This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance…

The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of…

We developed equivalent, alternate forms of easyCBM[R] in reading (n=20 forms) and mathematics (n=13 forms) with different skills reflective of the National Reading Panel (NRP) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), respectively. We then took three forms to use as screening measures in the fall, winter, and spring so educators…

Denver is currently in the national education spotlight, largely because of its willingness to try a unique combination of major education reforms not seen in other large urban school districts. While many observers hold these reforms in high regard, a steep road lies ahead. Current student results are unacceptable by all measures. The time is…

In response to demands for school accountability, states now devote much attention to distinguishing among effective and ineffective schools. These efforts, while varying considerably in rigor and sophistication, generally emphasize technical or allocative efficiency (e.g., the marginal productivity of measured inputs employed in various…

A primary feature of the Math and Science Partnership Program Evaluation (MSP PE) is the examination of K-12 student achievement changes associated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program. This article describes one of three complementary assessments of K-12 student achievement being conducted by the…

A 2-year school-based mathematics professional development program is described and evaluated after its first year of implementation. Included in this program as its first course was a unique methods course in elementary education involving both preservice students and inservice teachers who cooperatively studied and applied reform pedagogy. The…

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between children's experiences of three different types of violence and academic achievement among primary school children in Kingston, Jamaica. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1300 children in grade 5 [mean (S.D.) age: 11 (0.5) years] from 29 government primary schools in urban…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how a valid and reliable state accountability system could be developed that identifies effective schools and school districts in a comprehensive, understandable, and practical way. The author presents an overview of the strategy used in the analysis, discusses the use of education production functions…

Previous research stresses the importance of seriation, classification, and counting abilities that should be assessed in kindergarten, when looking for crucial predictors of mathematical learning disabilities in Grade 1. This study examines (n = 158) two-year-long predictive relationships between children's seriation, classification, procedural…

More than seven years ago, President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) into law. Sweeping calls for testing, intervening in persistently low-performing schools, and policing teacher quality made it the most ambitious legislation on K-12 schooling in American history. The law, due for congressional reauthorization in 2007, still…

Background: Childhood obesity is a major public health threat. Increased fitness may have a positive influence on cognitive performance in both adults and children. Purpose: To examine which aspects of children's fitness assessment are associated with their performance on four different academic areas. Methods: FITNESSGRAM measures aerobic…

The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of…

This paper develops a model for longitudinal student achievement data designed to estimate heterogeneity in teacher effects across students of different achievement levels. The model specifies interactions between teacher effects and students' predicted scores on a test, estimating both average effects of individual teachers and interaction terms…

In a direct reversal from last year, the 2007-08 achievement gap between schools in southeast Wisconsin and those in the rest of the state, as measured by Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE) standardized test scores, narrowed in all subjects at all grade levels. While the region lags the state in WKCE test scores and schools making…