Influence of Cost and Demographic Factors on Reading Achievement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if selected noninstructional variables affect the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in Arkansas. Data for 332 of the state's 333 school districts for the 1986-87 school year were analyzed. The relationships between achievement of students, as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 (MAT-6) and eight variables were analyzed. Four variables studied had significant relationships to fourth-grade reading scores, as measured by the MAT-6. The percentage of minority students and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunches had negative relationships. The percentage of staff holding master’s degrees or above and the relative wealth of the school districts had positive relationships.     

The role of feedback in the under-attainment of ethnic minority students: evidence from distance education

In UK higher education, the attainment of ethnic minority students is lower than that of white students, and this remains the case when differences in entry qualifications have been taken into account. The present study investigated whether the under-attainment of ethnic minority students might be due to the nature of the feedback that they received for their assignments. The assignments submitted by 470 ethnic minority and 470 matched white students taking a distance-learning course were compared using a computer system, Open Mentor, to categorise the feedback given by tutors based on a scheme devised by Bales. Asian and black students and students of mixed ethnicity obtained lower marks for their assignments than did the white students. However, there were only small differences between the ethnic minority students and the white students in terms of the pattern of feedback that they received, and these disappeared when the marks that they had received for their assignments had been taken into account. It is concluded that students from all ethnic groups received feedback that was commensurate with their marks, and that the origins of the attainment gap in ethnic minority students in UK higher education must be sought elsewhere.     

新疆少数民族预科生对汉语作业的期望心理评析

本文在开放式问答的基础上,针对少数民族学生在汉语作业中对教师如何布置和批改作业所持的期望心理等进行评析。     

Turnover in Kindergarten Classroom Membership in a National Sample

Information was obtained from a large national sample of kindergarten teachers on changes in classroom membership for the 1995-1996 school year. On average, 26% of kindergarten classroom membership changed over the school year with frequency increasing as schools were more urban, in higher poverty districts, or with higher minority representation among students. School district policy allowing children to remain in the same classroom when they moved was related to slightly higher frequencies of new student enrollment and relatively higher class size. Teachers in classrooms with high turnover believed a high percentage of entering children had many adjustment problems, problems in communicating, following directions, academic skills, little formal preschool experience, and came from disorganized homes. These data provide teacher-reported national estimates for kindergarten classroom enrollments indicating substantial change over the course of the year and associated teacher beliefs.     

Turnover in Kindergarten Classroom Membership in a National Sample

Information was obtained from a large national sample of kindergarten teachers on changes in classroom membership for the 1995-1996 school year. On average, 26% of kindergarten classroom membership changed over the school year with frequency increasing as schools were more urban, in higher poverty districts, or with higher minority representation among students. School district policy allowing children to remain in the same classroom when they moved was related to slightly higher frequencies of new student enrollment and relatively higher class size. Teachers in classrooms with high turnover believed a high percentage of entering children had many adjustment problems, problems in communicating, following directions, academic skills, little formal preschool experience, and came from disorganized homes. These data provide teacher-reported national estimates for kindergarten classroom enrollments indicating substantial change over the course of the year and associated teacher beliefs.     

族群视野下的高校新疆民族生教育——以广州大学城为例

文章以问卷调查获得的资料为基础,分析了新疆民族生的族群认同。结果表明：（1）族群之间必须求同存异才能和谐发展;（2）有意识地引导汉族学生接纳新疆民族生会促进族群之间的认同;（3）为新疆民族生提供就业后的发展机会能缓解机会不均造成的矛盾。     

The effects of daily homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with learning disabilities

Examined in this two-study investigation was the effectiveness of supplemental homework assignments on the acquisition of basic skills by students with diagnosed learning disabilities (LD). In Experiment 1, an adapted alternating treatments design was used to investigate the efficacy of unstructured homework assignments with 6 elementary school-aged students having basic math problems. Although the impact of the homework assignments differed across students, three factors maximized the effectiveness of the homework assignments: rate of homework completion, percentage correct on the homework assignments, and the rate of acquisition of the content being presented. Experiment 2, designed to formally test the effectiveness of homework assignments structured specifically to address these identified factors, confirmed that homework can be employed to increase the effectiveness of direct instruction sequences with students diagnosed as LD.     

Continuity and change in the visions of childhood in head start: Implications for early childhood teacher educators

ABSTRACT

Drawing on an autoethnographic approach, the purpose of this article is to support: 1) teacher educators in thinking about how to mentor sexual minority students as they consider the decision to disclose (or not) their sexual identities in their school placements; and 2) sexual minority students in navigating the decision to disclose (or not) their sexual identities in the context of practicum or student teaching. Early childhood teacher education faculty must be prepared to support sexual minority students in confronting decisions about disclosing their sexual orientation in the context of practicum and student teaching. Though sexual minority educators may choose to seek employment in schools or districts with explicit values about nondiscrimination, preservice teachers may not enjoy similar agency or protection, given that student placements are often dictated by geographic proximity to the university and partnerships with teacher preparation programs.     

Do Students' Religion and School Absences Moderate the Effect of Ethnic Stereotypes on School-Placement Recommendations?

The results of two experiments demonstrate that preservice teachers made biased school-placement recommendations depending on student's ethnicity, which on average penalized students from an ethnic minority. Moreover, additional information that was supposed to disconfirm ethnic stereotypes (religious affiliation in Experiment 1, number of missed school days in Experiment 2) led to more high-track recommendations for low-achieving minority students and to fewer high-track recommendations for high-achieving minority students. Conversely, stereotype-disconfirming information exerted little or no influence on the recommendations for high-achieving native students but worsened recommendations for low-achieving students. The results were interpreted as being based either on subtyping (predominantly for minority Turkish students) or subgrouping (predominantly for majority German students) of ethnic stereotypes.     

Discipline or Prejudice? Overrepresentation of Minority Students in Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs

The study seeks to determine the underlying factors contributing to the overrepresentation of minorities in school disciplinary programs. Data from 207 Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) in Texas are analyzed. The data represent more than 62 % of the student population of Texas school districts. Results support the hypothesis that the ‘whiteness’ of school district undesirably affects the overrepresentation of Black students (but not Hispanic students) in DAEP. Overrepresentation of Black students in disciplinary programs is significantly higher in urban school districts than in rural districts. The findings, however, add a new layer of complexity to the debate on the overrepresentation of minorities in disciplinary programs. This is because not only White school districts are more likely than other districts to exercise their discretionary authority to punish minorities but they also more frequently subject their minority students to mandatory disciplines that are well defined by the state. Plausible explanations of such overrepresentation is offered for future research. Neither wealth nor the districts’ type (urban, suburban, rural and mid-size) have been found to have significant impact on discretionary or mandatory disciplinary actions against minority students.     

Effects of individualized assignments on biology achievement

A pretest-posttest, randomized, two groups, experimental, factorial design compared effects of detailed and nondetailed assignments on biology achievement over seven and a half months. Detailed assignments (favoring field independence and induction) employed block diagrams and stepwise directions. Nondetailed assignments (favoring field dependence and deduction) virtually lacked these. The accessible population was 101 tenth grade preparatory school male students. The 95 students enrolled in first year biology constituted the sample. Two by three ANOVA was done on residualized posttest score means of the students. Totally, the detailed students achieved significantly higher than the nondetailed students. This significantly higher achievement was only true of detailed students in the middle thirds of the deviation intelligence quotient (DIQ) range and of the grade point average (G.P.A.) range after the breakdown into upper, middle, and lower thirds of intellectual capability (ability and achievement). The upper third detailed DIQ grouping indirectly achieved higher than its peers, whereas the lower detailed DIQ third achieved lower than its peers. Thus, high capability students apparently benefit from flow and block diagrams, inductions, field independence, and high structure, whereas low capability students may be hindered by these.     

Students’ motivation and teachers’ teaching practices towards the use of blogs for writing of online journals

This research paper explores students’ motivation and teachers’ teaching practices towards the writing of compositions in the conventional paper-based (paper and pencil) and the online blogs mode. Six classes of Grade 5 (224 students) and four English teachers in an elementary-level future school in Singapore were involved in this study. A total of four written assignments were given to the students – two conventional paper and pencil and two online blog-written assignments. No significant difference was found in students’ scores on these assignments. However, the submission rate for the conventional paper-based assignments was 93.8% as compared to 75% for the online blogs entries. Although both students and teachers in this study are savvy information communication technology users who have been exposed to one-to-one computing since Grade 1, the use of blogs for journal writing was not natural to both parties. Teachers found that it was more cumbersome to grade and give comments on students’ online blog posts via the online platform and likewise, students also faced issues with the submission of their online writing assignments. Some students quoted that they preferred writing via conventional paper and pencil mode, experienced network connection and technical issues, had poor time management, experienced forgetfulness and distraction from the computers and the Internet for not submitting their online writing assignments. This study also once again highlighted the importance of the teacher, as one out of the four teachers managed to get all her students to submit their writing assignments. The in-depth analysis of the interviews with the teachers and students, students’ perception survey, students’ performance in their writing tasks (both online and paper-based) and submission rates had revealed useful insights and considerations on the use of blogs to engage students in writing.     

Minority status,sex, and school psychological services

The sex and minority status of 355 students referred for psychological services from a random sample of schools in an urban school system were examined in relation to the frequency of referral, type of problem, and the nature of subsequent psychological services. A significantly higher percentage of both minority students and males were referred for psychological services; males were referred approximately twice as often as females. When referral problems were categorized as either academic or behavior problems, there were no differences between majority and minority students nor between males and females on percentage referred for each type of problem. Parent contacts were made significantly more often for majority students and for females, and recommendations to parents of majority students were more varied than those made to parents of minority students. Special Education resource services were recommended significantly more often for minority students. Possible reasons and implications of these findings are discussed.     

Defying expectations: Vocabulary growth trajectories of high performing language minority students

We investigated general vocabulary and academic vocabulary growth trajectories of adolescent language minority students using an individual growth modeling approach. Our analytical sample included 3161 sixth- to eighth-grade students from an urban school district in California. The language minority students in our sample were classified as initially fluent English proficient (IFEP), redesignated fluent English proficient (RFEP), or limited English proficient (LEP) students. The analytical sample was not a nationally representative sample and included a great number of Asian students and students who receive gifted and talented education. Students were assessed at four time points on a standardized measure of general vocabulary and a researcher-developed academic vocabulary test. On both vocabulary measures, IFEP students slightly outperformed English-only (EO) students on average, and EO students scored higher than RFEP and LEP students at baseline. RFEP and LEP students showed slower rate of growth than their EO peers in general vocabulary. While both EO and language minority students showed summer setback with general vocabulary knowledge on average, the magnitude of summer setback was not as great for LEP students. In academic vocabulary, all subgroups of language minority students showed more rapid rate of growth than their EO peers. Only the REP students experienced a change in the learning trajectory during the summer months. We discuss the implications of these findings for all language groups.     

Restricting seniority as a factor in public school district layoffs: Analyzing the impact of state legislation on graduation rates

Following the Great Recession, employment in the U.S. local education sector fell by about 364,000. I analyze whether state legislation that prohibits or limits the use of seniority in layoff decisions has an impact on public high school graduation rates. I find that over a ten-year time span, all else held constant, such legislation on average increases the yearly growth of district graduation rates by about 0.3 percentage points. This is economically significant, as the average yearly increase in the national graduation rate from 2010–11 to 2015–16 was 1 percentage point. When states prohibit or limit using seniority to determine a layoff order, districts must utilize other considerations such as teacher quality. In states with this legislation, teachers remaining following layoffs may be more effective than when states use seniority to determine the layoff order.     

GRADING WITHOUT POINTS DOES IT HURT STUDENT PERFORMANCE?

Abstract. We gave students enrolled in a research methods course the option of receiving normal grade feedback on assignments (with point values assigned) or receiving feedback on assignments without point values assigned. With respect to final grades earned, students in the two groups did not differ significantly. Final grades were related to self-report of effort as well as future career plans. We encourage instructors to experiment with the mechanics of grade feedback to optimize educational opportunities for students.     

State Assessment Policies,Practices, and Language Minority Students

State assessment policies define the context for local school districts to identify language minority students who need language-based instructional services and to follow the performance of these students in school. This survey of state education agencies (SEAs) in the eastern half of the United States addressed two questions: What assessment policies are states using to identify and reclassify English language learning (ELL) students from special language programs, and what assessment policies are states using to determine the participation of ELL students in statewide testing programs? Results indicated that fewer than one third of the SEAs required assessment for identification or placement of ELL students through state law or policy, leaving most of the states without procedures that would prevent mislabeling and inaccurate student counts. Almost half the states required a minimum score on a statewide test for students to be eligible for a high school diploma, yet less than one fifth of these had some kind of alternative plan for students not obtaining the minimum score. Recommendations offered to states for designing accurate and equitable assessment practices for language minority students are (a) use uniform requirements for identification and reclassification, (b) monitor district-level assessment practices, (c) select ELL students for inclusion in statewide testing based on English language proficiency, (d) use statewide testing programs to monitor the progress of former ELL students, (e) use multiple assessment procedures in statewide testing, and (f) provide alternative procedures for ELL students to meet stare test requirements for high school graduation.     

Too much or not enough? An examination of special education provision and school district leaders’ perceptions of current needs and common approaches

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between special education provision in Norway and school district leaders’ perspectives regarding (a) the need for special education and (b) the importance and prevalence of integrated and segregated approaches. Findings indicate that the percentage of students perceived as being in need of special education was significantly higher than the percentage of students who actually receive this support. However, districts in which an increased need was reported did not have lower enrolment in special education than regions in which participants felt that the level of special education provision was appropriate. No relationship was found between the percentage of students receiving special education and the importance placed on either segregated or integrated approaches. Whereas virtually all participants valued integrated solutions, segregated approaches received higher ratings of importance in districts where these practices were prevalent.     

Substituting SAT II: Subject Tests for SAT I: Reasoning Tests: Impact on Admitted Class Composition and Quality

Using data from a sample of 10 colleges at which most students had taken both SAT I: Reasoning tests and SAT II: Subject tests, we simulated the effects of making selection decisions using SAT II scores in place of SAT I scores. Specifically, we treated the students in each college as forming the applicant pool for a more select college, and then selected the top two thirds (and top one third) of the students using high school grade point average combined with either SAT I scores or the average of SAT II scores. Success rates, in terms of first-year grade point averages, were virtually identical for students selected by the different models. The percentage of African American, Asian American, and White students selected varied only slightly across models. Appreciably more Mexican American and Other Latino students were selected with the model that used SAT II scores in place of SAT I scores because these students submitted subject test scores for the Spanish test on which they had high scores.     

Accounting for the effects of increased high school graduation expectations on pupil performance and resource allocation: results from New York State

Increases in high school graduation requirements are prompting interest in the consequences for students, taxpayers, and educators. This study examines the experiences of New York State school districts that increased student participation between 1992 and 1996 in a statewide testing program that historically has been designed for college-bound students. The study includes statistical comparisons based on the universe of school districts in the State as well as the results of an intensive set of selective case studies. The results show that many different types of districts moved to increase participation levels during the study period and that increases in participation levels were associated with (a) modest declines in the percentage of students passing the exams; (b) unchanged drop-out rates; (c) increases in spending that were similar in magnitude to increases found in districts with little or no increase in participation; and (d) increases in professional staffing levels in core instructional areas. Implications for policy are explored.