This three-article dissertation explores educational innovation in charter schools. A common frame of reference for each article is the consideration of the influence of Dr. Benjamin Bloom's 2 sigma problem--the observation that one-on-one tutoring, though often cost prohibitively expensive, produces outcomes two standard deviations higher than…

We examined the extent to which the timing of inferential questioning influenced kindergartners' inferencing performance in a non-reading context, while also taking into account individual differences in language comprehension and executive function. Students completed the eight-week Early Language Comprehension Individualized Instruction (ELCII)…

Special education teacher preparation programs are charged with providing preservice teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively implement reading interventions using evidence-based practices. Practicum experiences allow preservice teachers to practice implementing these teaching practices in authentic settings. Preservice…

NWEA claimed their assessment results could accurately predict student performance in reading and mathematics on the ACT Aspire for students in Grades 7 through 10. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students' scores on the NWEA MAP tests in reading and mathematics and the ACT Aspire for students in Grades 7…

With the onset and implementation of No Child Left Behind legislation almost two decades ago, coupled with declining performance by U.S. students compared with other developed countries, public education in our country has been under constant scrutiny from all fronts and continues to be there today. Much of the recent emphasis in educational…

Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., currently in its fifth edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many of the characteristics associated…

This study explored the importance and teacher self-efficacy in presenting instruction of phonemic and phonological awareness. The problem addressed was many teachers lack the pedagogical content knowledge of phonemic and phonological awareness. The purpose of this collective case study was to examine the knowledge and self-efficacy of classroom…

Future Forward (FF) is an early primary program that leverages both one-on-one tutoring and parent engagement to develop the literacy skills of struggling readers. In 2010, FF was awarded an i3 grant, under the name of SPARK, to develop and test its impact in seven Milwaukee Public Schools primarily serving low-income Black and Latinx students. In…

Digital academic reading tools on computers bring multiple benefits to higher-education students. Through structural equation modeling methods, this study contributes to the following findings: (1) Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and lecturers' positive responses significantly predict students' positive attitudes toward digital…

This study explores the relationship among student college attainment and the variables mathematical thinking, analytical thinking, language structure, reading comprehension, mathematics result, physics result, written language (Spanish), and English as a foreign language. Method: The participants were 130 students enrolled in an undergraduate…

Research suggests that elementary English Learners (ELs) benefit from interactive dual-language vocabulary instruction delivered one-on-one or in small groups. However, there are many barriers to providing this type of instruction to all ELs, including time constraints and bilingual teacher shortages. Thus, there is a high need for innovative,…

We investigated effects of tracking students into higher, more academic, and lower, less academic, school types immediately after primary school (early tracking) instead of having a comprehensive secondary school system (late tracking) on school gender segregation and gender gaps in achievement outcomes. We assumed that, in early tracking…

Our qualitative case study aimed to identify how four second-grade emergent bilingual students and their teacher engaged with listening comprehension during interactive read-aloud discussions with more and less culturally relevant books, and how this intersected with the teacher's use of culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogical tenets. Data…

Scholarship examining the role of cultural capital in school outcomes in relation to race and ethnicity in the French context is scarce. This article seeks to test how various potential forms of cultural capital, beyond the most traditional ones, are associated with school grades relationally with French students' backgrounds. Using Ministry of…

School closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have brought the issue of learning loss to the forefront in what has been called the "COVID slide." Data from the pandemic show a decline in student achievement in the areas of reading and mathematics for school districts that shifted to virtual learning platforms. However, it is…