High school students from disadvantaged high schools in Toronto were invited to take two surveys, about three weeks apart. Half of the students taking the first survey were also shown a 3 minute video about the benefits of post secondary education (PSE) and invited to try out a financial-aid calculator. Most students' perceived returns to PSE were…

There is increasing evidence that tax benefits for college do not affect college enrollment. This may be because prospective students do not know about tax benefits for college or because the design of tax benefits is not conducive to affecting educational outcomes. We focus on changing awareness of tax benefits by providing information to…

The purpose of this conceptual replication study was to investigate the efficacy of an early literacy intervention when it was implemented by special educators in general education classrooms with students in the class participating in the lessons. The study was conducted in 16 schools in three states. Eighty students with severe disabilities…

We investigated whether three interventions -- studying incorrect worked examples, studying correct worked examples, or receiving feedback -- improved children's 0-1,000 (Experiment 1) and adults' 1 thousand--1 billion (Experiment 2) number-line estimation precision relative to a no intervention control group. At pretest, participants estimated…

The recent wave of test-based accountability reforms has negatively impacted the provision of K-12 arts educational experiences. Advocates contend that, in addition to providing intrinsic benefits, the arts can positively influence academic and social development. However, the empirical evidence to support such claims is limited. We conducted a…

Difficulty learning how to read is a risk factor for school failure, low grades, behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, truancy, unemployment, jail time, and substance abuse. Reading difficulties are common in the educational setting, afflicting anywhere from 20-40 percent of students. Read Naturally is a computer-based reading program which…

Community colleges are an important part of the higher education landscape in the United States, but completion rates are extremely low, especially among low-income students. Much of the existing policy and research attention to this issue has focused on addressing academic and financial challenges. However, there is ample reason to think that…

We explore the potential of a computer-adaptive decoding game in Spanish to increase the decoding skills and oral reading fluency in Spanish and English of bilingual students. Participants were 78 first-grade Spanish-speaking students attending bilingual programs in five classrooms in Texas. Classrooms were randomly assigned to the treatment…

Two intervention approaches designed to address the multifaceted academic and cognitive difficulties of low-income children who enter pre-K with very low math knowledge were tested in a randomized experiment. Blocking on classroom, children who met screening criteria were assigned to a Math + Attention condition in which the Pre-Kindergarten…

This study investigated: 1) the influence of alphabet instructional content (letter names, letter sounds, or both) on alphabet learning and engagement of English only and dual language learner (DLL) children, and 2) the relation between children's initial status and growth in three underlying cognitive learning processes (paired-associate,…

This report summarizes the final results for the Green Jobs and Health Care (GJ-HC) Impact Evaluation, a study of selected grantees funded by two job training initiatives administered by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). In response to the 2008 recession and as part of the American Recovery and…

Classroom discussion boards are a vital part of the online educational experience, providing a venue for peer to peer and student to faculty interactions. However, institutional feedback from students at a large open enrollment university has shown that excess focus on online discussions may lead to fatigue, resulting in lower student…

This paper presents the findings from a randomized control trial study of reading/literacy-integrated science inquiry intervention after 1 year of implementation and the treatment effect on 5th-grade low-socio-economic African-American and Hispanic students' achievement in science and English reading. A total of 94 treatment students and 194…

Community colleges offer a pathway to the middle class for low-income individuals. Although access to college has expanded, graduation rates at community colleges remain low, especially for students who need developmental (remedial) courses to build their math, reading, or writing skills. The City University of New York's (CUNY's) Accelerated…

Researchers in both cognitive science and mathematics education emphasize the importance of comparison for learning and transfer. However, surprisingly little is known about the advantages and disadvantages of what types of things are being compared. In this experimental study, 162 seventh- and eighth-grade students learned to solve equations (a)…