ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Opportunity to Learn: A Key Access and Validity Issue of Academic Assessments for Students with Disabilities. Research Brief 2
Author: Kurz, Alexander
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Opportunities,Disabilities,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gains,Measurement,Educational Research,Students

An underlying assumption in our current test-based accountability system is that all participating students have an opportunity to learn the tested academic content. For students with disabilities (SWDs), this assumption is stated clearly in federal legislation intended to ensure their access to the same academic standards that define the general curriculum of students without disabilities (SWODs). To date, few research studies have systemically examined this assumption. Operationalizing the concept of opportunity-to-learn (OTL) and assessing OTL via measures that can account for teachers' instructional provisions to the overall class and individual students have been a major obstacle to systematic inquiries into OTL. One NCAASE study was designed to (a) describe OTL for students with and without disabilities and (b) examine the relationship between OTL and students' end-of-year achievement and within-year growth. This research brief provides an overview of the construct of OTL and how it is being measured in the NCAASE study on OTL and student growth.
New Findings on the Retention of Novice Teachers from Teaching Residency Programs. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2015-4015
Author: Silva, Tim
Date: 2015-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Beginning Teachers,Novices,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Education Programs,Field Experience Programs,Cohort Analysis,School Districts,Comparative Analysis,Faculty Mobility,Low Income Students,Academic Achievement,Minority Group Students,Regression (Statistics),Institutional Characteristics

This brief updates earlier study findings (Silva et al., 2014) regarding the extent to which teachers trained through teaching residency programs (TRPs) funded through the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Quality Partnership grants program are retained in their districts and schools. TRPs prepare new teachers primarily through a year-long residency in a high-need school and integrated coursework leading to a master's degree. This brief examines two cohorts of novice TRP teachers--those who were in their first year of teaching and those who were in their second year of teaching during the 2011-2012 school year. It looks at the rates at which the TRP teachers were retained in the same district or the same school as of fall 2013. To provide contextual information, the study also includes a representative sample of teachers who were in their first or second year of teaching during the 2011-2012 school year and were trained through other (non-TRP) programs. The retention analyses focus on teachers from six districts served by 12 TRPs. Key findings from the study include: (1) TRP teachers were more likely to remain teaching in the same district than non-TRP teachers with similar teaching placements; (2) School-retention rates were similar between the two groups of teachers; and (3) TRP teachers who moved to different schools in the same district tended to join ones where a similar proportion of students were from low-income families, a lower percentage were black, and achievement was higher. The appendix presents information on the following: (1) characteristics of programs in and out of the sample used for the retention analyses; (2) how ineligible teachers were excluded from the study; (3) the analytic approach to estimating retention rates; and (4) the results of a sensitivity analysis concerning the estimate of teacher retention rates.
Build Bridge Believe: Houston Independent School District 2012-2013 Annual Report
Author: Houston Independent School District, TX.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Districts,Annual Reports,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Finance,School Community Relationship,School Construction,Educational Facilities Improvement,Technology Integration,Teacher Effectiveness,Educational Quality,Family School Relationship,Parent Teacher Conferences,Kindergarten,Relevance (Education),Advanced Placement Programs,Achievement Gap,School Choice,College Preparation,College Readiness,Career Readiness,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Federal Programs,Federal Aid,Magnet Schools,Grants,Low Income Students,Academic Achievement,Bond Issues

This report provides standard facts and figures about the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) finances, student populations, achievements, and more. HISD has humanized that data, as well, with vignettes and profiles that typify the remarkable programs and individuals in the district. One of the three drivers to achieve the vision of Becoming #GreatAllOver is &quot;engaged stakeholders.&quot; In trying to come up with a theme for the annual report, HISD found that many of the initiatives embrace three themes: Building is a major component of the daily work--whether it's the actual construction of schools and other facilities to 21st century standards under the 2007 and 2012 bond programs or the more metaphorical challenges of establishing and maintaining relationships. HISD is constantly striving to bridge gaps in technology, socioeconomic backgrounds, language, and culture in order to provide a uniformly high quality education for all HISD students. The hope is that this will result in opportunities for higher education and successful careers in the future. And belief encompasses both the outside world's validation of HISD's efforts and that spirit that drives the mission of Becoming #GreatAllOver--the firm conviction that, with proper support and guidance, every HISD student has vast potential in the classrooms and in the world that awaits them.
Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Portrayals of the Special Education Mathematics Achievement Gap. Research Brief 10
Author: Schulte, Ann C.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Special Education,Mathematics Achievement,Achievement Gap,Mathematics Tests,Disabilities,Identification,Longitudinal Studies,Case Studies,Elementary Secondary Education

We contrasted portrayals of the achievement gap on the North Carolina state mathematics assessment for students with disabilities (SWD) using two different ways of identifying this group of students. The first method used students' disability status in third grade as the basis for identifying SWD, and then tracked the achievement gap between SWD and students without disabilities (SWoD) across grades. With our second method, we allowed student disability status to change at each grade, so that only students who were receiving special education services in a particular year were considered members of the SWD subgroup for that year.
Constructing Alternate Assessment Cohorts: An Oregon Perspective. Research Brief 3
Author: Saven, Jessica L.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Alternative Assessment,Academic Achievement,Intellectual Disability,Growth Models,Academic Standards,Educational Indicators,Federal Programs,Grouping (Instructional Purposes),Equated Scores,Accuracy,Elementary Secondary Education

Longitudinally modeling the growth of students with significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCDs) on alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) presents many challenges for states. The number of students in Grades 3-8 who remain in a cohort group varies over time, depending on the methods used to construct the longitudinal cohorts. The accuracy of inferences made about student growth from such longitudinal models is further complicated when general assessments are not equated with AA-AAS which is usually the case. Measuring the growth of students switching test types is thus problematic. States must determine their priorities: measuring the growth of only AA-AAS scores that count towards making Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) or providing a more detailed look at the growth of SWSCDs over time.
Measuring Math Growth: Implications for Progress Monitoring. Research Brief 5
Author: Alonzo, Julie
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Achievement Gains,Mathematics Achievement,Progress Monitoring,Response to Intervention,Grade 4,Elementary School Students,Mathematics Tests

Achievement growth in math is often framed in the context of monitoring student progress within a Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to teaching and learning. In this research brief we report on a study that examined initial status and within-year growth for fourth grade students who received short progress-monitoring assessments in math during the 2011-2012 school year. Our results suggested that while growth in math was statistically observable and linear, given the amount of growth relative to the 16-point scale of the progress-monitoring probes used, it might have limited utility to teachers operating within an RTI framework. Additional research on within-year growth in math is suggested, especially as it relates to the influence of assessment design and instructional practices on such growth.
Learning to Read: Kindergarten Readiness Growth in Reading Skills. Research Brief 4
Author: Irvin, P. Shawn
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Skills,Reading Readiness,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Emergent Literacy,Young Children,Elementary School Students,Curriculum Based Assessment,Factor Analysis,Hierarchical Linear Modeling,Student Behavior,Behavior Rating Scales

Much of the research on curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in reading has focused on oral reading fluency (ORF). However, ORF is only one of five critical reading skill areas in the wider construct of reading that includes foundational skills such as phonological awareness and phonics. In this research brief, we address the construct of readiness in learning to read entering Kindergarten, and then redirect the findings to the results from learning to read over both Kindergarten and Grade 1. Our results suggest that &quot;readiness&quot; may be defined more by social-behavioral indicators than by more strictly academic skills, and that while students enter Kindergarten with low levels of early literacy performance, on average, they appear to learn at dramatic rates.
Growth Models for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities. Research Brief 1
Author: Farley, Dan
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Alternative Assessment,Academic Standards,Intellectual Disability,Accountability,Growth Models,Grade 3,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8

Alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) are designed to measure the academic achievement of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCDs). AA-AAS present unique measurement challenges because of the inherent need for individualization in item presentation and response, combined with expectations for rigorous levels of standardization. Additional measurement challenges are presented as states move toward implementation of growth models for accountability. This brief addresses some decisions that states face as growth models with AA-AAS are implemented.
Mathematics Achievement Gaps for Elementary and Secondary Students: The Influence of Opportunity to Learn and Special Education Status. Research Brief 14
Author: Elliott, Stephen N.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Mathematics Achievement,Achievement Gap,Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Special Education,Educational Opportunities,Disabilities,Formative Evaluation,Summative Evaluation,Student Evaluation,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Tests,Regression (Statistics),Equal Education,Curriculum Based Assessment

We examined the relationship among key instructional process variables and the achievement of students with and without disabilities as measured by both interim and end-of-year summative assessments. Examination of the instructional process data indicated that students with and without disabilities receiving mathematics instruction in the same classrooms had virtually equal opportunities to learn (OTL), yet there were significant differences in these two groups of students' mathematics achievement on both interim and summative tests. Subsequent regression analyses indicated that the collection of five OTL scores, along with Grade Level and Special Education status, accounted for 44% of the variance in student's end-of-year mathematics scores. Discussion of these results focuses on equality and equity of opportunity to learn and the role these processes may play in interim and endof-year achievement gaps between students with and without disabilities.
Oral Reading Fluency Growth: A Sample of Methodology and Findings. Research Brief 6
Author: Tindal, Gerald
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Oral Reading,Reading Fluency,Reading Achievement,Special Education,Achievement Gains,Educational Research,Comparative Analysis,Elementary Education,Elementary School Students

For the past 20 years, the growth of students' oral reading fluency has been investigated by a number of researchers using curriculum-based measurement. These researchers have used varied methods (student samples, measurement procedures, and analytical techniques) and yet have converged on a relatively consistent finding: General education students grow about a word per week in their fluency during the academic year, and students in special education progress more slowly. In this paper, we chronologically review early and late studies done on growth of fluency and then compare the studies on samples, measures, and conclusions.
The Plateau of Oral Reading Fluency Growth: A Preliminary Investigation. Research Brief 9
Author: Patarapichayatham, Chalie
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Oral Reading,Reading Fluency,Curriculum Based Assessment,Scores,Reading Difficulties,At Risk Students,Reading Achievement,Achievement Gains,Growth Models,Grade 3,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6

The use of oral reading fluency (ORF) as a predominant measurement tool for identifying struggling readers has grown exponentially over the past 30 years. ORF growth using curriculum-based measures (CBM) has also become an important practical and empirical issue influencing the field. Although fluency scores have shown to be reliable predictors of reading performance up through middle school for poor readers, the point at which assessments of ORF fail to provide additional information is currently unknown. The purpose of our paper was to explore a range of fluency scores at which ORF growth plateaus as a potential guide to educators and researchers for ceasing ORF assessments. Results showed that the growth trajectory sharply increased in Grades 3-5, whereas the growth trajectory slightly increased from Grade 5 to Grade 6. The plateau range of ORF scores was 137.72-170.94 words read correctly per minute (wcpm). Grades 7 and 8 data are needed to further investigation as we found the time point for peak growth was beyond our current data.
Statistical Test for Latent Growth Nonlinearity with Three Time Points. Research Brief 8
Author: Nese, Joseph F. T.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Curriculum Based Assessment,Statistical Analysis,Growth Models,Structural Equation Models,Computation

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a system of assessment used to screen for students at risk for poor learning. CBM benchmark screening assessments are typically administered to all students in the fall, winter, and spring, and these data are frequently used by researchers to model and perhaps explain within-year growth. Modeling growth with three time points involves distinct choices in the functional form of growth that can be modeled as well as the parameters that can be estimated. Generally, only a linear growth model can be fully specified; however, research suggests that within-year CBM growth is often nonlinear, with decreasing or decelerating growth across the year. The purpose of this brief is to demonstrate how an estimated slope factor loading approach can be used in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework to obtain a direct statistical test of nonlinearity provided by the output of your SEM program.
Risk-Category Transition Patterns for Students in Grades 2 to 4. Research Brief 7
Author: Park, Bitnara Jasmine
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Elementary School Students,Grade 2,Grade 3,Grade 4,At Risk Students,Reading Difficulties,Longitudinal Studies,Response to Intervention,Achievement Gains,Reading Achievement,Classification

Early identification of students who are at-risk for reading difficulties (RD) is critical for successful and effective RTI implementation. A large group of students were followed for three years (grades 2 to 4) to investigate transition patterns of risk-categories across three years. Results indicated that although students identified at high-risk for RD in earlier grades make similar growths to their peers who are not at-risk, they are highly likely to stay in the high-risk categories. Also, low-risk students with flat growth from fall to winter are at greater risk for RD in the later grades. Providing additional instruction to students at-risk regardless of their growth in earlier grades may prevent them from lagging behind further from their peers.
Endowment Spending: A Look Back
Author: Rogers, Fred
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Endowment Funds,Expenditures,Colleges,Administrators,Administrator Surveys,Questionnaires,Budgeting,Accounting,Educational Finance,Economic Climate,Administrative Policy

The investment environment of the past 15 years has challenged endowed nonprofit institutions, which have struggled to balance the claims of current constituencies with the need to preserve their endowments' future purchasing power. In the fall of 2011, I undertook a survey of chief financial officers at about two dozen liberal arts colleges to ascertain how their spending policies and practices had been affected by the turbulent markets and to see whether any general observations might be derived from the group's experience. A short questionnaire was mailed to each CFO and the data collected and discussed at a meeting of the CFOs in November 2011. In this paper, I analyze the survey's findings and provide a brief primer on endowment spending, budgeting and accounting practices at institutions of higher education. Contains endnotes.
WWC Review of the Report &quot;The Impact of Indiana&apos;s System of Interim Assessments on Mathematics and Reading Achievement.&quot; What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review
Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Formative Evaluation,Student Evaluation,Diagnostic Tests,Program Effectiveness,Educational Research,Randomized Controlled Trials,Standardized Tests,Achievement Tests,Elementary Secondary Education,Computer Assisted Testing,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests

The study authors examined the effects of using &quot;Diagnostic Assessment Tools&quot; (&quot;DAT&quot;) on mathematics and reading outcomes for students in Indiana schools during the 2009-10 academic year. &quot;DAT&quot; consists of interim assessment tools--Wireless Generation's mCLASS for students in grades K-2 and CTB/ McGraw-Hill's Acuity for students in grades 3-8--modified to align with Indiana's state assessments. The intent is for teachers to use these &quot;DAT&quot; interim assessment results to inform their instructional practice to meet the needs of their students. The study authors found, and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) confirmed, that the use of Diagnostic Assessment Tools did not have a statistically significant impact on general mathematics achievement or reading achievement for the full sample of students in grades K-8. However, the authors found, and the WWC confirmed, statistically significant positive effects for grades 5 and 6 in mathematics achievement and grades 3-5 in reading achievement. The authors found, and the WWC confirmed, no statistically significant impacts on mathematics achievement in grades 3 and 4 or on reading achievement in grade 6. The research described in this report meets WWC group design standards without reservations. This study is a well-executed randomized controlled trial with low sample attrition. A subset of the analyses described in the study meet WWC group design standards without reservations. Specifically, this rating pertains to the intent-to-treat (ITT) estimates for the full (grades K-8) stayers-only student sample, which was provided in response to an author query. This rating also applies to the grade-specific ITT estimates for the stayers-only samples in grades 3-6. Appended are: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measures for each domain; (3) Study findings for each domain; and (4) Supplemental findings by domain. [The following study is the focus of this &quot;Single Study Review&quot;: Konstantopoulos, S., Miller, S. R., &amp; van der Ploeg, A. (2013). The impact of Indiana's system of interim assessments on mathematics and reading achievement. &quot;Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,&quot; 35(4), 481-499 (EJ1019178).]