This annual report provides information for the 2012-13 school year on grade-level retention and student performance in the Texas public school system. Student retention and promotion data are reported with data on the performance of students in Grades 3-8 on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading and mathematics…

This annual report provides information for the 2012-13 school year on grade-level retention in the Texas public school system. Data on retention are provided by student characteristics, including grade level; race/ethnicity; gender; degree of English proficiency; and economic, at-risk, immigrant, migrant, and overage statuses. Data also are…

Abstract In a technologically driven society, math and science students in the United States are falling further and further behind their international counterparts, resulting in an influx of STEM focused, reformed K-12 schools, including schools focused on project-based learning (PBL). This article reports a study of the effectiveness of PBL on…

"Saxon Math", published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is a core curriculum for students in grades K-12. This report includes studies that investigate the potential impact of "Saxon Math" for students in grades 6-8. A distinguishing feature of the curriculum is its use of an incremental approach for instruction and assessment.…

In this investigation, differences in the reading performance as a function of degree of economic disadvantage for Texas Grade 3 students were examined. Data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency on all Texas Grade 3 students for the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 school years. In all analyses, statistically significant differences,…

The magnitude of student mobility was examined in the Texas public schools by reporting how many students are moving, when and where they are moving, and who is moving, and by clarifying the relationships between mobility and academic performance at the individual student, campus, and district levels. While the study's primary focus was on…

This research brief is Part III of a four-part study of decentralization in Houston Independent School District (HISD). This part examines the impact of decentralization on student outcomes. In hopes of improving student performance, HISD implemented decentralization throughout the 1990s (see Part I of this project for a detailed discussion of the…

Argues that while flawed, value-added high-stakes testing holds schools accountable for student performance. For example, the use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, a criterion-referenced assessment, has significantly improved student achievement in Houston. (PKP)

This newsletter contains six articles focusing on dropouts, potential dropouts, dropout rates, and dropout prevention, particularly in Texas and among Hispanics and other minority groups. "Improving Student Performance: Study Identifies Better Approach" (Maria Robledo Montecel, Josie Danini Supik, and Jose A. Cardenas) correlates student…

This theme issue includes four articles on high performance by poor Texas schools. In "Principal of National Blue Ribbon School Says High Poverty Schools Can Excel" (interview with Robert Zarate by Christie L. Goodman), the principal of Mary Hull Elementary School (San Antonio, Texas) describes how the high-poverty, high-minority school…

This study is to examine how participation in Texas public Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) is associated with performance on the 3rd Grade State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading assessment. The study focused on five major independent school districts (ISDs) in Texas (Austin ISD, Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Houston ISD, and San…

This report focuses on the standards and test schools used to measure student and school performance in Texas. The primary method for evaluating the academic achievement of Texas public school students is a standardized test called the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). A review of TAAS scores and their uses suggests that the TAAS test…

Apex Learning is the largest provider of secondary online curriculum in Houston Independent School District (HISD). Introduced in January 2010 through Graduation Laboratories (Grad Labs) located at each high school, the program has grown from providing seniors with opportunities to recover credits required for graduation to providing students in…

The present research is a third-party study of the effects of the School Renaissance (SR) comprehensive school reform (CSR) model on student achievement in 11 elementary and middle schools in Texas. The primary measures used in the study were the Texas Learning Index (TLI) reading and mathematics scores obtained through administration of the Texas…

The study reported in this document examined the relationship between block scheduling (class periods longer than 50 minutes) and overall student performance. Performance was measured in terms of dropout rates, grade-level retention rates, campus-level results for the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, and participation in and performance on…