Many students from disadvantaged homes participating in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 were classified as academic resilient (called "disadvantaged high achiever", the DHA in this study). In comparison with peers of comparable home background status, there were also students from advantaged homes performing…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. This document presents highlights relating to English learners and absenteeism, retention, and suspension for school year (SY) 2013-2014. The topics for this report include: (1)…

This annual report provides information for the 2013-14 school year on grade-level retention and student performance in the Texas public school system. Student retention and promotion data are reported with data on the performance of students in Grades 3-8 on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and mathematics…

This annual report provides information for the 2014-15 school year on grade-level retention and student performance in the Texas public school system. Student retention and promotion data are reported with data on the performance of students in Grades 3-8 on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and mathematics…

As pre-K programming increasingly garners more political attention and funding in the states, policymakers are seeking the most up-to-date and rigorous research to support decision-making and creation or expansion of these programs. High-quality pre-K has bipartisan support in part because of the vast amount of existing research detailing positive…

The term "at-risk" is used by educators and policymakers to describe a wide variety of students who struggle in schools (Kronholz, 2011). Factors associated with labeling students at-risk include minority status, poverty, language difficulties, low school attendance, and poor family support (Reglin, Akpo-Sanni, Losike-Sedimo, 2012;…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to investigate to what extent 2007 performance of third grade students who had been retained in 2006 for failing to attain proficiency on the Reading and Mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) predicted their performance in 2010 on the sixth grade Reading and Mathematics…

Students of lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in extramural support services and overrepresented in special education. This raises questions about their participation in other student guidance trajectories and the support they receive from the school during the student guidance process. Therefore, a…

We present evidence of a positive relationship between school starting age and children's cognitive development from ages 6 to 18 using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design and large-scale population-level birth and school data from the state of Florida. We estimate effects of being old for grade (being born in September vs. August) that are…

This case focuses on a novice principal who advocates for a student who was assigned to the first grade for 3 consecutive years. As the instructional leader of the school, the novice principal is troubled by ethics and social justice issues involved to make the decision to assign the student to his age-appropriate grade. The student was placed in…

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs are school-based preventive interventions that aim to improve children's social-emotional skills and behavioral development. Although meta-analytic research has shown that SEL programs can improve academic and behavioral outcomes in the short term, few studies have examined program effects on receipt of…

High School graduation rates are key indicators of accountability for high schools and school districts in Oregon. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) implemented the cohort method of calculating graduation rates. The cohort method identifies the year the student entered high school for the first time…

Many states and districts offer full-day kindergarten (FDK) to provide additional time for student learning in the hope that it will improve student outcomes. Prior research has shown an association between FDK and gains in student outcomes such as math and reading standardized assessment scores. In 2015/16, through a policy shift, Oregon changed…

North Carolina's Smart Start and More at Four (MAF) early childhood programs were evaluated through the end of elementary school (age 11) by estimating the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years on outcomes for all children in each county-year group (n = 1,004,571; 49% female; 61%…

A Comprehensive K-3 Reading Policy establishes intensive reading intervention for K-3 students to ensure they read on grade level by the end of third grade. The policy then requires third grade students to demonstrate sufficient reading skills for promotion to fourth grade. Retention provides struggling readers the additional time and intensive…