Is under-representation of Black, Latinx, English learners (EL), and students from economically challenging communities in gifted programs due to inequality in early academic achievement or bias in the gifted identification process? Using three-level multilevel logistic models, we examine the degree to which the disparities in gifted…

Recent federal investments in early childhood assessment systems are the result of a national need for developmentally appropriate, psychometrically sound instruments to monitor young children and evaluate the effectiveness of their learning programs. In this paper, we examined the association between teachers' perceptions of their students at the…

Research Findings: This study of kindergarten monolingual and Dual Language Learners (DLLs) (N=263; mean age = 63.40 months) and their teachers (N=27) found significant mean differences in the observed quality of language interactions in classrooms with differing proportions of DLLs. Teachers instructing in classrooms with higher numbers of DLLs…

In this research, school and district gifted coordinators in three states reported on the gifted curriculum in their schools. We also use state administrative data to examine the achievement growth from 3rd to 5th grade for gifted and non-gifted students. We find a limited use of a gifted mathematics and language arts curriculum for gifted…

We evaluated the long-term effects of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention in fall and spring of first grade and winter of second grade. Participants included students from two studies, an initial efficacy study and a subsequent replication study, identified as at risk for language and learning difficulties, who were…

In the current educational climate, a great deal of emphasis is placed on measuring both teacher and school effectiveness. We employed a residual based approach to examine school effectiveness using school mean achievement data from one state. Rather than evaluating schools based on their mean achievement, we chose to predict achievement based on…

Much is unknown about how initially high-achieving students grow academically, especially given the measurement issues inherent in assessing growth for the highest performing students. This study compared initially high-achieving and average students' growth in reading (in a cohort of third-grade students from 2,000 schools) over 3 years.…

In this study, we use large-scale, longitudinal data to model the growth in student reading across 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in three states using multi-level models for change (Singer & Willett, 2003) to fit individual growth models for students nested in schools and districts. Students who were identified as gifted had 3rd grade reading scores…

Factors associated with motivation and satisfaction aid in understanding the processes that enhance achievement and productivity. Siegle and McCoach (2005) proposed a motivational model for understanding student achievement and underachievement that included self-perceptions in three areas (meaningfulness [goal valuation], self-efficacy, and…

Even with increased risks, many children demonstrate resiliency and avoid being labeled for special education; however, research on risk and resilience has been problematic because of inadequate statistical models, limitations of available data, and the exclusion of key protective factors. This study used a national sample to examine the influence…

We evaluated the impact of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention designed to reinforce content taught in core classroom instruction implemented within a multitiered system of support (MTSS) framework. Kindergarten teachers implemented a published vocabulary program with all their students during whole-class instruction…

English learners (ELs) are the fastest-growing population of students in the United States and currently represent nearly 10% of public school enrollment; however, they also constitute less than 3% of gifted program enrollment in these schools. Although an increasing number of studies explore this underrepresentation, research that specifically…

The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a…

English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing population of students in the United States and currently represent nearly 10% of public school enrollment; however, they also constitute less than 3% of gifted program enrollment in these schools. Although an increasing number of studies explore this underrepresentation, research that specifically…

We investigated whether individual differences in overall receptive vocabulary knowledge measured at the beginning of the year moderated the effects of a kindergarten vocabulary intervention that supplemented classroom vocabulary instruction. We also examined whether moderation would offset the benefits of providing Tier-2 vocabulary intervention…