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Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood
Kemple, J.J. and Willner, C.J. (2008). Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood. New York: MDRC.
Career Academies have become a widely used high school reform initiative that aims to keep students engaged in school and prepare them for successful transitions to postsecondary education and employment. Typically serving between 150 and 200 students from grades 9 or 10 through grade 12, Career Academies combine academic and technical curricula around a career theme, and establish partnerships with local employers to provide work-based learning opportunities.
Since 1993, MDRC has been conducting a uniquely rigorous evaluation of the Career Academy approach in a diverse group of nine high schools across the United States. Located in medium- and large-sized school districts, the schools confront many of the educational challenges found in low-income urban settings. This report describes how Career Academies influenced students' labor market prospects and postsecondary educational attainment in the eight years following their expected graduation. The results are based on the experiences of more than 1,400 young people, approximately 85 percent of whom are Hispanic or African-American.
Teaching Reading Well: A Synthesis of the International Reading Association's Research on Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction
International Reading Association. (2007). Reading Well: A Synthesis of the International Reading Association's Research on Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction. Newark, DE: Author.
This report synthesizes the findings of research efforts focused on identifying essential qualities of effective teacher preparation programs for reading instruction. It finds that good teacher prep programs provide students with excellent instructional content; faculty and teaching; apprenticeships, field experiences, and practica; diversity; candidate and program assessment; and governance, resources, and vision.
¿Qué Pasa? Are English Language Learning Students Remaining In English Classes Too Long?
Flores, E., Painter, G., Harlow-Nash, Z., & Pachon, H. (1999, October). Que pasa? Are English language learning students remaining in English learning classes too long? The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Retrieved from http://www.trpi.org/PDFs/LAUSD%20Policy%20Brief.pdf
This study utilized an analysis of the records provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District on all non-special education students who were in 6th grade in 1999. The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute studied whether or not a transfer from English language learning classes to mainstream English classes (reclassification) would improve academic achievement. Six indicators determined the impact of reclassification: SAT9 Math and Reading scores in 8th grade, failing the 9th grade, dropping out, passing the California High School Exit Exam, and ever taking an Advanced Placement Course. The following was also taken into consideration: percent of full credentialed teachers, percent of the school that is ELL, percent of school receiving free or reduced lunch; as well as nativity, socioeconomics, and prior performance.
3.6 Minutes Per Day: The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade
Duke, N.K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day: The scarcity of informational texts in first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 35, 202-224.
Abstract:
Although scholars have called for greater attention to informational texts in the early grades for some time, there have been few data available about the degree to which informational texts are actually included in early grade classrooms, and in what ways. This study provides basic, descriptive information about informational text experiences offered to children in 20 first-grade classrooms selected from very low- and very high-SES school districts. Each classroom was visited for four full days over the course of a school year. On each visit, data were collected about the types of texts on classroom walls and other surfaces, in the classroom library, and in classroom written language activities.
Results show a scarcity of informational texts in these classroom print environments and activities – there were relatively few informational texts included in classroom libraries, little informational text on classroom walls and other surfaces, and a mean of only 3.6 minutes per day spent with informational texts during classroom written language activities. This scarcity was particularly acute for children in the low-SES school districts, where informational texts comprised a much smaller proportion of already-smaller classroom libraries, where informational texts were even less likely to be found on classroom walls and other surfaces, and where the mean time per day spent with informational texts was 1.9 minutes, with half the low-SES classrooms spending no time at all with informational texts during any of the four days each was observed. Strategies for increasing attention to informational texts in the early grades are presented.
A Century Apart: Revealing Alarming Disparities in Well-Being among U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups
Lewis, K. & Burd-Sharps, S. (2010). A Century Apart: Revealing Alarming Disparities in Well-Being among U.S. Racial and Ethnic Groups. Brooklyn, NY: American Human Development Project.
The report analyzes the disparity among whites, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, in the nation as a whole and state-by-state in order to get a “more comprehensive measure than GDP for fact-based policy debates about progress in the U.S.”
A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School
Copyright 2007 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Used with permission. Olson, C.B. and Land, R. (2007). A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School. Research in the Teaching of English, 41(3), http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/rte/articles/126617.htm.
Cognitive strategies, such as predicting, summarizing, and reflecting-strategies used by experienced readers and writers, are vital to the development of academic literacy, but these strategies are too rarely taught explicitly, especially to English Language Learners (ELLs). This study reports the results of a California Writing Project study in which 55 teachers implemented a cognitive-strategies approach to reading and writing instruction for their ELL secondary students over an eight-year period and includes a detailed description of a teacher's cognitive strategies "tool kit."
A Critical Mission: Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). (2009). A critical mission: making adolescent reading an immediate priority in SREB states. Atlanta, GA: Author.
This report from the nonprofit Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) urges states to develop comprehensive adolescent literacy policies that establish improvement in middle grades and high school reading and writing as the most immediate critical priority for public schools.
The SREB calls for states to:
- Identify the specific reading skills students need to improve their achievement in key academic subjects.
- Change the curricula to include the reading skills identified as crucial for students in each subject.
- Help teachers share subject-specific reading strategies with students.
- Assist struggling readers so that those who are behind can catch up before they become likely high school dropouts.
- Call for state education agencies to work with local school systems to make sure these changes begin to take place and that every educator knows higher reading skills are the top priority in public education.
A Description of Foundation Skills Interventions for Struggling Middle-Grade Readers in Four Urban Northeast and Islands Region School Districts
Zorfass, J., & Urbano, C. (2008). A description of foundation skills interventions for struggling middle-grade readers in four urban Northeast and Islands Region school districts (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2008-No. 042). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.
This study, conducted during the 2006-07 academic year, describes how four mid-size urban school districts in the Northeast and Islands Region—Worcester, Massachusetts; Nashua, New Hampshire; Yonkers, New York; and Providence, Rhode Island, conducted foundation skills assessments and provided foundation skills programs to struggling middle-grade readers.
The study identifies six factors that, according to the district representatives interviewed, can promote or hinder program implementation:
- Building on the federal Reading First initiative by expanding selected aspects of the program to upper elementary and middle grades,
- Using Response-to-Intervention and three-tier reading models,
- Fostering collaboration among relevant departments and programs,
- Recruiting highly qualified teachers in relevant areas,
- Solving problems of time and scheduling, and
- Ensuring that programs are carried out as designed.
A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness
Lippman, L, Atienza, A., Rivers, A. & Kieth, J. (2008). A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness. Washington, DC: Child Trends.
This report provides a developmental perspective on what competencies young people need to be ready for college, the workplace, and the transition to adulthood.The competencies needed are organized into five domains of youth development: physical, psychological, social, cognitive, and spiritual.
A First Look at the Commom Core and College and Career Readiness
ACT. (2010). A first look at the common core and college and career readiness. Iowa City, IA: Author.
This report provides an estimate of current student performance on the Common Core State Standards using ACT college- and career-readiness data. The report also provides recommendations for local educators and state and federal policymakers that will be particularly helpful to the 44 states that are moving from adoption to implementation of the common standards. Some of the report’s key findings include:
- Across all Common Core domains, strands, and clusters, only one-third to one-half of 11th-grade students are reaching a college and career readiness level of achievement.
- As in other reports, including ACT’s most recent Condition of College and Career and Readiness report, the percentages of Caucasian students who met or exceeded college and career readiness were uniformly higher than those of African American, Hispanic, and other underserved students.
- ACT recommends state and district leaders begin to focus targeted instructional strategies to support student learning in four key areas of the Common Core State Standards: Text Complexity, Language and Vocabulary Acquisition, Number and Quantity, and Mathematical Practices.
A Race Against the Clock: The Value of Expanded Learning Time for English Language Learners
Lazarin, Melissa. (2008). A Race Against the Clock. Washington, D.C. Center for American Progress.
This report examines time as the main factor to expand learning during the school year by providing longer school hours, after school and weekend assistance, and other after school activities that can improve the quality of education in students at all grade levels. This report also list a number of programs that are already implementing expanded learning hours to improve the level of education provided to all students. According to this report, time in school can directly and positively impact the current data showing English Language Learners as the population who is less likely graduate. Report also available in Spanish.
A Schema-Theoretic View of Basic Processes in Reading
Anderson, R.C., & Pearson, P.D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading. In P.D. Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of Reading Research (pp.255-291). New York: Longman.
A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade
Pew Hispanic Center. (2006). A Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population at Mid-Decade. Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, DC.
This is a collection of 32 tables that examine various demographic categories of foreign-born individuals in the United States as of 2005. Some of the charts have comparisons to year 2000 data.
A Synthesis of Research on Effective Interventions for Building Reading Fluency with Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities
Chard, D., Vaughn, S., & Tyler, B. J. (2002). A synthesis of research on effective interventions for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36, 386-406.
Fluent reading, often defined as speed and accuracy, is an important skill for all readers to develop. Students with learning disabilities (LD) often struggle to read fluently, leading to difficulties in reading comprehension. Despite recent attention to reading fluency and ways to improve fluency, it is not clear which features of interventions that are designed to enhance fluency are beneficial for the most struggling readers. The purpose of this study is to synthesize research on interventions that are designed primarily to build reading fluency for students with LD. The search yielded 24 published and unpublished studies that reported findings on intervention features, including repeated reading with and without a model, sustained reading, number of repetitions, text difficulty, and specific improvement criteria. Our findings suggest that effective interventions for building fluency include an explicit model of fluent reading, multiple opportunities to repeatedly read familiar text independently and with corrective feedback, and established performance criteria for increasing text difficulty.
Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents
Torgesen, J. K., Houston, D. D., Rissman, L. M., Decker, S. M., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J. Francis, D. J, Rivera, M. O., Lesaux, N. (2007). Academic literacy instruction for adolescents: A guidance document from the Center on Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
Created by the Center on Instruction to assist literacy specialists in their work, this report makes research-based recommendations for improving academic literacy instruction in 1) content areas, 2) for English language learners, and 3) in classes with struggling readers. The report also includes advice and comments from eight literacy experts.
Accommodations for English Language Learner Students: The Effect of Linguistic Modification of Math Test Item Sets
Sato, E., Rabinowitz, S., Gallagher, C. Huang, C.W. (2010). Accommodations for English language learner students: the effect of linguistic modification of math test item sets. (NCEE 2009–4079). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
When students take a state achievement test in mathematics, test directions and test items typically are presented in English. Students with low English proficiency might not understand the test directions or the math problems. As a result, their test scores may be a measure of their limited English skills or other factors rather than an accurate measure of only their math knowledge and skills. Therefore, English language learners (ELs) may be constrained in showing what they know and can do because the test therefore measures factors other than students' content–related knowledge and skills. Research has shown that math test items can be linguistically modified to reduce language load without altering the construct being assessed. This study was designed to examine whether one type of accommodation, linguistic modification, when applied to math test items, improves the accessibility of assessed math content and increases the validity of items measuring math understanding, particularly for EL students with limited English proficiency and non–EL/non–English–proficient students.
Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Vanneman, A., Hamilton, L., Baldwin Anderson, J., and Rahman, T. (2009). Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, (NCES 2009-455). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
In 2007, reading scores for both Black and White public school students in grades 4 and 8 nationwide, as measured by the main assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), were higher than in any previous assessment, going back to 1990. White students, however, had higher scores than Black students, on average. This report uses results from both the main NAEP and the long-term trend NAEP assessments to examine the Black-White achievement gaps, and changes in those gaps, at the national and state levels. This report provides detailed information on the size of the achievement gaps between Black and White students at both the national and state levels and how those achievement gaps have changed over time.
Adolescent Literacy Resources: Linking Research and Practice
Meltzer, J., Cook Smith, N. and Clark, H. Adolescent Literacy Resources: Linking Research and Practice. Retrieved Oct. 22, 2007, from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/adlit/alr_lrp.pdf.
This book from the Education Alliance at Brown University reviews relevant research from the past 20 years and describes the implications for instruction, curriculum, school structure, professional development, and assessment.
Advancing Adolescent Literacy: The Cornerstone of School Reform
Advancing Adolescent Literacy: The Cornerstone of School Reform. (2010). New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The emergence of a global economy has raised the standards of literacy around the world. This report examines the trend of adolescent readers not holding up to the international literacy standards and the initiatives/reforms being done to combat this. The report is a summation of additional reports compiled by the organization “focused on a range of relevant topics such as comprehension assessment, out-of-school learning, writing in adolescence, literacy coaching standards, instructional needs of second language learners and literacy in the content areas.”
Always Connected: The New Digital Media Habits of Young Children
Gutnick, A. L., Robb, M., Takeuchi, L., & Kotler, J. Always connected: The new digital media habits of young children. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
This report by Sesame Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center takes a fresh look at data emerging from studies undertaken by Sesame Workshop, independent scholars, foundations, and market researchers on the media habits of young children, who are often overlooked in the public discourse that focuses on tweens and teens. The report reviews seven recent studies about young children and their ownership and use of media. By focusing on very young children and analyzing multiple studies over time, the report arrives at a new, balanced portrait of childrens media habits.
America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2008. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
This brief serves as a report card on the status of the nation's children and youth, presenting statistics compiled by 22 federal agencies in one convenient reference.
America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends
Foxen, P., & Mather, M. (2010). America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza.
The Latino child population is increasing at an exponential rate, expected to comprise a third of the U.S child population in 2035. However, many Latino children experience the same difficulties as other minority groups. There is a need to create equal opportunity and support for these children to succeed in the future.
America's High School Graduates: Results of the 2009 NAEP High School Transcript Study
Nord, C., Roey, S., Perkins, R., Lyons, M., Lemanski, N., Brown, J., and Schuknecht, J. (2011). The Nation's Report Card: America's High School Graduates (NCES 2011-462). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
The High School Transcript Study presents information about the types of courses that high school graduates in the class of 2009 took during high school, how many credits they earned, what grades they received, and how their coursetaking patterns related to their performance on the 2009 NAEP mathematics and science assessments.
Highlights of the results include:
• In 2009, graduates earned over three credits more, or about 420 additional hours of instruction during their high school career, than high school graduates in 1990.
• A greater percentage of 2009 graduates completed more challenging curriculum levels, mid-level and rigorous, than 1990 or 2005 graduates.
• A greater percentage of female graduates compared to male graduates completed a midlevel or rigorous curriculum.
• Male graduates generally had higher NAEP mathematics and science scores than female graduates completing the same curriculum.
• In 2009, graduates from all four racial/ethnic groups reported in NAEP (Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and White students) earned more credits and higher grade point averages.
• More graduates from all racial groups completed a rigorous curriculum than they did in 1990. However, racial gaps in the percentage of graduates completing a rigorous curriculum persist.
• The percentage of White and Asian/Pacific Islander graduates who completed a rigorous curriculum increased more than the percentage of Black or Hispanic graduates completing a rigorous curriculum increased.
America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future
Kirsch, I., Braun, H. Yamamoto, K and Sum, A. (2007) America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
This report from ETS says we are in the midst of a perfect storm, a confluence of three powerful forces: divergent skill distributions, the changing economy and demographic trends. It projects the impact of these interactions upon the nation 25 years into the future, and sets out the challenges facing schools in America with up-to-date statistical info and comparisons with other developed countries.
America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future
Kirsch, I., Braun, H. Yamamoto, K and Sum, A. (2007) America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
This report from ETS says we are in the midst of a perfect storm, a confluence of three powerful forces: divergent skill distributions, the changing economy and demographic trends. It projects the impact of these interactions upon the nation 25 years into the future, and sets out the challenges facing schools in America with up-to-date statistical info and comparisons with other developed countries.
America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future
Kirsch, I., Braun, H., Yamamoto, K., and Sum, A. Copyright ©2007 by Educational Testing Service.
According to America's Perfect Storm, current labor market trends, demographics, and student achievement data are combining to create a "perfect storm" that could inflict lasting damage upon the nation's economy and upon its social fabric, as well. Simply put, if the middle and high schools continue to churn out large numbers of students who lack the ability to read critically, write persuasively, and communicate effectively, then the labor market will soon be flooded with young people who have nothing to offer, and who cannot handle the jobs that are available. "[T]here will be tens of millions more adults," the ETS report concludes, "who lack the education and skills they will need to thrive in the new economy," raising the specter of joblessness and despair on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. If that future is to be avoided, the authors argue, the nation's secondary schools will have to begin immediately to help many more students to reach much higher levels of literacy than ever before.
An Evaluation of Computer-assisted Instruction in Phonological Awareness with Below Average Readers
Barker, A.B., & Torgeson, J.K. (1995). An evaluation of computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness with below average readers. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 13, 89-103.
Abstract:
The use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to train phonological awareness skills in at-risk first graders was evaluated. Fifty-four children ranging in age from six years two months to seven years eight months participated in an eight-week training study. There were three experimental conditions. The first group received approximately twenty-five minutes a day, four days a week with two phonological awareness training programs. The second group received the same amount of training with a program designed to train alphabetic decoding skills. The third group served as an attentional control group and spent equal time on the computer with several programs designed to provide practice on basic math skills.
The children exposed to the phonological awareness training programs made significantly greater improvements on several measures of phonological awareness and on a measure of word recognition, when compared to children in the other two groups. Tentative conclusions were drawn about the use of CAI as means of training phonological awareness skills with at-risk students.
An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement
Zaff, J., Youniss, J., & Gibson, C. (2009). An inequitable invitation to citizenship: non-college-bound youth and civic engagement. Washington, DC: Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE).
In a range of measures of involvement —volunteering, voting patterns, and access to quality civic education —a participation gap has emerged. This report explains the roots of this disengagement and offers solutions for encouraging participation.
Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: A Discussion of Recent Research and Practice Literature in Relation to Nationwide Standards on Writing
Fogelman, C., Harrington, M., Kenney, E., Pacheco, M., Panofsky, C., Santos, J., et al. (2005). Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: A Discussion of Recent Research and Practice Literature in Relation to Nationwide Standards on Writing. Providence, RI: The Education Alliance at Brown University.
With increasing and higher standards set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and changes in the SAT writing assessment, students are required to show proficiency using a variety of writing styles both in school and eventually the workplace. Yet as the ESL field has focused more on oral language and language structures rather than writing proficiency, ELLs — and their instructors — are often unprepared to successfully complete intensive writing assessments. As a result, the authors of the report argue that there is a need to pinpoint and understand a knowledge base for teaching writing to adolescent ELLs.
Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: A Discussion of Recent Research and Practice Literature in Relation to Nationwide Standards on Writing
The Education Alliance at Brown University. (2005). Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: A Discussion of Recent Research and Practice Literature in Relation to Nationwide Standards on Writing (Publication No. d10431). Providence, RI: Brown University.
The Education Alliance at Brown University has just published the latest in a series of research reviews on issues concerning equity and diversity. Approaches to Writing Instruction for Adolescent English Language Learners: A Discussion of Recent Research and Practice Literature in Relation to Nationwide Standards on Writing examines writing standards in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It also identifies key issues in writing instruction for adolescent ELLs and discusses those issues in relationship to current research and practitioner literature. The report is available in pdf format and can be downloaded free of charge.
Are Achievement Gaps Closing and Is Achievement Rising for All?
Chudowsky, N., Chodowsky, V., and Kober, N. (2009). State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08: Are Achievement Gaps Closing and Is Achievement Rising For All? Washington, DC: Center on Education Policy.
This report examines testing data from all 50 states to determine if achievement gaps between subgroups of students are narrowing. The report also looks at the achievement trends of subgroups of students at the elementary school level.
Are ELL Students Underrepresented in Charter Schools? Demographic Trends in New York City, 2006-2008
Buckley, J.& Sattin-Bajaj, C. (2010, April, 27). Are ELL Students Underrepresented in Charter Schools? Demographic Trends in New York City, 2006-2008. New York University. Retrieved July 27, 2010 from http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP188.pdf
The rapid growth of ELLs within the school-age population over the past few years, coupled with growing concerns about academic performance and graduation rates among ELLs, have encouraged studies and discussions examining the equity and access of ELLs, a population that was previously "invisible," as compared with students of other groups. This question of equity and access is no more evident than in the charter school. Many are asking: do ELLs have equal access to charter schools? This report examines three recent years of data from the New York State School Report Cards in order to investigate enrollment patterns of English language learners in charter schools.
Asian Americans in Washington State: Closing Their Hidden Achievement Gaps
Hune, S. and D. Takeuchi. (2008). Asian Americans in Washington State: Closing Their Hidden Achievement Gaps. A report submitted to The Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. Seattle, WA: University of Washington.
The study begins with the premise that the academic challenges of Asian American students are hidden by: (1) the "model minority" stereotype that assumes all Asian Americans are academically successful; (2) the practice of lumping disparate Asian American groups into a single category; and (3) a predominant reliance on mainstream sources to explain Asian American educational experiences. To uncover Asian American achievement gaps, the study features disaggregated data to identify characteristics, data, and trends across and within different Asian American ethnic groups in education and other variables. It also incorporates the findings of community-based research that provide Asian American voices and insights of their situation in schools and U.S. society.
Assessment Considerations for Young English Language Learners Across Different Levels of Accountability
Linda M. Espinosa and Michael L. López. (2007). Assessment Considerations for Young English Language Learners Across Different Levels of Accountability. The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force and First 5 LA. Retrieved from: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Pre-k_education/Assessment%20for%20Young%20ELLs-Pew%208-11-07-Final.pdf.
A recent report prepared for The National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force looks specifically at assessment for three- and four-year-old English language learners in early education programs. "Assessment Considerations for Young English Language Learners Across Different Levels of Accountability" examines the unique role of assessment in early childhood education in the context of young English language learners' diverse backgrounds and needs. The authors discuss assessment at four levels of accountability: assessment for instructional improvement, assessment for identification of special needs, assessment for program accountability, and assessment for research and accountability. The report also includes an overview of current ELL assessment measures and current ELL assessment strategies.
Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades
Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C.M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., and Tilly, W.D. (2008). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to Intervention and multi-tier intervention for reading in the primary grades. A practice guide. (NCEE 2009-4045). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/.
This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement. Teachers and reading specialists can utilize these strategies to implement RtI and multi-tier intervention methods and frameworks at the classroom or school level. Recommendations cover how to screen students for reading problems, design a multi-tier intervention program, adjust instruction to help struggling readers, and monitor student progress.
Barriers to College Attainment: Lessons from Chicago
Nagaoka, Jenny; Roderick, Melissa; Coca, Vanessa. (2009). Barriers to College Attainment: Lessons from Chicago. Washington, D.C. Center for American Progress.
This article discusses the problems students can encounter before and during college that can disturb their academic performance and future professional goals. The articles mentions important factors that have to be considered for students, parents, states and the federal government to guarantee the graduation of students during college. Information and guidance, current economy, and high school academic performance are factors that can help students prepare for college.
Barriers to College Attainment: Lessons from Chicago
Nagoka, J., Roderick, M. & Coca, V. (2009). Barriers to college attainment: lessons from Chicago. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress
Several barriers face students as they attempt to bridge the gap between their educational aspirations and college degree attainment: poor academic preparation that undermines minority and low-income students’ access to and performance in college, students’ difficulties in navigating the college enrollment process, and the declining real value of financial aid combined with rising college costs. This paper draws on the findings from a multi-year research project at the Consortium on Chicago School Research, or CCSR, at the University of Chicago that is studying the college qualifications, enrollment, and graduation patterns of Chicago graduates and examining the relationships among high school preparation, support, college choice, and postsecondary outcomes.
Beating the Odds in Teaching All Children to Read
Taylor, B., Pearson, P., Clark, K., & Walpole, S. (1999). Beating the odds in teaching all children to read. CIERA Report #2-006. University of Michigan: Ann Arbor.
The authors used quantitative and descriptive methods to investigate school and classroom factors related to primary-grade reading achievement. Fourteen schools across the U.S. with moderate to high numbers of students on subsidized lunch were identified as most, moderately, or least effective based on several measures of reading achievement in the primary grades.
A combination of school and teacher factors, many of which were intertwined, was found to be important in the most effective schools. Statistically significant school factors included strong links to parents, systematic assessment of pupil progress, strong building communication, and a collaborative model for the delivery of reading instruction, including early reading interventions. Statistically significant teacher factors included time spent in small group instruction, time spent in independent reading, high pupil engagement, and strong home communication. More of the most accomplished teachers were frequently observed teaching word recognition by coaching as children were reading, in addition to providing explicit phonics instruction, than the least accomplished teachers and teachers in the moderately or least effective schools.
Additionally, more of the most accomplished teachers and those in effective schools were frequently observed asking higher level questions after reading than their counterparts. In all of the most effective schools, reading was clearly a priority at both the building and classroom level.
Beating the Odds: How Thirteen NYC Schools Bring Low-Performing Ninth Graders to Timely Graduation and College Enrollment
Ascher, Carol and Maguire, Cindy. (2007). Beating the Odds: How Thirteen NYC Schools Bring Low-Performing Ninth Graders to Timely Graduation and College Enrollment. Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University.
This report describes a qualitative study, conducted in 2006 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, of a small group of New York City high schools that were "beating the odds" by producing higher than predicted graduation and college-going rates for ninth-graders who entered with far below-average eighth-grade reading and math scores. Institute staff identified four key strategies that helped these students beat the odds: academic rigor, networks of timely supports, college expectations and access, and effective use of data. The report concludes with recommendations for maintaining and scaling up the success of these schools through better distribution of resources, greater school control over enrollment, a stronger system of support and accountability, and a district office of postsecondary education.
Beginning Reading
Juel, C. (1991). Beginning reading. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research, Vol. 2. (pp. 759-788). New York: Longman.
Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print
Adams, M.J. (1990). Learning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
From Amazon.com:
Beginning to Read reconciles the debate that has divided theorists for decades over the "right" way to help children learn to read. Drawing on a rich array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, Adams shows educators that they need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma. She proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to teaching reading and provides an integrated treatment of the knowledge and process involved in skillful reading, the issues surrounding their acquisition, and the implications for reading instruction.
Benchmarking the Success of Latina and Latino Students in STEM to Achieve National Graduation Goals
Dowd, A.C., Malcom, L.E., & Bensimon, E.M. (2009). Benchmarking the success of Latino and Latina students in STEM to achieve national graduation goals. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California.
“This report identifies 25 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in five states as potential exemplars of effective practices for increasing the number of Latina and Latino bachelor’s degree holders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).” It analyzes these institutions in order to better understand the representation of Latinos in STEM majors and careers.
Best Practices for Adolescent ELLs
Rance-Roney, J. (2009, April). “Best Practices for Adolescent ELLs.” Educational Leadership. 66(7). 32-37.
This report discusses the diversity that is so characteristic of the adolescent ELL population and presents "promising principles and practices" that support effective instruction.
Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America
Pew Research Center/Pew Hispanic Center. (2009). Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America, Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.
This in-depth report interviewed Latino youth between the ages of 16-25 using a telephone survey conducted on a nationally representative sample of 2,012. Areas explored include: attitudes, values, social behaviors, family characteristics, economic well-being, educational attainment, and labor force outcomes. The report also addresses trends in immigration, self-identification, and participation in risky behaviors. The importance of research within this particular demographic group is that life choices made during this period can have a significant impact on young adults' futures. It is also a time when young adults navigate their dual-identity as Americans and Latinos.
Beyond the Basics: Effective Reading Programs for the Upper Elementary Grades
Slavin, R.E., Lake, C., Cheung, A., and Davis, S. (2008). Beyond the Basics: Effective Reading Programs for the Upper Elementary Grades. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
This digest reports on the effectiveness of 72 reading programs designed to help students in grades 2-5. Four programs showed moderate evidence of effectiveness; 10 showed limited evidence; and the remainder showed insufficient evidence of effectiveness.
Beyond the Classroom: Creating Pathways to College and Careers for Latino Youth
Mirabal, F.A., Lucero, S. (2010). Beyond the Classroom: Creating Pathways to College and Careers for Latino Youth. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza.
Latinos are the fast growing portion of the American workforce, yet many face challenges when it comes to finding jobs that lead to greater economic mobility. This report analyzes the challenges Latinos face and offers solutions to increase economic mobility for Latino (notably Latino youth).
Bridging the Gaps to Success: Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-Income and First-Generation Students
Smith, C.T., Miller, A., & Bermeo, C.A. (2009). Bridging the Gaps to Success-Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-Income and First-Generation Students. The Pell Institute. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from: http://www.pellinstitute.org/pdf/COE_Pell_Report_layout_3.pdf
With Obama’s goal of all Americans having completed high school and one year of post-secondary education by 2020 there is increased pressure on community colleges. It is vital that community colleges increase their retention and preparation of students so they can successfully transfer to a 4 year institution. This report analyzes 6 Texas schools with high transfer rates in order to better understand “the institutional characteristics, practices, and policies that might contribute to assuring that students matriculate and excel in community college and transfer to four-year institutions.”
Bridging the Summer Reading Gap
McGill-Franzen, A., Allington, R. (2003). Bridging the Summer Reading Gap. Instructor. Retrieved from: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/summer_reading.htm#bio
Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction
Beck, I., McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. New York: The Guilford Press.
From Barnesandnoble.com:
Three American educators and researchers from the fields of learning, language, and reading explain the rationale for robust vocabulary instruction, as a means of creating the beginning of students' lifelong fascination with words. The text provides K-12 teachers with examples of such instruction for early, intermediate, and later grades. Coverage includes criteria for selecting words for instruction, ways of introducing new vocabulary, developing vocabulary activities, using natural contexts to derive word meanings, and techniques for creating a rich verbal environment in the classroom.
Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic
Balfanz, R., Bridgeland, J.M., Moore, L.A., & Fox, J.H. (2010). Building a grad nation: Progress and challenge in ending the high school dropout epidemic. Washington, DC: America's Promise Alliance.
The U.S. graduation rate increased from 72% in 2002 to 75% in 2008. The state of Tennessee and New York City led the nation by boosting graduation rates 15% and 10%, respectively. The report reveals that the number of “dropout factory” high schools fell by 13% — from 2,007 in 2002 to 1,746 in 2008. (Most of the decline in dropout factories — 216 of the 261 — occurred in the South). While these schools represent a small fraction of all public high schools in America, they account for about half of all high school dropouts each year. Experts say targeting these high schools for improvement is a critical part of turning around the nation’s dropout rate.
Building and Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years
National Association of Elementary School Principals. (2011). Building and Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years. New York, NY.
Children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs are more likely to graduate from high school, says a report from the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) that calls on states and communities to build an aligned system to support early childhood learning and kindergarten programs. The report addresses the need for kindergarten programs to be included in national standards, noting that "the availability of kindergarten is highly variable, with unstable funding in many districts and parents paying for full-day programs." NAESP recommends 10 action steps for policy makers to improve fragmented early childhood learning.
Building Capacity to Promote College- and Career Readiness for Secondary English Language Learners
Building Capacity to Promote College- and Career Readiness for Secondary English Language Learners: Policy Briefing featuring Austin, Texas. (2010.) Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from: http://www.aypf.org/tripreports/2010/documents/Austin%20Building%20Capacity%20for%20ELLs%20Iss
There is a growing need for states to improve academic performance and language proficiency of ELLs. A major focus of attention is the college and career readiness of ELLs and what practices and policies need to be enacted to increase the capacity for these students to succeed. The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) met with five state policy leaders in Austin, TX to discuss and examine potential solutions.
Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Promoting the Education & Advancement of Hispanic Immigrant Workers in America
Gershwin, M., Coxen, T., Kelley, B., & Yakimov. G. (2007, March). Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Promoting the Education & Advancement of Hispanic Immigrant Workers in America. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce. Retrieved January, 4, 2011 from: http://www.skilledwork.org/sites/default/files/Lumina_Jan809.pdf
With an ever increasing number of immigrant workers, mostly from Latin America, entering the country there is concern about many being under-qualified and lacking credentials. However, despite these odds and other obstacles (such as language barriers, lack of educational experience) many are making their way into college and other post-secondary programs. This report analyzes the “new and innovative partnerships among employers, community colleges, and community organizations” that allowing these immigrants to become better educated and better skilled so they can get new jobs.
California's Commitment to Adult English Learners: Caught Between Funding and Need
Gonzalez, A. California's Commitment to Adult English Learners: Caught Between Funding and Need. (2007). San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
75% of adults enrolled in ESL programs in the state of California participate in these programs through adult schools. Citing a $15.7 million gap between money spent by adult schools on ESL programs and money awarded to these schools by the state of California, this article explores two choices faced by ESL providers: leave some seeking ESL programs without service and stay under the enrollment growth-cap linked to state funds or take in all individuals seeking to be enrolled in an ESL program, go over the cap, and pay the difference between allotted state funds and actual capital spent out of the school's own budget.
Career Planning Begins with Assessment: A Guide for Professionals Serving Youth with Educational and Career Development Challenges
Timmons, J., Podmostko, M., Bremer, C., Lavin, D., & Wills, J. (2005). Career planning begins with assessment: A guide for professionals serving youth with educational & career development challenges (Rev. Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership. Available at www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/manuals.php.
How do you determine when a youth would benefit from assessment to determine the presence of a disability, and where can you find good career-related assessments? This guide, created by the National Collaborative on Workforce & Disability for Youth, answers those questions and contains in-depth information on the types and uses of assessment; special considerations when testing; and organizational concerns, such as collaboration agreements, ethics, confidentiality and legal issues. It also includes quick reference charts, tables, and sample forms that aim to save time for counselors, career advisors, and other professionals who work directly with youth.
Categorizing Sounds and Learning to Read: A Causal Connection
Bradley, L., & Bryant, P.E. (1983, February 3). Categorizing sounds and learning to read: A causal connection. Nature, p. 419.
Abstract:
Children who are backward in reading are strikingly insensitive to rhyme and alliteration1. They are at a disadvantage when categorizing words on the basis of common sounds even in comparison with younger children who read no better than they do. Categorizing words in this way involves attending to their constituent sounds, and so does learning to use the alphabet in reading and spelling. Thus the experiences which a child has with rhyme before he goes to school might have a considerable effect on his success later on in learning to read and to write. We now report the results of a large scale project which support this hypothesis.
Certificates Count: An Analysis
Complete College America. (2010). Certificates count: An analysis of sub-baccalaureate certificates. Washington, DC: Author.
This report calls for more emphasis and investment to be placed on sub-baccalaureate certificate programs as a means to help the United States improve its postsecondary education performance and stimulate economic and job growth. Sub-baccalaureate certificates are practical and often underutilized credentials that can provide graduates with an appealing combination of rapid postsecondary achievement and portable skills and knowledge.
Research shows that certificate programs, specifically long-term programs that take more than one year to complete, can generate the same earning potential as an associate degree that takes two years to complete. This is especially true of programs in the health care field, which constitute 43 percent of all certificates. In fact, the median earnings of long-term certificate earners are higher than those who have obtained associate degrees in some fields.
Challenges in Evaluating Special Education Teachers and English Language Learner Specialists
Croft, A., Goe, L., Holdheide, L.R., & Reschly, D.J. (2010, July). "Challenges in Evaluating Special Education Teachers and English Language Learner Specialists." National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from: http://www.tqsource.org/publications/July2010Brief.pdf
With increasing emphasis on teacher evaluation there is a growing concern on how these new evaluation systems apply to ELL teachers and other special educators. Special educators face unique challenges that other educators don’t have to deal with, as such, evaluations should take these challenges and integrate them into a new evaluation system that can properly judge an instructor’s progress/effectiveness.
Changes in Elementary School Children's Achievement Goals for Reading and Writing: Results of a Longitudinal and an Intervention Study
Meece, J.L., & Miller, S.D. (1999). Changes in elementary school children's achievement goals for reading and writing: Results of a longitudinal and an intervention study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 207-229.
Abstract:
An achievement goal framework was used to examine changes in students' motivation for reading and writing in the late elementary years and to evaluate a classroom intervention project. The longitudinal study involved 431 students in Grades 3 to 5. Results showed significant declines in task-mastery and performance goals within the school year and across grade levels. There were few sex differences in students' goals for reading and writing. The intervention project included 8 teachers and 187 students in Grade 3.
This study showed how various instructional modifications can influence students' achievement goals, perceived competence, and strategy use in reading and writing. As teachers provided more opportunities for students to complete challenging, collaborative, and multi-day assignments, students became less focused on performance goals, and low-achieving students reported less work avoidance. The educational implications of this research are discussed.
Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education
Hernandez, D., Denton, N., and Macartney, S. (2007, April). Child Trends and Children in Immigrant Families - The U.S. and 50 States: National Origins, Language, and Early Education. Albany, NY: Center for Social and Demographic Analysis at SUNY-Albany
At the time of this report's publishing, children from newcomer families (families with at least one foreign-born parent) account for 20 percent of the nation's schoolchildren. This research brief, whose data is based on the year 2000 census, makes the case that children of newcomer families will continue to make up a significant portion of American schoolchildren.
Children's Use of Analogy in Learning to Read: A Developmental Study
Goswami, U. (1986). Children's use of analogy in learning to read: A developmental study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 42, 73-83.
Abstract:
If children are able to make analogies between the spelling patterns in words, this would have important consequences for theories of reading development, as a child who knew a word like beak could use analogy to read new words like peak and bean. A study is reported which compared the ability of children at three different reading levels to use analogy in reading both real and nonsense words. The results showed that even very young children can successfully use analogy to decode new words. This finding suggests that analogy has a role to play in the initial stages of reading acquisition.
Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap
Swanson, Christopher B. Copyright © 2009 by Editorial Projects in Education Inc. All rights reserved.
According to Cities in Crisis, the graduation rate for U.S. urban school districts is 61% and the rate for students in the 50 largest cities in the U.S. is only 53%. The gap between suburban and urban districts is more than 14 percentage points. While the 50 largest schools districts educate roughly 13% of public high students in the country, these districts account for about 25% of students failing to graduate with a diploma each year.
Closing the Expectations Gap
Achieve. (2011). Closing the expectations gap. Washington, DC: Author.
This report tracks efforts by all 50 states on key college- and career-ready policies including aligning standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and data and accountability systems. Data shows progress in a majority of states towards making the high school diploma more meaningful — particularly in the area of standards — but there is still considerable work to be done.
Closing the Gap: Addressing the Vocabulary Needs of English-Language Learners in Bilingual and Mainstream Classrooms
Carlo, M.S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C.E., Dressler, C., Lippman, D.N., Lively, T.J., & White, C.E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 188-215.
Gaps in reading performance between Anglo and Latino children are associated with gaps in vocabulary knowledge. An intervention was designed to enhance fifth graders' academic vocabulary. The meanings of academically useful words were taught together with strategies for using information from context, from morphology, from knowledge about multiple meanings, and from cognates to infer word meaning. Among the principles underlying the intervention were that new words should be encountered in meaningful text, that native Spanish speakers should have access to the text's meaning through Spanish, that words should be encountered in varying contexts, and that word knowledge involves spelling, pronunciation, morphology, and syntax as well as depth of meaning.
Fifth graders in the intervention group showed greater growth than the comparison group on knowledge of the words taught, on depth of vocabulary knowledge, on understanding multiple meanings, and on reading comprehension. The intervention effects were as large for the English-language learners (ELLs) as for the English-only speakers (EOs), though the ELLs scored lower on all pre- and posttest measures. The results show the feasibility of improving comprehension outcomes for students in mixed ELL-EO classes, by teaching word analysis and vocabulary learning strategies.
College- and Career-Ready: Using Outcomes Data to Hold High Schools Accountable for Student Success
Aldeman, Chad. (2009). College- and career-ready: using outcomes data to hold high schools accountable for student success. Washington, DC: Education Sector.
This report argues that the best way to measure whether students are prepared for college or a career is by looking at what actually happens when students arrive at their intended destination. Do they go to college, and, once there, do they need to take remedial courses? Do their grades reflect an ability to do college-level work? If they don't go to college, are they able to find gainful employment?
College-Ready Students, Student-Ready Colleges: An Agenda to Improve Degree Completion
Soares, L. & Mazzeo, C. (2008). College-ready students, student-ready colleges: an agenda for improving degree completion in postsecondary education.
Students, whether because of a lack of academic preparation in high school; a lack of flexible financial tools to meet their education/work/life needs; or a lack of reliable information and support in making wise college decisions, are not ready for college, and wide disparities in readiness exist along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines.
Components of Effective Remediation for Developmental Reading Disabilities: Combining Phonological and Strategy-Based Introduction to Improve Outcomes
Lovett, Maureen W., Lacerenza, L., Borden, Susan L., Frijters, Jan C., et al. (2000). Components of Effective Remediation for Developmental Reading Disabilities: Combining Phonological and Strategy-Based Introduction to Improve Outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 263-283.
Abstract:
The efficacy of a combination of phonological and strategy-based remedial approaches for reading disability (RD) was compared with that of each approach separately. Eighty-five children with severe RD were randomly assigned to 70 intervention hours in 1 of 5 sequences. Performance was assessed before, 3 times during, and after intervention. Four orthogonal contrasts based on a linear trend analysis model were evaluated.
There were generalized treatment effects on standardized measures of word identification, passage comprehension, and nonword reading. A combination of PHAB/DI and WIST proved superior to either program alone on nonword reading, letter-sound and keyword knowledge, and 3 word identification measures. Generalization of nonword decoding to real word identification was achieved with a combination of effective remedial components. Abstract from PsycINFO Database Record.
Copyright © 2000 by the American Psychological Association. Reproduced with permission.
Comprehension Instruction: What Makes Sense Now, What Might Make Sense Soon
Pressley, M. (2001, September). Comprehension instruction: What makes sense now, what might make sense soon. Reading Online, 5 (2).
Abstract:
There are a variety of well-validated ways to increase comprehension skills in students through instruction; these are summarized in this article. In addition, new hypotheses about effective comprehension instruction are emerging, and these are also summarized. Although too little comprehension instruction is now occurring in schools, much is known that would enable such teaching to be done with confidence; more will be known as the emerging hypotheses are evaluated in the years ahead.
Computer-Assisted Instruction in Initial Reading: The Stanford Project
Atkinson, R., & Hansen, D. (1966-1967). Computer-assisted instruction in initial reading: The Stanford Project. Reading Research Quarterly, 2, 5-26.
Computer-based Phonological Awareness and Reading Instruction
Wise, B.W., & Olson, R.K. (1995). Computer-based phonological awareness and reading instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 45, 99-122.
Elementary students (n=105) with problems in word recognition were given computer-assisted instruction involving either only reading words in context, or reading words in context and completing exercises involving individual words (to increase their phonological awareness). The latter group showed significant gains on tests of phoneme awareness and rapid word recognition.
Computerized Self-Assessment of Reading Comprehension With the Accelerated Reader: Action Research
Vollands, Stacy R., Topping, Keith J., & Evans, Ryka M. (1999). Computerized Self-Assessment of Reading Comprehension With the Accelerated Reader: Action Research. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 15, 197-211.
Abstract:
This study was a quasi-experimental action research evaluation of a program for computerized self-assessment of reading comprehension (The Accelerated Reader). It looked at the formative effects on reading achievement and motivation in two schools in severely socio-economically disadvantaged areas. The results suggested that the program, even when less than fully implemented, yielded gains in reading achievement for these at-risk readers that were superior to gains from regular classroom teaching and an alternative intensive method, even with less time devoted to class silent reading practice than in comparison classes. Additionally, the program yielded significant improvement in measured attitudes to reading for girls.
Contexts for Engagement and Motivation in Reading
Guthrie, J.T. (2001). Contexts for engagement and motivation in reading. Reading Online, 4(8). International Reading Association: Washington DC.
Engaged reading is a merger of motivation and thoughtfulness. Engaged readers seek to understand; they enjoy learning and they believe in their reading abilities. They are mastery oriented, intrinsically motivated, and have self-efficacy. Teachers create contexts for engagement when they provide prominent knowledge goals, real-world connections to reading, meaningful choices about what, when, and how to read, and interesting texts that are familiar, vivid, important, and relevant.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., White, B. A., Ou, S., & Robertson, D. L. (2011). Cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Center early education program. Child Development, 82, 379-404.
Children who attended an intensive preschool and family support program attained higher educational levels, were more likely to be employed, and less likely to have problems with the legal system than were peers who did not attend the program, according to a study funded by the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The Child-Parent Center (CPC) early education program is a large-scale, federally funded intervention providing services for disadvantaged 3- to 9-year-olds in Chicago. The researchers identified five key principles of the CPC that they say led to its effectiveness, including providing services that are of sufficient length or duration, are high in intensity and enrichment, feature small class sizes and teacher-student ratios, are comprehensive in scope, and are implemented by well-trained and well-compensated staff.
Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
This report from the National Association of Secondary School Principals identifies five elements necessary to implement an effective building-level adolescent literacy improvement program—commited leadership; balanced formal and informal assessments; ongoing, research-based professional development; highly effective teachers; and strategic interventions—and offers literacy leaders guidance to develop these elements in their schools.
Creating College Readiness: Profiles of 38 Schools That Know How
Conley, D. (2009). Creating college readiness: profiles of 38 schools that know how. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.
The concept of college readiness moves from the abstract to the concrete in EPIC’s online release of this study of 38 U.S. high schools with proven success in preparing students for life after graduation. The selected schools represent a diverse cross-section of the U.S. education system. This document profiles each school and contains comprehensive and tangible examples of successful student preparation.
Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts
Harris, L. And Ganzglass, E. (2008). Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts. Center for American Progress. Washington, DC.
Nearly 50% of minority youth drop out of school before receiving a diploma, while other data shows a willingness among these former students to improve their education and work skills. What steps should be taken to "recover" these dropouts and re-engage them in post-secondary education and job training?
Creating Schools that Support Success for English Language Learners
Stepanek , J, Raphael , J, Autio, E, Deussen, T, & Thomps, L. (2010). Creating schools that support success for english language learners. Lessons Learned, 1(2), Education Northwest.
Lessons derived from Education Northwest's research, evaluation, and technical assistance experiences are intended to address questions that administrators may have about how to mitigate barriers to the linguistic and academic achievement of ELLs. They will also help leaders provide better support to teachers as they learn and implement evidence-based instructional practices for ELLs.
Crossing the Bridge: GED Credentials and Postsecondary Educational Outcomes
American Council on Education. (2010). Crossing the bridge: GED credentials and postsecondary outcomes. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Data from Crossing the Bridge show that when given enough time, most 2003 GED Test passers with post-secondary education goals and aspirations (71.5%) followed up on those goals. The majority (77.8%) of postsecondary students who had passed the GED Tests enrolled in community colleges, or similar types of institutions. This is an important finding given the increasing need for postsecondary education in America's workforce.
According to Crossing the Bridge, approximately half of GED Test passers who enrolled in a college education and training program returned for a consecutive second semester (50.4%). The most popular majors for these students were nursing, nurse assistant/aide, criminal justice/law enforcement, emergency medical technician and business administration.
Although 1.3 million students drop out of high school each year, a substantial gap exists in federal and state efforts toward the recruitment of adults into postsecondary education, with most effort going toward recruitment via the traditional pipeline of graduating high school seniors. Data from this report indicate there may be another pipeline worth pursuing in the future.
Decoding, Reading, and Reading Disability
Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7, 6-10.
To clarify the role of decoding in reading and reading disability, a simple model of reading is proposed, which holds that reading equals the product of decoding and comprehension. It follows that there must be three types of reading disability, resulting from an inability to decode, an inability to comprehend, or both. It is argued that the first is dyslexia, the second hyperlexia, and the third common, or garden variety, reading disability.
Defining Phonological Awareness and its Relationship to Early Reading
Stahl, S., & Murray, B. A. (1994). Defining phonological awareness and its relationship to early reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 221-234.
Abstract from PsycINFO Database Record:
Phonological awareness (PA) has been operationally defined by many different tasks, and task comparisons have been confounded by differing levels of linguistic complexity among items. A sample of 113 kindergartners and first graders completed PA tasks designed to separate task difficulty from linguistic complexity. These measures were, in turn, compared with measures of early literacy. Results indicated that the measures loaded on a single factor and that PA measured by differences in linguistic complexity, rather than by task differences, seemed to be more closely related to the factor. A logical analysis suggested that alphabet knowledge is necessary for children to separate onsets from rimes and that awareness of onsets and rimes is necessary both for word reading and for more complex levels of phonemic analysis.
Degrees in Context: Asking the Right Questions about Preparing Skilled and Effective Teachers of Young Children
Whitebook, M. & Ryan, S. 2011. Degrees in context: Asking the right questions about preparing skilled and effective teachers of young children. Preschool Policy Brief, 22. National Institute for Early Education Research, New Brunswick, NJ.
A 2011 policy brief developed jointly by National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) argues that there has been too much focus on debating baseline qualifications such as AA and BA degrees for teachers of young children and not enough focus on the actual education these teachers receive, the support they get for ongoing learning, and the effects of the workplace environment on their teaching practice.
Democracy at Risk: The Need for a New Federal Policy in Education
Darling-Hammond, L., and Wood, George (2008). Deomcracy at Risk: The Need for a New Federal Policy in Education. Washington, DC: The Forum for Education and Democracy.
Arguing that the challenges to public education are too large to cede to local authorities, this report advocates strong federal leadership to reform public education in the U.S. Areas of focus include equitable allocation of funding; investment in out-of-school learning programs; teacher recruitment and professional development; development of data systems, dissemination of promising practices; and family and community engagement.
Demography of Immigrant Youth: Past, Present, and Future
Passel, J.S. (2011). "Demography of Immigrant Youth: Past, Present, and Future." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=539.
Jeffrey Passel surveys demographic trends and projections in the U.S. youth population, especially immigrant youth. He traces shifts in the youth population over the past hundred years, examines population projections through 2050, and offers some observations about the likely impact of the immigrant youth population on American society. He provides data on the legal status of immigrant families and on their geographic distribution across the United States. The changing demographic structure in U.S. youth is likely to present policy makers with several challenges in coming decades, including higher rates of poverty among youth, particularly among foreign–born children and children of undocumented parents; high concentrations of immigrants in a handful of states; and a lack of political voice. A related challenge may be intergenerational competition between youth and the elderly for governmental support. In conclusion, Passel notes that today's immigrants and their children will shape many aspects of American society and will provide virtually all the growth in the U.S. labor force over the next forty years. Their integration into American society and their accumulation of human capital thus require continued attention from researchers and policy makers.
Descriptive Study of Services to LEP Students and LEP Students with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Education. (2002). To assure the free appropriate public education of all children with disabilities: Twenty-fourth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.
Zehler, A. M., Fleischman, H. L., Hopstock, P. J., Pendzick, M. L., & Stephenson, T. G. (2003). Descriptive study of services to LEP students and LEP students with disabilities (No. 4 Special topic report: findings on special education LEP students). Development Associates, Inc.: Arlington, VA.
This report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education surveys schools and districts nationally to identify characteristics of and services provided to ELLs, including services offered to ELLs with disabilities.
Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel
National Center for Family Literacy. (2009). Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
The National Early Literacy Panel looked at published research concerning children's early literacy skills and reports on which early skills or abilities could properly be said to be the precursors of later literacy achievement.
Developing Early Warning Systems to Identify Potential High School Dropouts
Hepper, J. and Therriault, S.B. (2008). Developing Early Warning Systems to Identify Potential High School Dropouts. Washington, D.C.: National High School Center.
The implementation of an early warning system that collects data on key indicators of potential drop outs allows schools and districts to target interventions and monitor the effectiveness of dropout prevention programs.
Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth
August, D. and Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Center for Applied Linguistics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
The National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth systematically and rigorously examined the research on acquiring literacy in a second language. This is the executive summary of the full report, which is available for purchase through the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Developing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children
Yopp, H. (1992). Developing phonemic awareness in young children. The Reading Teacher, 45, 696-703.
Describes the concept of phonemic awareness and offers suggestions to classroom teachers on how to enhance phonemic awareness in their students.
Developing Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition Skills: A Two-year Intervention with Low-income, Inner-city Children
Blachman, B. A., Tangel, D. M., Ball, E.W., Black, R. S., & McGraw, C. K. (1999). Developing phonological awareness and word recognition skills: A two-year intervention with low-income, inner-city children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11, 239-273.
Abstract:
Low-income, inner-city children were involved in a two-year intervention delivered in the regular classroom by regular classroom teachers to develop phonological awareness and word recognition skills. For the treatment children, an 11-week phoneme awareness program in kindergarten was followed by a first grade reading program (extended to grade 2 for some children) that emphasized explicit, systematic instruction in the alphabetic code. Control children participated in the school districts regular basal reading program. Both groups participated in a phonetically-based spelling program mandated by the district.
At the end of grade 1, treatment children (n = 66) significantly outperformed control children (n = 62) on measures of phonological awareness, letter name and letter sound knowledge, and three measures of word recognition, and reached marginal significance (0.056) on a fourth. They also significantly outperformed the control children on two measures of spelling. One year later, at the end of grade 2, the treatment children (n = 58) significantly outperformed the control children (n = 48) on all four measures of word recognition.
For the groups as a whole, there were no differences on the one measure of spelling re-administered at the end of grade 2. However, there were significant differences in spelling between the treatment (n = 16) and control children (n = 13) who remained in the bottom quartile of spellers at the end of grade 2 when partial credit was given for phonetically correct spelling, and significant differences in reading favoring these treatment children on all four measures of word recognition.
Developmental Steps in Learning to Read: A Longitudinal Study in Kindergarten and First Grade
Morris, D., Bloodgood, J.W., Lomax, R.G., & Perney, J. (2003). Developmental steps in learning to read: A longitudinal study in kindergarten and first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 38, 302-328.
This study tested a hypothesis about the growth of word knowledge in kindergarten/first-grade readers. It was predicted that (a) phoneme awareness develops in phases and (b) concept of word in text (ability to finger-point read) interacts with phoneme awareness in the development of early reading skill. Structural equation modeling showed that the longitudinal data fit the hypothesized model. The data also conformed to the predicted developmental sequence in a descriptive analysis of median performance change over time. The demonstrated relationship between phoneme awareness and concept of word in text, for its pedagogical implications alone, warrants further study.
Dimensions of Children's Motivation for Reading and Their Relations to Reading Activity and Reading Achievement
Baker, L., & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of children's motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly,34, 452-477.
This study was designed to assess dimensions of reading motivation and examine how these dimensions related to students' reading activity and achievement. A heterogeneous urban sample of fifth- and sixth-grade children completed the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1997), a questionnaire designed to assess 11 possible dimensions of reading motivation, including self-efficacy, several types of intrinsic and extrinsic reading motives, social aspects of reading, and the desire to avoid reading. The students also completed several different measures of reading activity and reading achievement. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the proposed dimensions of children's reading motivation could be identified and measured reliably.
Scales based on the different dimensions related positively to one another and negatively to the desire to avoid reading. Mean scale scores on most of the dimensions differed by gender and ethnicity, with girls and African Americans reporting stronger motivation. Mean scale scores on most of the dimensions were similar for fifth- and sixth-grade students and for low and middle income students. All of the scales related to children's reports of their reading activity and several to their reading achievement. The strength of the relations between reading motivation and reading achievement was greater for girls and for white students. Cluster analyses revealed seven distinct groupings of children based on their motivational profiles that were related to reading activity and, to a lesser extent, to reading achievement. The study demonstrates that reading motivation is multidimensional and should be regarded as such in research and in practice.
Diplomas Count (2010)
Education Week (2010). Diplomas Count 2008. Washington, DC: Editorial Projects in Education.
This report from Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center finds that the nation’s graduation rate has dropped for the second consecutive year, following a decade of mostly solid improvements. Although the latest decrease is considerably smaller than that found the previous year, the report shows that, on a national scale, 11,000 fewer students will earn diplomas.
Three out of every 10 students in America’s public schools fail to finish high school with a diploma, the report finds. That amounts to 1.3 million students falling through the cracks of the high school pipeline every year, or more than 7,200 students lost every day. Most nongraduates are members of historically disadvantaged minority groups. Dropouts are also more likely to have attended school in large, urban districts and to come from communities plagued by severe poverty and economic hardship.
Disparities in Early Learning and Development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study — Birth Cohort
Halle, T., Forry, N., Hair, E., Perper, K., Wandner, L., Wessel, J., & Vick, J. (2009). Disparities in Early Learning and Development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study — Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Washington, DC: Child Trends.
This study suggests that cognitive gaps between poor and middle class children show up as early as 9-24 months — and that income and the mother's education are the two biggest risk factors. The report recommends very early intervention for at-risk kids (starting at birth), as well as initiatives to support high school and college graduation programs for the parents an d professional development for at-home child care providers.
Dissecting Dyslexia
May, T.S. (2006). Dissecting Dyslexia. BrainWork, the Neuroscience Newsletter from the Dana Foundation.
Genetic differences in the brain make learning to read a struggle for children with dyslexia. Luckily, most of our brain development occurs after we're born, when we interact with our environment. This means that the right teaching techniques can actually re-train the brain, especially when they happen early.
Divided We Fail: Improving Completion and Closing Racial Gaps in California’s Community Colleges
Moore, C. & Shulock, N. (2010). Divided We Fail: Improving Completion and Closing Racial Gaps in California’s Community Colleges. Sacramento, CA: California State University’s Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy.
The report discusses extensive data about community college attendance and completion in California It notes certain patterns, specifically which ones reveal positive practices or setbacks that need to be overcome.
Do Differences in School's Instruction Time Explain International Achievement Gaps in Math, Science, and Reading? Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries
Lavy, V. (2010, July). Do Differences in School's Instruction Time Explain International Achievement Gaps in Math, Science, and Reading? Evidence from Developed and Developing Countries. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved January 6, 2011 from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16227.pdf?new_window=1
This report is an empirical measure of the effect of instructional time on student's overall academic achievement. The author analyzes differences in this relationship internationally taking samples from developed and developing countries and comparing them against one another.
Does Phoneme Awareness Training in Kindergarten Make a Difference in Early Word Recognition and Developmental Spelling?
Ball, E. W., & Blachman, B. (1991). Does phoneme awareness training in kindergarten make a difference in early word recognition and developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 26, 49-66.
Abstract:
The goal of this project was to evaluate the effects of training in phonemic segmentation and of instruction in letter names and letter sounds on kindergarten children's reading and spelling skills. Ninety students from three urban public schools in the U.S. were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group received training in segmenting words into phonemes, as well as training in correspondences between letter names and letter sounds (phoneme awareness group). The second group received only the training in letter names and letter sounds (language activities group). The third group received no intervention (control group). Results indicated that phoneme awareness instruction, combined with instruction connecting the phonemic segments to alphabet letters, significantly improved the early reading and spelling skills of the children in the phoneme awareness group. However, instruction in letter names and letter sounds alone did not significantly improve the segmentation skills, the early reading skills, or the spelling skills of the kindergarten children who participated in the language activities group, as compared with the control group.
Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation
Hernandez, Donald J. 2011. Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation. The Annie E. Casey Foundation: New York, NY.
This report finds that students who dont read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave without a diploma than proficient readers. The report is a longitudinal study of nearly 4,000 students and their parents. It is notable in breaking down for the first time the likelihood of graduation by different reading skill levels and poverty experiences.
Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learners
Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the Work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners– A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Adolescent English Language Learners, who must simultaneously learn English and age–appropriate subject material, must perform double the work of their native language peers because they are held to the same accountability standards. This paper is the resulting work of a panel of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners convened to elucidate the issues and challenges adolescent ELLs face. They identify 6 main challenges to improving the literacy of ELLs, followed by suggested practical solutions and strategies for each, concluding with policy implications and recommendations.
Drop Everything and Read — But How? For Students Who Are Not Yet Fluent, Silent Reading Is Not the Best Use of Classroom Time
Hasbrouck, J. (2006). Drop Everything and ReadBut How?: For Students Who Are Not Yet Fluent, Silent Reading Is Not the Best Use of Classroom Time. American Educator 30(2), Summer 2006.
Let's cut through the buzz around fluency and review what reading fluency is, why it is essential to ensure that our students have sufficient fluency, how fluency should be assessed, and how to best provide fluency practice and support for our students.
Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006
Laird, J., Cataldi, E.F., KewalRamani, A., and Chapman, C. (2008). Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006 (NCES 2008- 053). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
Relative to their peers who completed high school, dropouts on average earn less income, and are more likely to be unemployed, in prison, or in poor health.
This report from the National Center for Education Statistics gives data about trends in dropout and completion rates since 1972 and examines the characteristics of both high school dropouts and high school completers.
Dual Language Learners in the Early Years: Getting Ready to Succeed in School
National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (NCELA) (2008). Dual Language Learners in the Early Years: Getting Ready to Succeed in School. Washington, D.C.: NCELA.
This report reviews the literature on getting dual language learners ready for school. Dual language learners are children from 3-6 years old who are learning a second language while still acquiring their first. The report looks at ways in which families, communities, services and schools can work together to get children ready to succeed in the early years of education.
Early Care and Education for Children in Immigrant Families
Karoly, L., Gonzalez, G. (2011). "Early Care and Education for Children in Immigrant Families." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=541.
Lynn Karoly and Gabriella Gonzalez examine the current role of and future potential for early care and education (ECE) programs in promoting healthy development for immigrant children. Participation in center-based care and preschool programs has been shown to have substantial short–term benefits and may also lead to long–term gains as children go through school and enter adulthood. Yet, overall, immigrant children have lower rates of participation in nonparental care of any type, including center-based ECE programs, than their native counterparts. Much of the participation gap can be explained by just a few economic and sociodemographic factors: affordability, availability, and access to ECE programs, along with language barriers, bureaucratic complexity, and distrust of government programs, especially among undocumented immigrants. The authors conclude with suggestions for policymakers for improving ECE participation rates among immigrant children.
Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language
Matthews, H., Ewen, D. (2010). Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.
Research shows that despite ever-increasing rates of immigration and thus numbers of children of immigrants, fewer of these families have access to or take advantage of high-quality early childcare and schooling. These trend deserves wide-spread attention as helping kids at a young age will yield long-term positive effects on school performance, language acquisition, and cultural acclimation.
Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language
Matthews, H., & Ewen, D. (2010, August). Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language. Urban Institute. Retrieved January 12, 2011 from: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412205-early-education.pdf
This report is a summary of the many federal and state early education programs available to ELLs and children of immigrants.
Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years
Strickland, D., Riley-Ayers, S. (2006). Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years. National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University.
Early childhood professionals have long recognized the importance of language and literacy in preparing children to succeed in school. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates, and enhanced productivity in adult life. This report synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations.
Early Reading Acquisition and its Relation to Reading Experience and Ability 10 Years Later
Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation to reading experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental Psychology, 33, 934-945.
A group of 1st-graders who were administered a battery of reading tasks in a previous study were followed up as 11th graders. Ten years later, they were administered measures of exposure to print, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and general knowledge. First-grade reading ability was a strong predictor of all of the 11th-grade outcomes and remained so even when measures of cognitive ability were partialed out. First-grade reading ability (as well as 3rd- and 5th-grade ability) was reliably linked to exposure to print, as assessed in the 11th grade, even after 11th-grade reading comprehension ability was partialed out, indicating that the rapid acquisition of reading ability might well help develop the lifetime habit of reading, irrespective of the ultimate level of reading comprehension ability that the individual attains. Finally, individual differences in exposure to print were found to predict differences in the growth in reading comprehension ability throughout the elementary grades and thereafter.
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters
Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2010). Early warning! why reading by the end of third grade matters. Baltimore, MD.
Children who read on grade level by the end of third grade are more successful in school, work, and in life. This KIDS COUNT special report affirms a commitment by the Casey Foundation to help ensure that all students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade and help narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.
Educating English Language Learners: Building Teacher Capacity
Ballantyne, K.G., Sanderman A.R., Levy, J. (2008). Education English language learners: Building teacher Capacity. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.
The report is divided into 3 sections. The first discusses national data and demographics of both ELLs and teachers, such as English proficiency and test scores, and levels of professional development (respectively). The second section explains the 6 standards for ELLs propounded by the National Staff Development Council, which serve as guidelines for programs. The third section offers practical applications of standards and suggestions for use in the classroom, both generally and specifically (organized by content areas: English language arts, social studies, science, and math).
Educating Language Learners: Getting at the Content
Dong, Y.R. (2005). Educating language learners: getting at the content. Educational Leadership, 62(4), Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec04/vol62/num04/Getting-at-the-Content.aspx
In "Getting at the Content" Yu Ren Dong proposes that by teaching language learning strategies, content area teachers can accelerate content mastery for their English language learners. Dong recommends actively teaching content-specific language while providing ample opportunities for students to use that language both in meaningful class discussion and in writing. The article includes vignettes from science and social studies classrooms that demonstrate how language instruction can be interwoven with content instruction.
Educator's Guide: Identifying What Works for Struggling Readers
Slavin, R.E., Lake, C., Davis, S., & Madden, N. (2010) Educator's Guide: Identifying What Works for Struggling Readers. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Center for Data-Driven Reform in Education.
This report published on the Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE) website provides an extensive review of the research on the outcomes of 27 early childhood programs. Six of the programs produced strong evidence of effectiveness in language, literacy, and/or phonological awareness. All of the effective programs had explicit academic content, a balance of teacher-led and child-initiated activity, and significant training and follow-up support.
Effect of School Mobility on Student Outcomes
Eddy, Lisa, "THE EFFECT OF STUDENT MOBILITY ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 177.
Student mobility and its relationship to academic success have been researched since World War II with varied findings (Goebel, 1978). Establishing the relationship between mobility and achievement is difficult due to the fact that mobility is related to many factors. Mobility has been found to be prevalent among students who traditionally demonstrate achievement gaps (specifically students of low-income status) (Long, 1992; Smith, Fien & Paine, 2008). Mobility's relationship to achievement is complex. Led by a single definition of mobility, admittance to more than one school in the given district over the period of one academic year, this research study sought to determine the effect of mobility on academic achievement. Specifically, the research focused on mobility's effect on students classified as low–income and the effect of school mobility level on academic achievement of its students. This study used a quantitative design; student records were obtained for mobility data, and criterion referenced test scores in mathematics and language arts were utilized to measure academic achievement. Findings revealed that mobile students performed below non-mobile students, low–income status affected mobile students negatively, and mobility level of the school attended had a negative effect on the academic achievement of its students.
Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Practice Brief
Boardman, A. G., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J., Murray, C. S., & Kosanovich, M. (2008). Effective instruction for adolescent struggling readers: A practice brief. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
The Center on Instruction created this practice brief to provide schools, districts, and states with background knowledge about best practices for older students who struggle to read. It focuses on the reading skills that adolescents need to more fully access content-area curricula and, in turn, secure a productive future.
Effective Instruction for English Learners
Calderon, M., Slavin, R., Sanchez, M. (2011). "Effective Instruction for English Learners." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=542
Margarita Calderon, Robert Slavin, and Marta Sanchez identify the elements of effective ELL instruction and review a variety of successful program models, including bilingual versus English–only versus ESL instruction. They highlight comprehensive reform models, as well as individual components of these models: school structures and leadership; language and literacy instruction; integration of language, literacy, and content instruction in secondary schools; cooperative learning; professional development; parent and family support teams; tutoring; and monitoring implementation and outcomes. As larger numbers of English learners reach America's schools, K–12 general education teachers are discovering the need to learn how to teach these students.
Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades
Gersten, R., Baker, S.K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins, P., & Scarcella, R. (2007). Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades: A Practice Guide (NCEE 2007-4011). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides.
The target audience for this guide is a broad spectrum of school practitioners such as administrators, curriculum specialists, coaches, staff development specialists and teachers who face the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English language learners in the elementary grades. The guide also aims to reach district-level administrators who develop practice and policy options for their schools.
Effective Literacy Instruction for Adolescents
Alvermann, D.E. (2001). Effective Literacy Instruction for Adolescents. Oak Creek, WI: National Reading Conference.
Literacy must be redefined for the Net Generation. Strict print literacy in a subject area does not prepare students to respond to today's increasingly complex communications. Instead, literacy must be considered multi-faceted, and include hypertext and visual. Furthermore, the framework of literacy instruction must be reconsidered: what does struggling mean, how can digital literacy be transformed into academic literacy and the reverse. For today's adolescents, literacy instruction must be sensitive to multiple interrelated factors, including motivations and self-perception, and it must be embedded in the subject matter.
Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension
Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. (2002). Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension. In Alan E. Farstrup & S. Jay Samuels (Eds.), What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (3rd ed., pp. 205-242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc.
Why have researchers been able to make so much progress so fast when studying how to teach reading comprehension well? Part of this success is due to the lack of controversy around good teaching practices for comprehension, unlike other areas of reading, like decoding. This chapter describes a variety of practices that are found in many good readers and the processes by which they can be incorporated into any classroom to help improve the reading comprehension of any student.
Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension
Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. (2002). Effective Practices for Developing Reading Comprehension. In Alan E. Farstrup & S. Jay Samuels (Eds.), What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (3rd ed., pp. 205-242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association, Inc.
Why have researchers been able to make so much progress so fast when studying how to teach reading comprehension well? Part of this success is due to the lack of controversy around good teaching practices for comprehension, unlike other areas of reading, like decoding. This report outlines effective comprehension strategies, routines, and activities. The authors also include a checklist for assessing the comprehension environment and instruction in the classroom.
Effective Practices for English Language Learners
Rivera, M. O., Francis, D. J., Fernandez, M., Moughamian, A. C., Lesaux, N. K., & Jergensen, J. (2010). Effective practices for English language learners. Principals from five states speak. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
The primary focus of the article is to discuss schools that have excelled at teaching their ELLs English and standard academic subjects simultaneously, as measured by ELLs' performance on state assessment of reading and math. The researchers studied 49 "exemplary" schools: their priorities, instructional strategies, obstacles, etc. (To select "exemplary" schools for focus, the researchers studied the 5 states with the highest concentrations of ELLs (CA, FL, MA, TX, NM), found schools with especially high numbers of ELLs and low SES, and then identified those with the largest differences between predicted and actual performance.)
Effective Programs for English Language Learners (ELL) with Interrupted Formal Education
Office of English Language Learning & Migrant Education, Indiana Department of Education. (2007). Effective Programs for English Language Learners (ELL) with Interrupted Formal Education. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Department of Education.
Many immigrant students enter U.S. schools having had little or no prior schooling in their home countries. These children must master grade-level content at the same time that they are learning to speak, read, and write in English. This report discusses effective strategies for teaching ELLs who have not had the benefit of formal education or who have had interrupted formal education. The article includes an overview of recent research in this area, as well as recommended resources.
Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High Schools: A Best-Evidence Synthesis
Slavin, R.E., Cheung, A., Groff, C., and Lake, C. (2008). Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High Schools: A Best-Evidence Synthesis.Washington, DC: International Reading Association.
This digest rates the effectiveness of 26 programs designed to improve the reading achievement of middle and high school students. No programs showed strong evidence of effectiveness, and only five showed moderate evidence.
Effective Schools and Accomplished Teachers: Lessons About Primary-Grade Reading Instruction in Low-Income Schools
Taylor, B.M., Pearson, P.D., Clark, K.M., & Walpole, S. (2000). Effective schools and accomplished teachers: Lessons about primary-grade reading instruction in low-income schools. The Elementary School Journal, 101, 121-165.
Effective Social Studies Instruction to Promote Knowledge Acquisition and Vocabulary Learning of English
Reutebuch, C.K. (2010, December). Effective Social Studies Instruction to Promote Knowledge Acquisition and Vocabulary Learning of English. CREATE. Retrieved January 14, 2011 from: http://www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/effective-social-studies-instruction.html
Many students learning English as a second language in the United States must study and be tested on grade-level curricula in a language that they are still learning. This is especially taxing for English language learners who are entering U.S. schools at the secondary level, because they have less time to meet accountability standards than do the English language learners entering the school system at the elementary level. Adolescent English language learners may struggle with academic text, lack of content area knowledge, and underdeveloped oral language and vocabulary levels that can hamper their academic achievement and place them at risk of educational failure in content area classes (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006). If the literacy and language development of struggling adolescent English language learners were targeted and supported by all content area teachers, there would be a greater hope for overall academic success.
Effects of an Extensive Program for Stimulating Phonological Awareness in Preschool Children
Lundberg, I., Frost, J., & Petersen, O. (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 263-285.
Abstract:
A training program consisting of metalinguistic games and exercises was developed with the aim of stimulating preschool children to discover and attend to the phonological structure of language. The program was evaluated in a longitudinal study in which 235 Danish preschool children in intact classes had daily training sessions over a period of 8 months. The children received no reading instruction prior to or during training. Pre- and posttest measures were also taken from a comparison group of 155 children. Subsequently, the authors assessed long-term effects of the training on the children's progress in reading and spelling in first and second grades. The design of the study permitted the authors to assess the specificity of the training effects.
The program had no significant effect on functional linguistic skills, such as comprehension of oral instructions, or vocabulary. It did not affect the informal learning of letter names. But it did affect metalinguistic skills: Small but significant effects were observed on rhyming tasks and on tasks involving word and syllable manipulation. And on tasks requiring phoneme segmentation, the effect was dramatic. Apparently, phonemic awareness can be developed among preschool children outside the context of the acquisition of an alphabetic writing system. However, explicit instruction seems to be required. It was also demonstrated that preschool training in phonological awareness can have a facilitating effect on subsequent reading and spelling acquisition. The positive effect persisted until Grade 2.
Effects of Long-Term Vocabulary Instruction on Lexical Access and Reading Comprehension
Beck, I., Perfetti, C., & McKeown, M. (1982). Effects of long-term vocabulary instruction on lexical access and reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 500-512.
To examine the relationship between knowledge of word meanings and semantic processes, 27 4th-grade children were taught 104 words over a 5-mo period. Following instruction, Ss performed tasks designed to require semantic processes ranging from single word semantic decisions to simple sentence verification and memory for connected text. On all these tasks, instructed Ss performed at a significantly higher level than controls matched on pre-instruction vocabulary knowledge and comprehension. Thus, instructed Ss gave evidence both of learning word meanings taught by the program and of being able to process instructed words more efficiently in tasks more reflective of comprehension. Implications for vocabulary instruction and the role of individual word meanings in comprehension are discussed.
Effects of Preschool Curriculum Programs on School Readiness
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Consortium (2008). Effects of Preschool Curriculum Programs on School Readiness (NCER 2008-2009). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
The Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research initiative studied the impact of the 14 preschool curricula on five student-level outcomes (reading, phonological awareness, language, mathematics, and behavior) and six classroom-level outcomes (classroom quality, teacher-child interaction, and four types of instruction).
Effects of Repeated Reading and Listening-While-Reading on Reading Fluency
Rasinski, T.V. (1990). Effects of repeated reading and listening-while-reading on reading fluency. Journal of Educational Research, 83, 147-150.
A study examined the relative effectiveness of repeated readings and listening-while-reading in promoting reading fluency. Subjects, 20 third grade students in a community in the southeastern United States, of high, average, and low reading levels, had their reading fluency measured in two cycles: subjects who repeatedly read a passage in the first cycle repeatedly listened to a presentation of a passage in the second cycle, and subjects who repeatedly listened to a passage in the first cycle repeatedly read a passage in the second cycle. Results indicated that there was no significant difference for reading rate or accuracy by order of presentation of treatment and that both methods were effective in improving reading fluency. (Two tables of data are included; 15 references are attached.)
Emergent Literacy
Sulzby, E. & Teale, W.H. (1991). Emergent literacy. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, and P.D. Pearson (Eds.) Handbook of Reading Research: Vol. 2 (pp. 727-757). New York: Longman.
English Language Learners and High-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues
Coltrane, B. (2002). English Language Learners and High-Stakes Tests: An Overview of the Issues. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
This report offers a comprehensive discussion of the issues related to ELLs and high-stakes assessments, including the rationale for including ELLs in high-stakes testing, selection of appropriate accommodations, and recommendations for preparing ELLs for high-stakes testing and interpreting test data realistically.
English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities: Research Agenda and Implications for Practice
McCardle, P., Mele-McCarthy, J. and Leos, K. (2005), English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities: Research Agenda and Implications for Practice. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 20: 68-78.
"English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities: Research Agenda and Implications for Practice" defines a research agenda to address issues related to identification and placement of English language learners with learning disabilities. Using information gathered during an October 2003 National Symposium on Learning Disabilities in English Language Learners, the authors recommend future research in the following areas: identification and assessment of learning disabilities among ELLs, definition of what constitutes normal developmental patterns in ELLs, identification of individual and contextual issues that affect ELL performance, the relationship between neurobiology and learning disabilities among ELLs, and development of effective interventions for ELLs with learning disabilities. *Must purchase article, become a member of Wiley Online Library, or access it through institution database.
English Language Learners and NCLB Testing Requirements
American Federation of Teachers. (2007). English Language Learners and NCLB Testing Requirements. Washington, DC.
English Language Learners and NCLB Testing Requirements, published by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is a very useful quick guide to policies on ELLs and NCLB testing. Updated in 2007, this report includes the latest information on such topics as required assessments for ELLs, accepted accommodations, and adequate yearly progress (AYP).
English Language Learners with Disabilities: Identification and Other State Policies and Issues
Keller-Allen, C. (2006). English Language Learners with Disabilities: Identification and Other State Policies and Issues. Project Forum, National Association of State Directors of Special Education: Alexandria, VA.
Most school districts do not have plans in place for identifying and addressing learning disabilities in ELLs. Project Forum selected and studied seven states with large or growing ELL populations. They interviewed both special education and English language learner staff to find out what policies and practices are happening at the state level and what policies they would recommend to improve the quality of education for ELLs with learning disabilities.
English Language Learners with Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies
Ortiz, A. (2001). English Language Learners with Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies. Austin, TX: University of Texas.
In English Language Learners with Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies, Alba Ortiz provides a framework for ELL instruction that focuses on preventing school failure and providing early intervention for struggling learners. In this context, Ortiz discusses such topics as creating supportive learning environments, fostering school-community collaborations, designing effective instructional programs, and deciding when to refer students for special education evaluation.
English Language Learners: Boosting Academic Achievement
Resnick, L.B., Ed. (2004). English Language Learners: Boosting Academic Achievement. Research Points, 2(1). American Educational Research Association: Washington DC.
With nearly one in twelve public school children receiving special assistance to learn English, researchers are investigating effective ways to teach English literacy and boost academic achievement for ELLs. This American Educational Research Association brief estimates that with explicit phonics instruction and frequent assessment, young ELLs can master the basics of English literacy. To sustain academic achievement, vocabulary and comprehension strategies must continue to develop in a structured, supported, and inclusive learning environment.
Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners
Olsen, L. (2006). Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners. University of California: Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
This report, or position paper, highlights nine elements of a strong program, based on three decades of research. The report recommends best practices that include accessible preschool programs, support for newcomers of all ages, and a focus on English language development.
Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners
Olsen, L. (2006). Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners. University of California: Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
This report highlights nine elements of a strong program, based on three decades of research. Recommended best practices include accessible preschool programs, support for newcomers of all ages, and a focus on English language development.
Ensuring Effective Teachers for All Students
Chait, Robin. (2009). Ensuring Effective Teachers for All Students. Washington, D.C. Center for American Progress.
This report analyzes the importance of working with effective teachers in high-poverty or high-minority schools to improve the academic standards of all students. The report also mentions six strategies that states can consider implementing to attract and retain effective teachers in high-poverty and high-minority schools while providing examples of current programs that help states determine how to hire and retain effective educators in their schools.
Ensuring Equal Opportunity in Public Education: How Local School District Funding Practices Hurt Disadvantaged Students and What Federal Policy Can Do About It
Podesta, J., Brown, C., McClure, P., Wiener, R., Roza, M., and Hill, M. (2008). Ensuring Equal Opportunity in Public Education: How Local School District Funding Practices Hurt Disadvantaged Students and What Federal Policy Can Do About It. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress.
The four papers that make up this volume explore perhaps the most important component of this mismatch of U.S. educational resources — inequality in the funding of local schools by their own school districts. The authors arrive at some uniform conclusions about ineffective and inequitable educational spending by the federal government on Title I schools, and each one in a different fashion points the way toward solutions to a complex budgeting issue that is a root funding cause of our struggling public schools.
Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners
Dobb, Fred. (2004). Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners. 2nd edition. California Science Project: Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved from: http://docushare.ycs.k12.pa.us/docushare/dsweb/GetRendition/Document-7526/html.
"Essential Elements of Effective Science Instruction for English Learners" written by Fred Dobb and published by the California Science Project, identifies 10 elements crucial to good science instruction for ELLs: academic language through science instruction, affective factors, classroom talk, vocabulary development, the science textbook, science textbook teachers' guides, professional development, the Sheltered Science Instruction Observation Protocol, lesson study, and assessment. Dobb discusses each of these elements is in detail, with a particular eye toward providing practical information that teachers can use to support their ELLs' learning in the science classroom.
Essential Elements Of Quality After-School Programs
Hammond, C. and Reimer, M. (2006). Essential Elements Of Quality After-School Programs. Alexandria, VA: Communities In Schools (CIS)
This report, commissioned by Communities In Schools from the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University, reviews existing research to identify afterschool programs that have been found through scientific studies to be effective and the core elements that contributed to their effectiveness.
Every Child Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action
"Every Child Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action." Washington, DC: America's Promise Alliance. Retrieved from http://www.americaspromise.org/Resources/Research-and-Reports/~/media/Files/About/ECEP%20-%20Full%20Report.aspx
Instead of focusing on statistics that suggest the symptoms of a larger problem, this report sheds new light on root causes. Every Child, Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action reveals how our nation is dangerously under–equipping the majority of our children and youth for the future, especially those who are disadvantaged. It probes the causes of this failure—what lies behind the troubling statistics. This report is the first that attempts to measure comprehensively the presence in the lives of our young people of the five key resources—the "Five Promises"—that correlate with success in both youth and adulthood: (1) Caring adults; (2) Safe places and constructive use of time; (3) Healthy start and healthy development; (4) Effective education for marketable skills and lifelong learning; and (5) Opportunities to make a difference through helping others.
Evidence That Dyslexia May Represent the Lower Tail of a Normal Distribution of Reading Ability
Shaywitz, S.E., Escobar, M., Shaywitz, B.A., Fletcher, J.M., & Makuch, R. (1992, January 16). Evidence that dyslexia may represent the lower tail of a normal distribution of reading ability. New England Journal of Medicine, p. 145.
Abstract:
Dyslexia is now widely believed to be a biologically based disorder that is distinct from other, less specific reading problems. According to this view, reading ability is considered to follow a bimodal distribution, with dyslexia as the lower mode. We hypothesized that, instead, reading ability follows a normal distribution, with dyslexia at the lower end of the continuum. We used data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, a sample survey of 414 Connecticut children who entered kindergarten in 1983 and were followed as a longitudinal cohort. Dyslexia was defined in terms of a discrepancy score, which represents the difference between actual reading achievement and achievement predicted on the basis of measures of intelligence.
Data were available from intelligence tests administered in grades 1, 3, and 5 and achievement tests administered yearly in grades 1 through 6. For each child there were 108 possible discrepancy scores ([3 x 3 years] x [2 x 6 years]) based on combinations of the ability scores (full-scale, verbal, and performance IQ) in each of three years and two achievement scores (reading and mathematics) in each of six years.
We demonstrated that each of the discrepancy scores followed a univariate normal distribution and that the interrelation of two different discrepancy scores followed a bivariate normal distribution. At most, only 9 of 108 discrepancy scores (8.3 percent) and 171 of 3402 pairs of discrepancy scores (5.0 percent) were significantly different (at the 5 percent level) from the expected scores – well within the expected values for data with univariate and bivariate normal distributions, respectively. We also examined the stability of dyslexia over time. The normal-distribution model predicted (and the data indicated) that only 7 of the 25 children (28 percent) classified as having dyslexia in grade 1 would also be classified as having dyslexia in grade 3.
CONCLUSIONS. Reading difficulties, including dyslexia, occur as part of a continuum that also includes normal reading ability. Dyslexia is not an all-or-none phenomenon, but like hypertension, occurs in degrees. The variability inherent in the diagnosis of dyslexia can be both quantified and predicted with use of the normal-distribution model.
Examination of Peer Review and Title I Monitoring Feedback Regarding the Inclusion and Accommodation of English Language Learners in State Content Assessments
Shafer Willner, L., Rivera, C., & Acosta, B. (2010). Examination of Peer Review and Title I Monitoring Feedback Regarding the Inclusion and Accommodation of English Language Learners in State Content Assessments. Arlington, VA: The George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that ELLs and Students with Disabilities (SDs) be assessed in academic content through a state exam. This study examined how effectively states are including ELLs and students with disabilities (SDs) in academic content assessments and tracking this data. State data revealed lack of complete information on use or lack of use of accommodations on assessments.
Extensive Reading Interventions in Grades K-3: From Research to Practice
Scammacca, N., Vaughn, S., Roberts, G., Wanzek, J., & Torgesen, J. K. (2007). Extensive reading interventions in grades K-3: From research to practice. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
This report summarizes 12 peer-reviewed, high-quality research studies between 1995 and 2005 and synthesizes their findings on the effects of extensive reading interventions (comprising at least 100 instructional sessions) for struggling K-3 readers. It then explains the related implications for practice for students with reading problems or learning disabilities in an RTI setting.
Families Matter: Designing Media for a Digital Age
Takeuchi, L. M. Families matter: Designing media for a digital age. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, focuses on two complementary studies that document how families with young children are integrating digital media into the rhythm of daily life. Results from a survey of more than 800 parents of children ages 3 through 10 reveal how parents nationwide feel about raising children in a digital age. In-depth case studies provide further insight into these statistics, probing how parent attitudes toward technology, along with family values, routines, and structures, are shaping young children's experiences using digital media.
Family and Neighborhood Sources of Socioeconomic Inequality in Children's Achievement
Sastry, Narayan, and A.R. Pebley. 2010. "Family and Neighborhood Sources of Socioeconomic Inequality in Children's Achievement." Demography, 47(3): 777-800.
Researchers examined family and neighborhood sources of socioeconomic inequality in children's reading and mathematics achievement using data from the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. The researchers found no inequality in children's achievement by family income when other variables in the model were held constant. Mother's reading scores and average neighborhood levels of income accounted for the largest proportion of inequality in children's achievement. Neighborhood economic status appears to be strongly associated with children's skills acquisition.
Family Matters Related to the Reading Engagement of Latina/o Children
Arzubiaga, A, Rueda, R, & Monzó, L. (2002). Family Matters Related to the Reading Engagement of Latina/o Children. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.
This report published by the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), examines the effect of sociocultural elements on Latina/o children's engagement with reading. The report suggests that family workload, nurturing, and family culture and language are all significantly related to children's attitudes toward reading and their self-concept as readers.
Family-School-Community Partnerships 2.0: Collaborative Strategies to Advance Student Learning
Henderson, Ann. Family-School-Community Partnerships 2.0: Collaborative Strategies to Advance Student Learning (2011). National Education Association: Washington DC.
This report identifies and describes key partnerships that National Education Association members have forged in 16 communities to help close achievement gaps, improve low-performing schools, and transform relationships between schools and their communities. Part I of this report reviews recent research on school and family collaboration and presents 10 key strategies for creating effective family- school-community partnerships that are focused on advancing student learning. It also includes recommendations for moving this important work forward. Part II contains profiles for each of the 16 partnership programs. In many cases, Association members have been catalysts for or taken on key roles in these effective programs. These profiles demonstrate very clearly that family-school-community partnerships with a central focus on advancing student learning can have a powerful impact.
Features of State Response to Intervention Initiatives in Northeast and Islands Region States
Bocala, C., Mello, D., Reedy, K., and Lacireno-Paquet, N. (2009). Features of state response to intervention initiatives in Northeast and Islands Region states (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2009–No. 083). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.
Response to intervention (RTI) is an approach to instruction, assessment, and intervention that enables early identification of students who are experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties. This report studies the public documents detailing such efforts in the nine (Northeast and Islands Region jurisdictions: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands. The report examines only state–level evidence and distinguishes between the enactment of state regulations or guidance and local practice.
Five States' Efforts to Improve Adolescent Literacy
Bates, L., Breslow, N., and Hupert, N. (2009). Five states’ efforts to improve adolescent literacy (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2009–No. 067). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies. ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.
This report describes efforts by five states — Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — to improve adolescent literacy. Highlighting common challenges and lessons, the report examines how each state has engaged key stakeholders, set rigorous goals and standards, aligned resources to support adolescent literacy goals, built educator capacity, and used data to measure progress.
Florida's Middle School Reading Coaches: What Do They Do? Are They Effective?
Marsh, J.A., McCombs, J.S., Lockwood, J.R., et al. Florida's Middle School Reading Coaches (2008). Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation.
This Rand research brief reports the results of a study examining the implementation and effectiveness of a middle school reading coach program in Florida.
Fluency: Bridge Between Decoding and Reading Comprehension
Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge Between Decoding and Reading Comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58, 510-519.
Abstract:
A deep, developmental construct and definition of fluency, in which fluency and reading comprehension have a reciprocal relationship, is explicated and contrasted with superficial approaches to that construct. The historical development of fluency is outlined, along with conclusions of the U.S. National Reading Panel, to explore why fluency has moved from being "the neglected aspect of reading" to a popular topic in the field.
A practical, developmental instructional program based largely on the theoretical framework and research findings of Linnea Ehri is delineated. The nine essential components of that program include building the graphophonic foundations for fluency; building and extending vocabulary and oral language skills; providing expert instruction and practice in the recognition of high-frequency vocabulary; teaching common word parts and spelling patterns; teaching, modeling, and providing practice in the application of a decoding strategy; using appropriate texts to coach strategic behaviors and to build reading speed; using repeated reading procedures as an intervention approach for struggling readers; extending growing fluency through wide independent reading; and monitoring fluency development through appropriate assessment procedures.
The position taken throughout the piece is that teaching, developing, and assessing fluency must always be done in the context of reading comprehension.
Fluent and Nonfluent Forms of Transfer in Reading: Words and Their Message
Faulkner, H., & Levy, B.A. (1999). Fluent and nonfluent forms of transfer in reading: Words and their message. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 6, 111-116.
Abstract:
In two experiments, we examined transfer to the reading of a normal text from a prior reading of that intact text or from a prior reading of a scrambled word version of the passage. In Experiment 1, we studied good and poor readers in Grade 4; in Experiment 2, high- and low-ability undergraduate readers. Good readers at both ages showed rereading benefits only when the prior reading was of the intact text, with no reliable benefit from experience with words only. The poorer readers showed reliable rereading benefits even when only the words, in a scrambled order, were read on the first encounter. The results are discussed in terms of two forms of transfer: nonfluent reading transfer when attention must be focused on word recognition and fluent rereading transfer when word recognition is skilled so that attention can be focused on text processing.
From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College
Roderick, M. Nagaoka, J., Coca, V. & Moeller, E. (2008). From high school to the future: potholes on the road to college. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago.
This report examines how Chicago Public School students navigate the college search and application processes, as well as the types of colleges those students apply to and enroll in. Study questions include whether students get the support they need to make informed choices about college and whether students who aspire to attend a four-year college are aware of the steps required to enroll?
From High School to the Future: The Path Toward 20
Easton, J., Ponisciak, Stephen, & Luppescu, Stuart. (2008) From High School to the Future: the path toward 20. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago.
This report is part of a series of studies related to college going by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students.This study looks closely into the CPS goal of having more students score 20 or better on the ACT. Both the prior and current research clearly identify two major factors that influence ACT scores. Regardless of their background or previous test scores, students score higher on the ACT when they attend high schools with strong academic cultures and when they have high academic performance as evidenced by good grades.
From State Policy to Classroom Practice: Improving Literacy Instruction for All Students
Haynes, M. From State Policy to Classroom Practice: Improving Literacy Instruction for All Students. Washington, D.C.: National Association of State Boards of Education
This paper offers recommendations for state- and district-level action to support improved adolescent literacy instruction. Recommendations are organized around five key aspects of program improvement: planning, quality of teaching, use of data, instructional infrastructure, and accountability.
Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better
Williams, T., Kirst, M., Haertel, E., et al. (2010). Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. Mountain View, CA: EdSource.
What district and school policies and practices are linked to higher student performance in the middle grades? To find out, a research team led by EdSource spent 18 months conducting the most extensive study ever of middle grades. The study surveyed more than 4,000 California teachers, principals, and superintendents about a wide range of middle grades practices. To see what higher-performing schools did, the responses were then analyzed against school-level student outcomes on standards-based state tests in English language arts and math, controlling for student background.
Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health
Thai, M.T., Lowenstein, D., Ching, D., Rejeski, D. (2009). Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Younger and younger children are becoming immersed in the new gaming culture. If you think this is an unhealthy trend, you are not alone. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center addresses this concern in this policy brief. The report proposes that a national investment in research-based digital games can help children learn healthy behaviors, core skills like reading and math, and 21st-century strengths such as critical thinking, global learning, and programming design.
Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18 Year-Olds
Rideout, V.J., Foehr U.G., & Roberts D.F. (2010) Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8-to 18-Year-OIds. Washington, D.C.: Kaiser Family Foundation.
The study shows data behind media use and ownership among young people over the past 5 years, which includes television, music/audio, computer, video games, print, and movies, with even more specified media in each category. It compares media use across ages, races, and genders. It also explores the relationship with other things such as physical activity and grades, as well as people’s purpose in using media.
Getting Reading Right from the Start: Effective Early Literacy Interventions
Hiebert, E.H., & Taylor, B.M. (1994). Getting reading right from the start: Effective early literacy interventions. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
From Amazon.com:
This edited book brings together descriptions of seven literacy intervention programs used by experts to prevent early reading failure in grades K-1. Programs focus on story book reading and writing with attention to word-level strategies, and are developmental, not remedial. Early childhood literacy, diagnosis and treatment of reading difficulties.
Getting Ready for Reading: Early Phoneme Awareness and Phonics Teaching Improves Reading and Spelling in Inner-city Second Language Learners
Stuart, M. (1999). Getting ready for reading: early phoneme awareness and phonics teaching improves reading and spelling in inner–city second language learners. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 587-605.
Previous studies demonstrate that phoneme awareness training, particularly when combined with letter–sound teaching, results in improved reading and spelling development. This study builds upon those findings by including children learning English as a second language, who have typically been excluded from previous studies.
Grad Nation: A Guidebook to Help Communities Tackle the Dropout Crisis
America's Promise Alliance. (2009). Grad Nation. Washington, DC: Author.
Grad Nation is a guidebook that provides a road map to help communities tackle the dropout crisis. It is designed to help communities develop tailored plans for keeping students on track to graduate from high school, prepared for college, work and life.
Graduating America: Meeting the Challenge of Low Graduation-Rate High Schools
Balfanz, R., Almeida, C., Steinberg, A., Santos, A. and Fox, J. H. (2009). Graduating America: meeting the challenge of low graduation-rate high schools. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
This report from Jobs for the Future examines three major factors that should be considered when making choices about improvement strategies: patterns of geographic spread and concentration; state, district, and school characteristics; and socioeconomic, demographic, and political trends in the community.
The report’s authors make the following recommendations to the federal government:
- Require states seeking ARRA “Race to the Top” funding to use analytic data on graduation rates and low graduation-rate high schools as part of their plans for turning around failing schools.
- Build the capacity of states, districts, and schools to implement appropriate high school reform strategies.
- Designate additional federal innovation funding for development and replication of effective school designs to use in transforming or replacing low graduation-rate high schools.
- Target federal financing to high schools, districts, and states with the most pressing dropout problems.
Guidelines for the Assessment of English Language Learners
Pitoniak, M.J., Young, J.W., Martiniello, M., King, T.C., Buteux, A., and Ginsburgh, M. (2009). Guidelines for the Assessment of English Language Learners. Princeton, New Jersey: Educational Testing Service.
This report by the Educational Testing Service provides an excellent discussion of a wide range of topics related to assessment for ELLs. The report begins by examining factors that influence ELL assessment, including students' language, educational background, and culture. There is also a discussion of the steps that should go into designing an appropriate assessment, as well as a description of testing accommodations that can help ensure that ELLs are treated equitably and that test results are valid.
Head Start and the Changing Demographics of Young Children
Golden, O. (2011). Head start and the changing demographics of young children. NHSA Dialog, 14(1).
Head Start and Early Head Start programs have always understood that high-quality services are grounded in a thorough understanding of the children and families in their communities. And the portrait of our nation's children is changing rapidly. Results from the 2010 Census show a dramatic change in the racial and ethnic composition of children, particularly increases in Hispanic and Asian children and declines in white children (and a slight decline nationally in the number of black children). Other recent national surveys show a sharp increase in the proportion of children, and young children in particular, whose parents are immigrants. Based on these trends and recent Urban Institute research, this paper makes four recommendations about how local Head Start practitioners can best meet the needs of today's young children and their families.
Head Start Impact Study
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (January 2010). Head Start Impact Study. Final Report. Washington, DC.
A study about the impact of Head Start shows that at the end of one program year, access to Head Start positively influenced children's school readiness. However, when measured again at the end of kindergarten and first grade, the Head Start children and the control group children were at the same level on many of the measures studied.
Helping English Language Learners Understand Content-Area Texts
Helping English Language Learners Understand Content-Area Texts. Indiana Department of Education. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Published by the Indiana Department of Education, this guide provides clear, detailed instructions for making content area text accessible to ELLs. The guide begins with a description of how teachers can survey textbooks in advance to identify potential areas of difficulty for ELLs. Also included are sections on building background knowledge, pre–teaching vocabulary and concepts, pre-reading strategies to increase comprehension, introducing the text, reading the text, demonstrating comprehension through speaking, and demonstrating comprehension through writing.
Helping Students Navigate the Path to College: What High Schools Can Do
Tierney, W. G., Bailey, T., Constantine, J., Finkelstein, N., & Hurd, N. F. (2009). Helping students navigate the path to college: What high schools can do: A practice guide (NCEE #2009-4066). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/.
This guide reviews research literature on college access and makes five recommendations for how high schools and school districts can help students navigate their way to college. The first two are to help prepare students academically for college by offering a college preparatory curriculum and by assessing whether students are building the knowledge and skills needed for college. The third is for high schools to build and sustain college aspirations by surrounding students with adults and peers who support these aspirations. The fourth and fifth are for high schools to assist students in completing the necessary steps to college entry, by college entrance exams and college and financial aid applications.
Hidden in Plain View: An Overview of the Needs of Asian American Students in the Public School System
The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (2004, May). Coalition for Asian Hidden in plain view: An overview of the needs of Asian American students in the public school system. New York, NY.
The article discusses a number of issues related to Asian-American communities, specifically in New York City. The authors conducted interviews with students, parents, and school staff about the experiences of Asian Americans in schools and the community, including their experiences with stereotypes and myths. The authors examine academics, informal education, parent involvement, and community participation.
High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007
Cataldi, E.F., Laird, J., and KewalRamani, A. (2009). High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2007 (NCES 2009-064). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.
Some 73% of high school freshman nationwide graduated on time with their peers, but this four-year graduation rate in 2006 varied widely across states--from a low of 55.9% to a high of 87.5%, according to the report. Other key findings include:
- Students living in low-income families were approximately ten times more likely to drop out of high school between 2006 and 2007 than were students living in high-income families.
- One-year dropout rates have declined since 1972 among all racial/ethnic groups, although the decreases happened at different times over this 35-year period for these groups.
- About 3.3 million 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential, as of October 2007.
High Schools as Launch Pads: How College-Going Culture Improves Graduation Rates in Low-Income Schools
College Summit. (2008).High Schools as Launch Pads: How College-Going Culture Improves Graduation Rates in Low-Income Schools. Washington, DC: Author.
A growing body of research suggests that students who work hard in high school do so because they connect their efforts with college and career rewards after high school. A college-going culture in high school not only increases the likelihood of college degree attainment, but also improves the likelihood that students will graduate from high school college-ready. This white paper provides policy recommendations at the school district, state and federal level to foster these “launch pad” high schools, with a focus on 1) improving the reliability of college participation data by high school; 2) establishing an objective long-term high school success measure; and 3) providing incentives for high schools to invest in building college-going culture.
Higher Education and Children in Immigrant Families
Baum, S., Flores, S.M. (2011.) "Higher Education and Children in Immigrant Families." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=545.
The increasing role that immigrants and their children are playing in American society, Sandy Baum and Stella Flores argue, makes it essential that as many young newcomers as possible enroll and succeed in postsecondary education. Immigrant youths' access to postsecondary education varies depending on country or origin, race, parental socioeconomic status, lack of college preparation, and potential barriers. The sharp rise in demand for skilled labor over the past few decades has made it more urgent than ever to provide access to postsecondary education for all. Removing barriers to education and to employment opportunities for undocumented students poses political, not conceptual, problems. Providing adequate funding for postsecondary education through low tuition and grant aid is also straightforward, if not easy to accomplish. Assuring that Mexican immigrants and others who grow up in low-income communities have the opportunity to prepare themselves academically for college is more challenging. Policies to improve the elementary and secondary school experiences of all children are key to improving the postsecondary success of all.
Hispanics, High School Dropouts and the GED
Fry, R. (2010). Hispanics, High School Dropouts and the GED. Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved January 7, 2011 from: http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/122.pdf
The report analyzes the data of Latinos related to drop-out rates and attainment of a GED. It summaries and examines the current statistics. Then it compares this data to the annual earnings and employment status of the respondents.
How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners?
Fry, R. (2007). How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners? Pew Hispanic Center: Washington, D.C.
Through the use of NAEP data, this Pew Hispanic Center study examines the achievement gaps between ELL students and White, Black, and Hispanic non-ELL students. The study looks specifically at math and reading scores at the 4th and 8th grade levels both nationally and on a statewide basis in the 10 states with the nation's highest ELL populations.
How High Schools Become Exemplary: Ways That Leadership Raises Achievement and Narrows Gaps by Improving Instruction in 15 Public High Schools
How High Schools Become Exemplary: Ways That Leadership Raises Achievement and Narrows Gaps by Improving Instruction in 15 Public High Schools. (2009). Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University. Retrieved January 6, 2011 from: http://www.agi.harvard.edu/events/2009Conference/2009AGIConferenceReport6-30-2010web.pdf
The report summarizes the presentations of 15 outstanding high schools that were featured at the fifth annual conference of the AGI at Harvard University. These schools were successful in implementing strategies that significantly reduced the achievement gap by demonstrating significant increases in standardized state exams at their own schools.
How High Schools Become Exemplary: Ways that Leadership Raises and Narrows Gaps by Improving Instruction in 15 Public High Schools
Ronald F. Ferguson, Sandra Hackman, Robert Hanna, and Ann Ballantine, June 2010. How High Schools Become Exemplary: Ways that Leadership Raises Achievement and Narrows Gaps by Improving Instruction in 15 Public High Schools. Report on the 2009 Annual Conference of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University. Available for download at http://www.agi.harvard.edu.
This report from the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University looks at 15 outstanding public high schools from Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Texas, and Washington, D.C. These high schools were featured at the fifth annual conference of the AGI in June 2009, where teams from each school made presentations and then faced questioning from experts about the methods by which they had achieved progress, such as high value-added test score gains on statewide assessment tests and narrowing test-score achievement gaps. The main lesson from the presentations was that student achievement rose when leadership teams focused on improving instruction. Leaders took public responsibility for raising achievement, and stakeholders drafted mission statements to help schools stay on track. Schools carefully organized learning experiences for teachers, and clearly defined criteria for high-quality teaching and student work in ways that engaged entire faculties. As leaders implemented plans, schools monitored student and teacher work to continuously refine approaches. Leadership teams demonstrated commitment through hard work and long hours, studying research-based literature to expand knowledge and competence, and found ways to remain respectful of peers, even when asking them to improve their performance. In these ways, leadership teams earned the respect of their colleagues and gained authority to push people outside their comfort zones.
How Long Does It Take English Language Learners to Attain Proficiency?
Hakuta, K., Butler, Y.G., and Witt, D. (2000, January). How long does it take English language learners to develop oral proficiency and academic proficiency in English? Stanford, CA: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
This report compiles findings related to how long it takes English language learners to become proficient in speaking English and how long it takes them to master enough English to be successful in classrooms where all academic content is in English. The report draws on findings from four schools. Two schools are in the San Francisco Bay area and two schools are in Canada. The authors collect their own data from the California schools and rely on previous research for the Canadian schools.
How Words Can and Cannot Be Learned by Observation
Medinaa, TN, Snedekerc, J, Trueswella, J, & Gleitmana, G. (2011). How words can and cannot be learned by observation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(22), 9014-9019.
"If language experiences are not rich, then where is your interest to retain them?" says Janice H. Im of Zero to Three: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families. A new study from University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University suggests that understanding basic words may come from a flash of initial insight more than repetition. The study's findings suggest that children build concrete vocabulary by interacting with a complex, rich learning environment, not just repeated exposure to words in isolation.
Human Voice Recognition Depends on Language Ability
Perrachione, T., Stephanie Del Tufo, S., Gabrieli, J. Human Voice Recognition Depends on Language Ability. Science 29 July 2011: 595.
Impaired phonological processing is characteristic of dyslexia and thought to be a basis for difficulty in learning to read. A recent study suggests that how people with dyslexia hear language may be more important than previously realized. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that people with dyslexia have more trouble recognizing voices than those without dyslexia. Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a director of the Center for Dyslexia and Creativity at Yale University, said the study "demonstrates the centrality of spoken language in dyslexia — that it's not a problem in meaning, but in getting to the sounds of speech."
Immigrant Children: Introducing the Issue
Tienda, M., Haskins, R. (2011) "Immigrant Children: Introducing the Issue." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=538.
Large numbers of immigrant children are experiencing serious problems—inadequate education, poor physical and mental health, and poverty—that compromise their assimilation into American society. The purpose of this volume is to examine the well–being of these children and what might be done to improve their educational attainment, health, social and cognitive development, and long–term prospects for economic mobility. Immigrant children are the fastest–growing segment of the U.S. population today. Their future, however, is highly uncertain. Although nearly three-fourths of these children are citizens by birth, their status as dependents of unauthorized residents thwarts their prospects for integration into U.S. society during their crucial formative years. Even having certifiably legal status is not enough to guarantee children's access to social programs if parents lack information about child benefits and entitlements, as well as the savvy to navigate complex bureaucracies. Contributors to the volume review research about the well–being of immigrant youth in the United States—demographic trends and family arrangements, educational trends and differentials, and youthful immigrants' health status, social integration, and participation in welfare and other public programs. Contributors also suggest policies to improve the well–being of immigrant youth.
Immigrants in Community Colleges
Teranishi, R.T., Suarez–Orozco, C., Suarez–Orozco, M. (2011) "Immigrants in Community Colleges." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=544.
To attend to the growing needs of a growing immigrant population, community colleges offer one particularly important venue for educating and engaging that population. Because they are conveniently located, cost much less than four–year colleges, feature open admissions, and accommodate students who work or have family responsibilities, community colleges are well suited to meet the educational needs of immigrants who want to obtain an affordable postsecondary education, learn English–language skills, and prepare for the labor market. The authors explore how community colleges can serve immigrant students more effectively. Already, more immigrant students attend community colleges than any other type of postsecondary institution. But community colleges could attract even more immigrant students through various types of outreach programs. Although there are many good ideas for interventions that can boost enrollment and improve the performance of immigrant students in community colleges, rigorous research on effective programs is scant and needs to be enhanced in order to inform policy makers and community colleges on increasing the educational achievement of immigrant students.
Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help
Chait, Robin and Andrea Venezia. (2009). Improving Academic Preparation for College: What We Know and How State and Federal Policy Can Help. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress.
This article discusses students' academic performance during high school to prepare them for college. This article supports current survey results that show that students are interested in pursuing a college degree; however, the transition can be difficult due to their poor academic preparation. In the article, the authors discuss what it has been done now to improve academic preparation and the role of the federal and state policymakers to make a different in students' lives as prospect college students.
Improving Assessment and Accountability for ELLs in the No Child Left Behind Act
Lazarín, M. (2006). Improving Assessment and Accountability for English Language Learners in the No Child Left Behind Act. National Council of La Raza: Washington, DC.
This report from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) provides an overview of the assessment and accountability provisions of NCLB affecting ELLs, the challenges of implementation in various states and districts, and policy recommendations for improving the law's effectiveness for ELLs.
Improving Literacy Instruction in Middle and High Schools: A Guide for Principals
Torgesen, J., Houston, D., & Rissman, L. (2007). Improving literacy instruction in middle and high schools: A guide for principals. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
When principals are school literacy leaders, reading outcomes improve for middle and high school students. This guide from the Center on Instruction outlines the elements of school-level planning and leadership found in successful schools. It emphasizes three areas: leadership activities, the use of data to guide instruction, and appropriate and effective instructional materials.
Improving Literacy Outcomes for ELLs in High School: Considerations for States and Districts in Developing a Coherent Policy Framework
Torgesen, J. K., Houston, D. D., Rissman, L. M., Decker, S. M., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., Wexler, J. Francis, D. J, Rivera, M. O., Lesaux, N. (2007). Academic literacy instruction for adolescents: A guidance document from the Center on Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
This overview from the National High School Center examines the roles of states and school districts in supporting English Language Learners. Among the key findings — ELL students who access accelerated and enriching academics rather than remediation, succeed at higher levels, and Latino ELL students are overrepresented in special education. To build the capacity of teachers to appropriately identify which ELL students would benefit from special education services and which would benefit from more inclusive strategies, states must be explicit about what is expected of professional development and teacher preparedness.
Improving Literacy Outcomes for English Language Learners in High School
Koelsch, N. (2006). Improving Literacy Outcomes for English Language Learners in High School. A WestEd publication.
The National High School Center has released a report that provides a roadmap for bringing higher levels of literacy to the ELL population. ELLs are often relegated to lower level classes in high school, and many — particularly Latinos — have lower graduation rates than their native English speaking peers. This report outlines how states and districts can move away from a remediation approach and toward academic acceleration and enrichment so that ELLs succeed in high school and beyond.
Improving Literacy Outcomes for English Language Learners in High School: Considerations for States and Districts in Developing a Coherent Policy Framework
Koelsch, N. (2006). Improving literacy outcomes for English language learners in high school: Considerations for states and districts in developing a coherent policy Framework. National High School Center .
This overview from the National High School Center examines the roles of states and school districts in supporting English Language Learners. Among the key findings: ELL students who access accelerated and enriching academics, rather than remediation, succeed at higher levels. In addition, Latino ELL students are overrepresented in special education. In order to build the capacity of teachers to appropriately identify which ELL students would benefit from special education services and which would benefit from more inclusive strategies, states must be explicit about what is expected of professional development and teacher preparedness.
Improving Reading Across Subject Areas with Word Generation
Lawrence, J.F., White, C., Snow, C.E. (2011.) "Improving Reading Across Subject Areas with Word Generation." Center for Research on Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners. Retrieved from: http://www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/pdfs/improving-reading-across-subject-areas-with-word-generation.pdf
Using the evidence that reading comprehension supports vocabulary development and that vocabulary development supports reading comprehension, the authors describe the relationship between these two processes as one of reciprocal causation. It has been widely noted that less able students are likely to fall farther and farther behind if they struggle with learning processes linked by reciprocal causation. Fortunately, there is evidence that vocabulary instruction can have an important and lasting impact on student word learning. There is reason to think, then, that a robust vocabulary intervention that targets academic language may improve vocabulary and reading comprehension in the short run while also supporting the struggling reader's facility at learning new words independently. To study this further, the authors have conducted a quasi–experiment to assess the effectiveness of the "Word Generation Program," an intervention firmly grounded in what is currently known about effective practice, while also casting light on how enhanced vocabulary levels relate to improved reading comprehension. To this end, the research team compared the academic word–learning of schools that chose to implement the program versus schools that chose not to.
Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide (NCEE 2010-4038). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practiceguides.
This Practice Guide focuses on three areas that current research on reading indicates are critical to building a young student's capacity to comprehend what he or she reads: knowledge and abilities required specifically to comprehend text, thinking and reasoning skills, and motivation to understand and work toward academic goals. Five recommendations: (1) Teach students how to use reading comprehension strategies; (2) Teach students to identify and use the text's organizational structure to comprehend, learn, and remember content; (3) Guide students through focused, high-quality discussion on the meaning of text; (4) Select texts purposefully to support comprehension development; and (5) Establish an engaging and motivating context in which to teach reading comprehension.
Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners
August, D., Artzi, L., & Mazrum, J. (2010, August). Improving Science and Vocabulary Learning of English Language Learners. CREATE. Retrieved January 4, 2011 from: www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/CREATEBrief_AcademicLanguage.pdf
This report analyzes and reviews current research of effective science instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) and “the role of English language proficiency, learning in a second language, and first language knowledge in science learning,” and how it relates to instruction. In addition, the report examines and compares current research trends to the findings of two CREATE intervention studies that were effective in improving vocabulary and science knowledge.
In the Child's Best Interest? The Consequences of Losing a Lawful Immigrant Parent to Deportation
In the Child’s Best Interest? The Consequences of Losing a Lawful Immigrant Parent to Deportation. (2010). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Human_Rights_report.pdf
This report summarizes the current state of lawful immigration (and lawful permanent resident) in the U.S. It does this through a multi-disciplinary analysis, -examin[ing] the experiences of U.S. citizen children impacted by the forced deportation of their LPR parents and proposes ways to reform U.S. law consistent with domestic and international standards aimed to improve the lives of children.
In the Middle : New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning
Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle : New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook.
From the back cover
When first published in 1987, this seminal work was widely hailed for its honest examination of how teachers teach, how students learn, and ht gap that lies in between. In depicting her own classroom struggles, Nancy Atwell shook our orthodox assumptions about skill-and-drill-based curriculum and became a pioneer of responsive teaching. Now, in the long-awaited second edition, Atwell reflects on the next ten years of her experience, rethinks and clarifies old methods, and demonstrates new, more effective approaches.
Individual Differences in Gains for Computer-Assisted Remedial Reading
Wise, B.W., Ring, J., Olson, R.K. (2000, November). Individual Differences in Gains for Computer-Assisted Remedial Reading. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, pp.197-235.
Abstract:
Two hundred second- to fifth-grade students (aged approximately 7 to 11 years) spent 29 h in a computer-assisted remedial reading program that compared benefits from accurate, speech-supported reading in context, with and without explicit phonological training. Children in the "accurate-reading-in-context" condition spent 22 individualized computer hours reading stories and 7 small-group hours learning comprehension strategies. Children in the "phonological-analysis" condition learned phonological strategies in 7 small-group hours, and divided their computer time between phonological exercises and story reading.
Phonologically trained children gained more in phonological skills and untimed word reading; children with more contextual reading gained more in time-limited word reading. Lower level readers gained more, and benefited more from phonological training, than higher level readers. In follow-up testing, most children maintained or improved their levels, but not their rates, of training gains. Phonologically trained children scored higher on phonological decoding, but children in both conditions scored equivalently on word reading.
Informing Adolescent Literacy Policy and Practice
The Alliance for Excellent Education has released a policy brief, Informing Adolescent Literacy Policy and Practice: Lessons: Learned from the Striving Readers Program that highlights lessons learned from the experiences of previous Striving Readers grantees. In developing the brief, the Alliance convened representatives from seven of the eight Striving Readers grantees, as well as other experts in adolescent literacy research, to guide efforts to expand adolescent literacy instruction at the federal, state, and district levels.
Integrated Vocabulary Instruction: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners in Grades K-5
Blachowicz, C.L.Z, Watts-Taffe, S. & Fisher, P. (2005). Learning Point Associates.
The goal of this document is to provide the information that teachers and other educators need to implement an integrated and comprehensive approach to vocabulary instruction. Integrated means that vocabulary is a core consideration in all grades across the school and in all content areas across the school day. Comprehensive means that vocabulary instruction encompasses much more than a list of words to teach at the beginning of the week. Rather, it involves a common philosophy and shared practices, based on a solid understanding the knowledge base and supported by curricular considerations as well as classroom and school organizational procedures.
Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta-Analysis with Implications for Practice
Scammacca, N., Roberts, G., Vaughn. S., Edmonds, M., Wexler, J., Reutebuch, C. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (2007), Interventions for adolescent struggling readers: A meta-analysis with implications for practice. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
This meta-analysis summarizes aspects of recent research on reading instruction for adolescent struggling readers, synthesizing research findings to determine the relative effectiveness of interventions, and outlines the implications of these findings for practice. It focuses on interventions designed to improve students' use of reading comprehension strategies, reading vocabulary, accurate decoding of unfamiliar words in text, and increased reading fluency.
Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-analysis on Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy
Bus, A.G., Van Ijzendoorn, M.H., & Pellegrini, A.D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: A meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research, 65, 1-21.
Results of a quantitative analysis of empirical evidence related to parent-preschooler reading support the hypothesis that parent-preschooler reading is related to outcome measures such as language growth, emergent literacy, and reading achievement. Book reading apparently affects acquisition of the written language register.
K–12 Educational Outcomes of Immigrant Youth
Crosnoe, R. and Lopez Turley, R. "K–12 Educational Outcomes of Immigrant Youth." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=543.
Robert Crosnoe and Ruth Lopez Turley summarize the K–12 patterns of experiences among immigrant youth, paying special attention to differences in academic functioning across segments of the immigrant population defined by generational status, race and ethnicity, and national origin. A good deal of evidence points to an immigrant advantage in multiple indicators of academic progress, meaning that many youths from immigrant families outperform their peers in school. This apparent advantage is often referred to as the immigrant paradox, in that it occurs despite higher–than–average rates of social and economic disadvantages in this population as a whole. The immigrant paradox, however, is more pronounced among the children of Asian and African immigrants than other groups, and it is stronger for boys than for girls. Furthermore, evidence for the paradox is far more consistent in secondary school than in elementary school. Bilingualism and strong family ties help to explain immigrant advantages in schooling; school, community, and other contextual disadvantages may suppress these advantages or lead to immigrant risks. Crosnoe and Turley also discuss several policy efforts targeting young people from immigrant families, especially those of Latin American origin, including the DREAM Act, and culturally grounded programs for college preparation and parent involvement.
K-12 Education: Many Challenges Arise in Educating Students Who Change Schools Frequently
K-12 Education: Many Challenges Arise in Educating Students Who Change Schools Frequently. (2010). U.S Government Accountability Office. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1140.pdf
The educational achievement of students can be negatively affected by changing schools often. This report done by the GAO examines the “recent economic downturn, with foreclosures and homelessness” and its possible effect on increasing student mobility. This in turn will inform the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
K-W-L: A Teaching Model That Develops Active Reading of Expository Text
Ogle, D. (1986). K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 39, 564-570.
This simple procedure helps teachers become more responsive to students' knowledge and interests when reading expository material, and it models for students the active thinking involved in reading for information.
Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments
Abedi, J., Courtney, M., Mirocha, J., Leon, S., and Goldberg, J. (2005). Language Accommodations for English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments. National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing: Los Angeles, CA.
How do we create accurate assessments of students' abilities when their experiences with a particular academic subject have been in another language? If we account for this difference using accommodations, do the accommodations themselves have an unintended impact on the results? A study by the National Center for Research on Education, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles, measures the effectiveness, validity, differential impact, and feasibility of accommodations for ELLs.
Language and Reading Interventions for English Language Learners and English Language Learners with Disabilities
Rivera, M. O., Moughamian, A. C., Lesaux, N. K., & Francis, D. J. (2008). Language and reading interventions for English language learners and English language learners with disabilities. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction.
This publication explores issues and makes recommendations related to meeting the needs of English learners with limited language proficiency or learning disabilities, or both. The authors offer background on current federal policy context in which this discussion of reading instruction and interventions for ELLs occurs; discussion on how English language learners are identified and classified; discussion of issues in identifying English language learners with disabilities and concerns associated with assessing ELLs' academic achievements and their language proficiency accurately; and a review of recent research, intervention recommendations, and professional development considerations.
Language Test
Dillon, N. (2005). Language Test. American School Board Journal, 192(8). National School Boards Association.
The article from the American School Board Journal examines the challenges that districts with high ELL populations face in meeting state and federal accountability requirements. The report focuses on the Coachella school district in California as a lens to examine ELL assessment, accommodations, and accountability formulas.
Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap
Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., & Olson, L.S. (2007). Lasting consequences of the summer learning gap. American Sociological Review, 72. Retrieved from http://brettberk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/april07asrfeature.pdf
"Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap" by Alexander, Entwisle, and Olson examines the long-term effect of differences in summer learning, which tend to be associated with family socioeconomic level. The researchers found that achievement during the first nine years of school is related primarily to school-year learning; however, the achievement gap between high-SES and low-SES students at 9th grade is more closely associated with differences in out-of-school summer learning during the elementary school years.
Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap
Alexander, K.L., Entwisle, D.R., and Olson, L.S. (2007). Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap. American Sociological Review, vol. 72, April, 167180.
This study offers new insights as to why low-income children lag behind their more privileged classmates in high school graduation rates and college attendance. In a study of 790 Baltimore Public School students, sociologists found the difference in children's future academic success can be explained, in part, by their experiences during their summer vacations.
Latino Children: A Majority are U.S.-Born Offspring of Immigrants
Fry, Richard and Jeffrey S. Passel. (2009). Latino Children: A Majority are U.S.-Born Offspring of Immigrants. Washington, D.C. Pew Hispanic Center: Pew Research Center.
This article discusses the three major generations that exist currently in the U.S. Each generation has its own problems, advantages, and possibilities to success. The article also focuses on the importance of understanding the benefits and difficulties of each category.
Lawsuits on the Assessment of ELLs
Dillon, N. (2005). Language Test. American School Board Journal, 192(8). National School Boards Association.
Are state assessments fair to English language learners? Under California law, all ELL students must take state tests in English after only one year of instruction — a requirement that perpetually leaves districts like Coachella "in need of improvement." This district takes the question to court.
Leading After-School Learning Communities
National Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals. (2006). Leading After-School Learning Communities: What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do. Washington DC: Author.
By collaborating with after-school programs and accepting them as vital partners in education, principals can strengthen their schools and move closer to the overriding, common goal of maximizing learning for every child. This executive summary highlights successful components.
Leading Inclusive ELL: Social Justice Leadership for English Language Learners
Theoharis, G., O'Toole, J. (2011). "Leading Inclusive ELL: Social Justice Leadership for English Language Learners." Journal of Leadership for Effective & Equitable Organizations. http://eaq.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/03/10/0013161X11401616.abstract?rss=1
This article attempts to build a better understanding of the leadership necessary to create socially just schools for English language learners (ELLs). To achieve this, it reports on the instrumental case studies of two urban elementary schools and the principals involved in school reform that resulted in inclusive ELL services.
Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision
American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Ophthalmology, Council on Children with Disabilities et al. (2009). Pediatrics 2009;124;837-844; originally published online Jul 27, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2010 from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/124/2/837.
This joint statement of pediatric ophthalmologists and pediatricians concerned with learning disabilities states: most experts believe that dyslexia is a language based disorder. Vision problems can interfere with the process of learning; however, vision problems are not the cause of primary dyslexia or learning disabilities. Scientific evidence does not support the efficacy of eye exercises, behavioral vision therapy, or special tinted filters or lenses for improving the long-term educational performance in these complex pediatric neurocognitive conditions. Diagnostic and treatment approaches that lack scientific evidence of efficacy, including eye exercises, behavioral vision therapy, or special tinted filters or lenses, are not endorsed and should not be recommended.
Learning From Latinos: Contexts, Families, and Child Development in Motion
Fuller, B., & Coll, C.G. (2010). Learning From Latinos: Contexts, Families, and Child Development in Motion. American Psychological Association. Retrieved January 14, 2011 from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-46-3-559.pdf
We emphasize how psychologists, pediatric researchers, and social scientists have described or built fresh explanatory accounts regarding the social structure of and features of individuals within diverse Latino families, how parents reproduce heritage practices that offer social cohesion for children and uneven adaptation to novel contexts and organizations, and the consequences for children's social and cognitive development, including how psychologists have come to see learning as situated in particular contexts, leading to provocative questions about the situational or universal causes and mediating processes of child development.
Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar
Farbman, D. (2011). Learning time in America: Trends to reform the American school calendar. Boston, MA: National Center on Time & Learning .
This report shows that while some states and local governments have reduced learning time in response to severe budget pressures — typically by reducing the number of days in the school year — others have prioritized expanding learning time to better prepare students for success in high school, college and the workforce. Schools, school districts, and states around the country are developing and implementing innovative and cost-effective ways to expand learning time for students in an effort to boost students' academic achievement and provide a well-rounded education, according to the most comprehensive study of time and learning policies ever conducted.
Learning to Read and Write: A Longitudinal Study of 54 Children From First Through Fourth Grades
Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 243-255.
From PsycINFO Database Record:
In this study, of particular concern were these questions: Do the same children remain poor readers year after year? Do the same children remain poor writers year after year? What skills do the poor readers lack? What skills do the poor writers lack? What factors seem to keep poor readers from improving? What factors seem to keep poor writers from improving? The probability that a child would remain a poor reader at the end of 4th grade if the child was a poor reader at the end of 1st grade was .88. Early writing skill did not predict later writing skill as well as early reading ability predicted later reading ability. Children who become poor readers entered 1st grade with little phonemic awareness. By the end of 4th grade, the poor readers had still not achieved the level of decoding skill that the good readers had achieved at the beginning of 2nd grade. Good readers read considerably more than the poor readers both in and out of school, which appeared to contribute to the good readers' growth in some reading and writing skills. Poor readers tended to become poor writers. The Simple View received support in accounting for reading and writing development through 4th grade.
Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children
International Reading Association (IRA) & National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2009). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. NAEYC: Washington, DC.
Learning to read and write is critical to a child's success in school and later in life. Although reading and writing abilities continue to develop throughout the life span, the early childhood years — from birth through age eight — are the most important period for literacy development. The primary purpose of this position statement is to provide guidance to teachers of young children in schools and early childhood programs (including child care centers, preschools, and family child care homes) serving children from birth through age eight. By and large, the principles and practices suggested here also will be of interest to any adults who are in a position to influence a young child's learning and development — parents, grandparents, older siblings, tutors, and other community members.
Learning to Read in the Computer Age: Developing Reading Engagement
Meyer, A, & Rose, D. (1999). Developing reading engagement. In Learning to Read in the Computer Age (Chapter 4). Wakefield, MA: Center for Applied Special Technology.
Learning to Read in the Computer Age is part of a series entitled From Reading Research to Practice, edited by Jeanne Chall. Chapter 4, "Developing Reading Engagement," is available online through the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and explores factors that contribute to student engagement with text, including instruction, challenge, feedback, scaffolding, interest, and learning contexts. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how computer learning can foster engagement in each of these areas.
Learning to Read: Developing 0-8 Information Systems to Improve Third Grade Reading Proficiency
Bruner, C. (2010). Learning to read: developing 0-8 information systems to improve third grade reading proficiency. Des Moines, IA: Child & Family Policy Center.
This resource guide provides background on the importance of third grade reading proficiency, resources and promising practices for developing information systems to address third grade reading proficiency, and recommendations for next steps at both the state and community levels.
Learning to Read: The Great Debate
Chall, J.S. (1967). Learning to read: The great debate. New York: McGraw-Hill.
From Diane Ravitchs' tribute to Jeanne Chall, in the American Educator, Spring 2001:
In 1961, as the debate about how to teach reading continued, the Carnegie Corporation of New York commissioned Jeanne Chall, who was well established as a careful reading researcher, to review the controversy. Chall spent three years visiting hundreds of classrooms, analyzing research studies, and examining textbooks; she interviewed textbook authors, reading specialists, and teachers.
Chall found that studies of beginning readers over the decades clearly supported decoding. Early decoding, she found, not only produced better word recognition and spelling, but also made it easier for the child eventually to read with understanding. The code emphasis method, she wrote, was especially effective for children of lower socioeconomic status, who were not likely to live in homes surrounded with books or with adults who could help them learn to read. For a beginning reader, she found, knowledge of letters and sounds had more influence on reading achievement than the child's tested mental ability or IQ.
Learning, Teaching, and Leading in Healthy School Communities
ASCD (2010). Learning, Teaching, and Leading in Healthy School Communities. Alexandria, VA: ACSD.
This report evaluates the model and strategies used in ASCD’s Healthy School Communities (HSC) project that seeks to improve quality and level of education by ensuring the good “health” of students, teachers, parents, administrators, and community members. “Health” refers to physical, social, mental, and well-being of all these people involved in the school, both directly and indirectly.
Left in the Margins: Asian American Students & the No Child Left Behind Act
Redondo, B., Aung, K.M., Fung, M., & Yu, N.W. Left in the Margins: Asian American Students & the No Child Left Behind Act. (2008). New York: Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
"Left in the Margins: Asian American Students & the No Child Left Behind Act" examines the experience of Asian American English language learners in this era of high-stakes testing and school accountability. Despite the stereotype of Asian Americans as model students who always excel in school, many are in fact struggling and even dropping out of school because they do not have access to appropriate support services. This article, published by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, includes up-to-date data on Asian ethnic populations in the U.S., as well as detailed recommendations for improving schooling for Asian American English language learners.
Lessons Learned From the CORAL Initiative — Advancing Achievement: Findings from an Independent Evaluation of a Major After-School Initiative
Arbreton, A., Sheldon, J., Bradshaw, M., Goldsmith, J., Jucovy, L., and Pepper, S. (2008). Lessons learned from the CORAL initiative — Advancing Achievement: Findings from an Independent Evaluation of a Major After-School Initiative. Oakland, CA: The James Irvine Foundation and Public/Private Ventures.
This evaluation of CORAL — Communities Organizing Resources To Advance Learning, an after-school program in five California cities — finds a relationship between high-quality literacy programming and academic gains. It also highlights the role that quality out-of-school-time programs play in the ongoing drive to improve academic achievement.
Lifting Pre-K Quality: Caring and Effective Teachers
Fuller, B, Gasko, J, Anguiano, R. (2010). Lifting Pre-K Quality: Caring and Effective Teachers. Children's Learning Institute.
This report focuses on helping pre-K teachers develop skills that matter for early learning. The researchers identified mentoring and training for preschool teachers as important tools to help them enrich their instructional activities in classrooms and boost the early language and preliteracy skills of 3- and 4-year-olds.
Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California
Rumbaut, R.G., Massey D.S., and Bean, F.D. (2006). Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California. Population and Development Review, 32(3), 447-460.
In what serves as a response to Samuel P. Huntington';s Who Are We? The Challenges of America's National Identity, the authors research the question of assimilation and English acquisition in Spanish-speaking households in southern California. The authors conclude that while the density of Spanish speakers in Southern California remains strong, the tendency to lose one's native language by the third generation at the latest mimics the patterns observed for earlier European immigrants to the U.S.
Listening to Latinas: Barriers for High School Graduation
National Women’'s Law Center & Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Listening to Latinas: barriers to high school graduation. (2009, August). Retrieved from: http://maldef.org/assets/pdf/ListeningtoLatinas.pdf
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, along with the National Women's Law Center, conducted a qualitative study on obstacles Latina girls face to graduate from high school. The two organizations, with the help of teachers, case managers, principals, etc. sent out over 1,000 surveys to Latina students all over the country. Following the surveys, they had follow-up interviews with 21 Latina girls and conducted focus group discussions with 26 additional students. Additionally, they surveyed 45 adult program staff working with Latina students, college access programs and schools, and then conducted in-depth follow up interviews with 15 of these individuals. There was also extensive literature research on Latina students.
Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation
National Women's Law Center and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. (2009). Listening to Latinas: barriers to high school graduation. Washington, DC: Author.
Latinas are dropping out of school in alarming numbers. Forty-one percent of Latina students do not graduate with their class in four years—if they graduate at all. Many Latina students face challenges related to poverty, immigration status, limited English proficiency, and damaging gender and ethnic stereotypes. And the high teen pregnancy rate for Latinas — the highest of any ethnic group — reflects and reinforces the barriers they face.
Literacy Instruction in Nine First-Grade Classrooms: Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement
Wharton-McDonald, R., Pressley, M., & Hampston, J.M. (1998). Literacy instruction in nine first-grade classrooms: Teacher characteristics and student achievement. The Elementary School Journal, 99, 101-128.
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement
Heller, R. and Greenleaf, C.L. (2007, June). Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Over the last several years, a strong coalition of educators, researchers, policymakers, professional associations, and advocacy groups has worked to focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the plight of millions of America's students in grades four through twelve who are unable to read and write well enough to achieve academic success. Already, the efforts of those organizations and individuals have resulted in a wide range of local, state, and federal initiatives designed to help struggling students develop the reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills they need to move beyond the basic mechanics of literacy and move ahead in the secondary school curriculum.
But if students are to be truly prepared for college, work, and citizenship, they cannot settle for a modest level of proficiency in reading and writing. Rather, they will need to develop the advanced literacy skills that are required in order to master the academic content areas—particularly the areas of math, science, English, and history.
Inasmuch as the academic content areas comprise the heart of the secondary school curriculum, content area literacy instruction must be a cornerstone of any movement to build the high-quality secondary schools that young people deserve and on which the nation's social and economic health will depend.
In order to integrate reading and writing instruction successfully into the academic disciplines, district, state, and federal policymakers must ensure that
- They define the roles and responsibilities of content area teachers clearly and consistently, stating explicitly that it is not those teachers' job to provide basic reading instruction.
- Members of every academic discipline define the literacy skills that are essential to their content area and which they should be responsible for teaching.
- All secondary school teachers receive initial and ongoing professional development in teaching the reading and writing skills that are essential to their own content areas.
- School and district rules and regulations, education funding mechanisms, and state standards and accountability systems combine to give content area teachers positive incentives and appropriate tools with which to provide reading and writing instruction.
For policymakers, the challenge is no longer just to call attention to the nation's adolescent literacy crisis. Nor is it just to secure new resources to help middle and high school students catch up in reading, although the need for those resources remains critical. The challenge is also to connect the teaching of reading and writing to the rest of the secondary school improvement agenda, treating literacy instruction as a key part of the broader effort to ensure that all students develop the knowledge and skill they need to succeed in life after high school.
Making College and Career Readiness the Mission for High Schools: A Guide for State Policymakers
Achieve & The Education Trust. (2008). Making College and Career Readiness the Mission for High Schools: A Guide for State Policymakers. Washington, DC: Author.
This guide outlines "a new set of basics" for states to improve at the high-school level in order to prepare students for college and career: standards, course requirements, curriculum and teacher support materials, aligned assessments, and data/accountability systems.
Making Progress Toward Graduation: Evidence from the Talent Development High School Model
Kemple, J.J., Herlihy, C.M., and Smith, T.J. (2005). Making Progress Toward Graduation: Evidence from the Talent Development High School Model. New York: MDRC.
An Evaluation of the Talent Development comprehensive school reform model in five Philadelphia high schools. Students participating in the Talent Development model demonstrated substantial gains in attendance, academic course credits earned, and promotion rates. The strong improvement in the first year of high school is consistent with the model's focus on building supportive and personalized learning environments.
Making Social Studies Meaningful for ELL Students: Content and Pedagogy in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms
Szpara, M.Y., Ahmad I. (2006). Making Social Studies Meaningful for ELL Students: Content and Pedagogy in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms. Essays in Education, 16. Retrieved from http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol162006/ahmad.pdf
In "Making Social Studies Meaningful for ELL Students: Content and Pedagogy in Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms," Szpara and Ahmad describe a study that partnered university faculty with high school social studies teachers in an effort to make social studies content accessible to English language learners. The social studies curriculum poses particular challenges for ELLs because it assumes both culture–specific background knowledge and proficiency in English literacy skills. To be successful, students must master material with a high cognitive load that includes extensive specialized vocabulary and abstract concepts. Szpara and Ahmad suggest a three-tiered approach to social studies instruction for ELLs that includes creating a socially supportive classroom, providing explicit instruction in strategies that support comprehension, and reducing cognitive load without reducing content. For each of these tiers, the authors list specific, concrete strategies that the university–school partnership identified as best practices for the social studies classroom.
Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children's Learning
McCombs, J. (2011). Making summer count: How summer programs can boost children's learning. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
A review of the literature on summer learning loss and summer learning programs, coupled with data from ongoing programs offered by districts and private providers across the United States, demonstrates the potential of summer programs to improve achievement as well as the challenges in creating and maintaining such programs. School districts and summer programming providers can benefit from the existing research and lessons learned by other programs in terms of developing strategies to maximize program effectiveness and quality, student participation, and strategic partnerships and funding. Recommendations for providers and policymakers address ways to mitigate barriers by capitalizing on a range of funding sources, engaging in long-term planning to ensure adequate attendance and hiring, and demonstrating positive student outcomes.
Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children's Learning
McCombs, J.S., Augustine, C.H., Schwartz, H.L., Bodilly, S.J., McInnis, B., Lichter, D.S. and Cross, A.B. (2011) Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children's Learning. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG1120.
Despite long–term and ongoing efforts to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students, low–income students continue to perform at considerably lower levels than their higher–income peers in reading and mathematics. Research has shown that students' skills and knowledge often deteriorate during the summer months, with low–income students facing the largest losses. Instruction during the summer has the potential to stop these losses and propel students toward higher achievement. A review of the literature on summer learning loss and summer learning programs, coupled with data from ongoing programs offered by districts and private providers across the United States, demonstrates the potential of summer programs to improve achievement as well as the challenges in creating and maintaining such programs. School districts and summer programming providers can benefit from the existing research and lessons learned by other programs in terms of developing strategies to maximize program effectiveness and quality, student participation, and strategic partnerships and funding. Recommendations for providers and policymakers address ways to mitigate barriers by capitalizing on a range of funding sources, engaging in long–term planning to ensure adequate attendance and hiring, and demonstrating positive student outcomes.
Making Writing Instruction a Priority in America's Middle and High Schools
Alliance for Excellent Education. (2007). Making Writing Instruction a Priority in America's Middle and High Schools. Washington, DC: Author.
This policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education explores current writing instruction practices in American schools and offers suggestions for improvement. The report warns that middle and high school students currently do very little writing in school, and few receive adequate writing instruction. The Alliance offers recommendations for both teachers and policymakers and provides a list of eleven effective strategies for teaching writing.
Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of Literacy
Stanovich, Keith E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 360-407.
A framework for conceptualizing the development of individual differences in reading ability is presented that synthesizes a great deal of the research literature. The framework places special emphasis on the effects of reading on cognitive development and on "bootstrapping" relationships involving reading. Of key importance are the concepts of reciprocal relationships – situations where the causal connection between reading ability and the efficiency of a cognitive process is bidirectional – and organism-environment correlation – the fact that differentially advantaged organisms are exposed to nonrandom distributions of environmental quality. Hypotheses are then advanced to explain how these mechanisms operate to create rich-get-richer and poor-get-poorer patterns of reading achievement. The framework is used to explicate some persisting problems in the literature on reading disability and to conceptualize remediation efforts in reading.
Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
Hart, B., & Risley, Todd R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.
From Amazon.com:
This monumental book traces the complex issues involved with the intergenerational transmission of competence and unveils some astonishing predictors found in the simple interactions between parents and their 1- and 2-year-old children. Meticulously recorded data, presented in detective-like style that grabs each and every reader, provide the scientific evidence underlying an alarming gap between the vocabularies of children from educated, advantaged families and children from families of low socioeconomic status, a gap that translates into widely different academic and intellectual performances as the children grow. As its many endorsers attest, this book is an absolute requisite for professionals in psychology, child and social development, speech and language, education, and early intervention, as well as critical reading for concerned families and the nation's policy makers.
Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners
Batalova, J., Fix, M., and Murray, J. (2007). Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners. Migration Policy Institute, Carnegie Corporation of New York: New York, NY.
This report from the Migration Policy Institute examines the increasing population of ELLs. It does this by examining the ELL population and developing a profile of ELL students, examining literacy achievement on both national and state math and reading assessments, and examining state identification, testing, and accommodation policies in the following states: California, Illinois, Colorado, and North Carolina.
Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners
Batalova, J., Fix M., and Murray, J. (2007). Measures of Change: The Demography and Literacy of Adolescent English Learners—A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
This report from Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Migration Policy Institute answers the following questions: Who are immigrant students and students who do not speak English well? Where are they from? What is their family background (social, economic, linguistic, etc.)? How well do they do in school? Do their literacy levels prepare them to take part in higher education and a skilled workforce?
Measuring Skills for the 21st Century
Silva, E. (2008). Measuring Skills for the 21st Century. Education Sector. Washington, D.C.
Beyond a foundation in basic literacy and math skills, today's students must also master 21st century skills, like analytical thinking and creative problem-solving, to succeed in the workforce. What types of assessments best measure these not-easily-quantified skills?
Measuring Up 2008
National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. (2008). Measuring Up. Washington, DC: Author.
Measuring Up 2008 is the most recent in the series of national and state-by-state report cards for higher education that was inaugurated in 2000. The key findings reveal that the nation and most of the 50 states are making some advances in preparing students for college and providing them with access to higher education. However, other nations are advancing more quickly than the United States; we continue to slip behind other countries in improving college opportunities for our residents.
Meeting Five Critical Challenges of High School Reform: Lessons from Research on Three Reform Models
Quint, J. (2006). Meeting Five Critical Challenges of High School Reform: Lessons from Research on Three Reform Models. New York: MDRC.
This report highlights three comprehensive high school reform initiatives evaluated by MDRC — Career Academies, First Things First, and Talent Development — and offers research-based lessons on five challenges schools face: creating a personalized and orderly learning environment; assisting students who enter high school with poor academic skills; improving instructional content and practice; preparing students for the world beyond high school, and stimulating change in overstressed high schools.
Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners
A two-part report from the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB) and The Education Alliance at Brown University reveals overlap between good strategies to improve literacy in ELLs and in adolescents in general. Researchers have outlined motivational strategies (Part One) and instructional practices (Part Two) that develop language skills and thinking skills for academic literacy in both native and non-native English speaking adolescents. Although these strategies are shown to be effective, they are rarely used for either population in today's secondary classrooms. The authors recommend comprehensive training for teachers and a commitment to using literacy-building strategies that have been proven effective for all secondary students.
Watch our webcast on English language learners in middle and high school, featuring Dr. Deborah Short of the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Focus on Classroom Teaching and Learning Strategies (Part II)
Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part two: Focus on classroom teaching and learning strategies. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory .
As with part one of this publication, part two amounts to a literature review. Part two looks for congruous instructional practices that are good for secondary ELL and native English speakers alike. The article shifts through a series of discussions about a variety of domains related to teaching and arrives at a conclusion in support of strategies beneficial to ELL students and native English language students.
Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement
Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory.
This article reviews the major research findings as they relate to engagement and motivation of ELL adolescents. The highlighted research is meant to explore the confluence of two areas of study — literacy development and schooling practices for ELLs and native English speakers — and serve as a guide for professional development for secondary teachers. The literature review explores school and classroom contexts; instructional principles like relevance, choice, and student-centered classrooms; and instructional practices like scaffolding and activating prior knowledge as they relate to adolescent ELLs.
Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008
Pew Hispanic Center. (2009). Mexican immigrants in the United States. Retrieved from: http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/47.pdf
No other country in the world has as many total immigrants from all countries as the United States has immigrants from Mexico alone. As a group, Mexican immigrants are younger than either other immigrants or the U.S.-born population. A higher percentage of them are male than either of the other group, and they are more likely to be married. They are less likely to be U.S. citizens than other immigrants, in part because they are more likely to be unauthorized. Mexicans have lower levels of education, lower incomes, larger households and higher poverty rates than other groups. They are slightly more likely to be in the labor force, where they are more likely to work in lower-skilled occupations; they currently have a higher unemployment rate than other immigrants or U.S.-born workers.
Middle-to-High School Transition for English Language Learners: Promising School-Based Practices
Lara, J., & Harford, S. (n.d.). Middle-to-High School Transition for English Language Learners: Promising School-Based Practices. Smaller Learning Communities Program. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from: http://www.edweek.org/media/final-middletohighschool.pdf
This paper examines the nexus among three current areas of concern for secondary educators and policymakers: restructuring high schools into small learning communities (SLCs); supporting the transition of students into the ninth grade; and instructing English language learners (ELLs). Research in these three separate areas has become increasingly abundant and relevant as national educational policy focus has shifted toward high school improvement. ELLs are enrolled in large numbers in urban schools, which have lately been the recipients of high school reform initiatives. Yet, despite the abundant presence of ELLs in these schools, little information is available on how the distinctive linguistic, academic, and social needs of ELLs have been considered in high school reform policies and programmatic initiatives.
Migrant Students: Resources for Migrant Children Similar to Other Students but Achievement Still Lags
Migrant Students: Resources for Migrant Children Similar to Other Students but Achievement Still Lags. (2007). Florida State Advisory Committee.
In response to large number of migrant families in Florida, the Florida Advisory Committee performed a study examining the equity of resources available to migrant students compared to non-migrants. The educational resources discussed are: (1) teacher-student ratios, (2) staff-student ratios, (3) computer technology, and (4) library resources. They also compared the achievement of migrant versus non-migrant students as indicated by average 4th grade reading scores. They reiterate multiple times that it is a study of equity of resources, not adequacy of funding for migrant education programs.
Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education
Plucker, Burroughs, Song (2010). Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education. Center for Evaluation & Education Policy: Bloomington, Indiana.
The study examines national and state testing data to explore disparities in performance and rate of improvement among high-achieving students, with respect to the subgroups of race, socio-economic level, gender, and English proficiency. Specifically, it focuses on Math and Reading scores, at Grades 4 and 8. Beyond presenting and interpreting the data, the article also offers hypotheses explaining the results, suggestions for policy changes, as well as some opinions on current policy such as the No Child Left Behind Act.
Motivating Adolescent Readers: The Role of Summer and Afterschool Programs
Center for Summer Learning. (2007). Motivating adolescent readers: The role of summer and afterschool programs. Baltimore, MD: Author.
This report from the Center for Summer Learning considers the strengths of summer and afterschool settings and the role programs play in motivating and engaging youth in literacy activities. The report presents statistics about the current literacy levels of older youth and recommends strategies to help turn these statistics around. Lastly, it recommends five action agendas that must be implemented in order for summer and afterschool programs to have a significant impact on the literacy development of older youth: 1) professional development, 2)practice, 3) engaging family and community, 4) policy & funding, and 5) research.
Multicultural Perspectives on Literacy Research
Au, K. (1995). Multicultural perspectives on literacy research. Journal of Reading Behavior, 27, 85-100.
Describes the broad territory covered by researchers whose work reflects various multicultural perspectives on literacy. Discusses four areas of literacy research that reflect these perspectives: critical analyses, cultural difference analyses, bilingual analyses, and literary analyses. Also discusses the foremost proponents of each perspective.
National Evaluation of Early Reading First
Russell Jackson, McCoy, Ann, Pistorino, Carol, Wilkinson, Anna, Burghardt, John, Clark, Melissa, Ross Christine, Schochet, Peter and Swank, Paul. National Evaluation of Early Reading First: Final Report, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 created the Early Reading First (ERF) program to provide funding to preschools, particularly those that serve children from low-income families, to support the development of children's language and literacy skills. NCLB mandated that the Department conduct an independent evaluation of the ERF program to assess the impact of the program on both children's literacy skills as well as the instructional content and practices in preschool classrooms. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study found that the program had a positive impact on children's print and letter knowledge, but not on phonological awareness or oral language. The program had positive impacts on aspects of the classroom environment and teacher practices that are intended to support the development of language and literacy skills.
National Literacy Panel's Executive Summary
August, D. and Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Center for Applied Linguistics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education charged a panel of experts, chaired by Timothy Shanahan, with reviewing and compiling research on literacy attainment for language-minority students. The panel's report, Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners, identifies factors that support literacy development of language minority students in the classroom. It also discusses various findings on parent involvement and home literacy experiences and offers suggestions for reducing the over-representation of English language learners in special education.
New Achievement Gap Analysis Suggests Four Ways to Gain a More Comprehensive Picture of Equity.
New Achievement Gap Analysis Suggests Four Ways to Gain a More Comprehensive Picture of Equity. (2010). The Education Trust. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from: http://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/publications/files/NAEP%20Gap_0.pdf
Using state-level NAEP data, this brief illustrates the pitfalls in one-dimensional appraisals of achievement gaps. Analyzing the gaps from four perspectives is essential to gain a comprehensive, accurate picture of equity.
New Measures of English Language Proficiency and Their Relationship to Performance on Large-Scale Content Assessments
Parker, C. E., Louie, J., and O'Dwyer, L. (2009). New measures of English language proficiency and their relationship to performance on large-scale content assessments (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2009-No. 066). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.
The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES)’s "New Measures of English Language Proficiency and their Relationship to Performance on Large-scale Content Assessments" (2009) reports the findings of a study designed to determine whether students' performance on an English proficiency assessment (ACCESS for ELLs) could predict their performance on a large-scale content assessment (the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP). The findings are important because they demonstrate that the English proficiency assessments that schools depend upon to guide placement and instruction for their English language learners can, indeed, be effective for that purpose, and they can also help schools identify students who may have difficulty on large-scale content assessments. In addition, these findings point teachers and administrators to the types of proficiency tasks that are the best indicators of students' performance in content area subjects (i.e., reading and writing tasks as opposed to listening and speaking tasks).
New Roles in Response to Intervention: Creating Success for Schools and Children
International Reading Association. (2006). New roles in response to intervention: Creating success for schools and children. Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/slp/schools/prof-consult/rtiroledefinitions.pdf.
The International Reading Association (IRA) convened a group from the special education and regular education associations to craft a set of fact sheets on the roles of the various professionals and parents who are involved in implementing response-to-intervention (RTI) procedures. The outcome of that effort is a collective set of papers that represent each organization's distinctive constituency and viewpoint regarding RTI.
New U.S. Department of Education Regulations on Assessment and Accountability for ELLs
This summary of new regulations was republished with permission of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
In September 2006, the U.S. Department of Education released final regulations on calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP) for ELLs. These regulations had been in draft form for over two years, but most states have been operating as if they were in final form for some time now. The main provisions of the regulations are:
- During their first year in U.S. schools, ELLs can be exempt from taking the state reading/language arts assessment.
- Also during their first year in U.S. schools, ELLs must take the state math assessment, but the scores from the math assessment do not have to be included in the calculation of AYP.
- For the purposes of meeting AYP's 95 percent participation requirement during that first year, ELLs must take the English language proficiency assessment. (ELLs are already required to take this assessment as per other NCLB mandates.)
- Even if ELLs do not take the reading/language arts assessment during their first year in U.S. schools, this first year must count as the first of three years in which a student may take the reading/language arts assessment in their native language.
- States are required to report on the number of first-year ELLs who were exempt from participating in the English reading/language arts assessment.
- Students who exit the ELL subgroup because they've attained English language proficiency can have their scores count in the ELL subgroup for AYP calculations for up to two years.
- If these "exited" ELLs are included in the ELL subgroup, ALL "exited" ELLs must be included, not just those who score proficient.
Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners
Lazarín, M. & Ortiz-Licon, F. (2010). Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.
The Obama administration has supported the expansion of charter schools, and these schools tend to be populated in disproportionately high numbers by Latinos and ELLs. Therefore charter schools need to cater to their specific student bodies, and this report discusses several effective strategies as well as a few specific school profiles who execute them well; the recommendations can be applied at charter and traditional public schools alike. It also discusses current charter school laws.
No Time to Waste: Policy Recommendations for Improving College Completion
Souther Regional Education Board. (2010). No Time to Waste: Policy Recommendations for Improving College Completion. Atlanta, GA: Author.
States need to place a major focus on increasing the numbers of students who complete college degrees and career certificates toward the goal of having 60 percent of working-age adults earning some type of high-quality credential by the year 2025, a major new report and set of recommendations from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) urges. No Time to Waste: Policy Recommendations for Improving College Completion, challenges states to become national leaders in increasing college completion. The report includes 10 major policy recommendations for states to pursue including setting specific and ambitious goals for raising the numbers of each degree type and graduation rates at each institution, system and statewide; better measures of progress to show education attainment levels and how various groups of students are faring, including transfer and part-time students; more attention to college costs and targeted financial aid for the neediest students, high school students’ readiness for college-level work, institutional practices that can help more students succeed, greater efficiency in institutions’ and systems’ operations, clearing an efficient path to degrees for students, bringing many more adults back to college who did not finish degrees and certificates, and more. SREB states have between 26 and 44 percent of adults ages 25 to 64 with a two- or four-year college degree. Data is incomplete on the percentage of adults who hold career/technical certificates, which is one of many issues states need to address. Many state and national leaders with varying views on higher education policy issues served on an SREB advisory panel that contributed to the report.
Now What? Imperatives & Options for "Common Core" Implementation & Governanace
Finn, C.E. & Petrilli, M.J. Now what? imperatives & options for Common Core" implementation & governance. (2010). Washington: D.C.: Fordham Foundation.
This Fordham Institute publication — co-authored by President Chester E. Finn Jr. and VP Michael J. Petrilli — examines what comes next in the journey to common education standards and tests and recommends a step-by-step approach to coordinate implementation of the Common Core.
On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time
Silva, E. (2007). On the clock: Rethinking the way schools use time. Washington, DC: Education Sector.
This report examines both the educational and political dimensions of time reform. It presents the findings of a wide range of research on time reform, discusses the impact of various time reforms on the life of schools and beyond, and makes recommendations for policymakers about how to best leverage time in and out of school to improve student achievement.
On the Mind of a Child: A Conversation with Sally Shaywitz
D'Arcangelo, M. (2003). On the mind of a child: A conversation with Sally Shaywitz. Educational Leadership, 60(7), 6-10.
Summary:
A pediatrician, neuroscientist, and member of the National Reading Panel, Dr. Sally Shaywitz talks with Educational Leadership readers about the ways the brains of young children develop and what can be done to prevent early learning difficulties.
One Dream, Two Realities: Perspectives of Parents on America's High Schools
Civic Engagement. (2008). One Dream, Two Realities: Perspectives of Parents on America's High Schools. Washington, D.C.: Author.
In this survey, the parents of current and formers high school students in urban, suburban, and rural districts were queried on the frequency and quality of their engagement with their children's schools, as well as perceived barriers to involvement and their suggestions for improving interactions.
Opportunity Adrift: Our Flagship Universities Are Straying From Their Public Mission
Hayock, K., Lynch, M., & Engle, J. (2010). Opportunity adrift: Our flagship universities straying from their public mission. The Education Trust.
Public flagship universities provide excellence to students who cannot afford high-quality private institutions. Yet many of these universities direct aid to wealthy students who will attend college without it. Meantime, many high-achieving minority and poor students wind up in lesser institutions or do not attend college at all. In fact, some low-income students who literally cannot afford to attend college without a grant must find a way to finance the equivalent of 70 percent of their family's annual income. Some flagships are stepping up to the challenge and focusing on access and success. An account of their performance and progress appears at the end of this report.
Out-of-School Immigrant Youth
Hill, Laura., and Hayes, Joseph. (2007). Out-of-School Immigrant Youth. San Francisco, California: Public Policy Institute of California.
This report considers the approximately 265,000 out-of-school immigrant youths (OSYs) in the state of California. This demographic is defined as individuals between the ages of 13 and 22 not currently enrolled in a school and without a high school diploma or GED. OSYs face many hardships, including high rates of poverty, lack of access to health care, and low incomes. Even though they do not have access to educational resources, OSYs remain a group of individuals who are very eager to both learn English and obtain their GEDs.
Para nuestros niños: Expanding and Improving Early Education for Hispanics
Para nuestros niños: Expanding and Improving Early Education for Hispanics. (2007). National Task Force on Early Childhood Education for Hispanics.
This report details how increased participation in pre-K programs would benefit ELL students, especially Hispanic ELLs. It has an extensive set of recommendations for a number of different types of policymakers. The report also contains a demographic profile of young Hispanic children, a report on Hispanic educational performance patterns, and some strategies to accelerate progress for ELLs.
Patterns of Student Mobility Among English Language Learner Students in Arizona Public Schools.
Fong, A.B., Bae, S., and Huang, M. (2010). Patterns of Student Mobility Among English Language Learner Students in Arizona Public Schools. WestEd. Retrieved January 14, 2011 from: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/west/pdf/REL_2010093.pdf
The report is analyzes the patterns among English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona public schools. The study looked at three types of student mobility and generated findings/conclusions based about the effect of mobility on ELL students.
Perceptions of College Financial Aid Among California Latino Youth
Zarate, E.Z., and Pachon, H.P. (2006). Perceptions of College Financial Aid Among California Latino Youth. Tomas Rivera Policy Institute: Los Angeles, CA.
Despite surveys and research showing that Hispanic parents and students alike both consider college to be both important and valuable, many Hispanic students do not pursue higher education. This report makes the assertion that if Hispanic students and their parents were better informed about the concepts involved with and procedure surrounding financial aid that more Hispanic students would pursue college.
Performance Counts: Assessment Systems that Support High-Quality Learning
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010) Performance Counts: Assessment Systems that Support High-Quality Learning. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.
A new white paper written by Stanford researcher Linda Darling-Hammond describes what a student assessment system could look like if built from the principles and best practices found in current research and effective programs in the U.S. and high-achieving countries around the world.
Phonological Awareness Intervention Research: A Critical Review of the Experimental Methodology
Troia, G. (1999). Phonological awareness intervention research: A critical review of the experimental methodology. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 28-53.
Abstract:
The methodological rigor of 39 studies of phonological awareness intervention was evaluated based on internal and external validity criteria. The internal validity criteria encompassed general design characteristics, measurement, and statistical treatment, while the external validity criteria included research hypotheses, participant selection and description, and generalization and maintenance measures. The most serious methodological flaws observed in many of the studies were (a) nonrandom assignment of participants to conditions; (b) failure to control for Hawthorne effects by providing alternate interventions to control groups; (c) insufficient or nonexistent assurance of fidelity of treatment; (d) poor measurement sensitivity; and (e) inadequately described samples. Only seven studies met two thirds or more of all the evaluative criteria, although all of these investigations demonstrated at least one fatal flaw. The reported findings are compared with those of two similar methodological reviews. Suggestions for improvement of future intervention research are provided.
Phonological Coding, Phonological Awareness and Reading Ability: Evidence From a Longitudinal and Experimental Study
Vellutino, F.R., & Scanlon, D.M. (1987). Phonological coding, phonological awareness and reading ability: Evidence from a longitudinal and experimental study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 33, 261-279.
Two studies that provide correlational and experimental evidence for causal relationships between linguistic coding deficits and reading disability. Concludes that phonological coding deficits constitute a major source of reading difficulty in beginning readers, although there was suggestive evidence that semantic and syntactic deficits also may cause such difficulty.
Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning
Shuler, C. (2009). Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning. New York: Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
Advances in mobile technologies are showing enormous untapped educational potential for today's generation. This just-released report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop outlines mobile market trends and innovations, as well as key opportunities such as mobile's ability to reach underserved populations and provide personalized learning experiences. National strategy recommendations include establishment of a Digital Teachers Corps and a White House initiative on digital learning.
Portrait of a Population: How English Language Learners are Putting Schools to the Test
Education Week. (2009). Portrait of a Population: How English Language Learners are Putting Schools to the Test. Bethesda, Maryland.
Education Week's Quality Counts 2009 report focuses for the first time on English language learners. Produced in partnership with the Pew Center on the States, "Portrait of a Population: How English Language Learners are Putting Schools to the Test" provides a comprehensive look at state education policies and their impact on ELLs' achievement. The report includes detailed, state-specific data on funding for ELL programs, teacher preparation standards, instructional programs, and student outcomes. There are also articles on a variety of topics related to ELLs, including assessment, immigration, state policies, current research, and teacher preparation. A highlight of the report is a series of student profiles, featuring ELL students from around the world. This report is a must-read for anyone who works with English language learners. *Report must be purchased.
Poverty and Program Participation Among Immigrant Children
Borjas, G. (2011) "Poverty and Program Participation Among Immigrant Children." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=548
Researchers have long known that poverty in childhood is linked with a range of negative adult socioeconomic outcomes, from lower educational achievement and behavioral problems to lower earnings in the labor market. But few researchers have explored whether exposure to a disadvantaged background affects immigrant children and native children differently. George Borjas uses Current Population Survey (CPS) data on two specific indicators of poverty—the poverty rate and the rate of participation in public assistance programs—to begin answering that question. He finds that immigrant children have significantly higher rates both of poverty and of program participation than do native children. According to the CPS data, these native–immigrant differences persist into young adulthood. Future research must explore the causal impact of childhood poverty on immigrant adult outcomes and why it might differ between immigrant and native families. Developing successful policies to address problems caused by the intergenerational breeding of poverty and program participation in the immigrant population depends on understanding this causal mechanism.
Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners: Research-based Recommendations for the Instruction and Academic Interventions
Francis, David J., Mabel Rivera, Nonie Lesaux, and Hector Rivera. (2006). Research-Based Recommendations for Instruction and Academic Interventions. Practical Guidelines for the Education of English Language Learners, Retrieved April 11,2008, from http://www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ELL1-Interventions.pdf
After briefly highlighting the characteristics of and how to best identify ELL students, this article shows the importance of effective instruction and intervention not only for academically struggling ELL students, but also for all ELL students including those individuals who are linguistically fluent in English. Before looking into the proposed recommendations the article also briefly looks into the importance of mastering academic language skills as key elements to academic success. The importance of academic language skills is revisited under the recommendations sections for both reading comprehension and mathematics.
Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future
Garcia, E.E., Gonzales, D.M. (2006). Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future. Pre-K Now Research Series: Washington, DC.
Latino families care about education, but many do not participate in preschool programs. Although Latinos are at great risk for school failure, research shows that they benefit more from Pre-K programs than children of other ethnic groups. This report from Pre-K Now discusses how to make preschool effective and accessible so that all Latino children get a strong foundation for learning.
Predictive Validity of Selected Benchmark Assessments
Brown, R.S. & E. Coughlin. (2007). The predictive validity of selected benchmark assessments used in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Issues & Answers Report, REL-2007-No. 017). Washington DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs
End of year state assessments have become so important that no district wants to be surprised by poor results, therefore many district heads seek benchmarking assessments. But are the results of the benchmark exams reliable predictors of year-end results? This report summarizes an independent analysis of five benchmarking tools used in the mid-Atlantic states in preparing for state assessments.
PreK-Grade 3 Reading and Literacy Practices That Matter
Ryan, M. PreK-Grade 3: Reading and Literacy Practices That Matter. (2010). Education Commission of the States. New York, NY.
This snapshot of five recent research studies addresses reading and literacy in the early grades. Policy recommendations on practices that matter are included for each of the five studies.
Preparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment
Bangser, M. (2008). Preparing high school students for successful transitions to postsecondary education and employment. Washington, DC: National High School Center.
This issue brief highlights lessons from selected policies and programs designed to improve students’ preparation for postsecondary pathways. The publication summarizes core characteristics of popular interventions in a user-friendly chart, poses overarching implementation questions and challenges, and includes considerations for students with disabilities. The brief notes that a number of promising approaches are available to improve transitions out of high school, but cautions that effective implementation is key.
Preschool Curriculum: What's in It for Children and Teachers?
The Albert Shanker Institute (2009). Preschool Curriculum: What's in It for Children and Teachers? Washington, D.C.: The Albert Shanker Institute
A new report from the Albert Shanker Institute outlines developmental accomplishments and instructional practices in four areas of preschool curriculum: oral language, literacy, mathematics, and science. Their recommendations can inform districts struggling to design a preschool program or provide guidelines for program evaluation.
Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications
W. Steven Barnett (2008). Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications. National Institute for Early Education Research Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
All children benefit from preschool, and increasing the public's investment in effective preschool can have lasting educational, social, and economic benefits. Recommendations for capitalizing on these conclusions include using proven models, training preschool teachers, and working to increase the number of disadvantaged kids attending preschool.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Reading is essential to success in our society. The ability to read is highly valued and important for social and economic advancement. Of course, most children learn to read fairly well. In this report, we are most concerned with the large numbers of children in America whose educational careers are imperiled because they do not read well enough to ensure understanding and to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive economy. Current difficulties in reading largely originate from rising demands for literacy, not from declining absolute levels of literacy. In a technological society, the demands for higher literacy are ever increasing, creating more grievous consequences for those who fall short.
The importance of this problem led the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ask the National Academy of Sciences to establish a committee to examine the prevention of reading difficulties. Our committee was charged with conducting a study of the effectiveness of interventions for young children who are at risk of having problems learning to read. The goals of the project were three: (1) to comprehend a rich but diverse research base; (2) to translate the research findings into advice and guidance for parents, educators, publishers, and others.
Preventing Reading Failure in Young Children With Phonological Processing Disabilities: Group and Individual Responses to Instruction
Torgesen, Joseph K., Wagner, Richard K., Rashotte, Carol A., Rose, E., Lindamood, P., Conway, T., Garvan, C. (1999). Preventing reading failure in young children with phonological processing disabilities: Group and individual responses to instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 579-593.
Abstract:
The relative effectiveness of 3 instructional approaches for the prevention of reading disabilities in young children with weak phonological skills was examined. Two programs varying in the intensity of instruction in phonemic decoding were contrasted with each other and with a 3rd approach that supported the children's regular classroom reading program. The children were provided with 88 hr of one-to-one instruction beginning the second semester of kindergarten and extending through 2nd grade. The most phonemically explicit condition produced the strongest growth in word level reading skills, but there were no differences between groups in reading comprehension. Word level skills of children in the strongest group were in the middle of the average range. Growth curve analyses showed that beginning phonological skills, home background, and ratings of classroom behavior all predicted unique variance in growth of word level skills.
Copyright © 1999 by the American Psychological Association. Reproduced with permission.
Prioritizing the Nation's Dropout Factories
With the nation in the midst of a dropout crisis that costs more than $335 billion in lost wages for each class of dropouts, a brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education calls on federal policymakers to perform “legislative triage” by devoting attention to the lowest-performing high schools and immediately improving or replacing the most severely “injured” schools.
The brief, Prioritizing the Nation’s Dropout Factories: The Need for Federal Policy That Targets the Lowest-Performing High Schools, includes a state-by-state breakdown of dropout factories and the percent of high schools students who attend them.
Procedural Facilitators and Cognitive Strategies:Tools for Unraveling the Mysteries of Comprehension and the Writing Process, and for Providing Meaningful Access to the General Curriculum
Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Scanlon, D. (2002). Procedural Facilitators and Cognitive Strategies: Tools for Unraveling the Mysteries of Comprehension and the Writing Process, and for Providing Meaningful Access to the General Curriculum. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17, 65-77.
Abstract:
A solid, emerging research base exists to inform how we provide meaningful access to the general education curriculum for students with learning disabilities (LD). For example, the presentation of challenging content to academically diverse learners can be demystified using content enhancement techniques. Additionally, a range of strategies can be taught to enhance reading comprehension and expressive writing abilities. Examples from several lines of research in comprehension and writing are used to highlight the underlying features of these empirically based approaches and to introduce the reader to the history of this expanding body of research.
Processes and Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities Among English Language Learner Students in Three New York State Districts
Sanchez, M.T. (2010, February). Processes and Challenges in Identifying Learning Disabilities Among English Language Learner Students in three New York State Districts. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved January 12, 2011 from: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=116
The study examines practices for identifying learning disabilities among students who are ELLs and the challenges that arise among three New York State districts.
Producing Teachers Who Understand, Believe, and Care
Goodlad, J. (1997, February 5). Producing teachers who understand, believe, and care. Education Week, p. 48.
From Education Week:
The release in September [1996] of "What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future," the 151-page report of the National Commission on Teaching & America's Future, stimulated for too brief an interlude serious discussion of the country's prospects for preparing a teaching corps equal to the challenges that confront it. Because better teaching lies at the heart of all efforts to improve the schools, expanding such a discussion should be a top priority for all those engaged in reform efforts.
With that in mind, Education Week begins this week an occasional series of Commentaries dealing with issues of teacher quality and teacher preparation raised in the commission's report. This essay is the first of a two-part examination of current problems in teacher education by one of that field's leading scholars, John I. Goodlad.
Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad
Darling-Hammond, L., Wei, R.C., Andree, A., Richardson, N., Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad. Palo Alto, CA: School Redesign Network at Stanford University.
Teachers' professional development is an important part of our educational system. We rely on professional development to help teachers learn about new strategies, philosophies, and interventions. But how is the best professional development structured? A new report from the School Redesign Network at Stanford University outlines the critical components of effective professional development.
Program Evaluation
August, D., & Hakuta, K. (1997). Program evaluation. In D. August & K. Hakuta (Eds.), Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Children: A Research Agenda (pp. 139-162). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
From the introduction:
During the 1970s and 1980s, the federal government and advocates were keenly interested in determining which model was more effective. Program evaluations were intended to provide a definitive answer to this question. This chapter examines what we know from program evaluations conducted to date and identifies research needs in this area.
Progress in Understanding Reading: Scientific Foundations and New Frontiers
Stanovich, Keith E. (2000). Progress in understanding reading: Scientific foundations and new frontiers. New York: Guilford Press.
The last 25 years have seen tremendous advances in the study of psychological processes in reading. Our growing body of knowledge on the reading process and reading acquisition has applications to such important problems as the prevention of reading difficulties and the identification of effective instructional practices.
This volume summarizes the gains that have been made in key areas of reading research and provides authoritative insights on current controversies and debates. From one of the most accomplished and widely cited scholars in the field, the volume is divided into seven parts. Each part begins with a new introductory chapter presenting up-to-date findings on the topic at hand, followed by one or more classic papers from the author's exemplary research program.
Significant issues covered include phonological processes and context effects in reading, the "reading wars" and how they should be resolved, the meaning of the term "dyslexia," and the cognitive effects and benefits of reading.
Promise Lost: College-Qualified Students Who Don't Enroll In College
Institute for Higher Education Policy. (2008). Promise lost: college-qualified students who don't enroll in college. Washington, DC: Author.
Despite the increasing importance of higher education, students who are academically qualified for college still face numerous barriers to college enrollment. These barriers range from insufficient financial aid to mixed messages about academic preparation, poor understanding of admission and financial aid application processes, and limited community encouragement. Improving access to college for these students requires policies informed by the perspectives that counselors and college-qualified students have on each of these barriers. To contribute to a better understanding of these perspectives, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) carried out two national surveys, one of college-qualified high school graduates and another of high school counselors. Results from the two surveys pointed to the need for policy intervention or further research in the following five categories: college cost and the availability of aid, the steps to enroll in college, opportunity cost, economic mobility, and transparency about the amount and types of financial aid available.
Promoting Academic Literacy Among Secondary English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research and Practice
Maxwell-Jolly, J., Gandara, P. & Benavidez L. M. (2005). Promoting academic literacy among secondary English language learners: A synthesis of research and practice. Davis, CA: UC Davis School of Education.
Provides an overview of issues related to teaching English language learners (ELL), and recommendations for California policy including: challenges secondary ELL students face; needs and limitations of teachers and schools in CA; and best practices cited by researchers and practitioners. The report largely summarizes three days of panel presentations and discussions by ELL experts convened in 2005.
Promoting Quality: State Strategies for Overseeing Dual Enrollment Programs
Lowe, A.I. (2010). Promoting quality: State strategies for Overseeing dual enrollment programs. Chapel Hill, NC: National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.
This report documents the strategies that six states employ to ensure that college courses offered to high school students are of the same high quality and rigor as courses offered to matriculated college students. The report also highlights the main approaches used by these states to encourage colleges and universities to align their dual enrollment programs with state and national quality standards.
Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09
Stillwell, R., Sable, J., and Plotts, C. (2011). Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09 (NCES 2011-312. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 14, 2011 from: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011312.pdf
The report shows raw data on the numbers of graduates and dropouts in each of the (reporting) states and territories of the U.S. as well as calculations of Averaged Freshman Graduation Rates (AFGR).
Public School Graduates and Dropouts from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008-09
Stillwell, R., Sable, J., and Plotts, C. (2011). Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2008–09 (NCES 2011-312). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
This report includes counts of high school graduates for school year 2008–09 for 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Across the United States, the 50 states and the District of Columbia reported that a total of 3,039,015 public school students received a high school diploma in 2008–09, resulting in a calculated Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate of 75.5%. This rate ranged from 56.3% in Nevada and 62.0% in Mississippi to 89.6% in Vermont and 90.7% in Wisconsin. The median state AFGR was 77.0%. Some 607,789 H.S. dropouts were reported, resulting in an overall event dropout rate of 4.1%. The calculated dropout rate was the lowest for Asian/Pacific Islander students at 2.4% and White students at 2.7% The dropout rates for Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Black students were 6.0%, 6.3%, and 6.6%, respectively. The dropout rate was higher among males in every state.
Putting English Language Learners on the Educational Map: The No Child Left Behind Act Implemented
Consentino de Cohen, Clemencia and Beatriz Chu Clewell. (2007). Putting English Language Learners on the Education Map: The No Child Left Behind Act Implemented. Washington, D.C. The Urban Institute.
This article discusses the improvements in education since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in the United States. According to this article, the Latino community has seen a greater raise in student achievement and educational assistance before and after school. Early Childhood education has also benefited from the results by providing more advanced education at an early age.
Putting Middle Grade Students on the Graduation Path
Balfanz, R. (2009). Putting middle grade students on the graduation path. Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.
This report found that sixth graders who failed math or language arts, or attended school less than 80% of the time, or received a poor final behavior grade in a core course had only a 10% to 20% chance of graduating on time. Fewer than 1 in 4 of these students with at least one of these risk factors would graduate within one year past on-time graduation. In high-poverty neighborhoods, in particular, research and school improvement work indicate that students' middle grades experiences have tremendous impact on the extent to which they will close achievement gaps, graduate from high school, and be prepared for college.
Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together: How Systematic Vocabulary Instruction and Expanded Learning Time Can Address the Literacy Gap
White, C.E. and Kim, J.S., Harvard Graduate School of Education (2009). Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together: How Systematic Vocabulary Instruction and Expanded Learning Time Can Address the Literacy Gap. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress.
This report makes several recommendations to address disparities in vocabulary and spoken language based on children's family income and English-language proficiency. Schools should use systematic vocabulary instruction throughout the school day and during expanded learning time, sustain a school-wide program, regularly assess student knowledge, and help teachers target the right words during instruction. The report suggests that expanded learning time policies may enhance the effectiveness of systematic vocabulary instruction for low-income children and English language learners.
Quality Counts 2011: Uncertain Forecast--Education Adjusts to a New Economic Reality
Editorial Projects in Education. (2011). Quality counts 2011: Uncertain forecast--Education adjusts to a new economic reality. Washington, DC: Author.
The report provides a timely, in-depth investigation into persistent concerns over the halting economic recovery and emerging opportunities for innovation, as state and local officials attempt to move forward despite depleted budgets. Among the reports key findings:
- Funding administered by the U.S. Department of Education has saved or created 337,000 jobs, or 52% of the national total, according to data reported by recipients of stimulus funds.
- Since the recession began, 29 states have enacted policies that offer local school systems some form of flexibility to meet the challenges posed by the economic crisis.
- Twenty-one states have broadened the eligible uses of education funds originally intended for a particular purpose. In 11 states, class-size requirements have been loosened; 10 states have offered the option of modifying the length of the school year, week, or day as a way to cut costs.
The Quaity Counts project also includes updates to the Chance-for-Success Index, the K-12 Achievement Index, and national and state grades in education achievement, policy, and finance.
Question-Answer Strategies for Children
Raphael, T. (1982). Question-answer strategies for children. The Reading Teacher, 36, 303-311.
Describes a method for enhancing students' abilities to answer comprehension questions that categorizes questions according to the source of the information required for the answer.
Questioning the Author: A Yearlong Classroom Implementation to Engage Students with Text
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., Sandora, C., Kucan, L., & Worthy, J. (1996). Questioning the author: A yearlong classroom implementation to engage students with text. Elementary School Journal, 96, 385-414.
Racial Inequality in the 21st Century: The Declining Significance of Discrimination
Fryer, R.G. (2010, August). Racial Inequality in the 21st Century: The Declining Significance of Discrimination. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved January 5, 2011 from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16256.pdf?new_window=1
The report states that the significance of discrimination as an explanation for racial inequality across economic and social indicators has declined. Because of this decline there a greater need to understand the reasons for the achievement gap and ways to combat it.
Raising Achievement Test Scores of Early Elementary School Students Through Comprehensive School Counseling Programs
Sink, C.A., and Stroh, H.R. (2003). Raising Achievement Test Scores of Early Elementary School Students Through Comprehensive School Counseling Programs. Professional School Counseling, 6(5), 350-364.
This study shows that early elementary-age students enrolled for several years in schools with well-established comprehensive school counseling programs produce higher achievement test scores over and above those continuously enrolled children in non-CSCP schools.
Raising Graduation Rates in an Era of High Standards
Steinberg, Adria, and Almeida, Cheryl A., (2008). Raising Graduation Rates in an Era of High Standards. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
This report from Jobs for the Future suggests five reforms that state-level policymakers should implement to improve high school graduation rates and to align graduation standards with the demands of college and career.
Reading and Language Outcomes of a Five-Year Randomized Evaluation of Transitional Bilingual Education
Slavin, R.E., Madden, N., Calderon, M., Chamberlain, A., & Hennessy, M. (2010). Reading and language outcomes of a five-year randomized evaluation of transitional bilingual education. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Recently published results from a 5-year randomized study indicate that Spanish-speaking children learn to read English equally well regardless of whether they are taught primarily in English or in both English and their native language. The first of its kind, the study compares English and Spanish language / reading performance of Spanish-dominant children who, from kindergarten, were randomly assigned to Transitional Bilingual Education or Sheltered English Immersion. A summary of the report is available through the What Works Clearinghouse website.
Reading at Risk: The State Response to the Crisis in Adolescent Literacy
NASBE Study Group on Middle and High School Literacy. (2005). Reading at Risk: The State Response to the Crisis in Adolescent Literacy. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Boards of Education.
This report presents a framework to tackle the difficult job of creating a state-wide, full-scale approach to adolescent literacy. Also included is a State Policymakers' Literacy Checklist and brief profiles of the two state programs: Just Read, Florida and The Alabama Reading Initiative.
Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report
Gamse, B.C., Bloom, H.S., Kemple, J.J., Jacob, R.T., (2008). Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report (NCEE 2008-4016). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
This report sheds some light on the impact of the federal Reading First program. The evaluation, completed by the National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE), suggests that as a result of Reading First, more class time is spent on the five components of reading, but, on average across the 18 study sites, Reading First did not have statistically significant impacts on student reading comprehension test scores in grades 1-3.
Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension
Snow, C.E. (2002). Reading for understanding: toward a research and development program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica: RAND.
This RAND Corporation report, undertaken at the request of the Education Department, suggests a national research agenda addressing the most pressing issues in literacy over the next 10 years. High on the list of priorities is research into instruction, teacher preparation, and assessment.
Reading Next
Biancarosa, C., & Snow, C. E. (2006). Reading next — A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York (2nd ed). Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Millions of today's adolescents lack the reading skills demanded by today's world. The impending crisis — how will millions of under-literate young people participate economically and socially? — requires an immediate response. This report outlines 15 key elements of effective adolescent literacy programs, and recommends that schools use a mix of these elements, tailoring the combinations to the needs of individual students.
Reading Storybooks to Kindergartners Helps Them Learn New Vocabulary Words
Robbins, C., & Ehri, L. C. (1994). Reading storybooks to kindergartners helps them learn new vocabulary words. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 54-64.
In sessions conducted individually, 45 kindergartners who were nonreaders listened to an adult read the same storybook twice, 2-4 days apart, and then completed a posttest measuring their knowledge of the meanings of 22 unfamiliar words, half of which had appeared in the story. Children recognized the meanings of significantly more words from the story than words not in the story, indicating that storybook reading was effective for building vocabulary. Gains were greater among children with larger entering vocabularies.
Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy
National Governor's Association. (2005). Reading to Achieve: A governor's guide to adolescent literacy. Washington, DC: National Governor's Association, Center for Best Practices.
Governors may not be the first people that leap to mind as effective advocates for adolescent literacy, but they are positioned to be influential literacy leaders, raising awareness of and improving adolescent literacy performance statewide. With five strategies, including raising literacy expectations and measuring progress at school, district, and state levels, governors can establish adolescent literacy as a critical part of a 21st century educational system.
Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts
Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2004, Achieve, Inc. Retrieved Oct. 17, 2007 from http://www.achieve.org/node/552.
This report of the America Diploma Project — a partnership of Achieve, Inc., The Education Trust, and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation — outlines the English and math skills high school graduates must possess to be successful in college and career, and offers a set of benchmarks to help school systems establish graduation requirements that will ensure that a diploma signifies mastery of these competencies.
Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts
Achieve (2004). Ready or not: creating a high school diploma that counts. Washington, DC: Author.
Based on both statistical analysis of employment data and extensive research involving over 300 faculty members from two- and four-year postsecondary institutions, managers, and high school educators, the American Diploma Project benchmarks concretely define the English and math that graduates must master to succeed in credit-bearing college courses and high-performance, high-growth jobs. Key findings: employers' and colleges' academic demands for high school graduates have converged, yet states' current high-school exit expectations fall well short of those demands.
Realizing That You Don't Understand: Elementary School Children's Awareness of Inconsistencies
Markman, E.M. (1979). Realizing that you don't understand: Elementary school children's awareness of inconsistencies. Child Development, 48, 643-655.
Abstract:
Two factors were proposed to affect awareness of one's comprehension failure: the inferential processing requirements, and the kind of standards against which comprehension is evaluated. These studies investigated elementary school children's awareness of their own comprehension failure when presented with inconsistent information. Study 1 showed that children were more likely to notice explicit than implicit contradictions. However, even 12-year-olds judged as comprehensible a sizable proportion of essays with seemingly obvious inconsistencies. Yet, the children had good probed recall of the information, the logical capacity to draw the inferences, and were not generally reluctant to question the experimenter. In subsequent studies children were (a) asked to repeat sentences in order to guarantee that the 2 inconsistent propositions were concurrently activated in working memory, and (b) warned about the existence of a problem in order to promote more careful evaluation.
Taken together, the results suggest that to notice inconsistencies children have to encode and store the information, draw the relevant inferences, retrieve and maintain the (inferred) propositions in working memory, and compare them. Third through sixth graders do not spontaneously carry out those processes that they are capable of carrying out.
Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension-Monitoring Activities
Palincsar, A.S., & Brown, A.L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 2, 117-175.
A study in which children with low reading comprehension were taught four study activities: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Instruction was by reciprocal teaching whereby an adult tutor and children alternately discussed the text. States that students' accuracy on comprehension tests increased significantly and was maintained after the study.
Recognition and Response: An Early Intervening System for Young Children At-Risk for Learning Disabilities
Coleman, M.R., Buysse, V. & Neitzel, J. (2006). Recognition and Response: An early intervening system for young children at-risk for learning disabilities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute: Chapel Hill, NC.
Some young children show signs that they may not be learning in an expected manner, even before they begin kindergarten. These children may exhibit problems in areas such as language development, phonological awareness, perceptual-motor abilities, and attention, which are considered precursors of learning disabilities in older children. However, under current state and federal guidelines, these children are unlikely to meet eligibility criteria for having a learning disability. This is because formal identification of a child's learning disability generally does not occur until there is a measurable discrepancy between the child's aptitude and academic achievement, often not until the second or third grade.
This report describes a method of addressing those warning signs immediately.
Reconceptualizing Spelling Development and Instruction
Templeton, S., & Morris, D. (2001, October). Reconceptualizing spelling development and instruction. Reading Online, 5(3). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/articles/handbook/templeton/index.html.
Over the years, researchers' thinking about "spelling" has evolved. Once seen simply as a tool for writing, it's now acknowledged that spelling offers perhaps the best window on what an individual knows about words. Learn how spelling has been reconceptualized, and the implications for spelling instruction.
Reconceptualizing Spelling Development and Instruction
Templeton, S., & Morris, D. (2001, October). Reconceptualizing spelling development and instruction. Reading Online, 5 (3).
Abstract:
This professional article, drawn from the Handbook of Reading Research, Volume III, provides an overview of the English spelling system and contrasts traditional and contemporary approaches of spelling instruction. The authors present a summary of current research in word study and offer broad instructional recommendations.
Redefining College Readiness
Conley, D. (2007). Redefining college readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.
The purpose of this report is to provide an operational definition of college readiness that differs from current representations of this concept primarily in its scope. The report suggests that, while much has been learned about this phenomenon, particularly during the past 20 years, few systematic attempts have been made to integrate the various aspects or components of college readiness that have been investigated in some depth during this period of time. As a result, college readiness continues to be defined primarily in terms of high school courses taken and grades received, along with scores on national tests, as its primary metrics
- Read the report
Reinventing Alternative Education: An Assessment of Current State Policy and How to Improve It
Almeida, C., Le, C. Steinberg, A. & Cervantes. R. (2010). Reinventing alternative education: An assessment of current state policy and how to improve it. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
Of the 1.2 million students who drop out each year, and the others who continue to attend school but make little progress toward graduation, many will require creative alternatives in significantly different settings to help them get back on track toward a diploma and a postsecondary credential.
This report identifies seven model policy elements that states should incorporate in order to develop and improve alternative pathways for struggling students and former dropouts. Jobs for the Future performed this comprehensive 50-state policy scan to assess the extent to which state policy aligns with these model elements.
Relationships Between Oral Reading Rates for Letters, Words, and Simple Text in the Development of Reading Achievement
Biemiller, A. (1977-78). Relationships between oral reading rates for letters, words, and simple text in the development of reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 13, 223-253.
The speed and accuracy with which 56 skilled or less skilled readers read words in and out of context was assessed in the fall and spring of the 1st grade by having both groups read random lists of words and coherent paragraphs. The context of the coherent paragraph facilitated word recognition performance to a greater degree in the spring than in the fall, and this developmental trend was similar for both groups. Although the word recognition performance of the skilled readers was superior to that of the less skilled readers on the coherent paragraphs, the former were also better at reading random lists of words. Data indicate that the less skilled readers were getting as much contextual facilitation from the coherent paragraph as were the skilled readers when the latter were at a similar level of context-free decoding ability. This finding, combined with other research, indicates that less skilled readers of this age perform relatively poorly on coherent paragraphs because of poor decoding skills, not because of a strategic inability to use context to facilitate word recognition.
Relationships, Rigor and Readiness: Strategies for Improving High Schools
Quint, J., Thompson, S.L. and Bald, M. (2008). Relationships, Rigor and Readiness: Strategies for Improving High Schools. New York, NY: MDRC.
This report offers lessons from the last in a series of three high school reform conferences sponsored by MDRC, the Council of the Great City Schools, and the National High School Alliance and is intended to help identify strategies for improving underperforming high schools. The districts that participated in the conference are at various stages in their school reform efforts, but all face these common challenges:
- Creating an environment in which students feel that teachers and other adults know them and care about them;
- Ensuring that classes for students who begin at all levels of academic achievement are supportive, engaging, and demanding; and
- Giving all students the guidance and assistance they need to plan for their future after high school.
Remediation Training Improves Reading Ability of Dyslexic Children
Trei, L. Remediation Training Improves Reading Ability of Dyslexic Children. Stanford Report, 25 May 2003.
For the first time, researchers have shown that the brains of dyslexic children can be rewired -- after undergoing intensive remediation training -- to function more like those found in normal readers.
Removing Roadblocks to Rigor: Linking Academic and Social Supports to Ensure College Readiness and Success
Savitz-Romer, M., Jager-Hyman, J. & Coles, A. (2009). Removing roadblocks to rigor: linking academic and social supports to ensure college readiness and success. Washington, DC: Pathways to College Network.
This paper outlines the elements of a rigorous curriculum, including assessments and vertical alignment of classes, as well as the various social and academic supports students need to access rigorous coursework.
Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California's Long Term English Learners.
Olsen, L. (2010). Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California's Long Term English Learners. Californians Together. Retrieved January 6, 2011 from: http://www.californianstogether.org/
Repeated Reading and Reading Fluency in Learning Disabled Children
Rashotte, C. & Torgesen, J. (1985). Repeated reading and reading fluency in learning disabled children. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 180-188.
Abstract:
This study investigated whether improved fluency and comprehension across different stories in repeated reading depend on the degree of word overlap among passages and whether repeated reading is more effective than an equivalent amount of nonrepetitive reading. Non-fluent, learning disabled students read passages presented and timed by a computer under three different conditions. In Conditions 1 and 2 (repeated reading) the same passage was read four times before proceeding to a new story in the next session. Stories in Condition 2 contained three times as many overlapping words as stories in Condition 1. In Condition 3 (nonrepetitive reading), each of the four passages in a session was different.
Results suggest that over short periods of time, increases in reading speed with the repeated reading method depend on the amount of shared words among stories, and that if stories have few shared words, repeated reading is not more effective for improving speed than an equivalent amount of nonrepetitive reading.
Repeated Reading to Enhance Fluency: Old Approaches and New Directions
Meyer, M. S., & Felton, R. H. (1999). Repeated reading to enhance fluency: Old approaches and new directions. Annals of Dyslexia, 49, 283-306.
As phoneme awareness deficits and resulting decoding weaknesses are increasingly addressed, there is heightened awareness of the role of fluency in reading. This paper reviews the history of fluency training, discusses the theoretical bases of such training, and summarizes the current knowledge about the efficacy of training procedures. It focuses on Repeated Reading (RR), the most familiar and researched approach to fluency training. Outcome data on Repeated Reading, presented in the form of questions, is meant to answer practitioner's questions about implementation and efficacy and to provide a starting point for researchers interested in the topic. Although some answers are straightforward, others indicate the subtleties involved in answering the broad question: Does Repeated Reading work? In addition to a list of practical suggestions based on Repeated Readings findings, three new approaches to fluency training are introduced.
Report on the Status of Hispanics in Education: Overcoming a History of Neglect
Verdugo, Richard R. (2006. "Report on the Status of Hispanics in Education: Overcoming a History of Neglect." National Education Association.
Hispanic students often face unique challenges in student achievement. Because of high levels of poverty, limited English language skills, and immigration factors, Hispanic students must overcome socioeconomic, language, cultural and barriers to succeed in school.
Research to Practice: Phonemic Awareness in Kindergarten and First Grade
Abbott, M., Walton, C., & Greenwood, C. R. (2002). Research to practice: Phonemic awareness in kindergarten and first grade. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34 (4), 20-26.
Teachers attend a workshop and learn about a "research-based" practice. A consultant works with the teachers for a while to set up the program and maybe even conduct an evaluation and follow-up instruction. The consultant leaves; the teachers are on their own. A couple of years later, nobody can find evidence the program ever existed. Does this sound familiar? Why does this occur? What happens to make teachers drop programs that may even be excellent? The secret may lie in what does not happen. We set out to discover the secret to successful research-based practices as teachers use them in real life. The example we chose was a phonemic-awareness program; this article describes how phonemic-awareness research and intervention knowledge was successfully translated for teacher implementation – over 3 years.
Resource Needs for California's English Learners
Gandara, P. & Rumberger, R. W. (2007, March). Resource needs for California's English learners. Stanford, CA: University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute.
Linguistic minorities are students who come from households where English is not the main language spoken. Most of these students do not come to school proficient in English. There is a learning gap between many linguistic minorities and native English speakers that can persist throughout school. Most linguistic minorities require additional resources and support to be successful in school.
Review of Closing the Racial Achievement Gap
Chatterji, M. (2010, November). Review of Closing the Racial Achievement Gap. National Education Policy Center. Retrieved January 5, 2010 from: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/learning-from-florida
This report is a review of another report published by the Heritage Foundation report, Closing the Racial Achievement Gap. This report analyzes the findings, conclusions, their rationale for the findings, a review of their use of previous research and a review of their methodology.
Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum
ACT. (2007). Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum. Retrieved Nov. 5. 2007, from http://www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/rigor_report.pdf.
While more students are taking a rigorous core curriculum, too many still find themselves ill-prepared to handle college. ACT scores have consistently shown that students who take a core curriculum of four years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies are much more likely than those who don't to be prepared for college. This report examines whether additional courses may be necessary and finds that schools should not simply add more courses, but improve the quality and rigor of the existing core course offerings. The also report contains "action steps" that states and schools can take to improve the core high school courses.
Romance and Reality
Stanovich, Keith E. (1993). Romance and reality. The Reading Teacher, 47, 280-291.
Stanovich reviews significant findings from his research and speculates on differential responses to his work. He argues that we must let scientific evidence answer questions about the reading process.
Saying the "P" Word: Nine Guidelines for Exemplary Phonics Instruction
Stahl, S. (1992). Saying the “p” word: Nine guidelines for exemplary phonics instruction. The Reading Teacher, 45, 618-625.
Exemplary phonics instruction should build on a child's rich concepts about how print functions and build on a foundation of phonemic awareness. Effective phonics instruction is clear and direct and integrated into a total reading program. It focuses on reading words, not learning rules and may include onsets and rimes and invented spelling. Exemplary phonics instruction develops independent word recognition strategies, focusing attention on the internal structure of the word and develops automatic word recognition skills so that attention can be devoted to comprehension.
School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03
Enyeart, Christine; Diehl, Juliet Hampden-Thompson, Gillian; Scotchmer, Marion. (2006). "School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03." U.S. Department of Education: National Center for Education Statistics.
There are differences in the communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking households. A greater percentage of parents in English-speaking households than in Spanish-speaking households had parents who reported receiving personal notes or emails about the student; receiving newsletters, memos or notices addressed to all parents; opportunities to attend general meetings; opportunities to attend school events; and chances to volunteer. In English-speaking households, the amount of communication parents reported receiving decreased as income decreased.
School Readiness, Full–Day Kindergarten, and Student Achievement
Le, V., Kirby, S.N., Barney, H., Setodji, C.M., Gershwin, D. (2006). "School Readiness, Full–Day Kindergarten, and Student Achievement." Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/ec3624j67.pdf.
This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 (ECLS–K) to examine how children's skills and knowledge at kindergarten entry predict their achievement in later grades. It extends previous research by examining longer–term achievement outcomes, namely test scores at the end of fifth grade, and gives an indication of how other nonacademic areas of school readiness (i.e., physical and socioemotional development) may be related to test performance.
Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: Delinquent Boys to Age 70
Laub, John H., & Sampson, Robert J. (2003). Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: Delinquent Boys to Age 70. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
From Amazon.com:
This book analyzes newly collected data on crime and social development up to age 70 for 500 men who were remanded to reform school in the 1940s. Born in Boston in the late 1920s and early 1930s, these men were the subjects of the classic study Unraveling Juvenile Delinquency by Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck (1950). Updating their lives at the close of the twentieth century, and connecting their adult experiences to childhood, this book is arguably the longest longitudinal study of age, crime, and the life course to date. By uniting life-history narratives with rigorous data analysis, the authors shed new light on long-term trajectories of crime and current policies of crime control.
Sharp Growth in Suburban Minority Enrollment Yields Modest Gains in School Diversity
Fry, Richard. (2009). Sharp Growth in Suburban Minority Enrollment Yields Modest Gains in School Diversity. Washington, D.C. Pew Hispanic Center.
This article analyzes the increased number of minority groups now attending suburban school districts and the benefits gain from current programs available. Recent data demonstrates how cities like Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville are now facing "hyper-growth" in the Latino population. While the increased numbers of minority students in suburban schools has slightly reduced ethnic and racial segregation in the nation's public schools, trends vary for different minority groups, community types, school districts and individual schools.
Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better?
Williams, T., Hakuta, K., Haertel, E., et al. (2007). Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? A follow-up analysis, based on a large-scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income and EL students. Mountain View, CA: EdSource.
A major new analysis of California elementary school performance has identified four educational practices associated with higher performance among elementary English Learner (EL) students. According to the study released in May at the Education Writers Association annual meeting in Los Angeles, schools that engage in all four practices have, on average, the highest academic achievement among English Learner students.
Six Pillars of Effective Dropout Prevention and Recovery: An Assessment of Current State Policy and How to Improve It
Almeida, C., Steinberb, A., Santos, J. & Le, C. (2010). Six pillars of effective dropout prevention and recovery: An assessment of current state policy and how to improve it. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future.
This report identifies six model policy elements that frame a sound legislative strategy for dropout prevention and recovery, and it assesses the extent to which recent state policy aligns with these model elements. Overall, 36 states and the District of Columbia have enacted new dropout legislation since 2002. While some states have moved toward adopting comprehensive dropout prevention and recovery policies, nearly all of them have a long way to go. Nearly one-third of the nation — 14 states — have enacted no new laws aimed at increasing graduation rates in the past eight years.
Slow and Uneven Progress in Narrowing Gaps
Center on Education Policy. (2010). Slow and uneven progress in narrowing gaps. Washington, DC: Author.
This report provides a detailed look at student performance on state tests and examines whether state-level results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) confirm the trends found on state tests. The report tracks data for all states and the District of Columbia in math and reading for grades 4, 8, and high school by student race, ethnicity, income, and gender from as early as 2002 through 2009, where three or more years of comparable data are available.
The report's comparison of the direction of trends on NAEP and state tests between 2005 and 2009 at grades 4 and 8 presents a mixed picture. In a majority of the states studied, NAEP results confirm gains in reading and math for most subgroups. But trends in achievement gaps on NAEP differ often enough from gap trends on state tests to raise caution about how consistently gaps are narrowing.
So Many Schools, So Few Options: How Mayor Bloomberg's Small High School Reforms Deny Full Access to English Language Learners
The New York Immigration Coalition and Advocates for Children of New York. (2006, November). So Many Schools, So Few Options: How Mayor Bloomberg's Small High School Reforms Deny Full Access to English Language Learners. New York, NY: The New York Immigration Coalition and Advocates for Children of New York.
Although ELLs make up about 11.4% of the New York City high school population, in 2005-2006, 93 of 183 schools examined in this report had less than 5% of ELLs in their student body. This means that more than half of the high schools in the city had a very small ELL population. A policy that the NYC Department of Education has in place is to "allow small schools to exclude ELLs in [their] first two years of operation" (p. 7). Failure to follow required accommodation laws is also keeping ELLs out of many NYC high schools. In the borough of Queens, which has the most ELL students, only 7% of new high schools were built. Overall, the new plan toward having smaller schools in New York City is keeping ELLs from getting equal access to quality instruction because resources for ELL instruction are not prevalent.
Southeast Asian American Children: Not the "Model Minority"
Yang, K.Y. (2004) “Southeast Asian American Children: Not the ‘Model Minority.’” Children of Immigrant Families 14 (2). The Future of Children. Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=39&articleid=129§ionid=850.
In the second article, Yang points out that while as a group, Asian Americans are doing quite well, children whose ancestors are from Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) continue to struggle with limited English skills, discrimination, miscommunication, and feelings of alienation. She urges policymakers to recognize that these children need attention and support to overcome their barriers to success.
Southeast Asian Americans as English Language Learners
Uy, P. (2008). Southeast Asian Americans as English Language Learners. Washington, DC: Campaign for High School Equity.
This article by Phitsamay Uy, Board Chair of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, offers insight into the experience of immigrants to the U.S. from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Uy discusses the unique challenges that students of Southeast Asian descent face in American schools and offers suggestions for ways in which schools can provide them the support they need in order to be successful.
Speaking Out: Latino Youth on Discrimination in the United States
Foxen, P. (2010, October, 21)."Speaking Out: Latino Youth on Discrimination in the United States" National Council of La Raza. Retrieved January 3, 2011, from: http://www.nclr.org/index.php/publications/speaking_out_latino_youth_on_discrimination_in_the_united_states/
This report discusses and examines themes in which Latino adolescents “perceive and engage with [regard to] formative social settings or institutions” (such as school, work, law enforcement, and the juvenile justice system). It analyzes these perceptions through data received from focus groups located in 4 different cities across the country (Langley Park, MD; Nashville, TN; Providence, RI; and Los Angeles, CA) with two focus groups being conducted in each location, one focusing on first generation and the other second generation youth.
Standards for Middle and High School Literacy Coaches
International Reading Association. (2006). Standards for Middle and High School Literacy Coaches. Newark, DE: Author.
The International Reading Association recommends that literacy coaches be 1) skilled collaborators who function effectively in middle and/or high school settings; 2) skilled instructional coaches in core content area; 3) skilled evaluators of literacy needs, able to collaborate with school leadership and teachers to interpret and use assessment data; and 4) accomplished middle and high school teachers skilled in developing and implementing instructional strategies.
Starting Out Right: Pre-K and Kindergarten
Hull, Jim. Starting Out Right: Pre-K and Kindergarten. 2011 The Center for Public Education: Alexandria, VA
The report looks at the effect of various combinations of pre-k and kindergarten on third grade reading skills, a key predictor of future academic success. Findings show that children who attend pre-k and half-day kindergarten are more likely to have higher reading skills by the third grade than those who attend full-day kindergarten alone. The impact was greatest for Hispanic children, black children, English Language Learners, and children from low-income families.
State Actions to Improve Adolescent Literacy: Results from NASBE's State Adolescent Literacy Network
National Association of State Boards of Education.(2009). State Actions to Improve Adolescent Literacy: Results from NASBE's State Adolescent Literacy Network.Arlington, VA: Author.
The National Association of State Boards of Education has released a policy report — State Actions to Improve Adolescent Literacy: Results from NASBE's State Adolescent Literacy Network—that outlines the work of five states (Connecticut, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Utah, and West Virginia) where leaders have produced real changes in state focus and policies as part of a comprehensive literacy plan. These states took up the serious challenge of low literacy levels and made quality literacy instruction in secondary schools a priority.
State High School Exit Exams: States Try Harder, But Gaps Persist
Sullivan, P., Yeager, M., Chudowsky, N., Kober, N., O'Brien, E., Gayler, K. (2005). State high school exit exams: States try harder, but gaps persist. Center on Education Policy: Washington, DC. Retrieved from: http://alaskateacher.org/downloads/exit_exam_8_12_05.pdf
A growing number of states now use or plan to implement exit exams which students must pass in order to graduate. Achievement gaps on these exams remain largely unchanged according to a study by the Washington, D.C.–based Center on Education Policy (CEP). Due to a heavy concentration of Latino students in states with exit exams, a disproportionate number of minority students (82%) and English Language Learners (87%) will be taking them. The pass rate of ELL students continues to fall 30 to 40 points below the pass rate of other students. With the dramatic growth in English Language Learners in the U.S., it is increasingly important to identify strategies that will help these young people master the skills required for high school graduation. This report first discusses exit exams broadly: their characteristics, methods of assessment, standards, compliance with NCLB, etc. Later, it delves specifically into the conditions surrounding English Language Learners and exams, such as testing policies, graduation rates, and remediation.
State High School Exit Exams: Trends in Test Programs, Alternate Pathways, and Pass Rates
Zhang, Y. (2009). State high school exit exams: trends in test programs, alternate pathways, and pass rates. Washington, DC: Center for Education Policy.
This report highlights a growing trend among states to establish alternate pathways to graduation for students who are struggling to pass exit exams. The report also analyzes exit exam pass rates and finds that 11 of the 16 states showed an average annual growth in the proportion of students passing the test in reading and 13 states showed average annual growth in mathematics. Although many states narrowed the gaps in initial pass rates between the various student subgroups over the years, the gaps remain large in both subjects.
State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08: Has Progress Been Made in Raising Achievement for English Language Learners?
Chudowsky, N. & Chudowsky, V. (2010, April 7). State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08: Has Progress Been Made in Raising Achievement for English Language Learners?. Center on Education Policy (CEP). Retrieved January 6, 2011 from: http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?DocumentSubTopicID=34
This report "examines progress in raising achievement for English language learners…(and) describes the factors that make it difficult to accurately assess what ELLs know and can do."
State Test Score Trends Through 2008-09: Student Achievement
Center for Education Policy. (2011). State test score trends through 2008-2008: Students achievement at 8th grade. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Contrary to the perception that 8th-grade achievement is stagnating, this analysis by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) finds upward trends in reading and math test scores in most states. The report examines 8th grade trends at three achievement levels: basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced, and tracks changes in achievement gaps by race, ethnicity, gender and income. The analysis draws on data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia but focuses on the 43 states with three or more years of comparable test data. Individual state profiles are available for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
All states with sufficient data on advanced achievement (42 states) showed gains in the percentage of 8th graders reaching the advanced level in math, while 35 of them posted similar gains in reading with five showing declines and two showing no change.
Still At Risk: What Students Don't Know, Even Now
(2008) ©Common Core. All rights reserved.
This report reveals some damning statistics about U.S. teens' lack of knowledge of history and culture. For example, one-third do not know that the Bill of Rights guarantees the freedom of speech and religion and forty-four percent think The Scarlet Letter was either about a witch trial or a piece of correspondence.
The authors' attribute much of this ignorance to a curriculum focused on basic reading and math skills and preparation for high-stakes testing, but parental educational also has an impact on student knowledge-students with a college-educated parent scored significantly better than those without.
Structuring Out-of-School Time to Improve Academic Achievement
Beckett, M., Borman, G., Capizzano, J., Parsley, D., Ross, S., Schirm, A., & Taylor, J. (2009). Structuring out-of-school time to improve academic achievement: A practice guide (NCEE #2009-012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides.
Out-of-school time programs can enhance academic achievement by helping students learn outside the classroom. The five recommendations in this guide are intended to help district and school administrators, out-of-school program providers, and educators design out-of-school time programs that will increase learning for students. The guide also describes the research supporting each recommendation, how to carry out each recommendation, and how to address roadblocks that might arise in implementing them.
Student Transience in North Carolina: The Effects of School Mobility on Student Outcomes Using Longitudinal Data
Xu, Z., Hannaway, J., and D'Souza, S. (2009). Student Transience in North Carolina: The Effect of School Mobility on Student Outcomes Using Longitudinal Data. North Carolina: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.
This article discusses the significance and reasons behind school mobility, its effects on all students, and the determined factors that encourage mobility during the school year. The authors highlight the negative effects of school mobility at any period of the school year, not only for the students who are moving, but also for the schools who frequently receive new students in their classroom. The article also shows current data obtained from states like North Carolina that have shown an increased rate in school mobility on Hispanic students.
Students with Interrupted Education: A Challenge for New York City Public Schools
Students with Interrupted Education: A Challenge for New York City Public Schools. (2010, May). Advocates for Children of New York. Retrieved July 28, 2010 from http://advocatesforchildren.org/SIFE%20Paper%20final.pdf
Within ELLs there is a sub-population known as SIFEs. These students face extensive challenges once they enter schools. With SIFEs making up a significant portion New York City’s Public Schools already-struggling ELL population, new strategies are needed in order to ensure to success of those students.
Succeeding With English Language Learners: Lessons Learned from the Great City Schools
Horowitz, A.R., et al. (2009). Succeeding with English Language Learners: Lessons learned from the Great City Schools. Washington, D.C.: The Council of the Great City Schools.
This study examines district-level ELL policies and practices as well as the historical, administrative, and programmatic contexts of four school systems with ELL student achievement growth between 2002 and 2006. This growth is contrasted with two districts with minimal growth in ELL achievement. The authors' exploration of instructional reform strategies sheds light on the experiences of large urban districts and highlights specific strategies for reform while underscoring the differences between the districts with improvements for ELL students and those without.
Success At Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond
Hooker, S. & Brand, B. (2009). Success at every step: how 23 programs support youth on the path to college and beyond. Washington, DC: AYPF.
This report describes programs that have been proven to help young people successfully complete high school and be prepared for success in postsecondary education and careers. These programs represent a wide range of interventions, including school-wide reform initiatives, community-based afterschool services, work-based learning opportunities, and college access programs. From an analysis of the included programs, the report identifies common programmatic and structural elements that may contribute to their effectiveness and summarizes key outcomes.
Successful Bilingual Schools: Six Effective Programs in California
Gold, N. (2006) Successful Bilingual Schools: Six Effective Programs in California. San Diego, CA: San Diego County Office of Education.
The purpose of this study was to identify schools with successful bilingual education programs, and to document their success. It is not a comparative study, and was not intended to support or refute competing claims about the relative effectiveness of bilingual education compared to other approaches. Instead, the goal was to illustrate that bilingual schools are capable of providing opportunities for students to achieve and sustain high levels of academic excellence even when faced with challenges such as poverty and a lack of students' English proficiency upon entering school. The report contains six case studies. Each describes the bilingual program of a successful elementary school in California. Located in San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, all schools enrolled large numbers of Spanish–speaking English learners. The case studies were prepared over a two–year period. Achievement data was taken from state and local databases, and information was gathered from telephone interviews with principals and brief site visits. The studies describe each school and summarize demographic and achievement data. General analysis identified key implementation strategies and notable instructional and organizational features, including elements of leadership, the climate of accountability, teacher qualifications and professional development. Each school profile was compared to a summary of key organizational and instructional features identified by the research as contributing to school success.
Summer Reading Loss
Mraz, M. and Rasinski, T.V. (2007). Summer reading loss. The Reading Teacher, 60(8). International Reading Association. 784-789.
Children who do not practice their reading skills during the summer often return to school in the fall reading at a lower level than when they left for summer vacation. In Summer Reading Loss, Maryann Mraz and Timothy Rasinski point out that children from low-income families are particularly at risk for summer reading loss, which serves to widen the achievement gap between these children and children from middle-class families. In this article, the authors provide a brief review of existing research on summer reading loss, and they discuss what schools and families can do to combat this problem.
Take a Giant Step: A Blueprint for Teaching Young Children in a Digital Age
Barron, B., Cayton-Hodges, G., Bofferding, L., Copple, C., Darling-Hammond, L., & Levine, M. (2011). Take a Giant Step: A Blueprint for Teaching Children in a Digital Age. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
In January 2010, the Cooney Center and the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute convened a Digital Age Teacher Preparation Council to look at current practices for teaching young children and to design a professional development action plan for integrating the effective use of technology in preschool and the primary grades. This report describes the Council's action plan to enhance teacher education and a higher quality, 21st century approach to the learning and healthy development of children in preschool and the primary grades. The report sets forth several goals for the nation to meet by 2020, including advancing technology integration and infrastructure; a more robust professional training program for early education professionals; the expanded use of public media as cost-effective assets for teachers; and the establishment of a Digital Teacher Corps.
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence
Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8 (1).
Abstract:
Using data from a 50-state survey of policies, state case study analyses, the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), this study examines the ways in which teacher qualifications and other school inputs are related to student achievement across states. The findings of both the qualitative and quantitative analyses suggest that policy investments in the quality of teachers may be related to improvements in student performance. Quantitative analyses indicate that measures of teacher preparation and certification are by far the strongest correlates of student achievement in reading and mathematics, both before and after controlling for student poverty and language status.
State policy surveys and case study data are used to evaluate policies that influence the overall level of teacher qualifications within and across states. This analysis suggests that policies adopted by states regarding teacher education, licensing, hiring, and professional development may make an important difference in the qualifications and capacities that teachers bring to their work. The implications for state efforts to enhance quality and equity in public education are discussed.
Teachers' Perceptions of Their Undergraduate and Graduate Preparation
Lyon, G., Vaasen, M., & Toomey, F. (1989). Teachers' perceptions of their undergraduate and graduate preparation. Teacher Education and Special Education, 12, 164-169.
This study assessed the extent to which teachers' perceptions of their relationships with young students varied as a function of child and teacher characteristics in a large, demographically diverse sample of 197 preschool and kindergarten teachers and 840 children. Children were evenly divided between boys and girls. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relation between teachers' perceptions of their relationships with students and (a) teacher ethnicity, (b) child age, ethnicity, and gender, and (c) the ethnic match between teacher and child.
Child age and ethnicity and teacher-child ethnic match were consistently related to teachers' perceptions, explaining up to 27% of the variance in perceptions of negative aspects of the teacher-child relationship, specifically teacher-child conflict. When child and teacher had the same ethnicity, teachers rated their relationships with children more positively. The results are discussed in terms of classroom social processes related to children's adjustment and the measurement of teacher-child relationships.
Teaching Children to Learn Word Meanings from Context: A Synthesis and Some Questions
Kuhn, M., & Stahl, S. (1998). Teaching children to learn word meanings from context: A synthesis and some questions. Journal of Literacy Research, 30, 119-138.
This article reviews 14 studies investigating approaches that aimed at teaching children to be more efficient at learning words from context. In nearly all of the studies reviewed, treatments were effective at improving children's skill in learning words from context compared to a no-treatment control. However, in the 4 studies that included a practice-only treatment, no significant differences were found between the strategy treatment and practice-only groups. These findings suggest that the effects of the treatments were due to the practice rather than to the specific strategies taught. Suggestions are made for improving research examining the effects of context-clue strategies.
Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does — and Does Not — Say
Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: what the research does&mdash and does not&mdash say. American Educator, Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/summer2008/goldenberg.pdf
This thorough review offers a comprehensive summary of existing research on issues related to the education of ELLs. Dr. Claude Goldenberg focuses on two major reviews of research, one by the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, and the other by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE). Topics covered include: bilingual education, oral language development, reading instruction, curriculum, instructional methods, assessment, and accommodations.
Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners
Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners. U.S. Department of Education: Doing What Works. Washington, D.C.
"Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners" discusses the importance of teaching English learners to read in English while they are developing oral proficiency, and how this helps them increase vocabulary, speak in English, and learn other subject-matter content. Specifically, it recommends and explains successful practices in 5 different areas based on solid research: assessment, small-group instruction, vocabulary instruction, academic English development, and cooperative learning.
Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do
Moats, L. C. (1999). Teaching reading is rocket science: What expert teachers of reading should know and be able to do. Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers.
This foundational report reviews the reading research and describes the knowledge base that is essential for teacher candidates and practicing teachers to master if they are to be successful in teaching all children to read well. Developed by the American Federation of Teachers(AFT).
Teaching Spelling
Henderson, E.H. (1990). Teaching Spelling. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
This book is a developmentally-based approach for teaching spelling in Grades 1-6. Treating spelling as an integral part of an effective language arts program, it has a full chapter that shows how to apply direct spelling instruction to reading and writing.
Teaching Teachers to Teach Reading: Paradigm Shifts, Persistent Problems, and Challenges
Anders, P., Hoffman, J., & Duffy, G. (2000). Teaching teachers to teach reading: Paradigm shifts, persistent problems, and challenges. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of Reading Research, Vol.3 (pp. 721-744). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Technology and Teaching Children to Read
Sherman, D., Kleiman, G., and Peterson, K. (2004). Technology and Teaching Children to Read. Education Development Center.
This article shares strategies for effectively implementing technology within K-6 reading programs. Research-based guidelines from the National Reading Panel report (NRP, 2000) frame the discussion about the potential uses of multimedia digital technology to enhance reading instruction.
Technology for Developing Children's Language and Literacy: Bringing Speech Recognition to the Classroom
Adams, M.J. (2011). Technology for Developing Children's Language and Literacy: Bringing Speech Recognition to the Classroom, New York, NY: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), about fifty percent of low-income fourth graders in our nation's schools are unable to read at a basic level. In this report, Brown University's Marilyn Jager Adams, a pioneer in literacy research and practice, points to evidence that speech recognition technology — which is widely used in telephone call-routing and directory assistance — can be tapped as a cost-effective and technically viable means to advance early childhood literacy, particularly fluency. When coupled with effective pedagogy, voice recognition tools can provide valuable assessments that reach beyond the human capacities of the average public school classroom teacher. Adams argues that this emerging technology has the potential to offer real-time literacy support to every student by helping young children learn reading with the fluency needed to compete and cooperate in an increasingly complex age.
Technology in Schools: What the Research Says
Fadel, C., & Lemke, C. (2006). Technology in Schools: What the Research Says. Retrieved March 13, 2008, from www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/TechnologyinSchoolsReport.pdf.
This paper examines emergent research findings on the effect of technology on learning. It looks at both descriptive studies and rigorous research, providing trend data about technological innovations. The effect of various technologies on student learning are discussed, including: television, video, calculators, interactive whiteboards, portable devices, virtual learning, computer-assisted instruction, and 1:1 ratio of computers and students.
Text Matters in Learning to Read
Heibert, E.H. (1999). Text matters in learning to read (Distinguished Educators Series). Reading Teacher, 52, 552-566. Retrieved June 28, 2005, from CIERA Rep. No. 1-001.
From the CIERA Report:
This report examines texts based on high-frequency and phonetically regular words as well as the trade books of current literature-based reading programs. It considers each type of text by examining the task it poses for beginning readers. What does a beginning reader need to know about written English to be successful with a particular type of text? What will a beginning reader learn about text if consistently presented with a particular type of text? From a task perspective, consistent reading of particular types of texts can be likened to a diet where children eat particular food groups but not others (Fisher & Hiebert, 1990). Through experiences with particular texts, children may be acquiring some nutrients (or skills) and not others. This article addresses the diets provided to beginning readers by different instructional texts. To paraphrase Allington (1994), the three sections of the paper deal with (a) the texts used, (b) the texts had, and (c) the texts needed.
The Adaptation of Migrant Children
Portes, A., Rivas, A. (2011) "The Adaptation of Migrant Children." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=547.
Alejandro Portes and Alejandro Rivas examine how young immigrants are adapting to life in the United States. They begin by noting the existence of two distinct pan–ethnic populations: Asian Americans, who tend to be the offspring of high–human–capital migrants, and Hispanics, many of whose parents are manual workers. Vast differences in each, both in human capital origins and in their reception in the United States, mean large disparities in available resources. Empirical work shows that immigrants make much progress, on average, from the first to the second generation, both culturally and socioeconomically. The overall advancement of the immigrant population, is largely driven by the good performance and outcomes of youths from professional immigrant families, positively received in America, specifically white and Asian immigrants. However, for immigrants at the other end of the spectrum, typically Mexican and Latin American immigrants, average socioeconomic outcomes are driven down by the poorer educational and economic performance of children from unskilled migrant families, who are often handicapped further by an unauthorized or insecure legal status. The article describes the two prevailing theoretical perspectives on assimilation: culturalism and structuralism. The authors then cite two important policy measures for immigrant youth.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Recommendations for Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners
Working Group on ELL Policy. (2009). The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Recommendations for Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners. Retrieved from: http://ellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ELL-Stimulus-Recommendations.pdf
A report just released by a group of the country's leading experts in education for English language learners recommends ways in which funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can be used to improve educational outcomes for ELLs. ""he American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Recommendations for Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners" (2009) suggests seven different parts of the stimulus act that can be used to improve education for ELLs. These include areas related to: Title I help for disadvantaged students; IDEA special education; education technology; statewide data systems; improving teacher quality; Head Start and Early Head Start; the National Science Foundation; and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. In each area, the panel identifies ELL issues that need to be addressed and outlines specific ways in which the stimulus money can be used to address those issues, stressing that allocating these funds will only be effective if it is done in conjunction with a coherent standards-based strategy at the state and district levels.
The Art of Teaching Writing
Calkins, L.M. (1986). The art of teaching writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.
From Amazon.com:
The Art of Teaching Writing, New Edition, has major new chapters on assessment, thematic studies, writing throughout the day, reading/writing relationships, publication, curriculum development, nonfiction writing and home/school connections.
The Challenge of Scaling Up Educational Reform: Findings and Lessons from First Things First
Quint, J., Bloom, H.S., Black, A.R., Stephens, L. and Akey, T.M. (2006). The Challenge of Scaling Up Educational Reform: Findings and Lessons from First Things First. New York: MDRC.
This MDRC report looks at the results of the comprehensive school reform model First Things First (FTF). FTF is characterized by smaller learning communities, a family advocate system in which a school staff member is paired with the student, and organized instructional improvement efforts to make classes more engaging and rigorous. The model was launched in Kansas City, Kansas, and later tested in 12 middle and high schools in four additional districts. While academic outcomes improved substantially in Kansas City, the results in the other four districts were less consistent.
The Changing Landscape of American Public Education: New Students, New Schools
Fry, R. (2006). The changing landscape of American public education: New students, new schools. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.
The report examines two trends in American public education: increases in enrollment and increases in new schools. The report compares enrollment growth by ethnic and racial groups to the composition of newly opened schools and existing schools.
The condition of college & career readiness: 2010
ACT Inc. (2010). The condition of college & career readiness: 2010. ACT Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr10/pdf/ConditionofCollegeandCareerReadiness2010.pdf
The report provides information on the college readiness of graduating seniors in 2010 who took the ACT in high school. Data included ACT test scores and the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. The ACT defines College Readiness Benchmark as the minimum score required on the subject-area test to indicate likeliness of success in the corresponding first-year credit-bearing college course (50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or approximately a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher). Although more Hispanic students are taking the test, performance in both areas for Hispanic students still lags significantly behind white and Asian students.
The Cultural Strengths of Latino Families: Firm Scaffolds for Children and Youth
Coll, C.G., Fuligni, A., Galindo, C., Hernandez, D., & Tienda, M. (n.d.). The cultural strengths of Latino families: Firm scaffolds for children and youth. New Journalism on Latino Children. Retrieved from: http://www.ewa.org/site/DocServer/NJLC_CulturalStrengths_WEB.pdf?docID=641
While the media often portrays Latinos negatively, new research is showing meaningful evidence to the contrary. Indicators of strong cultural assets include healthy newborns, robust social development, and a strong family foundation which contribute to early achievement. However, these strengths sometime fade for second- or third-generation Latinos, a trend named the "immigrant paradox" by experts. The brief outlines the immigrant paradox and offers in-depth questions for journalists to consider who are reporting on Latino children and families.
The Difficult Road for Long-Term English Learners
Menken, K. & Kleyn, T. (2009, April). "The Difficult Road for Long-Term English Learners." Educational Leadership. 66(7).
The Difficult Road for Long-Term English Learners, by Kate Menken and Tatyana Kleyn, focuses on ELLs who have attended school in the U.S. for seven years or more. According to the authors, these students, who tend to be in grades 6-12, often have a high level of proficiency in social English, but their academic English skills may be limited. This results in difficulties with reading and writing and consequently, many content area subjects.
The Digital Promise: Transforming Learning with Innovative Uses of Technology
Wellings, J. and Levine, M. (2009). The Digital Promise: Transforming Learning with Innovative Uses of Technology. New York: Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
This white paper, presented by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Apple, describes how investment in technology tools, network access, professional development, and new personalized curricula can help schools address each of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's four reform goals and simultaneously modernize to meet the needs of 21st century learners. Innovative examples and related resources are offered on how technology can be used to promote literacy and to engage struggling learner.
The Dropout/Graduation Crisis Among American Indian and Alaska Native Students: Failure to Respond Places the Future of Native Peoples at Risk
Faircloth, Susan C., & Tippeconnic, III, John W. (2010). The Dropout/Graduation Rate Crisis Among American Indian and Alaska Native Students: Failure to Respond Places the Future of Native Peoples at Risk. Los Angeles, CA: The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA; www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu.
This paper examines the graduation/dropout crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native students using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data from 2005 is drawn from the seven states with the highest percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students as well as five states in the Pacific and Northwestern regions of the United States. Findings indicate that the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who graduate continues to be a matter of urgent concern. On average, less than 50% of Native students in these twelve states graduate each year.
The Effect of Attending Full–Day Kindergarten on English Learner Students
Cannon, J.S., Jacknowitz, A., Painter, G. (2011). "The effect of attending full–day kindergarten on English learner students." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 30 (2): 287–309. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pam.20560/abstract.
A significant and growing English learner (EL) population attends public schools in the United States. Evidence suggests they are at a disadvantage when entering school and their achievement lags behind non–EL students. Some educators have promoted full–day kindergarten programs as especially helpful for EL students. We take advantage of the large EL population and variation in full–day kindergarten implementation in the Los Angeles Unified School District to examine the impact of full–day kindergarten on academic achievement, retention, and English language fluency using difference–in–differences models. We do not find signficant effects of full–day kindergarten on most academic outcomes and English fluency through second grade. However, we find that EL students attending full–day kindergarten were 5 percentage points less likely to be retained before second grade and there are differential effects for several outcomes by student and school characteristics.
The Effectiveness of a Program to Accelerate Vocabulary Development in Kindergarten
Goodson, B., Wolf, A., Bell, S., Turner, H., and Finney, P.B. (2010). The Effectiveness of a Program to Accelerate Vocabulary Development in Kindergarten (VOCAB). (NCEE 2010-4014). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
REL Southeast conducted a randomized control trial in the Mississippi Delta to test the impact of a kindergarten vocabulary instruction program on students' expressive vocabulary — the words students understand well enough to use in speaking. The study found that the 24-week K-PAVE program had a significant positive impact on students' vocabulary development and academic knowledge and on the vocabulary and comprehension support that teachers provided during book read-alouds and other instructional time.
The Effects of Computer-mediated Texts on the Vocabulary Learning and Comprehension of Intermediate Grade Readers
Reinking, D., & Rickman, S.S. (1990). The effects of computer-mediated texts on the vocabulary learning and comprehension of intermediate grade readers. Journal of Reading Behavior, 22, 395-411.
Investigates whether intermediate-grade readers' vocabulary learning and comprehension is affected by displaying texts on a computer screen that provides the meaning of difficult words. Concludes that the results support and help explain previous studies that found increases in comprehension when computer-mediated texts were used to expand or control readers' options for acquiring information.
The Efficacy of Electronic Books in Fostering Kindergarten Children's Emergent Story Understanding
De Jong, M., & Bus, A. (2004). The efficacy of electronic books in fostering kindergarten children's emergent story understanding. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 378-393.
Abstract:
A counterbalanced, within-subjects design was carried out to study the efficacy of electronic books in fostering kindergarten children's emergent story understanding. The study compared effects of children's independent reading of stories electronically with effects of printed books read aloud by adults. Participants were 18 four- to five-year-old Dutch kindergarten children in the initial stages of developing story comprehension but beyond just responding to pictures.
Electronic reading produced experiences and effects similar to adult-read printed books. Children frequently interacted with the animations often embedded in electronic stories, but there was no evidence that the animations distracted children from listening to the text presented by electronic books, nor that the animations interfered with story understanding. Findings suggested that children at this stage of development profited from electronic books at least when electronic books are read in a context where adults also read books to children.
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Final Report: The Impact of Supplemental Literacy Courses for Struggling Ninth Graders
Somers, M.-A., Corrin, W., Sepanik, S., Salinger T., Levin, J., and Zmach, C. (2010). The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Final Report: The Impact of Supplemental Literacy Courses for Struggling Ninth-Grade Readers (NCEE 2010-4022). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) demonstration evaluated two supplemental literacy programs — Reading Apprenticeship Academic Literacy (RAAL) and Xtreme Reading (XR)— targeted to ninth grade students whose reading skills were at least two years below grade level.
Over two years, about 6,000 eligible students in 34 high schools from 10 districts were randomly assigned to enroll in the year-long ERO class or remain in a regularly scheduled elective class (non-ERO group). At the end of 9th grade, both groups were assessed using a standardized, nationally normed reading test, and participated in surveys about their reading activities and behaviors. School records were used to examine the effect of the literacy programs on academic performance during the program year (9th grade) and a year afterwards.
The study found: 1) the ERO supplemental literacy programs improved students' reading comprehension skills during the 9th grade, corresponding to an improvement from the 23rd to the 25th percentile. However, 77% of students assigned to the ERO class were still reading 2 or more years behind grade level at the end of the 9th grade; 2) during the 9th grade, the ERO program also had a positive impact on students' academic performance in core subject areas, including their grades and credit accumulation. Students in the ERO group scored higher on their states' English/Language Arts and mathematics assessment than did those in the non-ERO group; and 3) the ERO program effects did not continue beyond the program year. While there were statistically significant and positive impacts on students' GPA, credit accumulation and state test scores in 9th grade, the impacts were not significant the following school year.
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Final Report: The Impact of Supplemental Literacy Courses for Struggling Ninth Graders
Somers, M.A., Corrin, W., Sepanik, S., Salinger T., Levin, J., and Zmach, C. (2010). The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Final Report: The Impact of Supplemental Literacy Courses for Struggling Ninth-Grade Readers Executive Summary (NCEE 2010-4022). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) demonstration evaluated two supplemental literacy programs — Reading Apprenticeship Academic Literacy (RAAL) and Xtreme Reading (XR) — targeted to ninth grade students whose reading skills were at least two years below grade level. Over two years, about 6,000 eligible students in 34 high schools from 10 districts were randomly assigned to enroll in the year-long ERO class or remain in a regularly scheduled elective class (non-ERO group). At the end of 9th grade, both groups were assessed using a standardized, nationally normed reading test, and participated in surveys about their reading activities and behaviors. School records were used to examine the effect of the literacy programs on academic performance during the program year (9th grade) and a year afterwards.
The study found:
- Taken together, the ERO supplemental literacy programs improved students' reading comprehension skills during the 9th grade, corresponding to an improvement from the 23rd to the 25th percentile. However, 77% of students assigned to the ERO class were still reading 2 or more years behind grade level at the end of the 9th grade.
- During the 9th grade, the ERO program also had a positive impact on students' academic performance in core subject areas, including their grades and credit accumulation. Students in the ERO group scored higher on their states' English/Language Arts and mathematics assessment than did those in the non-ERO group.
- The ERO program effects did not continue beyond the program year. While there were statistically significant and positive impacts on students' GPA, credit accumulation and state test scores in 9th grade, the impacts were not significant the following school year. When analyzed separately, the RAAL program significantly improved students' reading comprehension during the 9th grade year while the XR program did not have a statistically significant impact on reading comprehension. Impacts on other outcomes were similar for the two programs.
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: Early Impact and Implementation Findings
Kemple, J., Corrin, W., Nelson, E., Salinger, T., Herrmann, S., and Drummond, K. (2008). The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: Early Impact and Implementation Findings (NCEE 2008-4015). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
While much has been learned about literacy in the elementary grades, less is known about programmatic approaches that help struggling adolescent readers acquire the skills they need to succeed in high school. The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study tests the effectiveness of two supplemental literacy interventions targeted to ninth-grade readers with reading comprehension skills that are two to four years below grade level. The interventions studied are (1) Reading Apprenticeship for Academic Literacy from WestEd and (2) Xtreme Reading from the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning.
The Federal Role in Confronting the Crisis in Adolescent Literacy
Alliance for Excellent Education. (2010). The federal role in confronting the crisis in adolescent literacy. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Results from national reading assessments reveal that millions of young people leave high school without the advanced reading and writing skills required for career and college success. Young adults who lack reading and writing proficiency will likely be relegated to the ranks of unskilled workers in a world where literacy is an absolute precondition for success. The disastrous outcomes for portions of the student population by race, ethnicity, and income level reverberate through the nation’s educational system. Unless the nation makes a consistent investment toward delivering comprehensive reading and writing instruction throughout the pre-K–12 grade span, a large proportion of low-income students and students of color will remain sidelined from full participation in the modern workplace. While federal and state strategies have begun to focus on the adolescent literacy crisis, more than ever it is time to build upon these initial efforts. This policy brief describes the role that the federal government can play to advocate for a comprehensive, national, and schoolwide focus on K–12 literacy.
The Financial Aid Challenge: Successful Practices that Address the Underutilization of Financial Aid in Community Colleges
College Board Advocacy & Policy Center. (2010). The Financial Aid Challenge: Successful Practices that Address the Underutilization of Financial Aid in Community Colleges. New York, New York: College Board.
The report discusses successful strategies community colleges can use to: inform their students of financial aid options, assist in submitting applications, seek community aid, and ultimately increase the number of students applying for financial aid. It includes both short-term and long-term recommendations, and both overviews of techniques as well as specific examples.
The Forgotten Middle
ACT. (2008). The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that All Students Are on Target for College and Career Readiness. Iowa City, IA: Author.
This study from ACT suggests that preparation in upper elementary and middle school is the most important factor for college readiness. Eighth-grade academic achievement is a better predictor of college and career success than GPA or courses taken. Interventions at the high-school level come too late to help students catch up.
The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement
Garet, M., Stephanie Cronen, Marian Eaton, Anja Kurki, Meredith Ludwig, Wehmah Jones, Kazuaki Uekawa, Audrey Falk, Howard Bloom, Fred Doolittle, Pei Zhu, and Laura Sztejnberg. The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement (NCEE 2008-4030). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
The report describes the effectiveness of two specific professional development strategies in improving the knowledge and practice of 2nd grade teachers in high-poverty schools and the reading achievement of their students. Both the 8-day content-focused institutes series (treatment A) and the institute series plus in-school coaching (treatment B) produced positive impacts on teachers' knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction and on one of the three instructional practices promoted by the professional development. However, neither intervention resulted in significantly higher student test scores at the end of the one-year implementation period. The institute series plus in-school coaching did not produce a significantly greater impact on teacher practice than the institute series alone.
The Importance of Segregation, Discrimination, Peer Dynamics, and Identity in Explaining Trends in the Racial Achievement Gap
Fryer, R.G. (2010, August). The Importance of Segregation, Discrimination, Peer Dynamics, and Identity in Explaining Trends in the Racial Achievement Gap. National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved January 5, 2011 from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w16257
The report analyzes and investigates the reason for the achievement gap widening in the 1990's and in subsequent years. It seeks to understand how "economic models of segregation, information-based discrimination, peer dynamics, and identity" affect this gap and steps that can be undertaken to avoid it.
The Latino Education Crisis: Rescuing the American Dream
Gándara, P. (2010). The Latino Education Crisis: Rescuing the American Dream. WestEd. Retrieved from: http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/pp-10-02.pdf
Achievement gaps between Latinos and most other students are enormous and getting worse, in spite of progress for other minority groups. Such effects will be devastating given rising job market demands and increasing representation of Latinos in the workforce. Public policy and academic achievement relates to six key areas that need to be addressed: early and continuing cognitive enrichment, housing policies that promote integration and residential stability, integrated social services at school sites, recruiting and preparing extraordinary teachers, exploiting Latino linguistic advantage, and college preparation and support programs.
The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement
Miller, B. (2007). The Learning Season: The Untapped Power of Summer to Advance Student Achievement. Quincy, MA: Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
This report shows that summer enrichment opportunities have a much more profound impact than previously believed on the academic achievement of young people.
The Literacy Coach: A Key to Improving Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools
Sturvent, E.G. (2003). The Literacy Coach: A Key to Improving Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
A literacy coach is a master teacher who provides essential leadership for a school’s overall literacy program. This report, from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, examines the role of the literacy coach and demonstrates why more of these coaches are needed in secondary schools to provide leadership for school-wide reading efforts. Leadership areas for coaches include attending meetings and professional development sessions to bring information and ideas back to their school; providing guidance to content-area teachers in teaching literacy; provide expertise to reading teachers; developing and administrating quality assessment systems; and liaising with stakeholders (school administrators, teachers, policymakers, university experts, community members) to help them understand the school’s literacy program and brainstorm solutions to problems. The report provides program examples, and looks at some pathways for becoming a school-based literacy specialist.
The Living Arrangements of Children of Immigrants
Landale, N., Thomas, K., Van Hook, J. (2011). "Demography of Immigrant Youth: Past, Present, and Future." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=540.
Nancy Landale, Kevin Thomas, and Jennifer Van Hook explore the challenges facing immigrant families as they adapt to the United States, as well as their many strengths, most notably high levels of marriage and family commitment. The authors examine the human capital, legal status, and social resources of immigrant families and describe their varied living arrangements, focusing on children of Mexican, Southeast Asian, and black Caribbean origin. Though some problems may be off-set by living in a two-parent family, that stability erodes over time. Other risk factors for immigrant families include potential separation caused by migration, reduced access to public benefits due to unauthorized status. The authors conclude by discussing how U.S. immigration policies shape family circumstances and suggest ways to alter policies to strengthen immigrant families, most importantly by reducing poverty. The United States has no explicit immigrant integration policy or programs, so policy makers must direct more attention and resources toward immigrant settlement.
The Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty
Duncan, G, Magnuson, K, Boyce, T, & LaShonkoffst, J. (2010). The Long reach of early childhood poverty: pathways and impacts. Center on the Developing Child.
In this research brief, the authors review the evidence linking early childhood poverty to long-lasting negative outcomes and discusses strategies to mitigate the effects of poverty-induced stress on vulnerable families with young children. Emerging research in neuroscience and developmental psychology suggests that poverty early in a child's life may be particularly harmful because the astonishingly rapid development of young children's brains leaves them sensitive (and vulnerable) to environmental conditions.
The Long Term Economic Benefits of High Quality Early Childhood Intervention Programs
Diefendorf, M., & Goode, C. The long-term economic benefits of high quality early childhood intervention programs. NECTAC Clearinghouse on Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education. Chapel Hill, NC: NECTAC.
An extensive body of research indicates that high quality early intervention for at-risk infants, toddlers and young children and their families is a sound economic investment. Studies have found a number of long-term cost savings in terms of decreased grade repetition, reduced special education spending, enhanced productivity, lower welfare costs, increased tax revenues, and lower juvenile justice costs. This mini-bibliography provides a selection of articles, reports, and book chapters that review some of the major findings on this topic. Some of the included studies focus on services for young children with disabilities, although most address early intervention for children who are at risk for adverse developmental outcomes due to poverty and other environmental factors.
The Method of Repeated Readings
Samuels, S.J. (1979). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 32, 403-408.
Describes the method of repeated readings, discussing the procedure, comprehension, and theoretical rationale. Compares it with music and sports and notes how versions of this method were used in early schooling.
The Nation's Report Card: Grade 12 Reading
National Center for Education Statistics (2010). The Nation's Report Card: Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics 2009 National and Pilot State Results (NCES 2011-455). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC.
The average reading score for 12th graders overall was 2 points higher than in 2005, but 4 points lower than in 1992. Thirty-eight percent of students performed at or above Proficient in reading in 2009 — an increase of 3 percentage points from 2005, but not significantly different from assessment years prior to 2005. The percentage of students performing at or above Basic was not significantly different from the percentage in 2005, but it was lower than in 1992. There was no change in the percentage scoring at the Advanced level since 2005, although it increased by 1 percentage point from 1992.
The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2007
Lutkus, A., Grigg, W., and Donahue, P. (2007). The Nation's Reprot Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2007 (NCES 2008-455). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.
Based on longitudinal testing data from fourth and eighth grade NAEP exams, this report summarizes results from Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and other urban districts. The researchers compare proficiencies across districts, but also note lower profile results, such as districts showing a steadily rising percentage of students who have improved from below basic to basic proficiencies.
The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2007
U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.
This report presents the results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment, which was administered to a sampling of 8th and 12th graders in U.S. public and private schools. Average writing scores were higher in 2007 than in previous assessments in 2002 and 1998.
For 8th graders:
- The average writing score was 3 points higher than in 2002 and 6 points higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 85 percent in 2002 to 88 percent and was also higher than in 1998
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.
For 12th graders:
- The average writing score was 5 points higher than in 2002 and 3 points higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased from 74 percent in 2002 to 82 percent and was also higher than in 1998.
- The percentage of students performing at or above the Proficient level was higher than in 1998 but showed no significant change since 2002.
The Physical and Psychological Well–Being of Immigrant Children
Perreira, K.M., Ornelas, I.J. (2011) "The Physical and Psychological Well–Being of Immigrant Children." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=546.
Poor childhood health contributes to lower socioeconomic status in adulthood. Subsequently, low socioeconomic status among parents contributes to poor childhood health outcomes in the next generation. This cycle can be particularly pernicious for vulnerable and low–income minority populations, including many children of immigrants. And because of the rapid growth in the numbers of immigrant children, this cycle also has implications for the nation as a whole. By promoting the physical well–being and emotional health of children of immigrants, health professionals and policy makers can ultimately improve the long–term economic prospects of the next generation. Access to health care substantially influences the physical and emotional health status of immigrant children. Less likely to have health insurance and regular access to medical care services, immigrant parents delay or forgo needed care for their children. To better promote the health of children of immigrants, health researchers and reformers must improve their understanding of the unique experiences of immigrant children; increase access to medical care and the capacity of providers to work with multilingual and multicultural populations; and continue to improve the availability and affordability of health insurance for all Americans.
The Positive Effects of Literacy Collaborative on Teaching and Student Learning
Literacy Collaborative. (2009). The Positive Effects of Literacy Collaborative on Teaching and Student Learning. Cambridge, MA: Literacy Collaborative.
New results from a four-year longitudinal study of 17 schools in the East Coast suggests that in-school literacy coaches can help boost student reading skills by as much as 32 percent in three years. Teacher expertise increased substantially, and the more coaching a teacher received the stronger the growth. Additional benefits: communication among teachers increased and the literacy coordinators became more involved in the critical conversations.
The Proficiency Illusion
Cronin,J., Dahlin, M., Adkins, D., Kingsbury, G.G. (2007). The Proficiency Illusion. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
The federal No Child Left Behind law requires all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014, but each state determines its own measure and definition of "proficiency." This Thomas B. Fordham Foundation report examines the relative rigor of states’ tests and whether tests have been getting harder or easier to pass. The report found that "proficiency" varies wildly from state to state, and that only a handful of states peg proficiency expectations consistently across subjects and grades. In fact, the majority set the bar low in elementary school and much higher in middle school, which sets up thousands of middle and high school students for failure.
The Promise of Proficiency: How College Proficiency Information Can Help High Schools Drive Success
Schramm, J.B. & Zalesne, E.K. (2009). The promise of proficiency: how college proficiency information can help high schools drive success. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress.
While schools have spent decades learning to measure and manage toward graduation, they now need the data and measurement tools that will demonstrate their college proficiency rate—or how well their students are doing the year after high school. Without this information they must rely on anecdotes at best and guesswork at worst.
The Relation Between First- and Second-Language Skills: Evidence from Puerto Rican Elementary School Children in Bilingual Programs
Lanauze, M., & Snow, C.E. (1989). The relation between first- and second-language skills: Evidence from Puerto Rican elementary school children in bilingual programs. Linguistics and Education, 1, 323-340.
Writing skills of 38 fourth and fifth graders in a Spanish-English bilingual program were assessed using a picture description task administered in both Spanish and English. The children had been rated by their teachers as good or poor on the basis of oral, aural, and reading skills in both Spanish and English, producing three groups: children rated good in both languages (GG), children rated poor in both languages (PP), and children rated poor in English but good in Spanish (PG). Measures of complexity, sophistication, and semantic content of the children's writing showed significant group differences, with the GG and the PG groups scoring better than the PP group in Spanish, as would be expected, but also in English. The fact that the PG group wrote longer, syntactically more complex, and semantically more complete essays than the PP group in English as well as in Spanish suggests they were transferring academic and literacy skills from L1 to L2 before their L2 oral-aural skills had developed very far. The poor performance of the PP group in English could be a reflection of their lack of academic and literacy skills in their first language.
The Relationship Between English Proficiency and Content Knowledge for English Language Learner Students in Grades 10 and 11 in Utah
Crane, E.W., Barrat V. X., and Huang, M. (2011). The relationship between English proficiency and content knowledge for English language learner students in grades 10 and 11 in Utah. (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2001-No. 110). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West.
The study examines data from Utah tests given to 10th and 11th graders on language proficiency as well as content knowledge for both math and language arts.
The Rising Price of Inequality: How Inadequate Grant Aid Limits College Access and Persistence
“The Rising Price of Inequality: How Inadequate Grant Aid Limits College Access and Persistence”. (2010). Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Retrieved August 3, 2010 from: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015.pdf
The Advisory Committee on Student Finance is required to report and monitor the condition of college access for low and moderate income families to Congress. A part of this report is the adequacy of grant aids for those students and their effectiveness.
The Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners (ELLs)
NCTE ELL Task Force. (2006). NCTE Position Paper on the Role of English Teachers in Educating English Language Learners. National Council of Teachers of English: Urbana, IL.
This position paper is designed to address the knowledge and skills mainstream teachers need to have in order to develop effective curricula that engage English language learners, develop their academic skills, and help them negotiate their identities as bilingual learners. More specifically, this paper addresses the language and literacy needs of these learners as they participate and learn in English-medium classes. NCTE has made clear bilingual students' right to maintain their native languages. Thus, this paper addresses ways teachers can help these students develop English as well as ways they can support their students' bilingualism. In the United States bilingual learners, more commonly referred to as English language learners, are defined as students who know a language other than English and are learning English. Students' abilities range from being non-English speakers to being fully proficient. The recommendations in this paper apply to all of them.
The Role of Schools in the English Language Learner Achievement Gap
Richard Fry. The Role of Schools in the English Language Learner Achievement Gap. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center, June 2008. Retrieved from: http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/89.pdf
English language learners tend to be concentrated together in schools with low student achievement and low standardized test scores, comprising a large proportion of the student body. "The Role of Schools in the English Language Learner Achievement Gap," a new report by Rick Fry of the Pew Hispanic Center, describes the characteristics of these schools and discusses their ultimate impact on English language learners' academic achievement.
The Social Competence of Latino Kindergartners and Growth in Mathematical Understanding
Galindo, C., Fuller B. (2010). The Social Competence of Latino Kindergartners and Growth in Mathematical Understanding. American Psychological Association. Retrieved January 14, 2011 from: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-46-3-579.pdf
This report illustrates a study conducted by the authors in order to determine if a relationship exists between the social competence of Latino kindergarteners and growth in mathematical understanding. There have already been studies showing that social competence is a guide for cognitive learning within the classroom but there have been few studies on Latino competency.
The State of Learning Disabilities
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) (2009). The State of Learning Disabilities. New York: NCLD
This report summarizes the latest facts, figures, and information about individuals with learning disabilities in the U.S. The report details legal protections for people with LD, the RTI multi-tier approach to early identification and support, LD beyond school, and much more.
The Teacher's Guide to Diversity: Building a Knowledge Base
Trumbull, E., Pacheco, M. (2005). The Teacher’s Guide to Diversity: Building a Knowledge Base. Providence, RI: The Education Alliance at Brown University. Retrieved from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/teach_guide_diversity/.
The Teacher's Guide to Diversity: Building a Knowledge Base (Trumbull, Pacheco, 2005), published by The Education Alliance at Brown University, offers a wealth of information about multicultural influences on human development, culture, cognition, and language. This two-volume set, which is downloadable as a pdf file, covers such topics as: challenging cultural assumptions about parental involvement in school, supporting students' ethnic and academic identity in school, cultural differences in communication style and language use, and factors that influence second-language acquisition in children. (Volume I: Human Development, Culture, and Cognition; Volume II: Language) Also included is a separate presenter's manual with activities for each unit in the two volumes, which makes this publication easy to use for workshops and professional development.
The Validity and Reliability of Phonemic Awareness Tests
Yopp, H.K. (1988). The validity and reliability of phonemic awareness tests. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 253-266.
Investigates the reliability and validity of tests that have been used to operationalize the concept of phonemic awareness. Indicates that a combination of two tests, one related to each factor, has greater predictive validity for the beginning steps in reading acquisition than does one test alone.
Time Well Spent: Eight Powerful Practices of Successful, Expanded-Time Schools
Kaplan, Claire, and Roy Chan. Time Well Spent: Eight Powerful Practices of Successful, Expanded-Time Schools. Rep. Boston: National Center on Time & Learning, 2011.
This report reshapes the field for expanded-time schools by outlining specific practices that can lead to dramatic increases in student achievement and preparation for success in college and the workforce.Time Well Spentoffers an in-depth examination of 30 expanded-time schools serving high-poverty populations with impressive track records of student success, and demonstrates how these schools leverage their additional time in order to implement other critical reforms.
Timing and Intensity of Tutoring: A Closer Look at the Conditions for Effective Early Literacy Tutoring
Vadasy, P., Sanders, E., Jenkins, J. & Peyton, J. (2002). Timing and intensity of tutoring: A closer look at the conditions for effective early literacy tutoring. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17, 227-241.
Abstract:
In this article we report data from a longitudinal study of one-to-one tutoring for students at risk for reading disabilities. Participants were at-risk students who received phonics-based tutoring in first grade, students who were tutored in comprehension skills in second grade, and students tutored in both grades 1 and 2. At second-grade posttest, there were significant differences in word identification and word attack between students who were tutored in first grade only compared to students who were also tutored in second grade, favoring students who were tutored in first grade only.
Overall, there were no advantages to a second year of tutoring. For students tutored in second grade only, there were no differences at second-grade posttest compared to controls. Schools may have selected students who did not respond to first-grade tutoring for continued tutoring in second grade. Findings are discussed in light of decisions schools make when using tutors to supplement reading instruction for students with reading difficulties.
To Read or Not To Read
National Endowment for the Arts. (2007). To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence. Washington, DC: Author.
The National Endowment for the Arts assembled data on reading trends from more than 40 sources— federal agencies, universities, foundations, associations— to present an overview of American reading. Among the negative trends revealed: Americans are reading less and less well, and the progress in reading ability made at the elementary school level disappears when children become teens.
Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce
National Center on Education and the Economy. (2007). Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. Jossey-Bass: Hoboken, NJ.
America's approach to education has lagged behind as industry and technology has continued to advance. To truly prepare student's for the 21st century workforce, and to remain competitive in the global economy, the National Center on Education and the Economy has ten policy recommendations for America's schools.
Toward a Model of Discourse Comprehension and Production
Kintsch, W., & van Dijk, T.A. (1978). Toward a model of discourse comprehension and production. Psychological Review, 83, 363-394.
Argues that the semantic structure of texts can be described both at the local microlevel and at a more global macrolevel. A model for text comprehension based on this notion accounts for the formation of a coherent semantic text base in terms of a cyclical process constrained by limitations of working memory. Furthermore, the model includes macro-operators, whose purpose is to reduce the information in a text base to its gistthe theoretical macrostructure. These operations are under the control of a schema, which is a theoretical formulation of the comprehender's goals. The macroprocesses are predictable only when the control schema can be made explicit. On the production side, the model is concerned with the generation of recall and summarization protocols. This process is partly reproductive and partly constructive, involving the inverse operation of the macro-operators. The model is applied to a paragraph from a psychological research report, and methods for the empirical testing of the model are developed.
Toward a Theory of Automatic Information Process in Reading
LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S.J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information process in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293-323.
Abstract:
A model of information processing in reading is described in which visual information is transformed through a series of processing stages involving visual, phonological and episodic memory systems until it is finally comprehended in the semantic system. The processing which occurs at each stage is assumed to be learned and the degree of this learning is evaluated with respect to two criteria: accuracy and automaticity. At the accuracy level of performance, attention is assumed to be necessary for processing; at the automatic level it is not. Experimental procedures are described which attempt to measure the degree of automaticity achieved in perceptual and associative learning tasks. Factors which may influence the development of automaticity in reading are discussed.
Tracking an Emerging Movement: A Report on Expanded-Time Schools in America
Farbman, D.A. (2009). Tracking an Emerging Movement: A Report on Expanded-Time Schools in America. Boston, MA: National Center on Time and Learning.
The National Center on Time & Learning has released a report documenting the state of expanded-time schools in America. The report draws from their new national database of schools that have broken from the conventional school calendar in order to improve educational outcomes.
Training Phonological Awareness With and Without Attention to Articulation
Wise, B.W., Ring, J., & Olson, R.K. (1999). Training phonological awareness with and without attention to articulation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 72, 271-304.
Abstract:
One hundred twenty-two second- to fifth-grade (7- to 11-year-old) children with reading difficulties studied phonological awareness with or without explicit attention to articulation and with or without manipulation of sounds. They all studied identical phonics and read stories on the computer with speech and decoding support for difficult words. Regular-instruction controls received regularly scheduled language-arts or reading activities.
After 40 h of training, children in all three trained conditions outperformed controls on all tests except math. Conditions that manipulated sounds showed advantages over the condition without explicit practice manipulating sounds, but only on the two measures of phonological awareness. Articulatory awareness training yielded no unique benefits during this training period. Individual differences in response to treatment related to initial levels of phonological awareness, naming speed, IQ, and grade. The similar outcomes of the three conditions suggest that specific variations in good phonological training may be less important than once thought for most children with reading difficulties.
Trajectories of the Home Learning Environment Across the First 5 Years: Associations With Children's Vocabulary and Literacy Skills at Prekindergarten
Rodriguez, Eileen; Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S. (2011) Trajectories of the Home Learning Environment Across the First 5 Years: Associations With Children's Vocabulary and Literacy Skills at Prekindergarten. Child Development 82(4).
A study that looked at the home environments of more than 1,850 children from households at or below the federal poverty line showed that factors such as levels of shared reading, exposure to frequent and varied adult speech, and access to children's books had an impact on school readiness skills. "As a parent, it is never too early to engage your child in learning," said Amber Story, a social psychologist and deputy director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, which funded the study. "This research suggests that the degree to which parents read and talk to their infant; point and label objects in the environment; and provide engaging books and toys when their child is only 15 months old can have long-lasting effects on the infant's language skills years later."
Transforming Family Engagement in an Era of Data Driven Reform
Weiss, H.B., Lopez, M.E., & Stark, D.R. (2011) Breaking new ground: Data systems transform family engagement in education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.
A new policy brief from the Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA highlights ways that data can be used to engage families and improve parentteacher communication. The brief describes three key elements of a data system (access, understanding, and action) and cites six case studies demonstrating how early childhood programs and school districts are using data systems to improve family engagement. One example: a pre-K program in Colorado that uses children's drawings as data, allowing early childhood teachers and parents to track a childs developmental progress.
Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2008
Chapman, C., Laird, J., and KewalRamani, A. (2010). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2008 (NCES 2011-012). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC. Retrieved [date] from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
This report discusses the various rates used to study how students complete or fail to complete high school and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates from 1972 to 2008, along with more recent estimates of on-time graduation from public high schools. Among the findings in the report was that in October 2008, roughly 3 million civilian noninstitutionalized 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential. These dropouts represented 8% of the 38 million non-institutionalized individuals in this age group in the U.S.
Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions, Expectations, and Recommendations
Zarate, Maria Estela. (2007). Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions, Expectations, and Recommendations. Los Angeles, California. The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute. University of Southern California.
Maria Estela Zarate provides a unique look at Latino parents' involvement in their children's education from the distinct perspectives of parents, educators, and children. Of particular interest is Zarate's discussion of Latino parents' broader interpretation of "educación," to include such areas as encouraging the child in his/her aspirations, teaching morals and respect for others, and providing advice on life issues.
Urgent but Overlooked: The Literacy Crisis Among Adolescent English Language Learners
(February 2007). Urgent but overlooked: The literacy crisis among adolescent English Language Learners. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from Alliance For Excellent Education Web site: http://www.all4ed.org/files/UrgentOver.pdf
ELL students represent the fastest growing segment of the student population and yet with respect to reading and literacy rates, they are among the country's lowest performing students. This article looks at the crisis of low literacy rates among ELL students, what research is currently being done, the findings of that research, and key policy questions needing to be addressed by policymakers. The report also includes a brief look into the types of support needed in order to provide ELL students with effective literacy instruction.
Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision
Hamilton, L., Halverson, R., Jackson, S., Mandinach, E., Supovitz, J., & Wayman, J. (2009). Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making (NCEE 2009-4067). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/.
This guide offers five recommendations to help educators effectively use data to monitor students' academic progress and evaluate instructional practices. The guide recommends that schools set a clear vision for schoolwide data use, develop a data-driven culture, and make data part of an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement. The guide also recommends teaching students how to use their own data to set learning goals.
Video Game Report Card
Walsh, D. and Gentile, D. (2008). The MediaWise® 13th Annual Video Game Report Card. Minneapolis, MN: National Institute on Media and the Family, www.mediawise.org.
Conducted by the National Institute on Media and the Family, the Video Game Report Card aims to provide a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry as it relates to children and teens. This twelfth annual report finds: kids know more about the ESRB ratings than their parents; few parents play the games their kids play; more parents understand TV ratings than video game ratings; and retailers and game makers are complacent, at best, about using and enforcing ratings. It also has a list of recommended games, and games to avoid.
Vietnamese American Experiences of English Language Learning: Ethnic Acceptance and Prejudice
LaBelle, J. (2007.) Vietnamese American Experiences of English Language Learning. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement. Retrieved from: http://jsaaea.coehd.utsa.edu/index.php/JSAAEA/article/view/4
This article investigates the effects of ethnic acceptance and prejudice on English language learning among immigrant nonnative speakers. During 2004 and 2005, the author conducted participatory dialogues among six Vietnamese and Mexican adult immigrant English language learners. Even though many of the adult immigrant participants experienced ethnic prejudice, they also developed strategies to overcome anxiety, frustration, and fear. The dialogues generated themes of acceptance, prejudice, power, motivation, belonging, and perseverance, all factors essential to consider when developing English language learning programs for adult immigrants.
Vocabulary: The Key to Teaching English Language Learners to Read
Wallace, C. (2007) "Vocabulary: the key to teaching English language learners to read". Reading Improvement. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6516/is_4_44/ai_n29414045/.
In this article, Christopher Wallace reviews current research on vocabulary instruction for ELLs. The article gives evidence for the importance of strong vocabulary skills in learning to read in a second language and includes recommendations for putting research into practice in the mainstream classroom.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
American Federation of Teachers. (2004). Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt. American Educator: Washington, D.C.
Until about a decade ago, the idea of a child being a "late bloomer" was accepted among researchers and educators as a valid reason for a child learning at a slower pace than peers. It was thought that these children would eventually bloom in their reading, but that they would just do it a bit later than their peers. Known as the "developmental lag theory," it justified the common practice of delaying the diagnosis of reading problems until they were quite severe. But more recently, long after many teachers ended their formal education training, researchers have been able to put the developmental lag theory to rest. Rather than a lag, early reading weakness is now defined as a skill deficit.
Ways With Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms
Heath, S.B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge University Press.
From Amazon.com:
"Ways with Words is a classic study of children learning to use language at home and at school in two communities only a few miles apart in the south-eastern United States. 'Roadville' is a white working-class community of families steeped for generations in the life of textile mills; 'Trackton' is a black working-class community whose older generations grew up farming the land but whose current members work in the mills. In tracing the children's language development the author shows the deep cultural differences between the two communities, whose ways with words differ as strikingly from each other as either does from the pattern of the townspeople, the 'mainstream' blacks and whites who hold power in the schools and workplaces of the region. Employing the combined skills of ethnographer, social historian, and teacher, the author raises fundamental questions about the nature of language development, the effects of literacy on oral language habits, and the sources of communication problems in schools and workplaces."
What Classroom Observations Reveal About Reading Comprehension Instruction
Durkin, D. (1978-1979). What classroom observations reveal about reading comprehension instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 14, 481-533.
Abstract:
Examines through classroom observations of reading and social studies whether elementary schools provide comprehension instruction. Social studies was included on the assumption that comprehension instruction is required by the difficulty of social studies textbooks. Grades 3 through 6 were selected for the observations on the assumption that more comprehension instruction exists there than in grades 1 and 2.
Major findings included the fact that almost no comprehension instruction was found. The attention that did go to comprehension focused on assessment, which was carried on through teacher questions. Instruction other than that for comprehension was also rare. It could not be concluded, therefore, that teachers neglect comprehension because they are busy teaching phonics, structural analysis, or word meanings. What they do attend to are written assignments. As a result, time spent on giving, completing, and checking assignments consumed a large part of the observed periods. Sizeable amounts of time also went to activities categorized as "Transition" and "Non-instruction."
Other findings indicated that none of the observed teachers view social studies as a time to help with reading comprehension. Rather, they see their responsibility as covering content and having children master facts.
What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy
The National Institute for Literacy. (2007). What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. Washington, DC: The National Institute for Literacy, The National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Vocational and Adult Education.
The goal of this report is so help address middle and high school educators' need for basic information on how to build adolescents' reading and writing skills. The report is divided into two main sections: the first describes the components of reading proficiency, in order to help teachers better understand why poor readers struggle; the second section introduces four additional areas critical to the attainment of reading proficiency (assessment, writing, motivation, and the needs of diverse learners).
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
Irujo, S. (2007). What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners? Haverhill, MA: The ELL Outlook.
In this article, Suzanne Irujo discusses the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth in the context of her own experience as an ELL teacher. Irujo organizes her discussion around the five essential components of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) and offers specific recommendations for enhancing ELL reading instruction in each of those areas.
What Education Schools Aren't Teaching About Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning
Walsh, K., Glaser, D., and Dunne Wilcox, D. (2006). What Education Schools Aren't Teaching About Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning. National Council on Teacher Quality: Washington DC.
When some children are learning to read, they catch on so quickly that it appears effortless. It does not seem to matter what reading curriculum or teachers they encounter, for they arrive at school already possessing the important foundational skills. For other children, though, the path to literacy is far more difficult and by no means assured. It matters very much what curriculum their schools use and who their first teachers are.
What Johnny Likes to Read is Hard to Find in School
Worthy, J., Moorman, M., & Turner, M. (1999). What Johnny likes to read is hard to find in school. Reading Research Quarterly, 34 (1), 12-27.
Abstract:
This study examines the lives of 123 African Americans born in poverty and at high risk of failing in school. From 1962-1967, at ages 3 and 4, the subjects were randomly divided into a program group who received a high-quality preschool program based on High/Scope's participatory learning approach and a comparison group who received no preschool program. In the study's most recent phase, 97% of the study participants still living were interviewed at age 40. Additional data were gathered from the subjects' school, social services, and arrest records. The study found that adults at age 40 who had the preschool program had higher earnings, were more likely to hold a job, had committed fewer crimes, and were more likely to have graduated from high school than adults who did not have preschool. Additional findings are detailed in the project's final report.
What Makes Literacy Tutoring Effective?
Juel, C. (1996). What makes literacy tutoring effective? Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 268-289.
In 1991, researchers Connie Juel reported that university student-athletes who were poor readers seemed to be effective tutors of first-grade children who were poor readers. This 1996 study explores factors that may account for successful tutoring outcomes when poor readers tutor other poor readers. Two activities were found to be particularly important in successful tutor-student relationship: (a) the use of texts that gradually and repetitively introduced both high-frequency vocabulary and words with common spelling patterns and (b) activities in which children were engaged in direct letter-sound instruction. Two forms of verbal interaction were found to be particularly important: (a) scaffolding of reading and writing and (b) modeling of how to read and spell unknown words.
What Works for the Children? What We Know and Don't Know About Bilingual Education
Ma, J. (2002, September). What works for the children? What we know and don't know about bilingual education. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project Harvard University.
This report from the Civil Rights Project and Jacinta Ma summarizes major research on trends in ELL education including how long it takes for ELL students to learn English; the best types of language support programs; results of Proposition 227 in California; the legality of one-year language programs; and how ELL students are assessed.
What's in a name? Children's Name Writing and Literacy Acquisition
Bloodgood, J. (1999). What's in a name? Children's name writing and literacy acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 342-367.
Abstract:
Literacy development among a group of preschool and kindergarten children was examined through changes in the form, function, and perception of their written names. Sixty-seven 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, their teachers, instructional aides, and six case-study parents participated in a yearlong qualitative and quantitative study. Literacy skills were assessed in the fall and spring; instructional methods, classroom interactions, and student writing efforts were observed. Preschool and kindergarten teachers and instructional aides as well as the parents of six case-study children responded to interviews and participated in informal discussions of children's early literacy growth.
Analysis of assessments and writing samples indicates a substantial role for name in early literacy. Name recognition correlates with age (.86) for 3-year-olds, while name production correlates with alphabet knowledge (.55 to .77), word recognition (.49 to .62), and concept of word (.39 to .66) for 4- and 5-year-olds. Name letters represent approximately 40 percent of children's random-letter written characters. Reciprocal relationships among the children's literacy skills were evident. Automaticity in name writing paralleled control of the alphabet, recognition of several sight words, and emerging tracking ability. Name has the instructional potential to help children connect literacy strands in a meaningful way.
What's in a Word? On the Child's Acquisition of Semantics in His First Language
Clark, E. V. (1973). What's in a word? On the child's acquisition of semantics in his first language. In T. E. Moore (Ed.), Cognitive development and the acquisition of language (pp. 65-110). New York: Academic Press.
When Girls Don't Graduate We All Fail
National Women's Law Center. (2007). When Girls Don't Graduate We All Fail: A call to improve high school graduation rates for girls. Retrieved from http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/dropoutreport.pdf.
When girls drop out of high school, their earnings drop dramatically lower than those of women who have diplomas, or even of male drop outs. Also they are more likely to need government services, such as medical care. Who are these girls, why are they leaving high school, and what can be done to support them through finishing their education?
Who's Hispanic?
Passel, Jeffrey and Paul Taylor. (2009). Who's Hispanic? Washington, D.C. Pew Hispanic Center.
This article explores the Congressional definitions of "who's Hispanic," explaining why Sonia Sotomayor will be considered the first Hispanic Justice on the Supreme Court. The article also highlights the importance of understanding these definitions within the context of the U.S. Census.
Who's Left Behind? Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools
Cosentino de Cohen, C., Deterding, N., Chu Clewell, B. (2005). Who's Left Behind?: Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools. Program for Evaluation and Equity Research, Urban Institute: Washington, D.C.
Are elementary schools prepared to educate English language learners in the manner required by the No Child Left Behind Act? A study by The Urban Institute found that limited English proficient (LEP) students are now highly concentrated: "nearly 70 percent of the nation's LEP students are enrolled in 10 percent of its schools." These "High-LEP" schools tend to be found in urban areas and often face challenges regarding students' socio-economic status and teacher certification. Nevertheless, these schools tend to offer stronger LEP-focused services for students and teachers than the "Low-LEP" schools where the remaining 30% of students are enrolled nationwide.
Why Johnny Can't Read: And What You Can Do About It
Flesch, R. (reprint, 1986). Why Johnny Can't Read: And What You Can Do About It. New York: Perennial Currents.
From Amazon.com:
The classic book on phonics – the method of teaching recommended by the U.S. Department of Education. Contains complete materials and instructions on teaching children to read at home.
Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational Inequality
Orfield, G. and Lee, C. (2005, January). Why segregation matters: Poverty and educational inequality. Cambridge, MA: Civil Rights Project Harvard University.
The report focuses on segregation and the increased segregation in schools by socio-economic status. With an emphasis on multiracial discrimination, poverty, and segregation, the authors present a variety of ELL demographic data by region related to poverty. In addition, the authors show how rapidly changing demographic changes challenge more typical notions of segregation.
Windows on Achievement and Inequality
Barton, P.E.,and Coley, R.J.,(2008). Windows on Achievement and Inequality.Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
This report explores achievement gap-data—from early language acquisition differences to trends in "the Nation's Report Card" data on math and reading proficiency to international rankings of achievement—and identifies some 14 factors that correlate with performance disparities.
Writer's Workshop, Graphic Organizers, and Six-Trait Assessment: A Winning Writing Strategy Combo
James, L., Abbott, M., & Greenwood, C. R. (2001). Writer's workshop, graphic organizers, and six-trait assessment: A winning writing strategy combo. Teaching Exceptional Children, 33 (3), 30-37.
Adam is a 9-year-old fourthgrade boy from a low-income, two-parent home who receives special education services in the areas of speech/language and learning disabilities. He is withdrawn and quiet, typically speaking only when asked a question. Adam had little confidence in his overall academic ability and was leery of writing. At the beginning of his fourth-grade year, Adam scored at first grade, fifth month on the Individual Reading Inventory (Aoki et al., 1997); and his writing pretest was only five words long. During the writing workshop described in this article, Adam made substantial gains in all areas of the writing assessment. His posttest writing contained 54 words and showed marked improvement in content and form. His learning was no longer stagnant, but progressive and enthusiastic. In addition, the teacher and other staff members noticed a change in Adams demeanor. He initiated conversations; took a more active role in the larger classroom setting; and, for the first time, even made jokes. Adam continued to prosper academically and socially the following year. The writing workshop and its combination of strategies seemed to be the most beneficial of a number of alternatives the teachers had tried to facilitate Adams academic and social growth.
Writing Next
Graham, S. and Perin, D. (2007). Writing Next. New York: Carnegie Corporation.
Writing well is not just an option for young people — it is a necessity. Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy. Yet every year in the United States large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at the basic levels required by colleges or employers. In addition, every school day, 7,000 young people drop out of high school, many of them because they lack the basic literacy skills to meet the growing demands of the high school curriculum. Because the definition of literacy includes both reading and writing skills, poor writing proficiency should be recognized as an intrinsic part of this national literacy crisis. This report offers a number of specific teaching techniques that research suggests will help 4th- to 12th-grade students in our nation's schools.
Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading
Graham, S., and Hebert, M.A. (2010). Writing to read: Evidence for how writing can improve reading. A Carnegie Corporation Time to Act Report. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Writing to Read is a new Carnegie Corporation report published by the Alliance for Excellent Education which finds that while reading and writing are closely connected, writing is an often-overlooked tool for improving reading skills and content learning. Writing to Read identifies three core instructional practices that have been shown to be effective in improving student reading: having students write about the content-area texts they have read; teaching students the writing skills and processes that go into creating text; and increasing the amount of writing students do.
Writing, Technology and Teens
Lenhart, A., Arafeh, S., Smith, A.,and Macgill, A.R.,(2008). Writing, Technology and Teens. Washington, DC: The Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project and National Commission on Writing surveyed teens and their parents about teens' definitions of writing, the influence of e-communication—email, text messaging, etc.— on traditional writing skills; the types and frequency of writing assignments students receive; and ways that writing instruction could be improved.
