Latest News
January 18, 2018
Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Academic Interventions and Modifications on Student Behavior Outcomes
This meta-analysis of single case designed studies examines the effects of academic interventions on student behavior. The interventions examined included modifying task difficulty, instruction in reading, mathematics, or writing and contingent reinforcement for academic performance. The authors used a Non-overlap of all Pairs (NAP) method for calculating effect size for single subject design studies. The study concluded that these interventions produced positive effects on student behavior issues observed in the classroom. The effects were observed to have a moderate effect size ranging from 0.42 to 0. (decreasing disruptive behavior = 0.42), behavioral outcomes = 0.56, and time on task = 0.64). The effects were stronger for increasing student time on task than for reducing disruptive behavior, but both showed positive impacts. This research strengthens the available evidence that well-designed instruction is effective component in creating an effective classroom climate.
Citation: Warmbold-Brann, K., Burns, M. K., Preast, J. L., Taylor, C. N., & Aguilar, L. N. (2017). Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Academic Interventions and Modifications on Student Behavior Outcomes. School Psychology Quarterly. DOI: 10.1037/spq0000207
Link: http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-22887-001
December 18, 2017
Self-Regulated Strategy Development: Students with a Specific Learning Disability
Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an intervention designed to improve students’ academic skills through a six-step process that teaches students specific academic strategies and self-regulation skills. The practice is especially appropriate for students with learning disabilities. Based on evidence from single-case design studies, SRSD had potentially positive effects on writing achievement for students with a specific learning disability.
Citation: Mathematica Policy Research (2017). Self-Regulated Strategy Development: Students with a Specific Learning Disability. What Works Clearinghouse. Institute of Education Sciences.
Link: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/InterventionReports/wwc_srsd_111417.pdf
December 18, 2017
(1) An Evaluation of a Learner Response System (2) The Effects of Financial Incentives on Standardized Testing (3) Do Teacher Observations Make Any Difference to Student Performance?
Commentary: This piece reports on three examples of studies of practices that did not produce positive results and highlights the issue of publication bias in educational research. There are powerful contingencies that shape the publication process in ways that do not always work in the best interest of science. For example, promotion and tenure committees do not give the same weight to published replication studies. Also, journals generally do not publish studies that show no effect resulting in the “file drawer problem”. The only exception to this rule is if a study shows that a widely accepted intervention is not effective. Studies that show no effect may be very experimentally rigorous but because they did not show an experimental effect the studies are relegated to the researchers file drawer. These contingencies result in a publication bias for original research that demonstrates a positive effect. This can result in efforts to systematically review the evidence for an intervention over-estimating its effectiveness. Publishing in peer-reviewed journals is a critical component needed to safeguard the quality of research but these biases reflect potential publication biases. Replication is a fundamental cornerstone of science. Replication studies demonstrate the robustness of a finding. The biases against publishing non-results is a bit more complicated. Some studies that report non-results are unimportant. For example, demonstrating that a car will not run if gas is put in the tires is unimportant. The only important demonstration is one that shows a positive relation between where the gas was put in the car and the car actually running. Other studies reporting non-results are important because they show that a variable that has been experimentally demonstrated to have an impact on student behavior does not have that effect in a replication study or under a particular set of conditions.
News Summary:
- An Evaluation of a Learner Response System: A Learner Response System (LRS) is a classroom feedback tool that is becoming increasing popular. LRS is the practice of teachers and pupils using electronic handheld devices to provide immediate feedback during lessons. Given that feedback has been found to be a powerful tool in learning, it is not surprising that LRS are being adopted. The important question remains, do LRS increase student performance. This study tests a Learner Response System using Promethean handsets to assess whether it improves student outcomes. The study found no evidence that math and reading were improved using the system for 2 years.
- The Effects of Financial Incentives on Standardized Testing: Standardized testing has increasingly been used to hold educators accountable. Incentives are often offered as a way to improve student test performance. This study examines the impact incentives for students, parents and tutors on standardized test results. The researchers provided incentives on specially designed tests that measure the same skills as the official state standardized tests; however, performance on the official tests was not incentivized. This study finds substantial improvement for performance when there were incentives on the results did not generalize to the official test. This calls into question how to effectively use incentives so they will actually produce desired outcomes.
- Do Teacher Observations Make Any Difference to Student Performance? Research strongly suggests that feedback obtained through direct observations of performance can be a powerful tool for improving teacher’s skills. This study examines a peer teacher observation method used in England. The study found no evidence that Teacher Observation improved student language and math scores.
Citation:
(1) Education Endowment Foundation (2017). Learner Response System. Education Endowment Foundation. Retrieved https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/learner-response-system/.
(2) John A. List, Jeffrey A Livingston and Susanne Neckermann. “Do Students Show What They Know on Standardized Tests?” working papers (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeffrey_livingston/19/
(3) Education Endowment Foundation (2017). Teacher Observation. Education Endowment Foundation. Retrieved https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/teacher-observation/.
Link:
(1) https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/learner-response-system/
(2) https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/teacher-observation/
December 18, 2017
A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Interventions Aimed to Prevent or Reduce Violence in Teen Dating Relationships
The issue of sexual harassment has been front page news this past year. What does the research tell us about school interventions designed to reduce sexual harassment? This meta-analysis examines research on the topic and provides insight into how effective current efforts are at stemming incidents of this serious problem. This review provides a quantitative synthesis of empirical evaluations of school-based programs implemented in middle and high schools designed to prevent or reduce incidents of dating violence. This meta-analysis of 23 studies indicates school-based programs having no significant impact on dating violence perpetration and victimization; however, they can have a positive influence on dating violence knowledge and student attitudes.
Citation: De La Rue, L., Polanin, J. R., Espelage, D. L., & Pigott, T. D. (2017). A meta-analysis of school-based interventions aimed to prevent or reduce violence in teen dating relationships. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 7-34.
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dorothy_Espelage/publication/295083086_A_Meta-Analysis_of_School-Based_Interventions_Aimed_to_Prevent_or_Reduce_Violence_in_Teen_Dating_Relationships/links/56e2d92808ae387a2483a2e3.pdf
For more information on this topic please examine a Campbell Collaboration Systematic Review by the same authors: https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library/school-based-interventions-dating-and-sexual-violence.html
December 14, 2017
Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium-and Long-Term Educational Outcomes
This meta-analysis examines over 50 years of data on the impact of early childhood interventions designed to improve student performance. As schools look for initiatives that can make a difference improving important social outcomes, early childhood education (ECE), as a structural intervention, appears to offer results that last beyond the first few years of elementary school. This study finds ECE has a positive effect on reducing special education placements (effect size = 0.33), reduces grade retention (effect size = 0.26), and increases high school graduation rates (effect size = 0.24). Although, these are considered to be small effect sizes they have an impact improving large numbers of student’s education experiences while reducing overall education expenditures.
Citation: McCoy, D. C., Yoshikawa, H., Ziol-Guest, K. M., Duncan, G. J., Schindler, H. S., Magnuson, K., Yang, R., Koepp, A., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2017). Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium-and Long-Term Educational Outcomes. Educational Researcher, 46(8), 474-487.
Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X17737739
December 14, 2017
U.S. Graduation Rate Hits New All-Time High, With Gains in All Student Groups
The National Center on Education Statistics has released graduation rate data for the school year 2015-2016 (the most recent year in which data are available). The graduation rate for this school year is 84% making it the highest level reported since all states began using a standard measure for reporting graduation rates in the 2010-2011 school year. Not only is the overall graduation rate higher but there were improvements in each of the sub-groups as well.
Citation: Education Week, December 5, 2017
Link: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high_school_and_beyond/2017/12/US_graduation_rate_new_all_time_high_gains_in_all_groups.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news1&M=58299645&U=1583773
December 4, 2017
Framework for Improving Education Outcomes
Multitiered system of support (MTSS) is a framework for organizing service delivery. At the core of MTSS is the adoption and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based interventions that result in improved academic and behavioral outcomes for all students. MTSS is a data-based decision making approach based on the frequent screening of progress for all students and intervention for students who are not making adequate progress.
Citation: States, J., Detrich, R., and Keyworth, R. (2017). Multitiered System of Support Overview. Oakland, Ca. The Wing Institute.
Link: https://winginstitute.org/school-programs-multi-tiered-systems
November 15, 2017
Does the Match Matter? Exploring Whether Student Teaching Experiences Affect Teacher Effectiveness
This descriptive study examines the relationship between student teaching experiences and a teacher’s future effectiveness on the job. The primary finding is that teachers are more effective when the student demographics of their current schools are similar to the student demographics of the schools in which they did their student teaching. This study suggests that further experimental research be conducted to determine if the data hold up. If they do, the implication is that, in recruiting new teachers, school principals would be well served by choosing candidates whose student teaching experiences were in schools whose demographics match those of their own schools. Teacher preparation programs can also assist by assessing candidates’ preferences for where they plan on working and match student teaching placements to schools with similar demographics where new teachers are likely to be employed.
Citation: Goldhaber, D., Krieg, J. M., & Theobald, R. (2017). Does the match matter? Exploring whether student teaching experiences affect teacher effectiveness. American Educational Research Journal, 54(2), 325–359.
Link: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3102/0002831217690516
November 15, 2017
Reading Comprehension Tests Don’t Test Reading
In this video from Cool Reading Facts, Daniel Willingham, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, discusses significant factors key to success in reading comprehension. His analysis suggests that educators frequently miss the critical role that basic knowledge plays in successfully interpreting and understanding passages in reading texts and that reading comprehension tests are actually knowledge tests in disguise. He makes three important points: (1) Students must have the basic decoding skills to translate print into meaningful information, (2) having a basic familiarity with the subject matter is of prime importance in comprehending what the writer is trying to communicate, and (3) providing students with an enriched knowledge base through the school’s curriculum is especially important for students from disadvantaged circumstances, whose only source of essential background information often is school. In contrast, children from privileged circumstances may be introduced to essential background information away from school.
Citation: Willingham, D. (2017). Cool Reading Facts 5: Reading comprehension tests don’t test reading [Video file]. National Public Radio, Science Friday Educator Collaborative.
Link: https://vimeo.com/237925993
http://www.danielwillingham.com/
November 15, 2017
Two Models of Learning and Achievement: An Explanation for the Achievement Gap?
A 2015 paper by Stuart Yeh offers evidence on how to improve the performance of all students and close the achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic statuses and races. A persistent gap in student achievement between disadvantaged minority students and their middle-class peers has existed in the United States for over 50 years. This gap continues despite decades of education reform. Yeh hypothesizes that the conventional school system is structured in a way that reduces student motivation to succeed. Students become disengaged after experiencing repeated failure, resulting in depressed achievement and grades. This cycle continues to feed on itself as low achievement and poor grades further decrease motivation, engagement, and achievement. Yeh’s research suggests that two critical factors may account for the phenomenon of substandard student achievement: lack of a system for individualizing task difficulty and insufficient rapid performance feedback. These factors appear to be significantly more powerful than sociocultural circumstances (socioeconomic status or race), lack of accountability, lack of choice and competition, and low teacher quality. The implication is that letter grades are not merely an indicator of performance but potentially a causal factor in perpetuating the achievement gap.
Citation: Yeh, S. S. (2015). Two models of learning and achievement: An explanation for the achievement gap? Teachers College Record, 117(12), 1–48.
Link: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=18156
