Education Commons^™

Great Books For Late Summer Reading, Terrell A. Young, Barbara A. Ward

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

For decades now, reading experts have expressed concern that the competence gained by struggling readers during the academic year is lost during the summer months. While academic enrichment and remediation programs can reduce that loss, one of the best practices to build better readers is by having them read during breaks from school. At least one study clearly supports this suggestion. In his study of 1,600 elementary students in the mid-Atlantic area, researcher James Kim (2009) found that regardless of previous achievement level or race or socioeconomic level, children who read more books performed better on reading comprehension tests in …

Establishment And Maintenance Of Academic Optimism In Michigan Elementary Schools: Academic Emphasis, Faculty Trust Of Students And Parents, Collective Efficacy, Jill Van Hof

Dissertations

In response to heightened standards and calls for accountability, schools have dramatically intensified their work to meet the growing challenges. Schools require strategies for improvement that will transcend demographic factors such as SES. Research has shown the construct of academic optimism as contributing to student achievement despite a school’s socio-economic status (Goddard, LoGerfo, & Hoy, 2004; Goddard, Sweetland, & Hoy, 2000; Hoy, 2002; Hoy & Miskel, 2005; Hoy & Sabo, 1998; Hoy & Tarter, 1997; Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991; Hoy, Tarter, & Woolfolk, 2006; McGuigan & Hoy, 2006; Smith & Hoy, 2001; Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 2000).

There exists, …