Category: Achievement

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten Primary School Education

The impact of Kentucky’s Math Achievement Fund

Early intervention in mathematics is crucial for improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps. A study in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis examined Kentucky’s Math Achievement Fund (MAF), a statewide initiative aimed at enhancing math performance in grades K–3 through targeted interventions, teacher professional development, and peer collaboration. The study utilized a difference-in-differences (DiD) design to analyze data from 395 schools, comparing MAF schools with non-MAF schools to assess the program’s effectiveness on student math achievement, reading performance, and non-academic outcomes such as attendance and disciplinary incidents.

The findings revealed that MAF led to gradual but significant improvements in student outcomes. After four years, math scores in MAF schools increased by +0.09 standard deviations compared to non-MAF schools, with reading scores also seeing a +0.06 standard deviation improvement. The program contributed to reductions in disciplinary incidents and absenteeism, without any unintended negative consequences. Notably, the benefits were consistent across socioeconomic groups, with slightly greater gains observed among racial minority students. The structured intervention model, which emphasized early screening, small-group instruction, and teacher collaboration, played a key role in these positive outcomes.

Despite the encouraging results, the study emphasized the need for sustained efforts and complementary strategies to maximize the long-term impact of early math interventions. The estimated four-year per-pupil cost of $750 suggests that MAF provides a cost-effective approach to improving math achievement. The findings underscored the potential of statewide, structured intervention programs as scalable solutions to address early math deficiencies and support student success across diverse populations.

 

Source: Xu, Z., Özek, U., Levin, J., & Hoon Lee, D. (2024). Effects of large-scale early math interventions on student outcomes: Evidence from Kentucky’s math achievement fund. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 01623737241303142. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737241303142… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership K-12 Education

24 years of evidence on the impacts of Teach for America

As teacher shortages persist in many school districts, alternative certification routes like Teach for America (TFA) remain relevant policy considerations. A meta-analysis from AIR (American Institutes for Research), led by Martyna Citkowicz, reviewed data from 23 studies (either RCTs or QEDs) of TFA corps members over the program’s first 24 years (2000-2024).

The authors found that TFA had no impact on students’ achievement in English Language Arts, but a significant positive impact in Math (ES = +0.05) and Science (ES = +0.16). These impacts varied significantly by grade level and differed between corps members during their service and alumni after their service. This brief report noted but did not investigate regional variation in impacts, a growing area of focus for the TFA program.

 

Source (Open Access): Citkowicz, M., Chen, C., Castro M., Arellano, B. (2024) A Meta-analysis of Teach For America Teacher Impacts.  Retrieved from https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/TFA-meta-analysis_memo.pdf.… Read the rest

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Achievement K-12 Education

Effects of educational technology on the performance of disadvantaged students

A recent meta-analysis examined the effects of technology-based educational interventions on the academic performance of disadvantaged K–12 students. The review included studies conducted in less developed countries or with at least 50% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined by socio-economic status, minority status, or areas of residence. Studies needed to use technology in class, while courses delivered online were excluded.

The review included 72 studies with 740 effect sizes conducted in 24 different countries, although most of the studies took place in the US and in India. Ed-tech interventions showed an average effect on academic performance of +0.20 across all included studies with average effect sizes of +0.23 in more developed countries and +0.18 in less developed countries. Regarding factors in the interventions and school contexts that made them effective, slightly larger effects were found in math and science outcomes compared to humanities. The authors found that Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL; ES = +0.12) and behavioral interventions (ES = +0.09) had larger effects compared to interventions that just provided the access to technology (e.g., internet, tablets).

Behavioral approaches that involved sending messages to parents to keep them informed and engaged were particularly effective, especially in communities where education is undervalued and families have limited resources. This highlights the importance of family and community support in helping disadvantaged students succeed academically.

 

Source (Open Access): Di Pietro, G., & Castaño Muñoz, J. (2025). A meta-analysis on the effect of technology on the achievement of less advantaged students. Computers & Education, 226, 105197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105197… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Higher Education Secondary School Education

Thinking about how we group students and how we measure learning

It is common in politics to paint all members of a group as a homogenous block, united in their views and responses to certain issues. Unfortunately, the same trend often occurs in how we consider the impact of education policies and practices. This oversimplification is particularly evident in the over-reliance on standardized state and national assessments to inform us about student performance and learning.

A team of researchers from University of Chicago used data from Chicago Public Schools between 2014 and 2016 to examine the performance of current and former English Learners (ELs). Their analysis underscored the importance of considering English Learners not as one monolithic group, but one with nuance and variation. The researchers broke the data into four groups: long-term English Learners without individualized education programs (IEPs), long-term English Learners with IEPs, late-arriving English Learners (in the district less than six years), and former English Learners.

The authors also pushed the literature in a new direction by incorporating data beyond state standardized assessments, including graduation rates, cumulative GPA, SAT scores, and immediate two- and four-year college enrollment rates. This approach provided a more comprehensive picture of English Learners’ learning and progress.

The findings revealed that while current English Learners were behind the district average in graduation rates, former English Learners had higher graduation rates than the district average. Former English Learners also had higher cumulative GPA and SAT scores than the district average, as well as greater high school graduation and college enrollment rates than the district average. In contrast, students who received supplemental EL instruction throughout their education without being deemed English proficient generally had lower GPA, SAT scores, and graduation rates than their peers.

This study highlights the importance of critically examining how we study and think of groups of students and the data that we use to measure student progress and learning. By embracing a more nuanced approach, educators and policymakers can better understand and address the diverse needs of students.

 

Source (Open Access): de la Torre, M., Blanchard, A., Franklin, K., Angeles, C., & Allensworth, E.M. (2024). English Learners in Chicago Public Schools: A Spotlight on High School Students. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Retrieved from https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/english-learners-in-chicago-public-schools-a-spotlight-on-high-school-students… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education

New English Learners positively impact the learning outcomes of others

The number of English Learners (ELs) enrolled in U.S. public schools has increased dramatically over the past twenty years. New research demonstrates that having English learners in class positively affects outcomes of their classmates.

In a recent study, researchers from the RAND Corporation examined the impact of new ELs on the academic outcomes of their classmates in Delaware, a state that has seen increasing immigrant populations in recent years. Results showed significant positive effects in the short term of new ELs on the scores of their schoolmates, particularly among those who are current and former ELs.

The researchers examined school records of Delaware K-12 students between 2015 and 2019. During this time, nearly 1,500 new ELs entered Delaware public schools in grades 4-8. Subjects included 119,165 students, including over 11,000 former ELs and 10,215 current ELs. Once the authors accounted for the fact that new ELs enter schools non-randomly (that is, they are not randomly assigned to schools but select into certain schools for a variety of reasons), they found positive and statistically significant impacts for all students in reading, and on both reading and math for former and current ELs.

These findings challenge concerns about potential negative impacts of large-scale EL student entry into schools and highlight the educational benefits of diversity in a “new destination state” like Delaware.

 

Source: Doan, S., Morales, S. E., Ozek, U., & Schwartz, H. (2024). Educational spillover effects of new English learners in a new destination state. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Prepublished October, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737241282412… Read the rest

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Achievement Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Success for All lands in the Netherlands

Success for All (SFA) is a comprehensive school reform program designed to ensure academic success for children in disadvantaged schools in the US. It provides schools with a reading curriculum that emphasizes the use of cooperative learning and tutoring sessions for struggling students. Extensive professional development and coaching by a facilitator is provided to teachers to support the implementation of all program components. The reading approach used in Success for All has been recently translated and adapted to the Dutch context.

A quasi-experimental study evaluated the effects of the adapted SFA version in the Netherlands. Seven schools implementing the intervention were matched with four schools that continued with the usual practice. A total of 1,011 students from 61 classes in grades 1-3 participated in the study, with 331 students receiving the intervention for three years (grades 1-3), 339 for two years (grades 1-2), and 341 for one year (grade 1). Reading comprehension and reading fluency measures were administered before and after the program implementation. The intervention showed significant positive results on reading fluency for first grade students, with a significant effect size of +0.40.  The effect for economically disadvantaged students was even higher, with an effect size of +0.63. No impacts were found for second and third grade students, or for comprehension. The authors noted that schools implemented only some of the reading components of the Success for All model. Grouping strategies, designed to increase teacher instructional time and focus, were not implemented, and tutoring was provided at lower than planned levels. In addition, a decrease of commitment to the project by school staff members occurred during the second and third years of the project. U.S. studies of the full model had substantially stronger results, and it is hypothesized that, in this study, weaker impacts were found because many adaptations were made to the original SFA program to make it suitable for the Dutch context, and important components could not be included.

 

Source: Veldman, M. A., Hingstman, M., & de Boer, H. (2024). Effects of the comprehensive school reform program Success for All on students’ reading skills in Dutch schools. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 35(3), 318–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2024.2385926… Read the rest