The purpose of this study was to evaluate Peer Group Connection-Middle School, a cross-age peer mentor program designed to enhance student retention and achievement during the transition from elementary to middle school. We present findings from an individual-level randomized controlled trial that included 1,902 sixth-grade students across three…

Despite a marked increase in the volume of research investigating issues about reading interventions for students with ASD (e.g., Bailey and Arciuli, Rev J Autism Dev Disord 7(2):127-150, 2020; Chiang and Lin, Focus Autism Other Dev Disab 22(4):259-267, 2007), very few studies have examined the current reading practices experienced by children…

Using state-level data, we report unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio of special education (SPED) trends in Tennessee from 2009-2019 for students in grades 3-8 by 3 language groups: native English speakers (NES), English-proficient bilinguals (EPB) and Current English learners (Current EL). We report trends across all SPED disability categories and…

The purpose of this study was to understand how a school-based personalized learning approach can help improve literacy achievement among middle grades students in a rural area. This study followed two cohorts of schools serving students in grades 6-8 in northeast Tennessee for one year each (2018-19 and 2021-22), to assess student and school…

Solving mathematical problems is cognitively complex, involving strategy formulation, solution development, and the application of learned concepts. However, gaps in students' knowledge or weakly grasped concepts can lead to errors. Teachers play a crucial role in predicting and addressing these difficulties, which directly influence learning…

This study examines differences in English language comprehension, reading fluency, and executive functions among Spanish-English bilinguals with reading difficulties. Reading difficulties examined included general reading difficulties, defined by low word reading and reading comprehension, and specific-reading comprehension difficulties, defined…

This paper reports the outcomes of an experimental evaluation of "Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE)," an English language curriculum that focuses on developing English speaking, listening, and comprehension skills in English Learners (ELs). Twenty-nine middle schools in three states were randomly assigned to teach "DISE"…

Student behavior problems in general-education classrooms present a major barrier to effective teaching. Behavior challenges, such as disruptions, noncompliance, and peer conflicts, reduce instructional time, whereas prosocial behaviors, such as paying attention, being ready to work, asking for help, participating in class, and completing…

As students return to in-person instruction in the 2021-2022 school year, local education agencies (LEAs) must develop resource allocation strategies to support schools in need. Federal programs have provided resources to support restart and recovery. However, there is little consensus on how LEAs can target resources to support those schools most…

Performance on a range of spatial and mathematics tasks was measured in a sample of 1592 students in kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade. In a previously published analysis of these data, performance was analyzed by grade only. In the present analyses, we examined whether the relations between spatial skill and mathematics skill differed…

The purpose of this study was to obtain perspectives of parents, teachers, and students about the contextual fit of conjoint behavioral consultation for supporting middle school students with emotional and behavior concerns. Participants were eight parents of middle school students with elevated behavior risk, eight middle school students with…

School underachievement is a persistent problem in the United States. Direct-to-student, computer-delivered growth-mindset interventions have shown promise as a way to improve achievement for students at risk of failing in school; however, these interventions benefit only students who happen to be in classrooms that support growth-mindset beliefs.…

This study examines the effect of Including Neurodiversity in Computational Thinking (INFACT), a collection of material for teaching Computational Thinking (CT) in grades 3-8. CT has many definitions, but all borrow concepts from computer science to structure problem-solving processes more generally. The materials are designed for use in inclusion…

Recent reviews of automated writing evaluation systems indicate lack of uniformity in the purpose, design, and assessment of such systems. Our work lies at the nexus of critical themes arising from these reviews. We describe our work on eRevise, an automated writing evaluation system focused on elementary students' text-based evidence-use. eRevise…

Purpose: We examined whether affix type and base word transparency explained variation in third- through sixth-grade students' performance on a number of morphological awareness tasks. Method: Third- through sixth-grade students (n > 500 at each grade) completed morphological awareness tasks from the Morphological Awareness Test for Reading and…