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Eric.ed.gov – To Track or Not to Track?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Background: This paper was written for a graduate level action research course at Muskingum University, located in New Concord, OH. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine which method of instruction best serves ALL high school students. Is it more advantageous to track (“ability group”) students or not to track students in high school core classes (Math, Science, History, and English)? Setting: This study was conducted during the 2009-2010 school year. All subjects involved in this research are associated with Caldwell High School, located in Caldwell, OH. Caldwell is a small rural town located in Southeastern Ohio, which is part of the Appalachian region. The high school currently has approximately 180 students in attendance and 11 educators teaching the four core subject areas. Study Sample:… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Web-based Instructional Modules Designed to Support Fundamental Math Concepts in Entry Level College Mathematics: Their Effects, Characteristics of Successful Learners, and Effective Learning Strategies.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The first goal of this study was to examine the impact of nine World Wide Web-based learning modules on learning as measured on both online module quizzes and in-class exams. The modules were designed to support fundamental concepts in entry-level college mathematics courses. The second and third goals of this study were to determine the learner characteristics and strategies that affect student performance on the nine Web-based learning modules. Data sources included: a demographic survey; nine Web-based instructional module quizzes; three in-class quizzes; three in-class, paper-based quiz surveys; an in-class final exam; an exit survey; and face-to-face interviews. Findings indicated that students who scored above 80% on the module quizzes also did better on in-class exams. Those who were self-motivated, focused, and self-disciplined had greater success in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 2007, the Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute to conduct a nationwide study of homeschooling in America. The study’s purpose was to develop a current picture of homeschool students and their families–capturing their demographics and educational background–and analyze the impact of certain variables on homeschoolers’ academic achievement. Dr. Ray collected data for the cross-sectional, descriptive study in spring 2008. The 11,739 participants came from all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. In the study, homeschoolers scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th percentile for Language, Math, and Social Studies to the 89th percentile for Reading. The study also found that whether or… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Bayesian Unimodal Density Regression for Causal Inference

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Karabatsos and Walker (2011) introduced a new Bayesian nonparametric (BNP) regression model. Through analyses of real and simulated data, they showed that the BNP regression model outperforms other parametric and nonparametric regression models of common use, in terms of predictive accuracy of the outcome (dependent) variable. The other, outperformed, regression models include random-effects/hierarchical linear and generalized linear models, when the random effects were assumed to be normally-distributed (Laird & Ware, 1982; Breslow & Clayton 1993), and when the random effects were more generally modeled by a nonparametric, Dirichlet process (DP) mixture prior (Kleinman & Ibrahim, 1998a,1998b). The authors argue that the new Bayesian nonparametric (BNP) regression model provides a novel, richer, and more valid approach to causal inference, which allows the researcher to investigate how treatments causally… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Academic Achievement and School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Turning around chronically low-performing schools requires a multifaceted school-wide, systematic effort that includes strong leadership and data-based decision making. School-wide efforts to turn-around low-performing schools should address the academic, social, and behavioral needs of all students. One evidence-based, systematic school-wide approach for addressing social and behavioral concerns in schools and, distally, increasing students’ access to academic instruction, is school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS). SWPBIS is associated with increased positive school climate, increased teacher self-efficacy, decreased problem behaviors for the whole school, and potentially, increased academic achievement. The underlying assumption is that by improving social behavior, schools have more time and ability to deliver effective curriculum and instruction. However, to-date, this assumption has not been fully investigated. The goal of this paper is to explicitly examine… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – State Test Score Trends through 2007-08. Part 1: Is the Emphasis on “Proficiency” Shortchanging Higher- and Lower-Achieving Students?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This report is the first in a series of reports describing results from the Center on Education Policy’s (CEP’s) third annual analysis of state testing data. The report provides an update on student performance at the proficient level of achievement, and for the first time, includes data about student performance at the advanced and basic levels. Also included are profiles for each state, which show trends in reading and math for basic, proficient, and advanced levels in elementary, middle, and high school. The study provides an in-depth look at the full range of student performance in order to better understand whether the No Child Left Behind Act’s (NCLB) focus on proficiency has caused teachers to shortchange students at either end of the academic spectrum. Reported findings include:… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Impact of Racially Diverse Schools in a Democratic Society. Research Brief No. 3. Updated

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is the third in a series of briefs summarizing findings from the newest and most rigorous research related to racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools. The studies on which this brief is based were published recently in three special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, “Teachers College Record,” edited by Professors Roslyn Arlin Mickelson of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Kathryn Borman of the University of South Florida. For more than two decades, the success of school desegregation has been judged mainly by the degree to which it benefits individuals, either through academic achievement or social mobility. This research augments an already extensive body of work in this area, which has reached similar conclusions. However, the work published this year in “Teachers College… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teaching Effectiveness and the Conditions that Matter Most in High-Needs Schools: A Policy Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Over the last decade, policy and business leaders have come to know what parents have always known: teachers make the greatest difference to student achievement. With new statistical and analytical methods used by a wide range of researchers, evidence has been mounting that teacher quality can account for a large share of variance in student test scores. The evidence on the distribution of qualified and effective teachers is also clear–and the findings are not good. Teachers who have met the demanding standards of National Board Certification and those who have generated higher “value-added” student achievement gains are far less likely to teach economically disadvantaged and minority students. As a result, high-poverty schools are more likely to be beset with teaching vacancies in math and special education, and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Review of “Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?”

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The research report reviewed here concludes that many initially high-achieving students are falling further and further behind over the course of their years in school. The report intends to raise the alarm and to advocate for improved programs for these students. It is, however, a false alarm due to biased methodology and misleading arguments. The report’s norm-referenced framework guarantees “losers” as well as “winners,” regardless of any true improvement made by the students. Also, the “regression to the mean” effect produces a false illusion of a tradeoff of over-progress by low achievers at the cost of under-progress for high achievers. Finally, its prescription for stronger school accountability for high-achieving students under NCLB does not follow research-based guidance on how to improve student learning. Other research, including that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Relationship between Praxis 1 Scores and SAT/ACT Scores: A Correlational Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this paper is to test the premise that there is a significant correlation between Praxis1 scores and SAT scores among African American students who are applying for admission into the teacher education program. Data for the study included the Praxis 1 (reading, writing and math) scores and SAT (reading, writing and math) scores of African American students who attended a minority-populated institution between the years of 1998 and 2001. Sixty-four SAT math and 64 Praxis 1 math scores, 65 SAT writing and 65 Praxis 1 writing scores, and 68 SAT reading and 68 Praxis 1 reading scores were used in the statistical analysis and the scores were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). The results of the data analysis showed a statistically significant… Continue Reading