This study investigated the effectiveness of the READ 180 balanced literacy program in addressing the problem of low reading achievement among urban minority high school students. Research has shown low reading achievement to negatively impact academic and economic success. Holdaway's theory of natural literacy, which suggests reading instruction should be purposeful and realistic, supports READ 180 as a remedial intervention. The specific purpose of the study was to evaluate READ 180 in relation to improving classroom reading achievement, standardized language arts test scores, and graduation rates among students in a low-income, high-minority urban high school. Subjects were 2 cohorts of students consisting of 619 enrolled in READ 180 during the school year of 2007-2008 and 358 students enrolled in READ 180 during the school year of 2010-2011 at an urban high school in New Jersey. Following a goals-based program evaluation design, a paired difference t test was used to evaluate classroom reading achievement; a chi-square test was used to evaluate graduation rates; and a multiple regression analysis controlling for initial status was used to evaluate performance on the standardized language arts test. Findings indicated moderate improvement in classroom reading achievement, no improvement in graduation rates, and strong improvement in standardized test scores only for English learners. Results suggested that a balanced literacy program such as READ 180 may provide effective reading remediation for English learners in low-income urban areas, thereby promoting social change through increased academic success and upward economic mobility.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

Curriculum-based measurement in writing (CBM-W) has been proposed as a means of screening general education and special education students for writing difficulties and as a tool for monitoring the progress of struggling writers. CBM-W involves the administration of multiple probes of equivalent difficulty over time to monitor student progress toward academic standards (McMaster & Espin, 2007). The purpose of this study was to determine the technical adequacy of multiple CBM-W measures and how well the measures predicted writing performance. Additionally, this study examined how well CBM-W measures predicted student growth in writing over time. This study also extended the work of previous research by including a sample of 5th grade Hispanic students (n = 167), including English language learners (ELLs), former ELLs who were being monitored, ELLs with disabilities, and non-ELLs. Students were given story starters and completed narrative writing samples that were scored using words written (WW), words spelled correctly (WSC), correct word sequences (CWS), and correct minus incorrect word sequences (CIWS). The criterion measure was the Test of Written Language, Fourth Edition (TOWL-4). Results indicated inconsistent alternate-forms reliability for WW and WSC, and high alternate-forms reliability for CWS and CIWS. CWS and CIWS were the best predictors of one-time writing performance on the TOWL-4 for the overall sample, ELLs, former ELLs on first year monitor status, and ELLs with disabilities. CBM-W was not a significant predictor of student growth over time for most scoring procedures. However, a promising finding is that the scoring procedure of CWS was a significant predictor of student growth for the overall sample and for former ELLs on first year monitor status. Limitations, practical implications and future research will be discussed. / text

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing group of learners in U.S. schools. In recent years, much of this growth has occurred in parts of the U.S. with historically smaller immigrant populations. Secondary ELLs in particular are entering middle and high schools that are often underprepared and ill-equipped to meet these students’ academic and linguistic needs. In addition to learning social English, ELLs must also master the academic language and content necessary to succeed in their content-area classes. This report reviews current research on content-area instruction in math, science, and social studies for secondary ELLs. More specifically, within each content area, key findings are summarized from articles that address the following topics: the linguistic challenges of learning content for ELLs; the implementation of pedagogical approaches to teaching content to ELLs; and teachers’ challenges and needs. The report concludes with recommendations for pedagogy, practice, and professional development as well as suggestions for future research. / text

Optimal investment in human capital through effective K-12 schooling is critical for building a productive work force. This investment is particularly important for minority and low income students. My dissertation uses econometric techniques to analyze the effects of different educational programs on the academic achievement of elementary and middle school students in Arizona. The first essay evaluates the effect of Arizona's new English program, the 4-hour ELD block, on the achievement of students. In the 2008-2009 academic year, Arizona law required that English Language Learner (ELL) students to be separated from their native English-speaking peers and interact in the same classroom for 4-hour per day with other ELL students. In this study dynamic panel data methods and regression discontinuity design are employed to analyze the effect of the 4-hour ELD block program on the academic achievement of students. Using data from one school district during the school years 2006 to 2010, this study shows that this new program did not have a notable effect on the state-wide test scores of ELL students. The second essay assesses the long-run and short-run effects of Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program in Arizona. The TIF program is a nationwide performance-based compensation plan that provides incentives to teachers based on the student performance. The TIF program started in Arizona in the 2007-2008 school year and targets high need schools. Using a panel data set from 2006-2007 to 2010-11 school year, the effect of the TIF program on the achievement of students is estimated using the difference-in-difference method. Comparing the short-run and long run effect of this program indicates that the long-run effect is greater than that of the short-run. Finally, by utilizing a rich set of panel data from 2006-2007 to 2010-2011 school years, the third essay studies the raw and value-added achievement gap between first and second-generation students with native students. This study shows that native students outperform both groups of immigrant students in reading and math tests. Within immigrant students, second-generation students outperform first-generation students in reading but not in math, while the achievement growth of the second-generation students has a slower pace.

The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate the effects of a creative drama curriculum for English Language Learners. It was hypothesized that drama would be helpful in lowering the affective filter--psychological attributes that can impede language acquisition. A group of third graders who had good comprehension of English, yet, were reluctant to speak, and a group of sixth and seventh graders with fledgling English skills participated in the study. Participants' response to the drama curriculum was measured by pretest-posttest, observations, and interviews with both participants and their teachers. Results of the study revealed that drama was successful in considerably reducing the third grade participants' anxiety and increasing their confidence and motivation towards speaking English. There was evidence of positive benefit of the drama with the sixth and seventh graders, but there was little change in participants' anxiety, confidence and motivation towards speaking English.

Par le biais d’une étude de cas portant sur un conseil scolaire anglophone ontarien, la recherche entreprise avait pour objectif l’analyse de la mise en œuvre de politiques touchant l’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire en Ontario, soit la politique à l’égard des élèves English language learners de 2007 ainsi que la Stratégie ontarienne d’équité et d’éducation inclusive de 2009. La réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès d’informateurs clés du conseil scolaire, du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario et d’un organisme local d’aide à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, l’analyse de documents publiés par les deux premières entités ainsi que l’observation non participante à des réunions de comités consultatifs du conseil scolaire ont permis l’exploration de l’impact constaté ou potentiel de la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sur la mise en place d’un modèle de système inclusif de prestation de programmes et services en matière d’éducation des élèves réfugiés du niveau secondaire.

abstract: This thesis study describes English Language Learner (ELL) participation practices in a summer English language development (ELD) middle school classroom in a public school district in Arizona. The purpose of the study was to document Mexican immigrant and Mexican American English learners' language experiences in a prescriptive ELD program in relation to the social, historical and cultural context. The study utilizes a sociocultural framework and critical language awareness concepts as well as qualitative interpretive inquiry to answer the following research questions: What is the nature of ELL participation during language lessons? That is, what are the common participation practices in the classroom? What social or cultural values or norms are evident in the classroom talk during language lessons? That is, in what ways do participants use language for social purposes? And, what is the cultural model of ELD evident in the classroom language practices? Data collection and analyses consisted of close examination of ELL participation within official language lessons as well as the social uses of language in the classroom. Analysis of classroom discourse practices revealed that ELL participation was heavily controlled within the common Initiation-Response-Evaluation pattern and that the students were limited to repetition and recitation responses. Further, analysis of discourse content demonstrated that classroom participants used language for social purposes in the classroom, most often using regulatory, decontextualized and resistance language. The findings revealed a cultural model of constrained ELD language practices that can be considered a pedagogy of subtractive assimilation. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education 2010

abstract: The current study analyzed existing data, collected under a previous U.S. Department of Education Reading First grant, to investigate the strength of the relationship between scores on the first- through third-grade Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills - Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS-ORF) test and scores on a reading comprehension test (TerraNova-Reading) administered at the conclusion of second- and third-grade. Participants were sixty-five English Language Learners (ELLs) learning to read in a school district adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border. DIBELS-ORF and TerraNova-Reading scores were provided by the school district, which administers the assessments in accordance with state and federal mandates to monitor early literacy skill development. Bivariate correlation results indicate moderate-to-strong positive correlations between DIBELS-ORF scores and TerraNova-Reading performance that strengthened between grades one and three. Results suggest that the concurrent relationship between oral reading fluency scores and performance on standardized and high-stakes measures of reading comprehension may be different among ELLs as compared to non-ELLs during first- and second-grade. However, by third-grade the correlations approximate those reported in previous non-ELL studies. This study also examined whether the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a receptive vocabulary measure, could explain any additional variance on second- and third-grade TerraNova-Reading performance beyond that explained by the DIBELS-ORF. The PPVT was individually administered by researchers collecting data under a Reading First research grant prior to the current study. Receptive vocabulary was found to be a strong predictor of reading comprehension among ELLs, and largely overshadowed the predictive ability of the DIBELS-ORF during first-grade. Results suggest that receptive vocabulary scores, used in conjunction with the DIBELS-ORF, may be useful for identifying beginning ELL readers who are at risk for third-grade reading failure as early as first-grade. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011