Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Programme For International Student Assessment (Pisa)

International Developments

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) leads an international consortium of research organisations, and educational institutions to deliver the International PISA project on behalf of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Translated into 48 languages and then verified to ensure they can be understood by students from a wide range of language and cultural backgrounds, PISA questions are based on relevant, everyday situations. PISA tests the reading, mathematics and science literacy of 15-year-olds across the world. In 2009 around 400 000 students from 57 countries took part.

Educational Reform And Teachers' Decision Making : Relationship Between The Intended And The Implemented Reading Curriculum In Dominican Primary Schools, Ancell Scheker Mendoza

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

An Analysis Of Preschool Enrollment And Student Progress Measures Among Primary And Elementary Students., Charles David Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores exists between students who attended Tennessee's Voluntary Preschool for All program, Head Start, private preschool, or daycare and those who did not attend any type of preschool program for students in grades kindergarten through fifth. The sample consisted of students who attended kindergarten through fifth grade during the 2009-2010 school year in one east Tennessee school system. Data gathered were from Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores obtained during the 2009-2010 school year and a survey. …

Challenges For Australian Education : Results From Pisa 2009 : The Pisa 2009 Assessment Of Students' Reading, Mathematical And Scientific Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Marina Nicholas, Kylie Hillman, Sarah Buckley

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

Focusing on reading literacy as the major domain for the PISA 2009 assessment, this national report examines Australian students' achievement in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. Results are reported for the states, by gender, for Indigenous students, by location, language background and by socioeconomic background.

Kindergarten Assessments As A Predictor For A Student’S Need For Intervention, Victoria Ellen Weinketz Hoover

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the kindergarten assessment results from the three windows in reading, written communication, and mathematics were a valid predictor of a student’s need for intervention up until the conclusion of second grade. Reynolds (1992) suggested that a student’s overall school success is reflective of the approach taken early in kindergarten. With the demands of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), districts have set in place strategies to meet the standard of all students reading on grade level at the conclusion of the third grade. If districts are to rise to the …

Program Evaluation Of Making Great Readers, Shelly Bullard

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study was conducted to evaluate the Making Great Readers program which was piloted in two small Title I elementary schools in western North Carolina during the 2009-2010 school year. The study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program based on teacher perception and impact on student achievement.

A logic model was used to evaluate this pilot program with a focus on short-, intermediate-, and long-term outcomes. The research questions examined student reading achievement and teacher perspectives through a concurrent mixed methods approach. Quantitative analysis of phonemic awareness scores were taken from data gathered using the Dynamic Indicators …

Examining The Relationship Among Reading Curriculum-Based Measures, Level Of Language Proficiency, And State Accountability Test Scores With Middle School Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners, Nicole Osterman Stokes

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive ability of oral reading fluency (R-CBM) on a sixth grade high-stakes assessment with ELL and non- ELL students, as well as determine the average rate of growth on R-CBM and how that relates to level of English Proficiency. The participants in the current study included 350 sixth grade students from a middle school located in west Phoenix, AZ. Ninety of the 350 students were English Language Learners at varying levels of language proficiency in English. Archival data was used for the study. Each participant completed R-CBM three times throughout …

The Implementation Of Interventions And Strategies For Children Who Struggle With Reading Utilizing The Read 180 Program, Rebecca Josephine Haag Guyne

Dissertations

All children can learn if given the opportunity, correct assistance, and appropriate instruction. Finding the learning tools which will enhance and encourage learning is the ultimate way to make certain that all students can and will learn. Many teachers use their gut instinct to determine the interventions and strategies to present in their classroom. Improvement will only occur for teachers and students when best practice or research based interventions and strategies are not only accessible but utilized correctly on a daily basis. Children with reading disabilities find fluency and reading comprehension a challenge. The most effective method reported in the …

A First Year Program Evaluation Of Language Essentials For Teachers Of Reading And Spelling: The Effect On Student Achievement And Teacher Perception, Danielle C. Vogelsang

Dissertations

An indicator of student achievement is the ability to read. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000) stated that reading comprehension is critically important to the development of children’s reading skills and their ability to obtain an education. The ability to read was found to be both necessary and crucial for academic success. With the adoption of No Child Left Behind, national concern about the quality of our schools and the achievement of all students was as high as it has ever been. The primary purposes of this study were to (a) investigate the impact of the …

The Effect Of A Summer Reading Program On Student Reading Achievement, Danielle Triplett

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the relationship between reading during the summer and reading achievement. The participants consisted of second through fifth grade students in a rural, western North Carolina elementary school. Continued focus on increasing reading abilities and closing the achievement gap prompted the interest for this research.

Data were gathered through the use of qualitative and quantitative measures such as state and county assessments, surveys, and program reports.

Analysis of the data indicated the role that reading during the summer had on reading achievement.

The Effects Of Teacher Stability On Third Grade Student Achievement As Measured By The North Carolina End-Of-Grade Tests In Reading And Mathematics, Juddson W. Starling

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine the effects of teacher stability on student achievement as measured by the North Carolina End-of-Grade tests in reading and mathematics for third grade students. The perceptions of third grade teachers and elementary school principals concerning issues with teacher stability were also examined. Accountability for public schools in North Carolina has driven educators to find ways to increase student achievement. Teacher stability is a variable that can be controlled by educators in an attempt to increase student achievement.

The writer gathered test data from a target school district and analyzed test scores by the number …

Common Strategies Used By Kindergarten Teachers To Instruct Reading To English-As-A-Second-Language Students, Emma Kaye Penn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to describe, analyze, and interpret what reading strategies experienced kindergarten teachers believe are essential to instruct English-as-a-Second-Language learners how to read. Through in-depth interviews, experienced kindergarten teachers were given a voice to describe what they consider essential reading strategies to instruct English-as-a-Second-Language learners to learn how to read.

The participants were four licensed, non-probationary kindergarten teachers instructing reading in English to a minimum of 51% English-as-a-Second-Language population. Selected kindergarten programs were consistent in program design. Processes were influenced by the gateway approach. The stories teachers told about their experiences in teaching ELLs how to read was …

Factors That Are Associated With Students' Standardized Reading Achievement Scores, Cherie Nichole Mothershead

Dissertations

This study examined the factors that are associated with students' standardized reading achievement scores. The participants in this study were obtained from two sources: a national and a regional sample. The national participants were located throughout the United States of America, and the regional participants were from a school district in a southeastern state.

The data for the national sample were provided by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, and the regional sample was provided by surveying all fifth grade teachers in a school district from a southeastern state. These two …

Transitioning The Struggling Reader: Evaluating The Effects Of Middle-School Direct Instruction On Traditional High-School Learning In The English Classroom, Sarah Tanner Anderson

Theses & Honors Papers

In this qualitative study, I investigate the academic performance of three current ninth-grade students who were tracked throughout middle school by the 1999 McGraw-Hill SRA Corrective Reading Direct Instruction program. To study their respective transitions from middle to high school, I investigate their test performance on the fifth- and eighth-grade reading and writing Virginia Standards of Learning assessments, analyze the quality of student work from sixth through ninth grades by evaluating student products and test documents, and conduct intensive interviews with students and their former and current teachers. By constructing a case-study of each student and conducting a cross-case analysis …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of The Success For All Whole-School Reform Model On The Elementary School Proficiency Assessment And The New Jersey Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge In An Urban District, Winston D. Jackson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Five Approaches To Literacy In Correctional Education, Thom Gehring, Gary H. Sherwin

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

This article introduces literacy from a few “big picture” perspectives, and then reviews five paradigms that have shaped the teaching and learning of literacy in residential confinement institutions for juveniles and adults. The paradigms are specific to correctional education, but they will be familiar to all alternative teachers and advocates of literacy instruction.

A Study Of Associations Between Third Grade Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Scores And Subsequent Scores In A Rural Tennessee School District., David Cloud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the associations and differences that exist in the NCE scores of students on the TerraNova portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Exam, as well as the possible influence of variables such as initial scores, grade level, gender, and free or reduced lunch status. The population consisted of a stable group of 49 students enrolled in a rural Tennessee school district reported to have taken the annual assessment at the same school as they progressed from 3rd to 8th grade during the 1999 to 2004 school years. The study focused on the performance of students over …

Associations Involving Open Court Reading In Kindergarten And Student Performance On Standardized Assessments In Reading In A Tennessee School System., Rachel Suzanne Walk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, associations existed between the implementation of the Open Court Reading^® program in kindergarten and students’ reading achievement on the Terra Nova standardized achievement test in the first grade. The study involved first-grade students who attended kindergarten in one school system in East Tennessee. Using a quantitative design, this study included the first-grade Terra Nova scores from 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Scores obtained by first-grade students who did not receive Open Court Reading^® in kindergarten (2001 and 2002) were compared with first-grade scores obtained by students who …

A Comparison Of Students' And Parents' Habits And Attitudes Toward Reading In Title I And Non-Title I Schools., Judy L. Netherland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study describes and compares the reading habits and attitudes of students and parents in Title I and Non-Title I schools. The study was conducted because reading is an important basic skill that all children must acquire. The information gathered can be used to help parents provide beneficial experiences for their children in reading.

The literature review addresses literature and research related to factors identified as impacting readiness for school and reading achievement in elementary-age students. Research indicates that family structure, amount of time children spend watching television, availability of learning tools, and home literacy activities may be related to …

Academic Remediation Of Non-Disability, Middle School Students, Merilee Ann Redberg

All Graduate Projects

Strategies were developed to address perceived teacher practitioner concerns regarding three areas considered to be negatively impacting student academic performance and three skills perceived to be crucial to student academic success. The six categories addressed were identified through the author's development and implementation of a survey used among middle school teachers.

Aiding Non-Reading Spanish Speaking Adults With Worksource Orientation And Usage Through Low-Level Spanish Reading Workshops, Amy Claussen

All Graduate Projects

The goal of this project is to teach adult Hispanic low-level readers to utilize the Worksource of Kittitas County and to improve their reading in their language of origin. Research shows that the transfer of knowledge from the primary language to a new second language is not possible without mastery in the primary language first.

The Impact Of Shared Inquiry Discussion On Teacher Expectations For Student Academic Performance, Nancy Kavanagh

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Chocolate Bunnies And Pork For Passover: The School And Home: A Symbiosis For Family Literacy, Karen C. Waters

Education Faculty Publications

This article explores the literacy partnership between school and family when intergenerational stories are made public.

The Utility Of Dibels As A Curriculum Based Measurement In Relation To Reading Proficiency On High Stakes Tests, Rebecca Gayle Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills or DIBELS reading measures and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition or SAT9 reading scores. The following research question was examined: What is the concurrent validity of the DIBELS reading measures in relation to students’ SAT9 reading scores? In this study, archival data from five firstgrade classrooms at a rural southeastern Ohio elementary school were collected. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive and significant correlation between DIBELS measures and SAT9 scores with the exception of …

Creating Motivation And Oral Reading Fluency Through Readers' Theatre, Kelly Leaverton

All Graduate Projects

Readers' Theatre is a wonderful teaching tool in which students practice and rehearse scripts in order to put on plays in front of an audience. The focus is on word accuracy and expression in reading without having to memorize lines. Studies have shown that Readers' Theatre can strengthen oral reading fluency by repeated readings, and increase confidence and motivation to read as students learn to read their parts with fluency and precision. Unfortunately, due to lack of availability and training, Readers' Theatre is not used in the classroom to the extent it should be, and many educators are uncomfortable with …

Impact Of School Libraries On Student Achievement: A Review Of The Research, Michele Lonsdale

School and system improvement

This literature review was undertaken on behalf of the Australian School Library Association (ASLA). It was conducted over a four-week period in November–December 2002. The main purpose of the review was to report on the nature and extent of the evidence that has linked school libraries to student achievement from 1990 - 2002, to identify the strengths and gaps in existing data as it might relate to an Australian setting, and to suggest some strategies for developing further research in Australia.

Creating A Balanced Literacy Program For Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Students, Shayne T. Wrzesinski

All Graduate Projects

Balanced literacy instruction can be defined in a variety of ways. The important characteristic about a balanced literacy program is that it is neither phonics nor whole language. Creating a balanced literacy program within a classroom encompasses both phonics and whole language in a literature rich environment. Students who participate in a balanced program have opportunities to read and write daily through a variety of meaningful approaches including shared, guided, independent and direct instruction. The literature rich environment provides growth for all students, by teaching skills and strategies through literacy in a natural setting not in isolation. Teachers in the …

Relationship Between Text Display Method And College Student Short Term Knowledge Retention During Self-Study., Jeff W. Church

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference existed in the short-term knowledge retention of college freshmen reading informational stimulus materials presented through one of three different text display modes; 1) traditional printed text, 2) computer-displayed linear text, and 3) computer-displayed hypertext. The sample consisted of 267 college freshmen at a southern regional university. The 267 students were randomly selected from the entire population of entering freshmen during Fall 2002. These students were then randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups. After reading the stimulus materials for a specified amount of time, students completed …

A Model Resource Guide For Jr. High Classroom Teachers To Support Students With Learning Difficulties In The Area Of Reading, Amy Lynn Low

All Graduate Projects

The need for reading strategies in the general education classroom was studied. Research showed that students who struggled with reading, including students with learning disabilities, benefited when content area teachers, not just Language Arts teachers, implemented specific and effective reading strategies into their curriculum. The results also demonstrated a need for teacher resources in the area of reading strategy application. This project is a simple and effective tool that all teachers can use in their classrooms based on current related research.

A Handbook Of Activities For Inclusion Of At Risk Middle School Language Arts Students, Deana M. York

All Graduate Projects

A handbook oflanguage arts activities for at risk middle school students was developed for preservice and experienced teachers to utilize in general education classrooms. A review of current educational research and literature addresses the need for inclusive instructional practices to meet academic needs of students who are at risk for drop out and failure. The literature review supports evidence that educators provide necessary accommodations for a culturally diverse adolescent student population by adapting classroom curriculum and pedagogy.