English learners reclassification and academic achievement: Evidence from Minnesota

Providing appropriate learning environments for students who are not native English speakers is an important element of ensuring equal access to education for students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. This study evaluates the process for reclassifying English learner (EL) students as English proficient. Exploiting the threshold-based reclassification policy in Minnesota, we use a regression discontinuity design to recover counterfactuals— how much would EL students who were not reclassified due to the reclassification policy have improved in academic achievement had they been reclassified? We find that reclassification had no discernible effect on math and reading scores for 3rd-grade EL students, while reclassification increased the math scores of 6th-grade EL students. Our subgroup analysis finds that the positive effects of reclassification mostly depend on the large estimates in the first-year cohort of EL students. Taken altogether, these results imply that reclassification was unlikely to harm the 3rd- and 6th-grade EL students.     

Dyslexia: stability of definition over a five year period

The results of longitudinal studies suggest that although dyslexic children improve their reading skills with time, they do not outgrow their disability (Spreen, 1982). This paper compares the development of reading and spelling in a group of dyslexics and non-dyslexics over a five-year period. In addition to addressing the issue of the relative rates of development of reading in the two groups, a central focus of the paper is the extent to which dyslexia can be said to represent a stable disability. How many of the children classified as dyslexic at age eight would be reclassified as dyslexic at age thirteen? Three distinct groups emerged: ‘stable',‘transient’ and ‘late emerging dyslexics'. The ‘stable’ dyslexics were children classified as dyslexic at both ages, the transient were those classified only at the younger age, and the ‘late emerging’ were those classified at age thirteen. Regression analysis was used as the technique of identification of the dyslexics.     

OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION SUPPORTIVE SERVICES IN THE TWO‐YEAR COLLEGE: WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY SHOULD BE

This longitudinal study examined a cohort group of 3,159 students’ community college attendance patterns over a five‐year period. The cohort was a group of students enrolled in credit courses for the first time in a public two‐year community college. The analysis revealed that approximately 30% of the students attended one semester, 50% attended intermittently and 13% obtained credentials. Analysis of demographic variables between the groups did not reveal significant differences. Limitations in the research and implications for practice are discussed.     

How strong and weak readers perform on the Developmental Eye Movement test (DEM): norms for Latvian school-aged children

The aim of our study was to determine DEM test performance norms for school-aged children in Latvia, assess how DEM test results correlate with children’s reading rates, compare test performance between strong and weak readers. A modified DEM test and a newly developed reading test were administered to 1487 children during a screening survey. Our study provides norms for adjusted DEM scores for children from 7 to 18 years of age. A high correlation exists between a child’s reading rate and her DEM speed scores for both parts of the test. Weak readers performed significantly more slowly on the DEM test than strong readers. Overall, 6 % of the subject population scored 1 standard deviation below the mean value on both the DEM and reading tests. We conclude that these individuals may be at a higher risk for developing reading impairments.     

Interactions between children’s metacognitive abilities, working memory capacity, strategies and performance during problem-solving

This paper reports two related studies intended to explore the interactions between children’s metacognitive abilities, their working memory capacity, the development and selection of strategies and their performance on problem-solving tasks. In the first study, a sample of 20 children aged 5 and 6 were presented with a reclassification task. In the second study, a sample of 72 children aged 6, 8 and 10 were presented with a multidimensional discrimination learning (MDL) task. Data was collected related to the children’s metacognitive abilities, working memory capacity, response strategies and task performance. The results indicated that performance on both tasks was dependent upon developmentally changing interactions between these various aspects of cognitive functioning. In particular, the relationship of working memory capacity to performance was dependent upon metacognitive abilities. The results also suggested that metacognitive awareness did not directly affect performance, but that such a relationship was dependent upon the development of strategic control. The implications of these results for understanding U-shaped behavioural growth and other common developmental patterns are discussed. Within the educational sphere, the study emphasises the significance and possibility for children as learners of fostering certain kinds of metacognitive ability.     

Changes in the repetition and dropout situation in Honduran primary education since the late 1980s

While Honduras's post-1990s enrolment status has improved, no reports examine changes in status. We examined changes in enrolment patterns by analysing 1689 children's data using the true cohort method. We also analysed educational-development strategies/policies and project documentation. Grade-failure numbers did not improve over time because more children attended school, and no clear influence of strategies/policies and projects on educational quality was observed. Enrolment patterns were divided into graduation pattern with once-or-none repetition, and into dropout pattern after one-or-two years’ attendance. However, the more recent the school entrance year, the more often students continued attendance until graduation. Policy implications of these are discussed.     

Assessment options in higher education

This article evaluates an initiative to introduce assessment choice within a taught unit on an undergraduate healthcare programme as a means of addressing poor performance, especially for those students diagnosed with dyslexia. Students’ perceptions of the assessment experience were sought via the use of two focus group interviews (n = 16). The article describes the effect the assessment experience had on students’ stress levels, individual learning styles and achievement. Students’ performance improved and statistical analyses indicated parity between the assessment methods offered with similar performance profiles between students with and without dyslexia. The conclusion reached is that while the introduction of assessment options may be time consuming for staff to develop, the benefits of an enhanced student‐centred approach to assessment may be well worth this investment in time. Although a limited study owing to the small sample size, the results should be of interest to those academics who are concerned with assessment and its impact on students’ achievement.     

Connecting children to nature through residential outdoor environmental education

Connecting to nature and spending time outdoors as children have been indicated as predictors of environmentally responsible behavior. This study examined whether a residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) program contributed to the development of children’s connection to nature and their attitudes and involvement in spending time outdoors. Fifth-grade students (n = 163) in Pennsylvania enrolled in a multi-day ROEE program completed pretest-posttest surveys, compared with a control group (n = 72) not enrolled. Program evaluation critically examined the program’s encouragement of spending time outdoors by establishing connections to nature. Results indicated moderate success in the program’s effort to increase participants’ nature connection, but yielded mixed results on outcomes related to time spent outdoors. These findings offer encouragement of ROEE programs’ ability to foster connection to nature in participants.     

Effect of School Pretend Play on Preschoolers’ Social Competence in Peer Interactions: Gender as a Potential Moderator

This study investigated the moderating effect of gender on the causal relationships between different school play activities (pretend and non-pretend play) and social competence in peer interactions among a sample of Hong Kong children. Participants were 60 Hong Kong preschoolers (mean age = 5.44, 36.67 % female). Children with matched home pretend play time period were randomly assigned to pretend or non-pretend play groups to take part in pretend or non-pretend play activities respectively in the 1-month kindergarten play training. Children’s pre- and post-training social competences were assessed by their teachers. Results revealed a trend that girls who participated in school pretend play tended to be less disruptive during peer interactions after the training than those who participated in non-pretend play, while boys were similarly benefited from the two play activities. The implications for play-related research and children’s social competence development are discussed.     

Student composition in the PISA assessments: Evidence from Brazil

PISA is one of the most widely used instruments to assess student performance in the world. This paper investigates how changes in testing dates and students’ dates of birth (eligibility) between 2000 and 2018 have affected results in Brazil. Controlling for changes in students’ grade distribution over time, we show that changes in grade composition are correlated with increases in average score. We estimate that about 60 % of improvements in math are unrelated to student improvement. Since changes in testing date and eligibility are unrelated to the school system, performance increases over time might not be a result of a country’s educational policy.     

Do teachers’ perceptions of children’s math and reading related ability and effort predict children’s self-concept of ability in math and reading?

This study investigated to what extent primary school teachers’ perceptions of their students’ ability and effort predict developmental changes in children’s self-concepts of ability in math and reading after controlling for students’ academic performance and general intelligence. Three cohorts (N?=?849) of elementary school children and their teachers were followed for four years. Children’s self-concepts and performance ability in math and reading were measured annually during Waves 2–4. Teachers rated the children’s ability and effort at each of the four waves. Domain-specific differences and developmental changes could be identified in the associations between teachers’ perceptions and children’s ability self-concepts. Teachers’ ability perceptions predicted children’s concurrent and subsequent ability self-concepts in math and reading, whereas teachers’ effort perceptions predicted children’s math ability self-concept only at Wave 4. Analyses with multi-sample procedure showed that these models were similar for boys and girls and for children in different cohort groups.     

Artful Dodgers: an arts education research project in early education settings

Artful Dodgers is an arts education project developed by two artists and delivered in two early years settings located in two areas of urban disadvantage. It is a music and visual arts programme designed and implemented with early years teachers of children aged 3–5 years. It explored whether the provision of high-quality arts experiences could enhance children’s emerging literacy and numeracy. A novel ‘artist in(formed) residency’ model was developed within a unique arts education research design. Piloting a tripartite relationship between researchers, artists and early years teachers, this study was situated within a qualitative action research paradigm, with both artists located in both services weekly over a 12-week period. The evaluation of the programme indicates changes in pedagogical planning and style in the early years teachers over the period of the artists’ residency. Their language became more reflective and their practice incorporated a wider and richer range of materials; there was greater evidence of more child-led activities and unstructured play opportunities over the duration of the study. The data suggest that children’s social, cooperative and communication skills were enhanced. Recommendations have implications for the professional development of artists and teachers working in early years settings.     

Promoting alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness in low socioeconomic child care settings: a quasi experimental study in five New Zealand centers

This study examined if professional development with teachers would increase children’s literacy skills in low socioeconomic early childhood settings in New Zealand and would lead to changes in teachers’ beliefs and practices and children’s abilities over an 8 week intervention period. Research indicates that children who have alphabetic and phonological awareness on school entry are well positioned to transition from emergent to conventional literacy (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). Although most children develop requisite knowledge and skills as part of early education in New Zealand, about 25 % of children do not (Nicholson, 2005) and struggle with beginning reading. One of the challenges is how teachers can foster emergent literacy within a holistic curriculum such as Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996), the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. A quasi experimental design was used in which teachers’ and children’s knowledge was pre and post tested in five early childhood centers. Teachers’ (n = 32) beliefs and phonemic awareness were tested using a questionnaire. A range of literacy measures which tested alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, ability to recognise and write their own name and the British Picture Vocabulary Test were used with children aged 3–5 years (n = 103). Professional development was offered to teachers at the beginning of the study in four centers; the fifth center was a control. In addition, teachers’ logbooks of how they promoted literacy were collected. Some changes in children’s skills were found, along with some differences in teachers’ beliefs and practices. The results suggest professional development with teachers to support children’s literacy needs to involve more intensive coaching and guiding.     

Emergence of the Link Between the Approximate Number System and Symbolic Math Ability

Experimentally manipulating Approximate Number System (ANS) precision has been found to influence children’s subsequent symbolic math performance. Here in three experiments (N = 160; 81 girls; 3–5 year old) we replicated this effect and examined its duration and developmental trajectory. We found that modulation of 5-year-olds’ ANS precision continued to affect their symbolic math performance after a 30-min delay. Furthermore, our cross-sectional investigation revealed that children 4.5 years and older experienced a significant transfer effect of ANS manipulation on math performance, whereas younger children showed no such transfer, despite experiencing significant changes in ANS precision. These findings support the existence of a causal link between nonverbal numerical approximation and symbolic math performance that first emerges during the preschool years.     

Alternative education programmes and middle school dropout in Honduras

Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article analyses dropout in three of the four main alternative lower secondary school programmes in Honduras over a three-year period for a cohort of roughly 5,500 students. The results show that these programmes are indeed reaching a vulnerable population in the country, but dropout rates are generally very high – upwards of 50 per cent in some cases – between Grades 7 and 9. Furthermore, even in the control school comparison samples made up of formal lower secondary schools, about 25 per cent of children leave school between Grades 7 and 9. The authors’ analysis includes propensity score matching (PSM) methods that make more focused comparisons between students in alternative programmes and control samples. These results show that dropout rates in alternative programmes are not much different than in control schools, and only significant in one programme comparison, when taking into account family background characteristics like socioeconomic status (SES). Multivariate analysis within alternative programme samples finds that attrition is lower in those learning centres which have adopted key features of formal schools, such as university-educated teachers. The results highlight the tremendous variation in the alternative middle school sector in terms of programme features, school quality and student outcomes, as well as the challenges of expanding this sector to meet the growing demand for lower secondary schooling in Honduras.     

Aggression in primary schools: the predictive power of the school and home environment

In this study, we analyse the predictive power of home and school environment-related factors for determining pupils’ aggression. The multiple regression analyses are performed for fourth- and eighth-grade pupils based on the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 (N = 8394) and TIMSS 2011 (N = 9415) databases for Slovenia. At the national level, the Lestvica agresivnosti aggression scale was administered in both TIMSS cycles. For home environment variables, we included those related to socio-economic status, pupils’ educational aspirations, parental activities with their children and pupils’ free time activities. The results show that the variables related to socio-economic status, spare time activities and parental activities are significant predictors. The results differ in both analysed data-sets. For school environment variables, we include those related to the school climate, pupils’ attitudes towards school and school subjects and pupils’ achievement in mathematics. We find that the variables related to school climate and students’ self-confidence are significant predictors. These results are stable in both years. The predictive power of the school characteristics model (including only the school environment variables) is larger (based on the proportion of explained variance) compared with the home characteristics model. The hierarchical linear model of data from 2007 to 2011 shows small differences in aggression between schools. The inclusion of two data cycles collected in two time- periods allows us to observe changes in aggression predictors over time. Practical implications are finally included.     

Expansion and social selection in education in England and Scotland

This paper examines trends in social class inequalities in young people’s educational attainment and HE entry between the mid‐1980s and the end of the 1990s in England and Scotland. Using time‐series data derived from the Scottish School Leavers Surveys and the England (and Wales) Youth Cohort Study, changes in both absolute and relative social class differences within and across the two countries were analysed through the use of a series of ordered logits. The results show that Scotland has higher educational attainment rates but also higher social class inequalities than England. Moreover, while in England social class inequalities at upper‐secondary and tertiary level have declined over time, in Scotland no evidence of such trend has been found. The conclusions highlight that possible explanations for these patterns reside in the different features of the two education systems and in the remarkable educational success of the Scottish middle class.     

Neighborhood inequality in the prevalence of reported and substantiated child maltreatment

BackgroundPrior research documents spatial concentration in the incidence of child maltreatment reported to and confirmed by Child Protective Services (CPS), but without estimates of the prevalence of such reports, the extent of CPS contact in different communities is unknown.ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of CPS reports during early childhood and substantiated investigations during childhood for children living in different types of neighborhoods.Participants and settingChildren who experienced CPS reports and substantiated investigations in Connecticut.MethodsThis study uses synthetic cohort life tables to estimate the cumulative risk of CPS reports before age five and substantiated CPS investigations before age 18, by neighborhood poverty rate and neighborhood racial composition.ResultsThe analysis reveals substantial stratification in the prevalence of CPS contact by the demographic characteristics of children’s residential neighborhoods. For example, while 7% of children in low-poverty neighborhoods (under 10% poor) experience a substantiated CPS investigation at some point during childhood at 2014 and 2015 rates, this risk more than doubles to 17% for their peers in moderate-poverty neighborhoods (10–20% poor) and more than triples to 26% for their peers in high-poverty neighborhoods (over 20% poor). Similar trends emerge when examining CPS reports in early childhood as well as when comparing neighborhoods with different proportions of White residents.ConclusionsCPS reports and substantiated investigations are a widespread and disproportionately experienced life event for children in poor neighborhoods and children in non-White neighborhoods.     

Relationships between the use of test results and US students’ academic performance

In this study, we examined relationships between the use of test results and US students’ math, reading, and science performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. Based on a literature review, we hypothesized that the 16 items in the PISA school questionnaire, which are related to the use of test results, can be categorized according to 4 factors. We validated this hypothesized factor structure using a confirmatory factor analysis and then obtained composite scores for each factor. As revealed by a multilevel analysis, when student and school demographic variables were controlled for, using test results to hold schools accountable to authority and the public was significantly positively related to students’ performance across all 3 subjects. No statistically significant relationship, however, was detected between students’ performance and the following uses of test scores: informing parents of their children’s performance, providing information for instructional purposes, and evaluating teachers and principals.