The Review of Educational Research recently published a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of school tracking on student achievement and inequalities. School tracking is the practice of assigning students based on their abilities and interests to different types of education, such as type of school or curricula. Within-school tracking consists of grouping students in different classrooms (e.g., ability grouping). Between-school tracking assigns students to different types of schools (e.g., vocational, academic), where the subjects taught are different and specific. The authors evaluated the effects of the two types of school tracking on student academic achievement – considering that a measure of efficiency of an educational system – as well as on inequalities, measured in two ways: dispersion of student performance, meaning the gap between high and low performers; and the interaction between social-economic background and student achievement. A positive interaction means that socio-economic background has a larger effect in tracked...

Oral language comprehension skills are foundational to building reading comprehension. Thus, early instruction designed to develop oral comprehension skills may benefit long-term reading outcomes for children in early childhood education classrooms. With that in mind, Lo and Xu conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of Let’s Know!, a language-focused, supplementary curriculum, on prekindergarten and kindergarten students’ vocabulary and comprehension outcomes. The intervention consisted of providing students with four 30-minute class lessons per week that focused on specific language skills. The program was designed to be administered over 25 weeks. Study participants were 69 prekindergarten classrooms (n=361 students) and 56 kindergarten classrooms (n= 328 students) randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. Classroom teachers in the treatment condition taught one of two Let’s Know! versions: Let’s Know! Broad and Let’s Know! Deep. Both versions were designed to improve language comprehension based on the simple view of reading,...

Vocabulary, a predictor of literacy outcomes, is of great significance for all students. Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) students oftentimes lag behind their typically hearing (TH) peers in terms of acquiring vocabulary words appropriate for their age or grade level, which is a concern for many teachers of DHH students. Thus, many teachers adopt various interventions to facilitate DHH students’ vocabulary development. A recent study examined the effect of an intervention called “explicit +”, which demonstrates promising results. The study examined three types of vocabulary instruction: in-context, explicit, and explicit plus in-context (explicit +). During in-context instruction, teachers expose students to new words while reading books and in conversation. During explicit instruction, teachers provide more information about the new vocabulary and do activities that require the students to use the new words. Explicit + instruction is a combination of these two instructions. The researchers used a multiple baseline design including nine...

Li and colleagues recently conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the effects of blended learning on K-12 students’ performance. In recent years, blended learning has become increasingly popular in K-12 education especially after the impact of COVID-19. Blended learning, also known as mixed or hybrid learning, refers to the combination of traditional face-to-face and online learning. In this meta-analysis, online learning is defined as any formal education program in which part of the instruction and content were delivered to students online with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace. A total of 84 studies with 112 effect sizes published from 2000 to 2020 met the inclusion criteria. Overall, compared to face-to-face learning only, the blended learning method showed a larger effect (ES = +0.65) with substantial heterogeneity. Effects were significantly different among various student outcomes domains. The cognitive domain (e.g., exam scores, ES = +0.74) was the...

A recent study published in the Social Sciences & Humanities Open journal provides guidance on how to manage differential alignment between outcome measures and education interventions. When conducting research in natural settings, researchers try to reduce bias by accounting for influence of study artifacts such as measurement errors or implementation problems. Not only artifacts, but other factors will also influence the magnitude of effects. One such factor is the content alignment between programs and outcomes measures. Use of researchers-developed measures usually associated with larger effect sizes if the researchers-developed measures are overaligned to the treatment. Accounting for problem of program-outcome overalignment, and the resulting propensity for magnified effect sizes, the authors propose a process of quantifying differential alignment that differs from other researchers’ approach, as it does not rely on item-level of measures but rather extracts information based on program contents of treatment conditions and assessments. The differential alignment primarily...

The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted student learning to various extents in the past two years. Many studies demonstrate that tutoring programs where students receive small-group or one-to-one academic support are effective in improving academic achievement. However, there are few reviews that summarize the evidence on these programs’ implementation. A group of researchers at Brown University conducted a systematic review of 40 studies to synthesize how tutoring is implemented and experienced. This review provides three findings: There are five conceptualizations of tutoring in the reviewed studies, which are not mutually exclusive: Tutoring is aimed at facilitating the development of academic skills and cultivation of positive attitudes toward learning; Tutoring is innovative in that it redistributes power and instructional roles; Tutoring scaffolds pre-service teachers getting prepared for classroom instruction; Tutoring serves as a marketplace where tutors compete to provide accessible tutoring resources of high quality; Tutoring services can better cater to students’ and...

A recent randomized evaluation funded by the Institute of Education Sciences investigated the effects of WordGen Elementary on students’ reading achievement. WordGen Elementary includes a curriculum with reading, writing, and speaking activities that aim to enhance students’ understanding and communication of academic language as well as improve their reading skills. The implementation of the program is supported by professional development for teachers. The study involved 55 elementary schools in five states with a high percentage of English learners. Students were randomly assigned to receive WordGen Elementary or to continue with their regular practice. Reading achievement was measured using the Core Academic Language Skills Instrument (CALS-I), Gates-MacGinitie reading test (GMRT), and state ELA test. Results after one year showed close to zero effects on CALS-I (ES = -0.06), GRMT (ES = -0.08), and the state ELA test (ES = -0.03) for both fourth and fifth graders. The study separately analyzed the...

Compared to traditional instruction, students learning through educational games might gain more in academic achievement. According to self-determination theory and control-value theory, game-based learning (GBL) promotes students’ positive achievement emotions (PAE, e.g., joy, confidence, hope) and reduces negative achievement emotions (NAE, e.g., anxiety, frustration, feeling empty) because educational games can be fun and students experience more freedom and autonomy with them. However, some scholars argue that too much leeway or failing to achieve goals in the game could lead to NAE (e.g., hesitant, disappointment, upset). A recent meta-analysis by Lei and colleagues examined 61 effect sizes from 43 studies from year 2000 to 2021 to determine the overall effect of GBL on students’ achievement emotions (both positive and negative), and moderation effects (e.g., game type, cultural values, grade level). Eligible studies followed an experimental group design or a quasi-experimental design conducted in primary schools up to university. The results of...

A recent cluster randomized controlled trial by Saavedra and colleagues evaluated the effect of a project-based learning approach to teaching advanced placement (AP) courses on AP exam scores. More schools are now offering advanced placement courses. Still, racial and socioeconomic gaps in attaining qualifying AP scores persist. Depending on the postsecondary institution, a qualifying AP score can help students earn college credits. The authors note that project-based learning may be a more relevant and applicable approach for all students to learn complex content, perform well on AP exams, and pursue and persist in postsecondary education. The intervention provided teachers with professional development and curricular materials to teach their respective AP course with a focus on project-based learning. Professional development consisted of a four-day summer institute, four full-day coaching sessions during the academic year, online coaching, and access to a curriculum portal. This specific study focused on project-based learning in AP...