Do undergraduates whose native language is not English have writing deficiencies leading to academic struggles? The present study showed that the answer to this question was "no" at an American West Coast public university. This university's nonresident undergraduates on average earned B- to B+ in their colleges' English…

Teacher collaboration has become an increasingly important lever for school improvement efforts. This is especially true in high need urban districts, which struggle with capacity building in the face of significant teacher turnover, major shifts in curriculum and instruction, and scarce resources. This paper employs a mixed methods approach to…

One promising intervention to support the writing skills of students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders is self-regulated strategy development (SRSD). The purpose of this study was to extend this line of inquiry to a residential setting with teachers serving as interventionists and determine the effects of the SRSD using the…

Educational games have the potential to be innovative forms of learning assessment, by allowing us to not just study their knowledge but the process that takes students to that knowledge. This paper examines the mediating role of players' moves in digital games on changes in their pre-post classroom measures of implicit science learning. We…

This research explores one university's effort to facilitate integrative learning with a reflective ePortfolio process. Integrative learning is conceptualized using a multi-theoretical construct consisting of transfer of learning, reflective practice, and self-authorship. As part of the evaluation of this process, students completed a pre-survey…

The passing of the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) of 1970, as well as subsequent education policy, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), have been pivotal to ensuring that both the civil and educational rights of students with disabilities continue to be promoted and protected within educational settings. In…

The relation between early joint attention (in which a child coordinates attention between another person and an object or event) and later language and social outcomes was examined in younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (Sibs-ASD) and younger siblings of children with typical development (Sibs-TD). Initial levels of joint…

Current research on examination response time has focused on tests comprised of traditional multiple-choice items. Consequently, the impact of other innovative or complex item formats on examinee response time is not understood. The present study used multilevel growth modeling to investigate examinee characteristics associated with response time…

The classroom environment influences students' academic outcomes, but it is often students' perceptions that shape their classroom experiences. Our study examined the extent to which observed classroom environment features shaped perceptions of the classroom, and explained levels of, and changes in, girls' motivation in junior secondary school…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an indispensable part of the 21st century. Having basic ICT skills is now seen as an important attribute that members of the young cohort should possess in order to be successful in life. Thus, countries all over the world, including Turkey, have attempted to adjust their educational…

Teacher professional development has long been of interest since it may affect teachers' learning, the practice of teaching, and student learning. Although empirical research has mainly explored the effect of specific professional development interventions on student achievement, these inventions have been initiated outside the school, and little…

Research has consistently shown that traditional admission measures--SAT® scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA)--are valid predictors of early college performance such as first-year grades; however, their usefulness to predict later college outcomes has been questioned, especially for the SAT. This study builds on previous research…

This Methodological Brief gives an overview of statistical methods used to gauge academic growth and discusses issues surrounding the measurement of growth in gifted populations. To illustrate some of these issues, we describe a growth model that examines differences in summer lag between gifted and nongifted students. We also provide…

Test accommodations have been proposed to help overcome the unfair challenges faced by English Language Learners (ELLs) due to their relatively low English proficiency. A test accommodation is regarded as effective when it improves the test performance of ELLs. However, this improvement raises the question of whether such accommodations give ELLs…

The present study was designed to explore the association between preschool academic skills and Grade 3 achievement among a sample of ethnically diverse children from low-income families. Data were collected from a sample of 1,442 low-income, ethnically diverse children in preschool and associated with Grade 3 achievement in reading and…