using data of first-year female (55%) and male students from 42 colleges. Using a multilevel model and controlling for prior achievement, we found that PSFs mediated between 3% and 41% of the gender…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a social-emotional learning curriculum, Strong Kids, for children at risk for begin referred for placement in emotional and behavioral support classrooms. Thirty-nine fourth- and fifth-grade students enrolled in an urban elementary school participated in the intervention. The results of this…

This study measured the impact of targeted reading interventions on improving reading fluency for second-grade students as indicated by their performance on a statewide standardized assessment of reading fluency proficiency. Reading fluency scores for students who received intervention in second grade were measured again in their third-grade year…

Students who do not regularly attend high school are at an increased risk of failure in the classroom and may eventually contribute to a higher dropout rate. More specifically, the attendance rates of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds have traditionally been lower than those with average means. Therefore, the purpose of this…

Xavier University of Louisiana leads the nation in awarding BS degrees in the biological sciences to African-American students. In this multiyear study with ~5500 participants, data-driven interventions were adopted to improve student academic performance in a freshman-level general biology course. The three hour-long exams were common and…

Early math skills are a strong predictor of later achievement for young children, not only in math, but in other domains as well. Exhibiting strong math skills in elementary school is predictive of later high school completion and college attendance. To that end, the Making Pre-K Count and High 5s studies set out to rigorously assess whether…

This study examines the issues surrounding middle school students' transitions to high school and the degree to which freshman orientation models can help them. The attendance, discipline, report card grades, and end-of-course exams of 60 students who participated in a freshman orientation were compared to those of 150 students who were invited to…

This study analyzed the performance and growth in letter knowledge and letter identification skills of children across an academic year. Repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted on letter name knowledge measures administered at three time points for all participating children (N = 177) and seven time points for children (n = 106)…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if urban preschool decreased the likelihood of future identification of learning disabled (LD). According to the Child Development Institute (2010) and the Learning Disabilities Association of America (2010), four to ten percent of the school-aged students in this country are learning disabled.…

As part of its ongoing efforts to raise the academic achievement of children from low-income families in Kansas City, Missouri, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation founded the Ewing Marion Kauffman School in fall 2011. The Kauffman School's mission is "to prepare students to excel academically, graduate from college, and apply their unique…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the college-readiness rates of high school graduates in Texas designated as being (a) economically disadvantaged, (b) Limited English Proficient (LEP), or (c) enrolled in special education using archival data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS). Data,…

High-stakes testing has become crucial in public education, requiring students to meet increasingly higher standards, regardless of their ability levels. This causal-comparative study sought to determine the effectiveness of an intervention mathematics course in the middle school setting for at-risk, sixth grade students. The Georgia Criterion…