In randomized controlled trials (RCTs) where the outcome is a student-level, study-collected test score, a particularly valuable piece of information is a study-collected baseline score from the same or similar test (a pre-test). Pre-test scores can be used to increase the precision of impact estimates, conduct subgroup analysis, and reduce bias…

Class-size reduction (CSR) mandates presuppose that resources provided to reduce class size will have a larger impact on student outcomes than resources that districts can spend as they see fit. I estimate the impact of Florida's statewide CSR policy by comparing the deviations from prior achievement trends in districts that were required to…

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) has undertaken three scientifically based research studies in an effort to determine whether the integration of career and technical education (CTE) courses with academic content can increase student achievement. These include the Math-in-CTE study, completed in 2005 (also…

To help students meet higher standards, all academic and career/technical teachers need to be willing and prepared to use reading, writing and mathematics as tools for learning across the curriculum. To do so, they must have access to ongoing professional development, literacy and numeracy coaching, shared strategies, and teamwork to make literacy…

Student achievement in mathematics has been a focal concern in the United States for many years. The National Research Council's 2001 report and the recent report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) both called attention to student achievement in mathematics, and both called for all students to learn algebra by the end of eighth…

Two experts on education offer a rich and diverse selection of children's literature and teaching strategies for the K-8 mathematics classroom. To date, a vast majority of classrooms continue to fall short in the implementation and direction of NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM), in part because most of these classrooms…

There are large differences across countries in instructional time in public schooling institutions. For example, among European countries such as Belgium, France and Greece, pupils aged 15 have an average of over a thousand hours per year of total compulsory classroom instruction while in England, Luxembourg and Sweden the average is only 750…

The most powerful predictors of overall dropout risk among Austin Independent School District (AISD) 9th graders were failing either the state of Texas reading or math TAKS tests, having school attendance below 90%, and being 16 years or older at the start of the school year.

The change in the language of instruction for Mathematics under PPSMI had been opined to prejudice learners' achievements due to their weakness in the subject matter as well as in English. This study sought to analyse 186 urban and rural Primary 4 pupils' Mathematics achievements in tests using English and English/Bahasa Malaysia presentations.…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that students with disabilities be provided the necessary special education and related services that will allow them the benefit of a free and appropriate public education. Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are the product of a team planning process that facilitates the coordination…

This study examined relations among early family risk, children's behavioral regulation at 54 months and kindergarten, and academic achievement in first grade using data on 1298 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Family risk was indexed by ethnic…

This article discusses Michelle Rhee's style of leadership--as steely as the sound of her peekaboo high heels on a linoleum-tile hallway--which has angered much of Washington, D.C., and baffled the rest since she arrived as schools chancellor in June 2007. But it is also helping her gain control of a school system that has defied management for…

Students in the United States spend much less time in school than do students in most other industrialized nations, and the school year has been essentially unchanged for more than a century. This is not to say that there is no interest in extending the school year. While there has been little solid evidence that doing so will improve learning…

Many educators share the vision of the Equity Principle--teachers holding high expectations for all students. However, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports, minority students continue to lag behind white students in mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the discrepancies are more pronounced on the extended,…

This randomized, controlled field trial estimated the causal impact of a technology-based geometry curriculum on students' geometry achievement, as well as their attitudes toward mathematics and technology. The curriculum combines learner-centered classroom pedagogy with individualized, computer-based student instruction. Conducted over a 3-year…