The Elementary School Journal最新文献

Teachers' perceptions of their students' academic skills can affect students' achievement and may be influenced by unrelated student characteristics such as socioeconomic status (SES). In this ad hoc randomized controlled trial, teachers (n = 28) were randomly assigned to receive training on using assessment to guide literacy instruction, Assessment-to-Instruction (A2i), or on Math PALS (control). Teachers rated students' (n = 446) academic competence. A2i teachers' ratings did not vary by SES, and their ratings correlated more strongly with students' literacy and mathematics assessment scores compared with those of the control teachers. Control teachers generally underestimated lower SES students' academic competence; underestimation was greater at more affluent schools. Teachers' ratings of students' academic competence predicted reading and mathematics outcomes. Thoughtful use of assessments to guide instruction appeared to improve the precision of teachers' ratings of students' academic competence, improve student outcomes, and reduce potential teacher biases about children from higher-poverty families.

The goal of the present study was to describe fraction-calculation errors among 4^th-grade students and determine whether error patterns differed as a function of problem type (addition vs. subtraction; like vs. unlike denominators), orientation (horizontal vs. vertical), or mathematics-achievement status (low- vs. average- vs. high-achieving). We specifically addressed whether mathematics-achievement status was related to students' tendency to operate with whole number bias. We extended this focus by comparing low-performing students' errors in two instructional settings that focused on two different types of fraction understandings: core instruction that focused on part-whole understanding vs. small-group tutoring that focused on magnitude understanding. Results showed students across the sample were more likely to operate with whole number bias on problems with unlike denominators. Students with low or average achievement (who only participated in core instruction) were more likely to operate with whole number bias than students with low achievement who participated in small-group tutoring. We suggest instruction should emphasize magnitude understanding to sufficiently increase fraction understanding for all students in the upper elementary grades.

We examined growth trajectories of writing and the relation of children's socio-economic status, and language and/or speech impairment to the growth trajectories. First grade children (N = 304) were assessed on their written composition in the fall, winter, and spring, and their vocabulary and literacy skills in the fall. Children's SES had a negative effect on writing quality and productivity. Children with language and/or speech impairment had lower scores than typically developing children in the quality and productivity of writing. Even after accounting for their vocabulary and literacy skills, students with language and/or speech impairment had lower scores in the quality and organization of writing. Growth rates in writing were not different as a function of children's SES and language/speech impairment status. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The authors investigated the differential effect of retention on the development of academic achievement from grade one to five on children retained in first grade over six years. Growth Mixture Model (GMM) analyses supported the existence of two distinct trajectory groups of retained children for both reading and math among 125 ethnically and linguistically diverse retained children. For each achievement domain, a low intercept/higher growth group (Class 1) and a high intercept/slower growth group (Class 2) were identified. Furthermore, Class 1 children were found to score lower on several measures of learning related skills (LRS) variables and were characterized by having poorer self-regulation and less prosocial behaviors, compared to the other group. Findings suggest that some children appear to benefit more from retention, in terms of higher reading and math growth, than others. Study findings have implications for selecting children into retention intervention and early intervention.

To promote a relational understanding of the equal sign (=), students may require exposure to a variety of equation types (i.e., 3 = 8 - 5; 2 + 3 = 1 + 4; 9 - 3 = 6). The purpose of this study was to evaluate 8 elementary curricula for degree of exposure to equation types. Across 6 elementary grade levels, curricula were coded for the number of standard and nonstandard equation types appearing within the student textbook. Except in 1 of the 8 curricula, students typically do not receive exposure to nonstandard equation types that promote a relational understanding of the equal sign. An analysis of the accompanying teacher manual for each textbook suggests that students receive minimal instruction on relational definitions of the equal sign, with the majority of instruction occurring in grades K-2 and minimal instruction provided in grades 3-5.

The shared and unique effects of teacher and student reports of teacher student relationship quality (TSRQ) in second and third grade on academic self views, behavioral engagement, and achievement the following year were investigated in a sample of 714 academically at-risk students. Teacher and student reports of teacher-student support and conflict showed low correspondence. As a block, teacher and student reports of TSRQ predicted all outcomes, above prior performance on that outcome and background variables. Student reports uniquely predicted school belonging, perceived academic competence, and math achievement. Teacher reports uniquely predicted behavioral engagement and child perceived academic competence. Teacher and student reports of the teacher-student relationship assess largely different constructs that predict different outcomes. Implications of findings for practice and research are discussed.

Models of Response to Intervention (RTI) include parameters of assessment and instruction. This study focuses on assessment with the purpose of developing a screening battery that validly and efficiently identifies first-grade children at risk for reading problems. In an RTI model, these children would be candidates for early intervention. We examined accuracy, fluency, growth, and teacher rating measures as predictors of child status (at risk, not at risk) at the end of the school year based on an unselected sample of 243 children. The prediction model that best fit our selection criteria included 2-word fluency measures and a teacher rating of reading problems. Word-fluency growth was an equally plausible choice statistically, but, because the measure would require an additional data point, it was not the most efficient choice. The receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis yielded an area-under-the-curve index of .96, which indicates the selected 3-variable model is highly accurate.

A sample of 784 children with below-median literacy performance in kindergarten or at the beginning of grade 1 was assessed in 5 areas of psychological and social variables: academic competence, sociodemographic characteristics, social/emotional/behavioral characteristics, school context, and home environment. We examined the contribution of academic competence to retention first, and then evaluated contributions of each of the other areas beyond academic competence. The 165 students retained in first grade were found to differ from promoted students on reading and mathematics achievement test scores, teacher-rated engagement and achievement, and intelligence as individual predictors of academic competence, but with direct effects only for reading and teacher-rated achievement when entered as a set of predictors. None additional variables had zero-order significant correlations with retention status. Using hierarchical logistic regression, beyond the effects of academic competence variables we found that only being underage for grade and the home environmental variables of positive parental perceptions of their child's school, sense of shared responsibility for education with the school, and parent communication with the school contributed significantly to retention. Implications for educational policy and intervention are discussed.