A recent NBER [National Bureau of Economic Research] working paper examines Florida's policy to retain many low-scoring third graders. The report concludes that third-grade retention has immediate positive effects on the following year's test results, but these effects fade over the next six years, with no effect on graduation. The regression…

The study utilized a multi-method approach to explore the connection between critical thinking and epistemological beliefs in a specific problem-solving situation. Data drawn from a sample of ten third-year bioscience students were collected using a combination of a cognitive lab and a performance task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment…

This study examined the relationship of 979 middle school students' perceptions of their mathematics classroom environment to their motivation and achievement. Structural equation modeling indicated that motivational variables (utility, personal achievement goals, efficacy) mediated the influence of perceived teacher expectations, teacher…

As public budgets have grown tighter over the past decade, states and school districts have sought ways to control the growth of spending. One increasingly common strategy employed to rein in costs is to offer experienced teachers with high salaries financial incentives to retire early. Although early retirement incentive (ERI) programs have been…

Pundits and bureaucrats use the results from international tests, particularly the PISA, to make claims about the quality of the public education system in the United States and make policy recommendations. In this article I argue, with evidence, that the scores and rankings from PISA are not important and that they cannot give policy makers or…

Background/Context: The target of assessment validation is not an assessment but the use of an assessment for a purpose. Although the validation literature often provides examples of assessment purposes, comprehensive reviews of these purposes are rare. Additionally, assessment purposes posed for validation are generally described as discrete and…

Considering that achievement gaps have become a serious educational problem worldwide, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan has been addressing a series of policies to reduce achievement gaps, but the effect of these policies has not yet been carefully examined. Therefore, the present study investigated current educational policies, achievement gap…

Over the past decade, the federal investment in higher education has grown, the public demand for a postsecondary degree has risen, and skepticism about the value and meaning of the degree has increased. This confluence has prompted a more intense federal interest in having clear and comparable information about colleges and universities available…

This article presents a plan to create a united approach to improve high quality instruction in Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Professional learning communities were in their infancy, conversations around data were about autopsies of annual standardized tests, and there was no description of what…

The main goal of this article is to discuss the possibility of adapting the suggestions by Hargreaves and Shirley (2009) in their book "The Fourth Way." This paper will discuss the topic of educational change and reform through three main points. First, it will review the most important advantages and disadvantages that characterize the…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an active learning classroom environment is more effective in teaching university students certain concepts of business law than the traditional lecture environment. To generate data to answer this question, over a seven-semester period beginning in fall semester 2005, six classes of Legal…

Questions about how best to place students into appropriate middle grade math courses have been central to ongoing education policy and practice discussions in California and across the United States. Recent studies have shown that enrolling in algebra I in grade 8 works well for some students but backfires for others. This REL West report…

Class size and student achievement have been debated for decades. The vast amount of research on this topic is either conflicting or inconclusive. There are large and small scale studies that support both sides of this dilemma (Achilles, Nye, Boyd-Zaharias, Fulton, & Cain, 1994; Glass & Smith, 1979; Slavin, 1989). Class size reduction is a…

Pursuant to HB 3399, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) conducted a review for college- and career-readiness of the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) standards. Two committees -- consisting of faculty subject-matter experts from State System colleges and universities -- were…

This study aimed to compare the performance of elementary students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in reading and mathematics between students who received SES services in grades 3-5 and students who qualified for free SES services, but did not receive SES services. Title I funds are set aside annually to pay private providers…