The purpose of this dissertation research is to evaluate the sustained use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) with fidelity by high school personnel working with students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a comprehensive educational intervention once the support from the…

The demographic composition of America's population has changed significantly over the past several decades which is reflected in classrooms that are culturally and linguistically more diverse. In particular, the rapidly growing population of non-native English speaking students has highlighted the need for language instruction programs to…

This mixed methods study explored how elementary school teachers who use Twitter extensively use it to support their professional learning and development. Four research questions guided this study: 1. How are teachers using Twitter for their professional learning and development? 2. What do teachers report learning from their use of Twitter? 3.…

The Tutoring Partnership was a Saint Paul and Minneapolis network of 28 community-based programs that provided academic interventions through tutoring. The common goal was improving students' academic outcomes. The Tutoring Partnership, operated by the Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation, supported participating programs by helping them improve…

This report summarizes findings from an implementation and outcomes study of the Tutoring Partnership. The Tutoring Partnership was a Saint Paul and Minneapolis network of 28 community-based programs that provided academic interventions through tutoring. The common goal was improving students' academic outcomes. The Tutoring Partnership, operated…

This study examined the effects of Reading Intervention for Adolescents, a 2-year extensive reading intervention targeting current and former English learners identified as struggling readers based on their performance on the state accountability assessment. Students who enrolled at three participating urban high schools were randomly assigned to…

The "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"), as amended by the "Every Student Succeeds Act" ("ESSA") has transformed federal support for low-performing schools by moving away from prescriptive models of school turnaround toward supporting state innovation. State approaches to implementing…

Before the 2011-12 school year, eligible students in the 11th and 12th grades were funded by the state for a combined maximum of 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) in both high school and the Running Start program each year. In 2011, the Legislature established a limit to this funding for a combined maximum enrollment of 1.2 FTE over one school year.…

Researchers agree that students with disabilities (SWD) who are at increased risk for bullying perpetration and victimization require more intensive interventions than their peers without disabilities. In response to the recent call for integrating bullying prevention and interventions efforts into a multi-tiered framework such as Positive…

This paper evaluates and compares two randomized interventions in Tonga, one targeting the home environment of children up to age 5 and one targeting the school environment for first and second grade students. The first intervention supports communities to set up and run playgroups that aim to improve caregiver-child interaction at home and…

Policymakers and practitioners at the local, state, and federal levels have invested considerable time and energy into solving the problem of turning around chronically low-performing schools. As the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has refined the federal effort to support states and districts to turn schools around, it has adopted…

In this report, we describe the results of a rigorous two-year study of the impacts of a mathematics initiative called Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP) on teacher and student learning in grades 3-5 in two Philadelphia area school districts. OGAP is a mathematics program which combines teacher formative assessment practices with knowledge of…

At 1.8 billion, today's generation of youth--those ages ten to twenty-four--is the largest the world has ever known. One-third of them live in fragile or conflict-affected countries. Susceptible to the sway of external parties, narratives, and ideologies, they are influenced by their circumstances--enhancing the likelihood of their participating…

The research is clear that parents and families are an essential component to the education of the whole child. Since this is so well-documented, it is essential for educator preparation programs to have coursework and experiences focused on this critical aspect of education. New teachers must leave educator preparation programs with the skills…

In 2014, as part of the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) Ohio Demonstration, Lorain County Community College launched Students Accelerating in Learning (SAIL), a comprehensive student success program that is substantially improving persistence and graduation rates among low-income students. Given the program's results, Lorain has…