Mean Effects of Test Accommodations for ELLs and Non‐ELLs: A Meta‐Analysis of Experimental Studies

The objective was to examine the impact of different types of accommodations on performance in content tests such as mathematics. The meta‐analysis included 14 U.S. studies that randomly assigned school‐aged English language learners (ELLs) to test accommodation versus control conditions or used repeated measures in counter‐balanced order. Individual effect sizes (Glass's d) were calculated for 50 groups of ELLs and 32 groups of non‐ELLs. Individual effect sizes for English language and native language accommodations were classified into groups according to type of accommodation and timing conditions. Means and standard errors were calculated for each category. The findings suggest that accommodations that require extra printed materials need generous time limits for both the accommodated and unaccommodated groups to ensure that they are effective, equivalent in scale to the original test, and therefore more valid owing to reduced construct‐irrelevant variance. Computer‐administered glossaries were effective even when time limits were restricted. Although the Plain English accommodation had very small average effect sizes, inspection of individual effect sizes suggests that it may be much more effective for ELLs at intermediate levels of English language proficiency. For Spanish‐speaking students with low proficiency in English, the Spanish test version had the highest individual effect size (+1.45).     

Team Shared Cognitive Constructs: A Meta‐Analysis Exploring the Effects of Shared Cognitive Constructs on Team Performance

Sharing similar cognitive structures among team members is one key element for the collective to solve problems and work more efficiently (DeChurch & Mesmer‐Magnus, 2010). Research has shown that team cognition is positively associated with team performance in both organizational and educational settings. Team shared cognition constructs are relatively new constructs and have been identified in the literature as team mental models, shared mental models, information sharing, transactive memory systems, cognitive congruence, and group learning. Cannon‐Bowers and Salas (2001) called for better measures of shared cognition to be developed, partially through the integration of shared cognition measures across disciplines. The purpose of this meta‐analysis is to look at these six team cognition constructs in an effort to help identify which measure, if any, results in predicting team performance best. Results indicated that information sharing was statistically significant compared to team mental memory and group learning, and marginally significant compared to transactive memory systems. Additionally, shared mental models and cognitive congruence showed higher associations with performance compared to team mental models, group learning, and transactive memory systems.     

The Effects of Read‐Aloud Accommodations for Students With and Without Disabilities: A Meta‐Analysis

Read‐aloud accommodations have been proposed as a way to help remove barriers faced by students with disabilities in reading comprehension. Many empirical studies have examined the effects of read‐aloud accommodations; however, the results are mixed. With a variance‐known hierarchical linear modeling approach, based on 114 effect sizes from 23 studies, a meta‐analysis was conducted to examine the effects of read‐aloud accommodations for students with and without disabilities. In general, both students with disabilities and students without disabilities benefited from the read‐aloud accommodations, and the accommodation effect size for students with disabilities was significantly larger than the effect size for students without disabilities. Further, this meta‐analysis reveals important factors that influence the effects of read‐aloud accommodations. For instance, the accommodation effect was significantly stronger when the subject area was reading than when the subject area was math. The effect of read‐aloud accommodations was also significantly stronger when the test was read by human proctors than when it was read by video/audio players or computers. Finally, the implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

A Meta‐Analysis of Research on the Read Aloud Accommodation

Read aloud is a testing accommodation that has been studied by many researchers, and its use on K‐12 assessments continues to be debated because of its potential to change the measured construct or unfairly increase test scores. This study is a summary of quantitative research on the read aloud accommodation. Previous studies contributed information to compute average effect sizes for students with disabilities, students without disabilities, and the difference between groups for reading and mathematics using a random effects meta‐analytic approach. Results suggest that (1) effect sizes are larger for reading than for math for both student groups, (2) the read aloud accommodation increases reading test scores for both groups, but more so for students with disabilities, and (3) mathematics scores gains due to the read aloud accommodation are small for both students with and without disabilities, on average. There was some evidence to suggest larger effects in elementary school relative to middle and high school and possible mode effects, but more studies are needed within levels of the moderator variables to conduct statistical tests.     

Language‐Focused Interventions on Math Performance for English Learners: A Selective Meta‐Analysis of the Literature

This meta‐analysis synthesized research on math performance outcomes for English learners (EL) as a function of language‐focused (math vocabulary) interventions. We included group and single‐subject design studies with children from kindergarten to 8th grade (3,766 students for group, 30 for single‐subject). Group studies yielded a mean Hedges’ g of 0.26 in favor of the interventions relative to the control conditions, whereas single‐subject studies yielded a mean Percentage of Non‐Overlapping Data of 81.01% and Phi coefficient of .66 relative to baseline. Although group studies yielded small effect sizes (ESs), we found significant moderators for grade level, intervention focus, and length of intervention. Single‐subject studies yielded higher ESs than group studies, and were considered generally effective, with a high ES. This finding was attributed to a direct focus on children with math difficulties and one‐to‐one instruction. The implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

The Role of Reflection in the Effects of Community Service on Adolescent Development: A Meta‐Analysis

This meta‐analysis assessed the effect of community service on adolescent development and the moderation of this effect by reflection, community service, and adolescent characteristics to explicate the mechanisms underlying community service effects. Random effects analyses, based on 49 studies (24,477 participants, 12–20 years old), revealed that community service had positive effects on academic, personal, social, and civic outcomes. Moderation analyses indicated that reflection was essential; the effect for studies that include reflection was substantial (mean ES = .41) while community service in the absence of reflection yielded negligible benefits (mean ES = .05). Effects increased when studies include more frequent reflection and community service, reflection on academic content, and older adolescents. These findings have implications for understanding and improving community service.     

Where the Performance Issues Are and Are Not: A Meta‐Analytic Examination

The purpose of this study was to examine the often touted but rarely quantified claims of where performance problems actually occur in organizations. Starting in the mid–20th century, organizational development and performance consultants have followed the belief that the vast majority of organizational problems (85%) are tied to variables controlled by the organization and only a small percentage (15%) of performance problems are attributed to the worker. This study is a meta‐analysis that examined 327 performance technology (PT) analysis projects and coded the recommendations according to PT models to quantify the ratio between organizational and individual performance recommendations and corresponding problems. We find broad support for the conventional wisdom regarding the ratio of organizational issues to individual workers.     

Attachment and Temperament in the Early Life Course: A Meta‐Analytic Review

This meta‐analytic review examines the association between early attachment (assessed at 1–5 years) and child temperament (assessed at birth–12 years), and compares the strength of this association with recently documented meta‐analytic associations between early attachment and social competence, externalizing behavior, and internalizing symptoms. Based on 109 independent samples (N = 11,440) of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, temperament was weakly associated with attachment (in)security (d = .14, CI [0.08, 0.19]) but modestly associated with resistant attachment (d = .30, CI [0.21, 0.40]). Temperament was not significantly associated with avoidant (d = .10, CI [?0.02, 0.19]) or disorganized (d = .11, CI [?0.03, 0.25]) attachment. Across developmental domains, early attachment security was more strongly associated with social competence and externalizing behaviors than internalizing symptoms and temperament.     

Formative Assessment: A Meta‐Analysis and a Call for Research

An effect size of about .70 (or .40–.70) is often claimed for the efficacy of formative assessment, but is not supported by the existing research base. More than 300 studies that appeared to address the efficacy of formative assessment in grades K‐12 were reviewed. Many of the studies had severely flawed research designs yielding uninterpretable results. Only 13 of the studies provided sufficient information to calculate relevant effect sizes. A total of 42 independent effect sizes were available. The median observed effect size was .25. Using a random effects model, a weighted mean effect size of .20 was calculated. Moderator analyses suggested that formative assessment might be more effective in English language arts (ELA) than in mathematics or science, with estimated effect sizes of .32, .17, and .09, respectively. Two types of implementation of formative assessment, one based on professional development and the other on the use of computer‐based formative systems, appeared to be more effective than other approaches, yielding mean effect size of .30 and .28, respectively. Given the wide use and potential efficacy of good formative assessment practices, the paucity of the current research base is problematic. A call for more high‐quality studies is issued.     

Instructing Struggling Older Readers: A Selective Meta‐Analysis of Intervention Research

This article synthesizes the experimental literature on reading interventions for upper elementary and middle school students identified with reading disabilities on norm‐referenced reading measures. Ten studies (12 independent samples) yielded 70 effect sizes on norm‐referenced reading measures with an aggregated mean of 0.41 (SE= .04) in favor of the experimental condition. Moderate effect sizes emerged on norm‐referenced measures of word identification (M= 0.41), decoding (M= 0.43), and comprehension (M= 0.73) and low effect sizes for fluency (M=–.29). Intervention outcomes did not significantly vary as a function of the reading skills measured, type of reading instruction, and/or variations in sample characteristics. Studies yielding low and relatively moderate effect sizes shared a number of instructional components. Overall, the magnitude of the results for experimental reading intervention studies for students with reading disabilities in the middle school age range was small to moderate. Implications of the study were discussed.     

Meta‐analysis and mega‐analysis: A simple introduction

Statistical methods are increasingly being used to integrate findings from the ever‐expanding universe of empirical research. Meta‐analysis encompasses various techniques for synthesizing summary statistics, and mega‐analysis pools raw data across studies. This paper offers an introduction to meta‐analysis and mega‐analysis that complements the study of analysis of variance (ANOVA). After a brief conceptual discussion, we provide simple numerical examples.     

The Effects of Individual and Group Monetary Incentives on High Performance

This study examined whether high performers performed better (a) under individual and group incentive pay than under hourly pay and (b) under individual incentive pay than under group incentive pay. Participants were 11 college students. An ABCDC within‐subject design was used in which A was hourly pay with individual feedback, B was individual incentives with individual feedback, C was individual incentives with individual and group feedback, and D was group incentives with individual and group feedback. Participants performed better under both individual and group incentive pay than under hourly pay (p<.01). They did not significantly decrease performance when switched from individual to group incentives, but increased their performance when switched back to individual incentives (p<.01). Individual incentive pay was rated as the most preferred and most satisfying of the three pay systems, and group incentive pay as the least preferred, least satisfying and most stressful. These data suggest that high performers perform better under individual than group incentive pay after exposure to both and are highly likely to prefer individual incentive pay.     

A Meta‐Analysis of Empirical Research on Teaching Students with Mathematics Learning Difficulties

This article quantitatively summarizes experimental and quasi‐experimental studies on teaching students with mathematics difficulties (MD) published between 2000 and 2014, research that was available following earlier syntheses. It reports the analysis of effect sizes of 25 intervention studies on participant characteristics, intervention parameters, domains of mathematics interventions, and instructional approaches and components. Results indicate that several participant characteristics (e.g., grade level and level of mathematics difficulties) and intervention parameters (e.g., methodological soundness, intervention agent, and grouping) mediated the treatment effects. In addition, different types of instructional approaches and several instructional components contributed to the improvements in mathematics performance in students with MD.     

Learner Characteristics that Influence the Treatment Effectiveness of Early Literacy Interventions: A Meta‐Analytic Review

The purpose of this article was to systematically review the available research on learner characteristics that influence the treatment effectiveness of early literacy interventions. Meta‐analytic procedures were applied to a total of 30 studies that met the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. Mean average effect sizes were computed for seven primary learner characteristic categories: (1) rapid naming, (2) alphabetic principle, (3) phonological awareness, (4) problem behavior, (5) memory, (6) IQ, and (7) demographic. The primary learner characteristics that influenced the treatment responsiveness of early literacy interventions were, in order of magnitude, rapid naming, problem behavior, phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, memory, IQ, and demographics. With the exception of the demographic category, the obtained effect sizes for the primary learner characteristics were moderately large. The demographic primary learner characteristic (i.e., disability, ethnicity, grade‐level status) of children was not statistically (p < 0.05) distinct from zero. The findings, limitations, and future research needs are discussed.     

Meta‐Analysis of Mathematic Basic‐Fact Fluency Interventions: A Component Analysis

Mathematics fluency is a critical component of mathematics learning yet few attempts have been made to synthesize this research base. Seventeen single‐case design studies with 55 participants were reviewed using meta‐analytic procedures. A component analysis of practice elements was conducted and treatment intensity and feasibility were examined. Findings suggest that drill and practice with modeling produced the largest effect sizes. Treatments with more than 3 components yielded higher effect sizes than those with fewer than 3, and a combination of treatment agents lead to better outcomes than a single agent. Other findings pertaining to prebaseline assessment, treatment time, experimental design employed, and treatment setting are also discussed.     

Promoting Positive Youth Development Through School‐Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: A Meta‐Analysis of Follow‐Up Effects

This meta‐analysis reviewed 82 school‐based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions involving 97,406 kindergarten to high school students (M_age = 11.09 years; mean percent low socioeconomic status = 41.1; mean percent students of color = 45.9). Thirty‐eight interventions took place outside the United States. Follow‐up outcomes (collected 6 months to 18 years postintervention) demonstrate SEL's enhancement of positive youth development. Participants fared significantly better than controls in social‐emotional skills, attitudes, and indicators of well‐being. Benefits were similar regardless of students’ race, socioeconomic background, or school location. Postintervention social‐emotional skill development was the strongest predictor of well‐being at follow‐up. Infrequently assessed but notable outcomes (e.g., graduation and safe sexual behaviors) illustrate SEL's improvement of critical aspects of students’ developmental trajectories.     

择校对中小学生学业成就的影响——国外实证研究的视角

择校是当前世界范围内教育领域的一个颇有争议的问题.国外实证研究显示,没有充分的证据表明择校可以从普遍意义上提高中小学生的学业成就,但对于特定种族的学生来说(如非洲后裔的学生),择校有助于这类学生成绩的改善.本文以国外学者对教育券和特许学校的实证研究为例,在文献分析的基础上从实证研究的视角考察择校对中小学生学业成就的影响,以期为当前我国有关择校问题的讨论提供启示.     

Overt and Relational Victimization: A Meta‐Analytic Review of Their Overlap and Associations With Social–Psychological Adjustment

This meta‐analytic review includes 135 studies, representing 17 countries, of child and adolescent (ages 4–17) samples of overt and relational peer victimization and examines the magnitude of overlap between forms of victimization and associations with five social–psychological adjustment indices. Results indicate a strong intercorrelation between forms of victimization ( = .72). No gender difference with regard to relational victimization was found, but boys were slightly higher in overt victimization. Overt victimization is more strongly associated with overt aggression; relational victimization is more strongly related to internalizing problems, lower levels of received prosocial behavior from peers, and relational aggression. Both forms are related to externalizing problems. Age and method of assessment were explored as potential sources of variability in effect sizes.     

The Relation of Moral Emotion Attributions to Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior: A Meta‐Analysis

This meta‐analytic review of 42 studies covering 8,009 participants (ages 4–20) examines the relation of moral emotion attributions to prosocial and antisocial behavior. A significant association is found between moral emotion attributions and prosocial and antisocial behaviors (d = .26, 95% CI [.15, .38]; d = .39, 95% CI [.29, .49]). Effect sizes differ considerably across studies and this heterogeneity is attributed to moderator variables. Specifically, effect sizes for predicted antisocial behavior are larger for self‐attributed moral emotions than for emotions attributed to hypothetical story characters. Effect sizes for prosocial and antisocial behaviors are associated with several other study characteristics. Results are discussed with respect to the potential significance of moral emotion attributions for the social behavior of children and adolescents.