Background: Evaluations of effectiveness of educational reforms are often based on the level of improvement in student performance from one cycle of a particular assessment to the next. However, improvements in overall performance do not necessarily translate to improved equality. Indeed, improvements that favour certain subgroups of students can…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Trends and Gaps in Reading Achievement across Kindergarten and Grade 1 in Two Illinois School Districts." This study examined reading achievement data for kindergarten and grade 1 students in two districts in Illinois: District U-46 (Elgin Area Schools) and District 186 (Springfield Public…

Technology-based learning tools provide new opportunities to engage students in learning academic content. This study focuses on one such tool, Play Lu Interactive Technology (PLIT), and analyzes how students' math achievement on standardized test scores differs between students who have used PLIT and students who have not. PLIT is designed to…

The purpose of this study is to determine how different public-school teachers and staff perceive school climate at an achieving public middle school. The research sought to find relationships between teacher sub-groups and other staff members, and how they perceived the school climate, either negatively or positively. The researcher believed that…

As educators and school leaders work towards building students' capacity throughout a student's academic career, the goal is to facilitate opportunities for students to develop college and career readiness skills that can be applied to novel and challenging problems long after high school graduation. Hess' Cognitive Rigor Matrix (HCRM) is a tool…

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) oriented schools are being formed to provide 21st century learning opportunities for students. After going through an exhaustive evaluation period schools are being recognized as STEM schools. The number of these schools is increasing every year. Education agencies provide professional development…

This study examined how high-stakes assessments and benchmark assessments impact the self-efficacy of 6th-grade students. The study took place during the 2018-2019 school year and surveyed students three times during the year. The first time was in September to obtain baseline data, a second time in October after students took the NWEA, and then a…

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine if the pre-test and post-test scores differed for learners who used four hours of traditional test preparation and for learners who used four hours of Game enhanced test preparation, and if there was a difference on mean post-test scores between test preparation types, and the post-test…

Teaching effectiveness in higher education has been studied for a long time. The widely used student evaluation of teachers has limitations on measuring teaching effectiveness by directly assessing teacher-centered practices. Additionally, there is little evidence to support the usefulness of student evaluation data to improve and shape the…

State accountability systems assume standards based instruction and test content are highly aligned and opportunities to learn the content exist equally for all students. This alignment between content taught and tested is important to understand achievement, yet it is rarely examined. Teachers from Grades 3 to 8 participated along with students…

The focus of this study was to examine peer-reviewed 'draw-a-scientist' test (DAST) research studies conducted primarily in the USA. In a similar review of science education research into the 'nature of science views', it was found that race played a prominent role in that research agenda and therefore may be impacting DAST research as well. Using…

The present study has two main purposes. The first is to create a short form of the BTPS and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the short form. The second is to evaluate the performance of the ant colony optimization procedure and discuss the applicability of the ant colony optimization procedure in creating a short form. Results revealed…

This paper is about attitudes toward sign languages. The paper presents an idea to help make sign language surveys better in the future. In 2018, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) published a sign language survey and a spoken language survey together for the first time. This was very important to show…

Approaching assessment from an end-to-end perspective helps with appropriate assessment selection, design, and practice. Thinking in terms of end-to-end reminds teachers to keep in sight the aspirations (or ends) associated with any assessment activity. It also helps teachers to consider how to integrate assessment activities and capabilities into…

Creative orientation is the extent to which different individuals are drawn toward creative activities (e.g., art, music). We know relatively little about child-level creative orientation given certain testing limitations. Adult tools often measure time spent engaged in creative pursuits, but this method is unsuitable for children because their…