This study evaluated how people learn about encoding strategy effectiveness in an associative memory task. Individuals studied two lists of paired associates under instructions to use either a normatively effective strategy (interactive imagery) or a normatively ineffective strategy (rote repetition) for each pair. Questionnaire ratings of imagery…

This study analyzed results of an NSF-funded project that used Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™ to promote writing and reviewing skills. The specific focus of the study was whether students at different levels of performance showed improvement in writing and reviewing competency with repeated use of CPR. The study paid specific attention to progress…

Background: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) often experience difficulties in the recall and repetition of verbal information. Archibald and Gathercole (2006) suggested that children with SLI are vulnerable across two separate components of a tripartite model of working memory (Baddeley and Hitch 1974). However, the hierarchical…

This study examined eighth grade predictor variables for predictive power in identifying students at-risk for dropping out of high school in a northwest Georgia school district. This study involved 340 participants from the 2005/2006 ninth grade class in the selected school district. This quantitative study employed correlation analyses to…

The following report gives the statistical findings of the July 2010 TMSL Bar results. Procedures: Data is pre-existing and was given to the Evaluator by email from the Registrar and Dean. Statistical analyses were run using SPSS 17 to address the following research questions: 1. What are the statistical descriptors of the July 2010 overall TMSL…

This report describes Austin Independent School District English language learner (ELL) students who were more likely to exit the language program within 5 years of 1st-grade enrollment. A summary of student academic performance associated with successful program exit and long-term ELL status is provided.

This study contributes a novel perspective on grade retention by empirically examining how classroom composition relates to the standardized-testing performance of grade-retained students in their post-retained years. This evaluation employed a sample of entire cohorts of urban elementary school children in the Philadelphia School District over 6…

This worksheet from the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) is an optional tool to help schools organize multiple years of student and program data for the purpose of identifying school-completion needs that can be addressed through the implementation of research-based interventions. It is designed for use…

Purpose: This study examined verbal working memory and language ability in 15 school-age children with autism using 3 verbal working memory tasks and 1 story recall task. Method: Three measures of verbal working memory--nonword repetition, memory for digits span, and sentence imitation--were given to children with autism and age-matched controls.…

The present meta-analysis examines the effect of grade retention on academic outcomes and investigates systemic sources of variability in effect sizes. Using multilevel modeling (MLM), the authors investigate characteristics of 207 effect sizes across 22 studies published between 1990 and 2007 at two levels: the study (between) and individual…

For big urban districts, it can be slippery work to catch and hold students who are falling off track at a point that derails too many graduations: the transition from 8th to 9th grade. This article reports that the Chicago school district is putting a suite of new data reports into the hands of those who teach and counsel its 30,000 freshmen this…

This article demonstrates, through stories of Ohanian's teaching, journalism experience, and analysis of testing items and outcomes, that we have every right and obligation to challenge institutionalized norms that shape today's views of assessment practices.

NovaNET is a technology-based teacher-facilitated educational approach used at schools to support students at risk of not meeting graduation requirements to accrue credits in a variety of subjects. NovaNET contributes to the WCPSS goal of closing achievement gaps and creating opportunities for all students to graduate on time. In 2008-09, 38…

This study examined the effectiveness of Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI) on improving reading fluency for an ethnically diverse sample of second-grade students. FORI incorporates the repeated reading of a grade-level text over the course of an academic week. This approach to reading uses scaffolding by expert readers. Results indicate…

The goal of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, "Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices," is to formulate specific and coherent evidence-based recommendations that educators can use to improve literacy levels among adolescents in upper elementary, middle, and high schools. It includes…