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Test providers are increasingly moving toward exclusively administering assessments by computer. Computerized testing is becoming more desirable for test takers because of increased opportunities to test, faster turnaround of individual scores, or perhaps other factors, offering potential benefits for those who may be struggling to pass licensure examinations. This report extends previous research examining 4 years of paper-based Praxis I® test data to its corresponding computerized environment with these goals: (a) determine the extent to which achievement gaps exist on computer-based ( CB) Praxis I tests, (b) examine which test-taker characteristics are most associated with mode, and (c) elicit opinions from previous Praxis I test takers to understand reasons why a particular testing mode was chosen. The results contribute to the literature about Praxis® examinations and reinforce the need to understand their dynamics in the context of evaluating performance and participation gaps by demographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between‐class attainment groups ('setting') in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the research on ethnic educational inequality, by deepening the current understanding of education initiatives organised by the ethnic‐cultural minoritised communities most affected by these inequalities. A univariate analysis was performed on data from an original survey conducted in Flanders, in which 816 teachers and 3037 pupils from 60 primary schools were asked about, among other things, their experience with and their perceptions of these educational initiatives. The results of this analysis show that these community‐based education initiatives are widely attended by ethnic minority youth, but also that teachers in mainstream schools are rarely informed or even aware of the existence of these initiatives, or the important role they play in their pupils' lives. The broader social and scientific implications are discussed in this paper, as little to no similar larger‐scale research exists that maps the relationship between these community‐based education initiatives and mainstream educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature mainly examines the impact of academic self‐efficacy on academic achievement in educational psychology. Much less is known about the relationship between outcome expectations and adolescent academic achievement. This article applies the random intercept model to investigate the association between Chinese adolescent perceived value of effort as outcome expectations and academic achievement and employs the Karlson, Holm, and Breen (KHB) method to examine the underlying mechanisms. Additionally, this paper uses the random coefficient model to explore the heterogeneous association between the perceived value of effort and adolescent academic achievement across families and schools. Based on the Programme for International Students Assessment 2018 (N = 11751; 48.07% females), we found that the adolescent perceived value of effort was significantly and positively correlated with academic achievement. Adolescent educational expectations and academic engagement partially mediated the relationship between the perceived value of effort and academic achievement. Adolescents from disadvantaged families and schools benefited more from the perceived value of effort. These findings enhance existing literature by revealing how the adolescent outcome expectations contribute to academic achievement and provide a scientific basis for bridging the gap in academic achievement between families and schools to promote equity in education. Practitioner points: Adolescent perceived value of effort is positively associated with academic achievement.Adolescent educational expectations and academic engagement partially mediate the relationship between the perceived value of effort and academic achievement.Adolescents from disadvantaged families and schools benefit more from the perceived value of effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of family trajectories during childhood in explaining inequalities by maternal education in children's math and reading skills using harmonized, longitudinal, and nationally representative surveys, which follow children over the course of primary and lower secondary school in four high‐income countries (England, France, Germany, and the United States). As single parenthood and family transitions are more likely among less educated parents and are associated with fewer resources for children, we explore whether growing up outside a stable two‐parent family mediates educational inequalities in math and reading scores. Results show a strong educational gradient in family trajectories in the four countries, but this varies by child age and by country. Children who experience a family transition record lower test scores, although the magnitude differs by the type of postseparation arrangements. Overall, family trajectories are strongly associated with children's math and reading scores but, because of the importance of selectivity in family trajectories, they play only a modest role in explaining the skills gaps by maternal education, considerably less than determinants such as income. The penalties associated with not living within a stable two‐parent family are always larger in the United States and England than in France and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools have the potential to provide a place of education and sanctuary for children and young people of all backgrounds. The rise in mental health problems in children and young people in the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic, particularly in relation to growing inequities, means that identifying ways in which schools can help respond to this growing mental health crisis demands urgent attention. This paper reports on case studies carried out in two London comprehensive schools, exploring how aspects of school culture impact (both positively and negatively) on student mental health. Methods comprised in‐depth interviews with school staff and parents, focus groups with students and documentary analysis of relevant materials. Fieldwork was conducted during spring 2021 as schools were returning to face‐to‐face learning following national periods of lockdown. Our study shows how schools might attempt to drive positive mental health outcomes through aspects of school culture and uses a system framework to explore complexities around cause and effect in this area. Key findings include the considerable differences in school mental health provision, challenges in the identification of student mental health needs and the importance of recognising how the mental health of teachers must be considered alongside that of students. Overall, we highlight particular dilemmas of the post‐lockdown era that our findings indicate for the education sector, and suggest there may be value in reframing the apparent conflict between 'attainment gaps' and personal development, moving towards an educational approach with greater complementarity of these aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates the teaching approaches to assessment that foster independent learning in an undergraduate course in the discipline of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. A web‐based circuit simulator of CircuitLab was used to implement some of the laboratory tasks. Practical solutions have been applied to bridge the learning achievement gap between the formative laboratory assessment and the summative examination. To promote creative and independent learning, unique individual self‐discovery projects were given to each student. The projects are generated according to each student's student number in an innovative approach to prevent plagiarism. The scaffolding and self‐discovery lab activities can be modified to be pure online versions, which had been attested in the online course delivery during the COVID‐19 lockdown period in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Review of Sociology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Geographer is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Education is key to the structural integration of immigrants and their children. While research indicates that educational inequalities by migration background are a serious issue, relatively little is known about when, how and why they develop. The current paper adds to the literature by investigating to what extent achievement gaps by migration background develop during the primary school period. Drawing on data from a national longitudinal study of children in Ireland (N = 7577) and using structural equation modelling, it presents a path model of host language achievement. The results indicate that a large part of the disadvantages in English language achievement by migration background during primary school could be attributed to achievement gaps that already existed before school. Moreover, given earlier achievement, the effect of having a migration background was often insignificant or even positive, suggesting that disparities remain relatively stable or even decrease during the period of formal schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a secondary analysis of official statistics, this paper examines the changing scale of the inequality of achievement between White students and their Black British peers who identify their family heritage as Black Caribbean. We examine a 25-year period from the introduction of the General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE), in 1988, to the 20th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 2013. It is the first time that the Black/White gap has been analysed over such a long period. The paper reviews the changing place of the Black/White gap in education debates and notes that, despite periods when race equality has appeared to be high on the political agenda, it has never held a consistent place at the heart of policy. Our findings shed light on how the Black/White gap is directly affected, often in negative ways, by changes in education policy. Specifically, whenever the key benchmark for achievement has been redefined, it has had the effect of restoring historic levels of race inequity; in essence, policy interventions to 'raise the bar' by toughening the benchmark have actively widened gaps and served to maintain Black disadvantage. Throughout the entire 25-year period, White students were always at least one and a half times more likely to attain the dominant benchmark than their Black peers. Our findings highlight the need for a sustained and explicit focus on race inequity in education policy. To date, the negative impacts of policy changes have been much more certain and predictable than occasional attempts to reduce race inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the immigrant–native achievement gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in college in the USA. Using student survey data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies 2004/09, I find that on average immigrant students have significantly higher rates entering and persisting in STEM fields compared to their native counterparts. There is, however, considerable variation across immigrant generations and race and ethnicity. The immigrant attainment advantage is particularly large among first‐generation Asian and white immigrant students who attended foreign K–12 schools. I explore the channels leading to the achievement gap, including socioeconomic status, individual preferences, and academic preparation in math and science. Results suggest that the immigrant STEM advantage is largely due to better academic preparation in math and science in high school. This indicates that improvements in students' college STEM attainment may depend crucially on policy efforts devoted to strengthening the quality of high school math and science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses unconditional quantile regressions to decompose changes in the black–white wage gap for young men between 1990 and 2011. Introducing a new application of reweighting methods, we control for selection into employment which tends to widen the gap. We find no changes in the gap itself between 1990 and 2011, but reversals in the roles of ability and education across the distribution. Ability loses importance at the bottom and middle but gains importance at the top, while the opposite occurs for education. This results from heterogeneous changes in returns to ability and education across the distribution alongside a widening educational achievement gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the achievement gap for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners through the lens of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory of human development. The population of CLD students in the United States continues to grow. Across the nation, CLD students continue to struggle in an increasingly accountability-based education system. In this paper, we will situate the variables known to contribute to CLD students' achievement at the national, local, and individual levels within Bronfenbrenner's model. We will also provide some pedagogical recommendations that everyone working with CLD students should know and do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small island developing states face particular challenges to ensure their infrastructure promotes social, economic, and environmental well‐being. Closing the achievement gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) involves prioritization and coordination across multiple sectors. With an application to the country of Saint Lucia, this paper develops a stakeholder‐driven analysis framework integrating four interdependent infrastructure sectors (electricity, water, wastewater, and solid waste). Drawing on extensive consultation with decision‐makers in‐country—134 stakeholders from 18 government ministries, agencies, academia, or the private sector—the analysis identifies specific interventions that could be implemented over the next decades to meet future needs for sustainable infrastructure services. These interventions are congruent with the government's development plans. Long‐term, cross‐sectoral portfolios of investments and policies ("strategies") are developed which demonstrably reach the targets of the SDGs and Saint Lucia's emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. The sequencing of these investments or policies is designed to optimize their efficiency and impact over time, identifying "quick wins" while ensuring that there is sufficient action to provide services in the long‐term sustainably. A comparison of costs associated with each strategy suggests that accounting for interdependencies and taking a long‐term perspective can save costs over the life of infrastructure investments. This process of infrastructure assessment is applicable beyond the small island context, allowing practitioners a means to undertake systematic assessment of a country's future infrastructure needs and to develop appropriate solutions aligned with its national objectives and international commitments. Plain Language Summary: Infrastructure is crucially important to achieving many development outcomes, including social (e.g., poverty, health, and education), economic, and environmental targets. Providing infrastructure services such as energy, water, and waste management has often been undertaken without accounting for the linkages between these sectors. Given that demand for these services is projected to grow around the world, this article recognizes that meeting countries' future needs in the most efficient and cost‐effective way will require infrastructure to be planned as a system. Here, we design a consistent method for doing so and demonstrate how the unique challenges of a country can be assessed and incorporated into the infrastructure planning process. Importantly, this process ensures that countries are able to align their planning as closely as possible with major international agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Key Points: A systematic infrastructure sustainability assessment and planning process is developed at the national level for small islandsInterdependent sector planning is designed to meet challenges faced by SIDS in the energy, water, wastewater, and solid waste sectorsInfrastructure strategies that are aligned with SDG and Paris Agreement targets are more cost effective in the long term [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Review of Sociology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The achievement gap continues to be an issue of critical concern in education. Despite the ubiquity of this concern, studies of racial and ethnic minorities who are not doing well in school make up a very small percentage of the research literature in school psychology. In this paper, I discuss the discrediting of Black cultural learning styles (Frisby, , ) and learning styles more generally as an explanation for the achievement gap and provide brief overviews of cultural ecological theory (Ogbu, ; Ogbu & Simons, ) and stereotype threat (Steele, ), two leading culturally based explanations for the achievement gap. The paper ends with six recommendations and a challenge to school psychology researchers to develop focused research agendas on cultural variables that have been implicated conceptually or empirically in the academic performance of racial and ethnic minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For students with reading disabilities, reading fluency has proven difficult to remediate. The current study examined age-related effects on measures of word and text-reading outcomes, within the context of a phonologically based remedial reading program. The contribution of speeded-reading of sublexical sound-spelling patterns to fluency outcomes was also examined. The youngest group of participants showed better outcomes on measures of word and pseudoword reading. All age groups made significant and meaningful improvements on measures of reading fluency and reading comprehension. Participants' mastery of speeded, sublexical sound-spelling reading contributed variance to fluency outcomes beyond pre-intervention fluency scores. Practice with sublexical spelling patterns may be one important component of programs directed at remediating accuracy and fluency deficits for students with reading disabilities. What is already known about this topic Reading fluency has proven difficult to remediate for students with reading disabilities., Training with sublexical sound-spelling patterns has increased recognition of the trained patterns, but transfer has been limited., Young children with reading difficulties appear to have an advantage at closing the reading achievement gap; however, there are some inconsistencies in the literature., What this paper adds Automaticity with sublexical patterns made a unique contribution to fluency outcomes in this sample of students with reading disabilities., In the context of the reading program examined, all age groups made significant and meaningful standard score gains on reading fluency., Young children did not score higher than the two older groups on measures of oral reading fluency or reading comprehension; bringing into question conclusions drawn from prevention versus intervention studies., Implications for theory and practice Findings lend support to models of reading acquisition that emphasize multilayered, sublexical spelling-sound knowledge as important to reading fluency, beyond that of sight-word reading efficiency., Including speeded practice of a broad range of sublexical sound-spelling patterns and training these to mastery deserves further study as one potential approach to improving fluency interventions for students with reading disabilities., We suggest that this sublexical training may mimic reading practice in terms of building orthographic representations that support fluent reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the literature on the consequences of natural disasters has focused on their physical and psychological ramifications. Few researchers have considered how the impacts of a natural disaster can influence academic achievement. This study analyses data collected from nearly 300 students at a mid-sized, private university in the northeast United States to determine if the effects of Cyclone Sandy in 2012 are associated with measures of academic achievement. The findings reveal that experiencing headaches after the event resulted in a higher likelihood of students suffering a loss of academic motivation. In addition, experiencing headaches and a loss of academic motivation were correlated with a lower grade point average (GPA) during the semester in which Sandy made landfall. However, the more direct effects of the superstorm, including displacement and a loss of power, did not have a significant bearing on academic achievement. Lastly, the paper examines the implications for higher education policy and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether someone has ever had free school meal ( FSM) eligibility over a six-year period is the measure of socio-economic disadvantage currently used in the English school system. It is used to monitor the socio-economic gap in achievement in the education system, to identify particular children at risk of low achievement and to direct funding to particular children and schools. In this paper we assess how well this measure predicts pupil attainment in secondary school in comparison to other measures of socio-economic background known to influence pupil attainment, such as parental education or income. We ask whether the FSM measure is an adequate proxy for a pupil's socio-economic disadvantage in an educational context. To do this we draw on the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England and matched administrative data. We find that the FSM eligibility measure correlates highly with other measures of socio-economic disadvantage, however it does not identify all children living in what would be deemed deprived households. We then compare the extent to which the FSM eligibility measure predicts educational achievement relative to other measures of deprivation and find that its predictive power is only marginally lower than many richer survey measures. This provides some reassurance on its use in policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low levels of numeracy and literacy skills are associated with a range of negative outcomes later in life, such as reduced earnings and health. Obtaining information about effective interventions for children with or at risk of academic difficulties is therefore important. Objectives: The main objective was to assess the effectiveness of interventions targeting students with or at risk of academic difficulties in kindergarten to Grade 6. Search Methods: We searched electronic databases from 1980 to July 2018. We searched multiple international electronic databases (in total 15), seven national repositories, and performed a search of the grey literature using governmental sites, academic clearinghouses and repositories for reports and working papers, and trial registries (10 sources). We hand searched recent volumes of six journals and contacted international experts. Lastly, we used included studies and 23 previously published reviews for citation tracking. Selection Criteria: Studies had to meet the following criteria to be included: • Population: The population eligible for the review included students attending regular schools in kindergarten to Grade 6, who were having academic difficulties, or were at risk of such difficulties. • Intervention: We included interventions that sought to improve academic skills, were conducted in schools during the regular school year, and were targeted (selected or indicated). • Comparison: Included studies used an intervention-control group design or a comparison group design. We included randomised controlled trials (RCT); quasirandomised controlled trials (QRCT); and quasi-experimental studies (QES). • Outcomes: Included studies used standardised tests in reading or mathematics. • Setting: Studies carried out in regular schools in an OECD country were included. Data Collection and Analysis: Descriptive and numerical characteristics of included studies were coded by members of the review team. A review author independently checked coding. We used an extended version of the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool to assess risk of bias. We used random-effects meta-analysis and robust-variance estimation procedures to synthesise effect sizes. We conducted separate metaanalyses for tests performed within three months of the end of interventions (shortterm effects) and longer follow-up periods. For short-term effects, we performed subgroup and moderator analyses focused on instructional methods and content domains. We assessed sensitivity of the results to effect size measurement, outliers, clustered assignment of treatment, risk of bias, missing moderator information, control group progression, and publication bias. Results: We found in total 24,414 potentially relevant records, screened 4247 of them in full text, and included 607 studies that met the inclusion criteria. We included 205 studies of a wide range of intervention types in at least one metaanalysis (202 intervention-control studies and 3 comparison designs). The reasons for excluding studies from the analysis were that they had too high risk of bias (257), compared two alternative interventions (104 studies), lacked necessary information (24 studies), or used overlapping samples (17 studies). The total number of student observations in the analysed studies was 226,745. There were 93% RCTs among the 327 interventions we included in the meta-analysis of intervention-control contrasts and 86% were from the United States. The target group consisted of, on average, 45% girls, 65% minority students, and 69% low-income students. The mean Grade was 2.4. Most studies included in the meta-analysis had a moderate to high risk of bias. The overall average effect sizes (ES) for short-term and follow-up outcomes were positive and statistically significant (ES = 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.25, 0.34] and ES = 0.27, 95% CI = [0.17, 0.36]), respectively). The effect sizes correspond to around one third to one half of the achievement gap between fourth Grade students with high and low socioeconomic status in the United States and to a 58% chance that a randomly selected score of an intervention group student is greater than the score of a randomly selected control group student. All measures indicated substantial heterogeneity across short-term effect sizes. Follow-up outcomes pertain almost exclusively to studies examining small-group instruction by adults and effects on reading measures. The follow-up effect sizes were considerably less heterogeneous than the short-term effect sizes, although there was still statistically significant heterogeneity. Two instructional methods, peer-assisted instruction and small-group instruction by adults, had large and statistically significant average effect sizes that were robust across specifications in the subgroup analysis of short-term effects (ES around 0.35--0.45). In meta-regressions that adjusted for methods, content domains, and other study characteristics, they had significantly larger effect sizes than computer-assisted instruction, coaching of personnel, incentives, and progress monitoring. Peer-assisted instruction also had significantly larger effect sizes than medium-group instruction. Besides peer-assisted instruction and smallgroup instruction, no other methods were consistently significant across the analyses that tried to isolate the association between a specific method and effect sizes. However, most analyses showed statistically significant heterogeneity also within categories of instructional methods. We found little evidence that effect sizes were larger in some content domains than others. Fractions had significantly higher associations with effect sizes than all other math domains, but there were only six studies of interventions targeting fractions. We found no evidence of adverse effects in the sense that no method or domain had robustly negative associations with effect sizes. The meta-regressions revealed few other significant moderators. Interventions in higher Grades tend to have somewhat lower effect sizes, whereas there were no significant differences between QES and RCTs, general tests and tests of subdomains, and math tests and reading tests. Authors' Conclusions: Our results indicate that interventions targeting students with or at risk of academic difficulties from kindergarten to Grade 6 have on average positive and statistically significant short-term and follow-up effects on standardised tests in reading and mathematics. Peer-assisted instruction and smal-group instruction are likely to be effective components of such interventions. We believe the relatively large effect sizes together with the substantial unexplained heterogeneity imply that schools can reduce the achievement gap between students with or at risk of academic difficulties and not-at-risk students by implementing targeted interventions, and that more research into the design of effective interventions is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Reading Research Quarterly is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We now have an evidence base that documents that we could teach every child by the end of first grade. However, most schools have almost none of the key aspects of instruction that have been available in the research to ensure we achieve this goal. In this paper I argue that this failure is not the result of inadequate funding but rather primarily results from an aged system of beliefs about the inevitability that some students will always fail to learn to read. That belief system along with a lack of familiarity with what researchers have demonstrated in the past decade perpetuate schooling where far too many children fail to thrive as readers. In the end, it is up to us, the adults in the school system, to alter our efforts such that every child becomes a reader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an analysis of the educational attainment and progress between age 11 and age 14 of over 14,500 students from the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. The mean attainment gap in national tests at age 14 between White British and several ethnic minority groups was large, more than three times the size of the gender gap, but at the same time only about one-third of the size of the social class gap. Socioeconomic variables could account for the attainment gaps for Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students, but not for Black Caribbean students. Further controls for parental and student attitudes, expectations and behaviours indicated minority ethnic groups were on average more advantaged on these measures than White British students, but this was not reflected proportionately in their levels of attainment. Black Caribbean students were distinctive as the only group making less progress than White British students between age 11 and 14 and this could not be accounted for by any of the measured contextual variables. Possible explanations for the White British-Black Caribbean gap are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tens of thousands of young people leave school with no or very few qualifications in England. This paper asks: what is the ethnic dimension of the low achievement problem? We focus on six aspects, using the National Pupil Database: whether the relation between ethnicity and incidence of low achievement is symmetrical with the relation between ethnicity and achievement; whether economic disadvantage is an equally large risk factor for low achievement among pupils of all ethnicities; whether the relationship of ethnicity with low achievement varies by peer group; whether the relationship between gender and chances of low achievement differs by ethnic group; whether the relation between ethnicity and low achievement changes with age; and lastly, whether there is sorting by ethnicity into schools of better or worse quality. We find that: (1) the relationship between low achievement and achievement is not symmetrical and, therefore, that it is valuable to measure low achievement directly rather than as the negative of achievement; (2) economic disadvantage has a stronger effect on White students than those of ethnic minorities; (3) the relationship between ethnicity and low achievement does vary with age; (4) ethnic peer-group effects are not significant; (5) the gender gap in the probability of low achievement is significantly larger for most ethnic groups compared with the White group, at least by one measure of low achievement; and (6) attending poorer-quality schools is part of the explanation of differential ethnic minority performance. We offer explanations for our findings and for the presence and/or persistence of inter-ethnic differences in the chances of low achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ongoing tension exists in the relationship between performance regimes and equity. On the one hand, performance regimes could set goals to reduce disparate outcomes. However, performance regimes are associated with strategic behaviors, such as cream skimming, that could worsen outcomes for marginalized groups. This article contributes to this debate by examining the use of growth measures of performance on achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged subgroups of students in New York City public schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, this study credibly identifies the causal effects of performance signals on equity outcomes. Results show weak evidence of negative effects on equity, and the achievement gaps did not increase in most of the cases. The article also discusses how the incentives provided by growth measures can curb strategic behaviors. The findings provide measured optimism that the current generation of performance regimes can be designed to account for issues of equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated people's perceptions about the causes (i.e. attributions) of underachievement among students experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and their support for public assistance to those students. Results of an online survey conducted with Australian adults (N = 1999) revealed that people preferred societal attributions to individual attributions for underachievement among those students. The respondents' attributions, particularly societal attributions, significantly predicted their support for public assistance to students and schools in need. There were statistically significant differences between people with conservative and progressive political views in their attributions and support for public assistance. However, after taking people's attributions into account, their political views add little to the prediction of their support for public assistance. These findings have implications for the promotion of equity‐oriented educational policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We document large differences among regions of the United States in the trends of the black/white earnings gap among full‐time workers from 1976 to 2017. Outside the South, the earnings of black workers grew more slowly than those of non‐Hispanic white workers. These relative decreases were much larger for women than for men. However, in the South, the racial earnings gap shrank for men, and changed little for women. Thus, we find a substantial convergence across regions in the black/white earnings gap. The most important explanations of the racial earnings gaps are persistent racial differences in educational attainment and persistent occupational segregation. However, differences in observables leave much of the racial earnings gaps unexplained. The regional convergence in the racial earnings gap is evident in both explained and unexplained gaps for both women and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is not equally distributed across all people. It has often been found that students from low social class background have lower access to universities, less academic achievement and higher dropout rates compared with their peers (called the 'achievement gap'). We investigate how the student social identity contributes to the emergence of the achievement gap and focus on student disidentification, a negative internalized relation to the in‐group. We predict that disidentification reduces academic performance (Hypothesis 1) and increases university dropout rates (Hypothesis 2). Moreover, we predict that social class background affects identity incompatibility which, in turn, increases student disidentification (Hypothesis 3). We explore whether social class background affects long‐term identity incompatibility, or whether identity incompatibility affects long‐term disidentification by comparing two mediation models. Hypotheses 1 and 3 were supported cross‐sectionally in a large sample (N = 2768), and longitudinally in a sub‐sample 1.5 years later (N = 591). The data demonstrate that social class background has a long‐term effect on incompatibility, which is related to disidentification. Hypothesis 2 was also supported in a (partly overlapping) sub‐sample (N = 1077). The current research demonstrates that students with low social class background suffer from identity‐related adaptation problems that affect their academic trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early life stress (ELS) is associated with lower IQ and academic achievement; however, it remains unclear whether it additionally explains their discrepancy. In 2,401 children (54% girls, 30.2% migration background) from the population‐based study Generation R Study, latent factors of prenatal and postnatal (age 0–10) ELS were estimated, and IQ‐achievement discrepancy (age 12) was quantified as variance in academic achievement not explained by IQ. ELS was prospectively associated with larger IQ‐achievement discrepancy (βprenatal = −0.24; βpostnatal = −0.28), lower IQ (βprenatal = −0.20; βpostnatal = −0.22), and lower academic achievement (βprenatal = −0.31; βpostnatal = −0.36). Associations were stronger for latent ELS than for specific ELS domains. Results point to ELS as a potential prevention target to improve academic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over six decades since the Supreme Court ruled that all American children have the right to a high quality education, the academic achievement gap remains an important social problem in the United States. Researchers interested in understanding the achievement gap generally seek to find the mechanisms that can explain why Black students continue to achieve at lower levels than their White counterparts. This research has shown that differences in socioeconomic status, family cultural resources, school quality and racial composition, and bias and prejudice in schools all act as mechanisms that link race to academic achievement. In this paper, we review studies from the past 10 years on the academic achievement gap. We argue that while all of the factors identified in the literature can add insight to how race structures educational achievement, the fundamental cause of the achievement gap is structural racism, a system of social organization that privileges White Americans and disadvantages Americans of color. We argue that acknowledging structural racism as the fundamental cause of the achievement gap can provide a unifying framework for interpreting findings from studies of specific mechanisms link race to academic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Students vary in their initial achievement when they enter school and their rate of academic growth as they move through school. These differences have implications for classroom instruction and educational policy. Although previous research has examined initial achievement and growth differences, a gap remains in understanding how initial level of achievement interacts with subsequent growth as children move through school. Aim: Using Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD) and return on investment as theoretical grounding, this registered report examined how students' initial academic performance relative to their school predicts their subsequent academic achievement. The stage 1 accepted registered report is available at https://osf.io/9zmak/. Specifically, we tracked the achievement of a cohort of students who started at or above their school's mean at the beginning of third grade and tested a range of hypotheses regarding their achievement and growth as well as which students showed the greatest gains from their time in school. Sample: Using a large database of student academic achievement in the United States, this registered report included de‐identified data from all students from fall 2014 to spring 2017 in grades three through five from the ten US states with the highest participation for the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®) – a computer adaptive test of academic achievement in mathematics and reading. Because the MAP is taken at least twice per school year, up to six scores were included on mathematics and reading achievement for effective samples of approximately 220,000 students. Method: We built separate reading and mathematics three‐level piecewise longitudinal hierarchical linear models (student repeated measures, nested within students, nested within schools) to model student growth from the beginning of third grade to the end of fifth grade (i.e., three academic years and two summers). Results: For both mathematics and reading, average student achievement growth slowed as they progressed from third through fifth grade. From there, the findings diverged. In mathematics, student growth was mostly similar across achievement levels and grades from third through fifth. However, in reading, above‐average students demonstrated slower growth than average students during the school year but faster growth during the summer. Also of note, at the beginning of third grade, the highest achieving students outscored average students in their school by more than 2 years in mathematics and 3 years in reading. Conclusions: Our results may be able to be explained via a ZPD model, which posits development only occurs when students are placed in appropriately challenging environments. In mathematics, the observed pattern of relatively consistent growth across achievement levels suggests average students were just as likely to be in their ZPD as higher achieving students. In reading, as initial achievement increased, student reading growth slowed, which suggests the higher the initial achievement, the less likely students were to be in their ZPD. If a goal of education is for students to learn new things, our results suggest existing school offerings in reading are not meeting that goal equitably for students across the performance spectrum. Differential growth patterns should be considered when designing learning experiences for students who enter with a wide range of prior mastery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a well‐established socio‐economic gradient in child cognitive test scores. This gradient emerges at early ages, with some evidence that it can widen as children age. We investigate this phenomenon with two longitudinal cohorts of Irish children who take such tests at ages ranging from 9 months to 17 years, using maternal education and equivalised income as our measure of socio‐economic resources. The gradient is observed from the age of 3 with tentative evidence that it widens as children get older. We have evidence on a wide range of tests and there is some evidence that the gradient is slightly stronger for tests involving crystalised as opposed to fluid intelligence. Exploiting the longitudinal nature of the data, we also investigate mobility across the distribution of test scores, with some evidence that such mobility is less among poorer children, which raises the disturbing possibility that such children could become trapped in low achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon an explanation of the proleptic, an understanding of time as being socially constructed within specific contexts, to interpret a series of dramatic sequences enacted in ethnodramatic pedagogy. The authors present two major arguments: (1) teachers can help students analyze the processes that influence and shape their identities by adopting a proleptic framework; (2) ethnodrama, a dramatic and dialogic approach to interpreting texts, creates an opportunity for students to evaluate the social forces that shape identity construction as they situate and reflect on texts within multiple contexts. The authors delineate the ways in which teachers can use ethnodrama to help students revise their understandings of the personal and cultural implications of texts by situating these understandings in different configurations of place, space, and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry‐based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem‐solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory‐level inquiry‐based laboratory courses may not influence all students in the same way. By the end of the course, novice learners with a lower team‐based problem‐solving starting point reported greater learning growth than more experienced learners. As a result, the gap between novice learners' teamwork and problem‐solving skills and attitudes and those of more experienced learners narrowed. However, the results also suggest that, by the end of the course, more experienced learners had developed negative attitudes to teamwork and problem‐solving. In addition, deeper learning was found to be associated with improvements in team‐based problem‐solving for both novice and more experienced learners. Deep learning levels were related to both the magnitude and direction of attitude change, particularly for more experienced learners. These findings suggest that offering introductory‐level inquiry‐based laboratory courses is beneficial to narrow achievement gaps. In order to empower students of all experience levels, a differentiated instruction method should be adopted to accommodate students' varied needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive sorting of high‐performing teachers into the most advantaged schools contributes to the wide socioeconomic achievement gaps in many countries. The Chilean Pedagogical Excellence Assignment (AEP) pays bonuses to high‐performing teachers that are larger if they work at a disadvantaged school. Using a sharp regression discontinuity based on the program's eligibility rules, we estimate how the award affects where high‐performing teachers choose to work. The bonus, equivalent to 16 percent of an average annual salary, increased retention of high‐performing teachers in disadvantaged schools by 17 to 21 percentage points. In contrast, those teachers in more advantaged schools seem to use the award as a quality signal to stay or move to relatively high‐achieving schools. While the program accomplished its goal of retaining high‐performing teachers already working at disadvantaged schools, it did not achieve the objective of attracting better teachers from more advantaged schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender gaps in mathematics achievement persist in many contexts and when visible, these gaps are paradoxical. Low‐stakes measures of mathematics achievement such as grades and study behaviors favor girls, while gaps tend to reverse on assessments/competitions. We explore whether different impacts of raising performance stakes could be one explanation. Study 1 experimentally manipulated the stakes by imposing a performance‐contingent, social‐evaluative pressure either: before instruction (n = 66), before testing (n = 61), or none (n = 54). Pressure, particularly when experienced during instruction, reduced learning among girls. In contrast, boys trended toward enhanced learning under pressure. In the absence of pressure, girls exhibited strikingly larger gains in learning. Study 2 drew from a larger dataset (n = 386) to interrogate whether girls' superior learning in the no‐pressure context might simply be an artifact of differences in prior knowledge, cognitive resources, or demographic variables, but the effect replicated and was not explained by these factors. Gender differences in mathematics achievement appear by fifth grade and widen, but the size and direction of those gaps varies. We explore whether these differences might be in part explained by the stakes of the performance context. Girls learned more than boys from a mathematics lesson when the stakes were low. When we raised the stakes by promising a reward for high performance, boys and girls showed equal learning, and boys enjoyed the lesson more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geography is not a compulsory subject of study beyond the age of 14 in English schools and this has had an impact on both absolute and relative participation rates over recent years. Geodemographic analysis reveals that pupils domiciled within more affluent and less ethnically diverse areas record the highest rates of participation and attainment in GCSE Geography, and that the stratified patterns of participation have increased between 2005 and 2009. Within this period, those schools that have stopped supplying successful GCSE Geography entries by 2009 were found to have overall low aggregate attainment and to draw pupils from more deprived areas. The profile of schools visited by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS-IBG) Ambassador Scheme was also considered to assess the extent that the schools visited are representative of pupils who are most at risk of non-participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education policy in the U.S. in the last two decades has emphasized large-scale assessment of students, with growing consequences for schools, teachers, and students. Given the high stakes of such tests, it is important to understand the relationships between students' answers to test items and their knowledge and skills in the tested content area. Due to persistent test score gaps, students from historically non-dominant communities, and their teachers and schools, are differentially affected by the consequences of large-scale testing. As a result, it is particularly important to understand how students from historically non-dominant communities interact with test items on large-scale tests. We report on a study in which we interviewed 36 students about their responses to six multiple-choice science test items from the Massachusetts state science assessment for fifth grade. The 36 students included 12 students from low-income households, 12 English Language Learners, and 12 middle-class native English speakers. We found that for five of the six selected test items, students' descriptions of the science content knowledge they used to answer the test items frequently did not match the content knowledge targeted by the items. In addition, students from low-income households and English Language Learners were more likely than middle-class native English speakers to answer incorrectly despite demonstrating knowledge of the targeted science content for the items. We argue that such evidence challenges the expectation that students' answers to individual test items reflect their knowledge of the targeted science content, and that evidence of this kind should be included in investigations of the validity of large-scale tests. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 778-803, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐affirmation, operationalized as value‐affirmation interventions, can have long‐term beneficial effects on the academic performance and trajectories of members of negatively stereotyped groups, thus reducing achievement gaps. Yet, there is significant heterogeneity in the effectiveness of value affirmations, and we do not yet have a clear understanding of why. In this introduction to the special issue, we review the literature on self‐affirmation theory in educational contexts, providing overviews of the heterogeneity in the effectiveness of affirmation interventions, the methods of implementation, potential moderators, and underling processes. We identify several questions that are important for researchers to address, the answers to which would progress the field towards being able to more confidently implement value‐affirmations in contexts in which, and/or for groups for whom, they are most likely to produce benefits. We then introduce the articles included in this special issue, which showcase several of the latest theoretical and empirical advances to self‐affirmation theory in educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gap in university enrolment by parental education is large and persistent in many countries. In our representative survey of German adults, 74% of university graduates, but only 36% of those without a university degree, favour university education for their children. The latter are more likely to underestimate returns and overestimate costs of university. Similarly, 75% of adolescents with university‐educated parents, but only 51% without university‐educated parents aspire to a university degree. Experimental provision of general return and cost information does not close the aspiration gap as treatment effects are at least as strong for individuals with a university background as for those without. Differences in economic preference parameters also cannot account for the educational aspiration gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If the science of reading is the solution, then why are so many Black and Brown children not reading well in school? Reconciling the science with the lived experiences of children who are vulnerable to poor academic achievement in school may be requisite to unlocking the transformative innovation needed to ensure that every child can read and succeed in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A convention, particularly in economics and sociology, for empirical identification of the "middle class" has been to mark off a segment of the population above a lower bound with respect to income, occupational status, and/or educational attainment. Instead, we argue here that wealth constitutes a superior standard for demarcation of the middle class. Wealth is an especially useful standard for identification of the middle class from subaltern communities, communities that have a generally marginalized status. We illustrate the value of the wealth criteria by examining the specific case of America's Black middle class. This alternative approach enables us to demonstrate that the Black middle class is proportionately much smaller than the White middle class and to demonstrate the limitations of several proposals recently advanced to close the racial wealth gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this historical analysis, we examine the context of debates over the role of phonics in literacy and current debates about the science of reading, with a focus on the work and impact of the late literacy scholar Jeanne Chall. We open by briefly tracing the roots of the enduring debates from the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on beginning reading, decoding, and phonics. Next, we explore insights drawn from the whole language movement as understood by Kenneth Goodman and Yetta Goodman, as well as a synthesis of key ideas from Chall's critique of the whole language approach. We then analyze the shifts across the three editions of Chall's Learning to Read: The Great Debate and summarize major ideas from her body of work, such as the stage model of reading development. We suggest that reading instruction should be informed by a broader historical lens in looking at the "science of reading" debates and should draw on a developmental stage model to teaching reading, such as the six‐stage model provided by Chall. We describe implications for educators, textbook publishers, researchers, and policymakers that address the current reading debates, and provide considerations of what Chall might say about learning to read in a digital era given the pressures on teacher educators and teachers to align their practice with what is deemed to be the science of reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there have been a substantial number of research studies focused on improving the field's understanding of the development of the ability to read, very few of these studies have accounted for the potential role that extensive engagement in the act of reading might play in the development of reading proficiency. There are several views on the role, if any, that extensive reading plays in reading development. In this article, using research published since 2000, the evidence that reading volume plays a role in reading development now seems clearer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the racial/ethnic differences in financial capability controlling for various factors focusing on the role of financial education. Furthermore, we investigated the contributing factors to clarify where such gap stems. Regression results using data from the 2018 U.S. National Financial Capability Study indicated that Whites had a higher level of financial capability across all indicators than other racial/ethnic minority groups. Respondents who participated in the financial education had a higher level of financial capability than those without financial education. Multiple sources, hours and quality of financial education were positively associated with the level of financial capability. Decomposition analyses showed that age, income, negative income shock and banking status contributed to explain the gaps of financial capability between Black and White respondents as well as between Hispanic and White respondents. Financial education was a contributing factor only to explain the Black–White difference and it may narrow the gap. However, we found substantial unexplained gaps between Black and Hispanic respondents attributed by unobservable characteristics. Results of this study provide important insights into the racial/ethnic disparities in financial capability that have implications for consumer policymakers, educators and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships between school‐level school climate and race differences in student grades, accounting for school sociodemographic composition. We found that schools with more positive school climates had smaller race differences in student self‐reported grades. The moderating effect of school climate remained after accounting for the sociodemographic composition of the school and students' own perceptions of climate at their school. This moderating effect was confounded by school grade band (i.e., elementary, middle, or high) since perception of positive school climate was lower in middle and high schools than in elementary schools. Despite the difficulty of disentangling school climate from grade band, the findings suggest school improvement strategies focused on school climate may promote racial equity in academic outcomes. School practitioners' efforts to improve the school climate may also contribute to racial equity in academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study of gifted children in Cleveland, Ohio examining multiple superiority generally associated with individuals of high intelligence and its relation to socio-economic status. The gifted children selected for participation in the research project were drawn from communities defined as upper and lower status within the urban area. More lower status gifted children than upper status gifted children usually played outdoors. A factor contributing to the upper status emphasis on reading is the availability of books in the home. Differences in the kind of reading books chosen were noted in responses from the two groups. The evidence demonstrates that among children with unusual mental ability important differences do exist.

Research has examined how standardized tests give rise to gender differences in English and STEM attainment, but little research has explored gender differences in classroom‐based attainment and the degree to which these correspond to differences in school‐related attitudes. To explore the extent to which gender‐achievement gaps in classroom‐based performance parallel differences in self‐perceptions and scholastic attitudes. An independent sample of first (n = 187, age 11–12, Study 1) and second‐year students (n = 113, age 12–13, Study 2) from a UK comprehensive secondary school completed a questionnaire measuring academic mindset, self‐efficacy, self‐concept, competence beliefs, personal and social self‐esteem, and endorsement of gender‐subject and career stereotypes. Responses were then matched to their respective classroom grades in English, mathematics, science, and computing. Girls outperformed boys in English in their first year but reported lower global self‐esteem and greater endorsement of science‐career stereotypes. Conversely, girls outperformed boys in mathematics in their second year, but paradoxically reported lower self‐concept and competence beliefs in mathematics and science, and higher competence beliefs in English. Across both studies, mindset, self‐efficacy, competence beliefs, and social self‐esteem were positively related to English attainment; academic self‐efficacy was positively related to mathematics attainment; and mindset, self‐efficacy, self‐concept, and competence beliefs were positively related to science attainment. Gender‐achievement gaps in classroom‐based academic attainment are complex and highly nuanced; they appear to vary between school subjects across years and may not correspond with similar differences in self‐perceptions and scholastic attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic achievement gap is a persistent and pernicious educational challenge confounded with race and socioeconomic status. The achievement gap persists despite over three decades of interventions and federal, state, and local policies and initiatives meant to close it. We examine the achievement gap in one of the most diverse states in the United States, New Jersey. Across the 480 school districts in New Jersey, the school district racial makeup varies from almost complete segregation to high diversity. Using data‐mining techniques on the statewide standardized test, the 2010–2011 New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) standard language arts literacy and mathematics, we found that test scores increased with increasing diversity. In particular, the achievement gap between Black and White third grade students was lower by more than 60% in racially diverse districts when compared to racially homogeneous districts. This result is consistent with theories of peer spillover effects that implicate peer racial diversity in reducing the achievement gap. A cluster analysis of New Jersey school districts revealed eight common profiles, which could inform school policy and practice aimed at improving school performance and closing the achievement gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]