Search Results: (1-15 of 32 records)
| Pub Number | Title |  Date |
|---|---|---|
| NCEE 20094032 | Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students
Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students reports on the impacts on student achievement for four supplemental reading curricula that use similar overlapping instructional strategies designed to improve reading comprehension in social studies and science text. Fifth-grade reading comprehension for each of three commercially-available curricula (Project CRISS, ReadAbout, and Read for Real) was not significantly different from the control group. The fourth curriculum, Reading for Knowledge, was adapted from Success for All for this study, and had a statistically-significant negative impact on fifth-grade reading comprehension. |
5/4/2009 |
| NCEE 20094050 | The Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Three Years
The DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 established the first federally funded private school voucher program in the United States, providing scholarships of up to $7,500 for low-income residents of the District of Columbia to send their children to local participating private schools. The law also mandated that the Department conduct an independent, rigorous impact evaluation of what is now called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The study's latest report, Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Three Years, measures the effects of the Program on student achievement in reading and math, and on student and parent perceptions of school satisfaction and safety. The evaluation found that the OSP improved reading, but not math, achievement overall and for 5 of 10 subgroups of students examined. The group designated as the highest priority by Congress - students applying from "schools in need of improvement" (SINI) - did not experience achievement impacts. Students offered scholarships did not report being more satisfied or feeling safer than those who were not offered scholarships, however the OSP did have a positive impact on parent satisfaction and perceptions of school safety. This same pattern of findings holds when the analysis is conducted to determine the impact of using a scholarship rather than being offered a scholarship. |
4/3/2009 |
| NCEE 20094047 | Impact Evaluation of the U. S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program
The report, Impact Evaluation of the U. S. Department of Education's Student Mentoring Program compares outcomes of students in the fourth through eighth grades who were randomly assigned to either receive or not receive school-based mentoring from one of the U. S. Department of Education's mentoring grantees. Students were compared on seventeen measures across four domains: school engagement, academic achievement, delinquent behavior, and prosocial behavior. The evaluation found that for the full sample of students, the program did not lead to statistically significant impacts on any of the measures. In addition, the evaluation estimated impacts across five subgroups for each of the outcome measures, four of which were found to be statistically significant (i.e., increased self-reported scholastic efficacy and school bonding for girls, increased self-reported future orientation for boys, decreased truancy for students under age 12, and decreased self-reported prosocial behavior for boys). These impact findings are in the context of several key program delivery findings. Thirty-five percent of the students who were assigned to the no-mentoring group received mentoring services, primarily from other providers in the community. Also, 14 percent of the students assigned to the mentoring group never got matched with a mentor. Students assigned to the mentoring group and who did meet with their mentors met (on average) for 1.1 hours per meeting, 4.4 times per month for 5.8 months. |
2/25/2009 |
| NCEE 20094052 | Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools
Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools reports on the relative impacts of four math curricula on first-grade mathematics achievement. The curricula were selected to represent diverse approaches to teaching elementary school math in the United States. The four curricula are Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. First-grade math achievement was significantly higher in schools randomly assigned to Math Expressions or Saxon Math than in those schools assigned to Investigations in Number, Data, and Space or to Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. This study is being conducted as part of the National Assessment of Title I. The report cleared IES peer review on February 2, 2009. |
2/24/2009 |
| NCEE 20094041 | Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from Two Student Cohorts
The Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products: Findings from Two Student Cohorts reports on the impacts on student achievement of a second year of use of selected software programs in 1st grade reading, 4th grade reading, 6th grade math, and algebra I. The evaluation found no significant difference in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and the classrooms that did not use the technology products, in any of the four groups, in either the first or second year of use by teachers. Only one product, Leap Track in 4th grade, had a statistically significant positive effect on student achievement. The report cleared IES peer review on January 27, 2009. |
2/17/2009 |
| NCEE 20094043 | An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification
The report, An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification, compares the achievement of elementary school students in the same grade, at the same school who were randomly assigned to teachers who chose to be trained through different routes to certification — traditional education school routes and alternative routes. The evaluation found that students of teachers who chose to enter teaching through an alternative route did not perform statistically different from students of teachers who chose a traditional route to teaching. This finding was the same for teachers coming from those programs that required comparatively many as well as few hours of coursework; however, among those teachers who reported taking coursework while teaching, their students performed lower than their counterparts. |
2/9/2009 |
| IES 20096010 | Rigor and Relevance Redux: Director's Biennial Report to Congress
The Institute of Education Sciences has issued the third and final Director's Biennial Report to Congress to be prepared by the Institute's first director, Dr. Grover J. (Russ) Whitehurst. Required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the report includes a description of the activities of IES and its four National Education Centers, as well as a summary of all IES grants and contracts during the biennium in excess of $100,000. The report also includes the Director's recommendations for continued progress and effectiveness of IES. Among the report's highlights:
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11/21/2008 |
| NBES 20096011 | National Board for Education Sciences 5-Year Report, 2003 Through 2008
The framework for the Institute’s nonideological, high-quality work was wisely established by Congress in the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA). Because that Act has generated such strong results, the Board is recommending its rapid reauthorization, with a set of modest amendments meant to improve its clarity and make it even stronger. The Board recognizes that transformation of education into an evidence-based field is an enormous task. It will need to involve everyone from federal and state policymakers to local education leaders, administrators, teachers, and parents. Over the past 6 years, a new direction has been set for education research. We now need to stay on course to arrive at this destination. This report presents the Board’s evaluation of the Institute. The Board examined the ways in which and the extent to which the Institute has been successful in advancing the rigor and improving the relevance of education research, and facilitating evidence-based decisionmaking. |
11/20/2008 |
| NCEE 20094036 | Enhanced Reading Opportunities: Findings from the Second Year of Implementation: Report from the Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Initiative
The report, Enhanced Reading Opportunities: Findings from the Second Year of Implementation presents findings from an ongoing evaluation of the impact of two supplemental literacy programs — Reading Apprenticeship Academic Literacy (RAAL) and Xtreme Reading (XR) — that aim to improve the reading comprehension skills and school performance of struggling ninth-grade readers. The report describes the effects of the programs on the second cohort of students entering high school two to five years behind grade level in reading. Taken together, the programs produced a statistically significant impact on reading comprehension among the students who were randomly assigned to participate in the supplemental literacy programs equivalent to 1 to 2 months of instruction compared to those who did not participate in the programs. Analyzed separately, RAAL had a statistically significant impact on reading comprehension while XR did not have a statistically significant impact on reading comprehension. No statistically significant impacts were found on student’s vocabulary test scores or their use of reading behaviors promoted by the programs. |
11/20/2008 |
| NCEE 20094038 | Reading First Impact Study Final Report
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 created the Reading First program to help ensure that all students can read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The law required an independent, rigorous evaluation of the program. The Reading First Impact Study Final Report provides an update of previously released impact findings on student reading comprehension and classroom reading instruction using an additional year of data (2006-07). In addition, the report includes information on the impact of the program on first grade students’ decoding skill in 2006-07 as well as an examination of the relationship between classroom instruction and student reading comprehension. The results indicate that Reading First produced statistically significant positive impacts on multiple reading practices promoted by the program, such as the amount of instructional time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction and professional development in scientifically based reading instruction. Reading First did not produce a statistically significant impact on student reading comprehension test scores in grades one, two or three. However, there was a positive and statistically significant impact on first grade students’ decoding skills in spring 2007. |
11/19/2008 |
| NCEE 20094034 | Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction: Results from the First Year of a Randomized Controlled Study
The report, Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction: Results from the First Year of a Randomized Controlled Study, presents implementation and impact findings for beginning elementary school teachers after one year of induction services. The study tests whether comprehensive teacher induction affects teacher retention rates, classroom practices, and student achievement, compared to the induction programs that districts normally provide. Beginning teachers in schools randomly assigned to receive comprehensive induction services were offered weekly mentoring from a full-time mentor (who provided services such as observing the beginning teacher in his/her classroom and providing feedback), opportunities to observe other teachers in their classrooms, and professional development workshops on topics such as classroom management and lesson planning. Two comprehensive induction providers were included in the study &,dash; the Educational Testing Service and the New Teacher Center at the University of California-Santa Cruz. |
10/28/2008 |
| NCEE 20084028 | A Study of Classroom Literacy Interventions and Outcomes in Even Start
The report, A Study of Classroom Literacy Interventions and Outcomes in Even Start, presents findings from the 2-year implementation of research-based, literacy-focused preschool and parenting education curricula in 120 Even Start Family Literacy projects. The Classroom Literacy Interventions and Outcomes (CLIO) study examined whether the CLIO preschool and parenting education curricula are more effective than existing Even Start instructional services and the extent to which the CLIO parenting education curricula add value to the CLIO preschool curricula. The evaluation found that the CLIO curricula had statistically significant, positive impacts on some of the hypothesized precursors to the development of children’s early literacy skills, including instructional supports for literacy, child social competence, and parenting skills; but did not have statistically significant impacts on the child language development and literacy outcomes. The evaluation also found that the CLIO parenting curricula did not significantly add value to the CLIO preschool curricula with respect to child outcomes. |
9/30/2008 |
| NCEE 20084034 | The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement
The report, The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement, describes the effectiveness of two specific professional development strategies in improving the knowledge and practice of 2nd grade teachers in high-poverty schools and the reading achievement of their students. Both the 8-day content-focused institutes series (treatment A) and the institute series plus in-school coaching (treatment B) produced positive impacts on teachers' knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction and on one of the three instructional practices promoted by the professional development. However, neither intervention resulted in significantly higher student test scores at the end of the one-year implementation period. The institute series plus in-school coaching did not produce a significantly greater impact on teacher practice than the institute series alone. |
9/22/2008 |
| NCEE 20084030 | The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement
The report, The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement, describes the effectiveness of two specific professional development strategies in improving the knowledge and practice of 2nd grade teachers in high-poverty schools and the reading achievement of their students. Both the 8-day content-focused institutes series (treatment A) and the institute series plus in-school coaching (treatment B) produced positive impacts on teachers’ knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction and on one of the three instructional practices promoted by the professional development. However, neither intervention resulted in significantly higher student test scores at the end of the one-year implementation period. The institute series plus in-school coaching did not produce a significantly greater impact on teacher practice than the institute series alone. |
9/8/2008 |
| NBES 20086009 | National Board for Education Sciences 2008 Annual Report: August 2007 through July 2008
On November 5, 2002, Congress passed the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA), establishing the Institute of Education Sciences (IES, or the Institute) and its board of directors, the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES, or the Board). The Institute reports to Congress yearly on the condition of education in the United States. The Institute provides thorough and objective evaluations of federal programs, sponsors research relevant and useful to educators and others (such as policymakers), and serves as a trusted source of unbiased information on what works in education. The NBES consists of voting and ex-officio members (see Appendix A). The 15 voting members of the Board are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Members Richard Milgram and Herbert Walberg completed their respective terms in November 2007. Board chair Craig Ramey finished his term in March 2008. In 2007 and 2008, the President nominated and the Senate confirmed the following individuals to serve a second term on the Board: Jonathan Baron, Carol D'Amico, F. Philip Handy, Eric Hanushek, and Sally Shaywitz. In November 2008, the Board will have nine member vacancies without taking into account nominations and pending confirmations beyond the release of this report. During this reporting period (August 2007 through July 2008), the Board held meetings in September 2007 and January and May 2008. |
9/5/2008 |
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