ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Improving Student Reading Fluency Scores through Music
Author: Huckabee, Jennifer Ellen
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Fluency,Grade 4,Elementary School Students,Music,Correlation,Progress Monitoring,Mixed Methods Research,Response to Intervention,Measures (Individuals),Student Surveys,Computer Software,Cognitive Processes,Aural Learning,Visual Learning,Reading Tests,Elementary School Teachers

Due to the controversial nature of previous research it is unclear whether music has positive or negative effect on cognition. Previous studies tested different styles and tempos of music, and have found that songs with faster beats distract learning. There have been numerous studies and each study refutes another study. Research has been done on the effects of background noise and its effects on student learning where noise has been found to be a hinder on learning. In the classroom students that struggle with fluency on a daily basis and are being progressed monitored, teachers are constantly looking for new ways to help the students who struggle with fluency. This capstone was designed to examine how music affects fluency scores in a fourth grade classroom. The teacher in this classroom uses AimsWeb testing to monitor students' improvement in fluency throughout the school year. The students listened to music in their classroom on a daily basis when they were working. Each student was either identified as a visual learner or an aural learner. The writer used jazz music by Vince Guaraldi, from the Snoopy Soundtracks. Each song had a tempo of greater than 120 beats per minute but less than 140 beats per minute. This was a mixed study and used both qualitative data in the form of a learning styles inventory quiz, a reading/music interest survey, and an exit ticket sticky note, and quantitative data from the AimsWeb fluency testing scores. The following are appended: (1) Learning Styles Inventory Quiz; (2) Music/Reading Interest Survey; (3) AimsWeb Fluency Reading Probe Sample with Corrections; (4) Exit Ticket/Sticky Note.
Positive Behavior Supports: Using Class Dojo as a Token Economy Point System to Encourage and Maintain Good Behaviors
Author: Garcia, Eliana
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Behavior Problems,Positive Reinforcement,Positive Behavior Supports,Token Economy,Intervention,Student Behavior,Classroom Techniques,Computer Oriented Programs,Technology Uses in Education,Telecommunications,Handheld Devices,Elementary School Students

The use of positive reinforcement sometimes gets lost in translation because educators forget the importance of acknowledging good behaviors. We instinctively tend to punish and give consequences because we often forget the importance of preventing undesired behaviors from occurring in the first place. More efforts should be spent on maintaining and increasing desired behaviors. Through the use of Class Dojo, we have seen a significant rise in positive student behaviors. This article will address the role of positive reinforcement and the rewards linked with using positive reinforcements in the classroom in order to maintain/increase desired behaviors, thus diminishing undesirable behaviors.
Behavior Plan, Does It Work?
Author: Gonzalez, Blanca M.
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Student Behavior,Behavior Problems,Behavior Modification,Intervention,Program Effectiveness,Functional Behavioral Assessment,Data Collection,Positive Behavior Supports,Best Practices

As educators, we are responsible for teaching academic skills. However, some students not only need to learn academic skills but they need behavior support, due to problematic behaviors that are happening in the school setting. In this article, we will learn more of what are the implications, requirements and best strategies for a behavior plan. The article focuses on answering the question, does a behavior plan work?
Selecting Effective Indicators. College Readiness Indicator Systems (CRIS) Resource Series
Author: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Guides - General
Subjects: Educational Indicators,College Readiness,Decision Making,Evaluation Utilization,Predictor Variables,Evidence Based Practice,Intervention,Validity,Evaluation Methods,Alignment (Education),Data Analysis,Federal Aid,Student Financial Aid,Public Schools,School Districts

The use of data to inform decisionmaking and practice at the school and district levels is now a common feature of reform efforts. Advances in districts' technological capacities have produced data systems that allow a flow of data to and from schools, often to the point of creating an overwhelming flood of information. To make the flow of information usable, it is critical that it is accompanied by clear decision rules on how to organize, interpret, and act on the data and the information they provide. Increasingly, schools and districts are turning to indicators to narrow the flow of data to the factors that truly matter for student success. Although, in principle anything that can be quantified can be used as an indicator, effective indicators provide a signal of a later outcome. Effective indicators can be used to identify students who are likely to achieve (or fail to achieve) an outcome, or to highlight actionable leverage points for altering that outcome. For college readiness indicators, it becomes particularly important to identify actionable leverage points because the outcome they are intended to predict--college success--occurs after the students have left high school. In other words, identifying which students are likely to complete college is only a starting point. This resource is intended to guide district administrators as they consider what indicators to include in their indicator systems and how to focus their efforts to improve students' college readiness. It describes four characteristics of effective indicators, drawing on the work of the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). CPS used evidence from research to guide the development of two separate indicator systems: the on-track indicator for high school graduation and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion indicator system for college enrollment. These experiences provide valuable lessons for other districts as they develop their own college readiness indicator systems.
A Review of the Major School Counseling Policy Studies in the United States: 2000-2014. Research Monograph
Author: Carey, John C.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Counseling,School Counselors,School Policy,School Surveys,Program Evaluation,Databases,Decision Making,Counselor Client Ratio,Academic Achievement,College Admission,Attendance,Discipline,College Applicants,High School Students,Elementary School Students

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the major policy studies concerning school counseling in the United States that were disseminated between 2000 and 2014. In all, reviewers located 37 documents that were disseminated between 2000 and 2014, and that were either intentionally written with a focus on policy implications or were frequently used to attempt to influence policy decision-making. The review is organized by types of policy studies: Literature Reviews; Survey Research; Statewide Evaluations of School Counseling Programs; State Evaluations of School Counseling Practice; Existing Database Investigations of School Counseling; Research Identifying Elements of Exemplary Practice; Studies of Evaluation Capacity; and Practices in School Counseling. The results of several of the reviewed studies raise the question as to whether the role of the school counselor in high school and the range of duties associated with this role has become overly broad. Studies suggest that counselors cannot adequately focus their work on improving students' academic achievement and promoting college access partly because of this impossibly broad role. Lower student-to-counselor ratios were consistently found to be associated with higher attendance rates, higher college application rates, lower discipline rates, and (for elementary students) enhanced academic achievement. Government policies reducing these ratios (especially in states with particularly high ratios) would be expected to result in enhanced benefits to students. However, it is still unclear whether reducing ratios is the most cost-effective way to achieve policy objectives. Future policy research should use a cost-benefits approach to identify the most effective staffing patterns needed to achieve critical policy objectives in school counseling.
Causality: School Libraries and Student Success (CLASS). White Paper
Author: American Library Association (ALA), American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Libraries,Librarians,Academic Achievement,Success,Correlation,Educational Research,Research Methodology,Discovery Processes,Scholarship,Professional Associations,Conferences (Gatherings),Instruction,Theory Practice Relationship,Communities of Practice,Best Practices,Instructional Effectiveness

On April 11 and 12, 2014, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) held &quot;Causality: School Libraries and Student Success&quot; (CLASS), an IMLS-funded national forum. Dr. Thomas Cook, one of the most influential methodologists in education research, and a five member panel of expert scholars and practitioners led 50 established and emerging school library researchers in articulating a national research agenda to investigate causal phenomena in school library instruction, resources, and services. Research in academic achievement and school librarianship has a strong foundation of over 25 correlational studies in which school librarians' activities and school library programs have been explored in relation to student learning and teacher support. The results of these studies suggest that complementary research should be conducted to establish a causal relationship between the work of effective school librarians and the creation of motivated, engaged, and agile learners. The goals of this white paper are to: (1) Capture the rich discussion emanating from the CLASS forum surrounding research and causality; (2) Propose a progression of research methods and projects that will support efforts toward theory building, exploratory research, and demonstration research; and (3) Outline mechanisms by which a community of scholars can be cultivated and nurtured toward furthering the research agenda and its activities. The following are appended: (1) Participants; (2) Further Reading; (3) Timetable; and (4) Communications Plan.
Dropout and Federal Graduation Rates 2013-2014. Research Brief. Volume 1407
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2015-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Public Schools,School Districts,Longitudinal Studies,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Grade 12,High School Students,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Whites,African Americans,Hispanic Americans,English Language Learners

The District conducts two kinds of dropout analyses every year in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The &quot;cross-sectional&quot; analysis of student dropouts examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A &quot;longitudinal&quot; analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method of analysis addresses a different aspect of how many students are dropping out of school. This research brief provides information on the cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates and longitudinal graduation rates for 2013-2014 in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
My Virtual Reading Coach: &quot;An Analysis of Usage and Impact,&quot; 2013-14. Technical Note. Volume 3, Number 2
Author: Urdegar, Steven M.
Date: 2014-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Reading Difficulties,Intervention,Response to Intervention,Disabilities,Computer Software,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology,Reading Skills,Teaching Methods,Handheld Devices,Audio Equipment,Speech Language Pathology,Reading Teachers,Human Body,Eye Movements,Elementary Secondary Education,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Scores,Pretests Posttests,Student Characteristics,Achievement Tests,Standardized Tests,State Standards,Regression (Statistics)

My Virtual Reading Coach (MVRC) is an online program for students who have been identified as struggling readers. It is used as an intervention within the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework, as well as for students with disabilities. The software addresses reading sub-skills (i.e., comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary) and offers multiple approaches in several of them. Pre-recorded podcasts use speech pathologists and reading coaches to show the placement of the tongue, teeth, and lips in order to guide struggling readers. The software provides diagnostics in eye tracking and reading sub-skills, automatic progress monitoring, and individualized student learning plans. Students in grades K-12 with reading levels from pre-primer to grade 12 are expected to work with the software 30 minutes per day, four days a week. This purpose of this paper is to examine the usage, and to analyze the impact of the MVRC program on the M-DCPS students who used it during the 2013-14 school year. This analysis of the dose response and impact of My Virtual Reading Coach examined the reading achievement of struggling readers who worked with the application during the 2013-14 school year. The analysis compared participating students' posttest scores, at each of three levels of usage, to the posttest scores of a reference group, controlling for initial ability and demographic differences; and also compared their performance with that of similar students in similar schools who did not use the software. The findings indicate that the application did not improve the achievement of the students who used it.
Performance by Subgroup: The Sum of the Parts Is Greater than the Whole. Research Brief. Volume 1302
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2013-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Academic Rank (Professional),Performance Based Assessment,Cohort Analysis,Comparative Analysis,Statistical Distributions,School Districts,Disproportionate Representation,Grades (Scholastic),State School District Relationship,Public Schools,Cluster Grouping

When comparing overall FCAT performance of the District to the State, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District comes up a little short in Reading and barely higher in Math. However, when the comparisons to the State are confined within the typical subgroup categories, the District meets or exceeds the State's performance in all subgroups. This reversal in trend between the whole and the parts seems to defy common sense. How is it possible that the district appears better than the State in all subcategories but worse overall? This research brief attempts to explain how the incongruity between overall and part comparisons can take place and underlines the importance of considering subgroup breakdowns when assessing district performance.
Public School Teacher Autonomy in the Classroom across School Years 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12. Stats in Brief. NCES 2015-089
Author: Sparks, Dinah
Date: 2015-12-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Public School Teachers,Professional Autonomy,Teacher Attitudes,National Surveys,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Influence,Classroom Techniques,Teacher Characteristics,Institutional Characteristics,Comparative Analysis,Response Rates (Questionnaires),Measures (Individuals),Statistical Analysis

This Statistics in Brief explores teacher autonomy in the classroom during the 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12 school years. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the Statistics in Brief examines a construct of teacher autonomy based on teachers' responses to six questions regarding perceptions of influence over classroom instruction and classroom management. The brief focuses on how teachers' perceptions of autonomy have changed over these three school years, as well as how levels of teacher autonomy vary across selected teacher and school characteristics. This brief reports the percentage distribution of perceived autonomy for each characteristic presented (i.e., each characteristic sums to 100 percent across the three levels of autonomy). For example, the percentages of public secondary school teachers who perceived high, moderate, or low autonomy in the 2011-12 school year were 16, 65, and 19 percent, respectively, which captures 100 percent of public secondary school teachers. This full distribution by characteristic allows comparison between levels of autonomy in one year and comparisons for a specific level from year to year. The following are appended: (1) Data Tables; and (2) Standard Error Tables.
Financial Health of the Higher Education Sector: Financial Results and TRAC Outcomes 2013-14. Issues Paper 2015/07
Author: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Higher Education,Feedback (Response),Educational Finance,Foreign Countries,Costs,Money Management,Stakeholders,Accountability,Expenditures,Income,Fees,Student Recruitment,Foreign Students,Educational Facilities,Grants,Comparative Analysis,Educational History

This report provides an overview of the financial health of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)-funded higher education sector in England. The analysis covers financial results for the academic year 2013-14, as submitted to HEFCE in December 2014, as well as the outcomes from the sector's Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) reporting for 2013-14, as submitted to HEFCE in January 2015. The report provides universities and higher education colleges with feedback on their financial performance in 2013-14. It also provides other stakeholders with information about the current financial health of the sector. The financial results for the higher education sector in 2013-14 show a financially sound position overall. While the financial outturn was stronger than projected by the sector in July 2014, sector financial results were similar to those reported in 2012-13. It should be noted, however, that significant variations continue in the financial performances of individual institutions across the sector, with the main financial strength of the sector remaining in a small number of institutions.
Local Control Funding Formula in California: How to Monitor Progress and Learn from a Grand Experiment
Author: Fuller, Bruce
Date: 2014-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Funding Formulas,State Aid,Educational Finance,School Districts,School District Autonomy,Budgeting,Accountability,Program Implementation,Finance Reform,Administrative Organization,Low Income Students,English Language Learners,Foster Care,State Legislation,Educational Legislation,Grants,Elementary Secondary Education

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was enacted by the California legislature in June 2013 and fundamentally changes the distribution of education dollars to districts. The legislation simplifies the formula for sending money to districts and now takes into account the higher costs of educating certain groups of students, specifically those from Low Income (LI) households, English Language Learners (ELL), and Foster Youth (FY). This document: (1) Proposes empirical questions that stem from key moving parts of the LCFF reform; (2) Digs deep into how eight districts frame the reform and the program models on which they will rely in Year 1 of implementation; and (3) Suggests a division of labor on monitoring implementation and illuminating promising practices. The following are appended: (1) How Eight Districts Framed and Implemented LCFF in the First Year; and (2) LAUSD's LCAP Goals by State Priority Area.
Does Increasing Hours of Schooling Lead to Improvements in Student Learning? Policy Brief No. 1
Author: Sandoval-Hernandez, Andres
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Improvement,Educational Practices,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Extended School Day,Academic Achievement,Time Factors (Learning),Time on Task,Reading Achievement,Classroom Environment,Instructional Effectiveness,Correlation,Grade 4,International Studies,Comparative Analysis,Comparative Education

Increasing the number of hours students spend in school each year, on the assumption that this will improve student achievement, has become a widespread trend. However, the analysis reported here suggests that this trend can be misguided: the time students spend in the classroom is not always positively related to their academic achievement. Instead, it is effective teaching time that is most likely to have a positive impact on student achievement. As such, policies influencing how time at school is allocated can be a good way to improve educational outcomes. Included in this policy brief are answers to the questions: (1) Is increasing the amount of time children spend in the classroom an effective way of improving their academic achievement? and (2) In regard to other factors that might help improve student achievement, does the amount of effective teaching time (i.e., time devoted to purely teaching-related tasks) have a positive effect on student achievement?