Language Arts Performance Research Articles

Beyond COVID-19: assessment of learning loss on human capital

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education using County level data. Design/methodology/approach The authors use County-level data and charts to look at enrollment, performance in different grade levels, poverty measures, access to internet, etc., to shed light on educational losses after the pandemic. Findings In remote education after the pandemic, access to the internet has emerged as the foundational element of educational equity. While declines in academic engagement during remote schooling affected many schools, the potential for learning loss was significantly higher in lower-income communities. A thorough examination of end-of-grade level assessment data revealed a concerning trend of declining Math and Language Arts performance post-pandemic. Research limitations/implications One of the major limitations that the authors have faced in this research is that the authors did not have access to the individual/household level data regarding the high-speed internet connection, household income, poverty level and other relevant socio-economic variables. That made it impossible to control for variables of interest, and hence a distinction between correlation and causation was not possible. Practical implications Learning loss implications can be potentially long-term and complex. Therefore, targeted and intentional interventions are essential to decrease the disparity gaps, increase resources and raise learning levels to exceed prepandemic outcomes. Such interventions can impact skill development and the potential for future economic success, both individually and collectively. Social implications The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to address the digital disparities intensifying learning loss in Clayton County, Georgia. Effective strategies must prioritize equitable access to internet resources and technology, particularly for students in high-poverty areas. By bridging these gaps, schools and communities can reduce the potential for long-term consequences of pandemic-induced learning loss and create pathways for a more equitable future in education. Originality/value The main idea of this paper is to compare and contrast the learning losses in K-12 education after the COVID-19 pandemic within neighboring counties and see if the digital divide and/or poverty had any impact on the extent of those learning losses.

Sexual Minority Status and Academic Achievement During the Transition to Adolescence Among Youth With Childhood Conduct Problems

Youth with conduct problems have poorer academic outcomes than their typically developing peers. The objective of the current study was to examine how sexual minority status was associated with trajectories of teacher-rated mathematics and language arts (i.e., reading and writing) achievement in seven consecutive years across the transition to adolescence among youth with childhood histories of conduct problems ( N = 383). Sexual minority status (as assessed via indicators of identity, attraction, or behavior during adolescence in the eighth year of the study) was not associated with initial mathematics or language arts performance at time 1, but was associated with declining mathematics achievement during the transition to adolescence. These findings suggest that sexual minority status is linked to change in some aspects academic achievement among youth already at risk for poorer academic achievement (i.e., youth with conduct problems).

Do refugee students affect the academic achievement of peers? Evidence from a large urban school district

Policy debate on refugee resettlement focuses on perceived adverse effects on local communities, with sparse credible evidence to ascertain its impact. In this paper, I present evidence on the impact of refugee integration in public schools by examining whether attending school with refugees affects the academic outcomes of non-refugee students. Leveraging variation in the share of refugees within schools and across grades, I find that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of refugees raises math test scores of non-refugee students by 0.01 standard deviations. I find no impact on average English Language Arts performance, although results in this subject differ by incumbent students’ prior achievement levels. Supplemental analyses suggest that the positive spillovers in math achievement are in part driven by compensatory funding and in-kind support made available to schools serving refugee students.

Teachers’ Perceptions Towards the Usefulness of Lesson Plan Manuals in the Teaching of Language Arts at the Junior Secondary School level

This paper examined the perceptions of teachers regarding the use of Lesson Plan Manuals (LPMs) in the teaching of Language Arts at the Junior Secondary School level within Bo using data from an MA dissertation. Since the introduction of the Lesson Plan Manuals in 2016, a study to assess the impact of their use in schools has not been done. It is based on this that an assessment was carried out to seek the opinion of Language Arts teachers with regards the use of the Lesson Plan Manuals. It was also intended to investigate whether pupils’ performance in Language Arts has improved or not since the introduction of the Lesson Plan Manuals. The study adopted a qualitative study design and non-probabilistic sample design paradigms. A total of forty (40) Language Arts teachers at the Junior Secondary School level were purposefully selected to serve as respondents for this study. Twenty-five(25) respondents completed and returned the five-pointLikert scale that was used for data collection. Respondents were also interviewed in focused group discussions on some key issues that were not captured in the questionnaires. The results indicate that Lesson Plan Manuals in Language Arts are available in most schools. However, not all pupils have access to these manuals, which makes it difficulfor most of the learners to follow the steps and actively participate in the lessons. It was also revealed that with the use of the Lesson Plan Manuals, the performance of pupils has gradually improved, although some teachers need training in the use of these Lesson Plan Manuals.

Task Monitoring and Working Memory as Executive Components Predictive of General and Specific Academic Achievements in 6-9-Year-Old Children.

Academic achievement has been linked to executive functions. However, it is necessary to clarify the different predictive role that executive functions have on general and specific academic achievement and to determine the most predictive executive factor of this academic achievement. The relationship and predictive role between executive functions and their components (initiative, working memory, task monitoring, organization of materials, flexibility, emotional control, inhibition, self-monitoring) with academic achievement are analyzed in this study, both globally and specifically in the areas of Language Arts and Mathematics, in 133 students from 6 to 9 years of age. The relationship obtained in Pearson’s correlation analysis does not differ substantially between overall achievement (r = 0.392) and specific achievement (r = 0.361, r = 0.361), but task monitoring (r = 0.531, r = 0.455, r = 0.446) and working memory (r = 0.512, r = 0.475, r = 0.505) had a greater relationship with general and specific achievement. Finally, regression analyses based on correlation results indicate that executive functions predict general academic performance (14.7%) and specific performance (12.3%, 12.2%) for Language Arts and Mathematics, respectively. Furthermore, working memory and task supervision represent 32.5% of general academic performance, 25.5% of performance in Language Arts, and 27.1% of performance in Mathematics. In conclusion, this study yielded exploratory data on the possible executive functions (task supervision and working memory) responsible for good general academic achievements and specific academic achievements in Mathematics and Language Arts.

English Language Arts Performance of Grade 6 Students in an Intensive French Program

Les faibles taux de rétention des programmes de français de base, conjugués au plan d’action du gouvernement fédéral pour accroître le bilinguisme au Canada, ont mené à l’instauration de programmes de français intensif (FI) en 6e année comme solution de rechange pour l’apprentissage du français. Bien que certains rapports isolés semblent indiquer que ces programmes n’ont pas d’incidence négative sur le développement des compétences en langue anglaise, les données empiriques à ce sujet sont limitées. Les auteurs ont ici pour but d’étudier comment les élèves d’un programme de FI obligatoire d’une durée d’un an ont réussi par rapport aux élèves en enseignement de la langue anglaise (ELA) du reste de la province, selon les résultats des tests critériés provinciaux au niveau primaire. La comparaison des élèves des programmes de FI obligatoires aux élèves du reste de la province de Terre-Neuve et Labrador sur une période de huit ans, de 2005 à 2012, révèle que les élèves de FI, au terme de la 6e année, ont moins de chances de décrocher une note adéquate aux tests critériés d’ELA, pour toutes les tâches évaluées : écriture sur demande, lecture de poésie, lecture de textes informatifs et écoute. Les auteurs analysent la signification pédagogique de ces résultats et leurs conséquences.

Actividades extraescolares y rendimiento académico: diferencias según el género y tipo de centro

How does students’ participation in extracurricular activities affect their academic performance? This question has become a topic of debate in the educational community, even extending into the social sphere. This study used a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional methodology to analyze any existing relationships between participation in extracurricular activities and academic performance, also taking into account gender and type of school (public vs. charter), to determine whether there were significant differences according to these variables. A total of 620 primary school students from ages 10 to 12 participated in the study (M = 10.35; SD = 0.63). The results showed significant, positive relationships between number of extracurricular activities and academic performance in Language Arts; and significant, negative relationships between time devoted to recreational activities and performance in English as a Foreign Language. Overall, the girls participated in more extracurricular activities than the boys. The boys participated in a greater number of sports activities, and participation in sports was also greater among students of the charter schools. It is possible that sociocultural context and family economic level are decisive in whether students participate in these activities, and consequently in the conclusions that may be drawn about their relationship to variables like academic performance.

Receipt of Corrective Lenses and Academic Performance of Low-Income Students.

Untreated vision problems are associated with poor school performance. Whether providing glasses alone improves performance, however, remains unknown. We sought to test whether receiving glasses was associated with improved school performance for low-income minority students in Los Angeles. From 2017 to 2018, we analyzed achievement marks in mathematics and language arts from 406 first to fifth grade students attending 24 public elementary schools who received glasses through a free school-based vision program between February and May 2014, and 23,393 of their nonparticipating same-school, same-grade peers. We calculated students' percentile rank during each grading period in 1 year before and 2 years since they received glasses. Multilevel linear regressions tested whether percentile rank differed from baseline at each subsequent grading period. Models accounted for clustering at the school level and controlled for gender, grade level, and baseline class rank. Interaction terms tested whether associations differed by gender and class rank. Students increased 4.5 percentile points (P=.02) in language arts in the second year after receiving glasses. There was no change in math achievement overall; however, those with baseline performance in the bottom tercile had an immediate and sustained improvement of 10 to 24 percentile points from baseline (interaction term P < .001). Class rank for behavior marks decreased during the fourth grading period after receiving glasses but subsequently returned to baseline. There were no significant changes in work habits and no variation in results by gender. Ensuring access to vision care may be a simple, scalable strategy to improve language arts performance for low-income minority children.

Association between sleep-related breathing disorders and academic performance among children from Concepción, Chile.

The objective of this study was to establish an association between academic performance in Math, Language Arts, and Science and the presence of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) among healthy schoolchildren from the city of Concepción, Chile. Healthy children were defined as those without comorbidities. Outcome measures of interest included the analysis of academic performance in Math, Language Arts, and Science and the presence of SRBD assessed using the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire. Two-hundred and fifty-six children were included in the study (59.8% were boys). In the studied sample, SRBD prevalence was 24.6%. A significant association was observed between SRBD and a low performance in Math (odds ratio |-#91;OR|-#93;: 3.1, 1.5-6.8), Language Arts (OR:2.5, 1.1-5.5), and Science (OR: 4.2, 1.7-10.0). To conclude, in the studied sample, the presence of SRBD was associated with a low academic performance in Language Arts, Math, and Science.

Determining effective teaching behaviors through the hiring process

Purpose – One bad hiring decision can lead to low student achievement. Research supports that teachers are the most influential factor in student success. As a result, principals’ current practice of hiring teachers based on intuition and likeability must change. Given the current high stakes era, principals need reassurance that the teachers they hire can indeed meet the needs of the students and the goals of the school. The purpose of this paper is to determine which interview protocol questions would predict high levels of effective teaching behaviors exhibited by teachers in the classroom. Design/methodology/approach – A convenience sample of 600 working teachers responded to a 93-item Likert-scale online questionnaire related to the four domains of effective teaching behaviors: classroom management, organizing instruction, implementing instruction, and monitoring progress and potential. The researchers first analyzed the teacher responses to assess their reliability and validity. A regression analysis was then run to indicate which effective teacher domains (the predictor variables); best predicted average student achievement scores (the outcome variable). Regression analysis was used to predict high-quality teachers (i.e. teachers with high average gain scores) given responses to interview questions (predictor variables). Findings – Successful teachers in this study utilized multiple strategies when handling the area of classroom management and organization. In the area of organizing instruction, key elements such as the objective, individual or group activities, and assessments were included in the daily lesson plan. The structure of the lesson delivery and the different learning styles of students were considered when planning a lesson. In this research, teachers utilized various instructional strategies when implementing instruction to challenge all learners, accommodate different learning styles, and to ensure student success. Successful teachers in this study monitored student progress and potential using a variety of methods. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted in two districts. Future studies could expand on the research using multiple districts in several locations. Data were self-reported by current teachers and cannot be independently verified. Researchers relied on the information provided by teachers and trusted their responses to be accurate. Future studies could include a qualitative piece to determine why monitoring student progress and potential produced a negative result on student performance, classroom management was not significantly related to performance in language arts, and organization for instruction was not significantly related to performance in mathematics. Originality/value – This longitudinal study will provide hiring authorities with research-based protocols that have proven to predict high levels of teaching quality, which research has shown to be single most important determinant of student achievement.

Adoptive Family Relationships and Healthy Adolescent Development: A Risk and Resilience Analysis

This study used a risk and resilience perspective and the catch-up model of adoption to analyze data from the National Survey of Adoptive Parents for 701 adopted adolescents. Structural equation models showed that better parent-child relationship quality was significantly associated with reduced odds of skipping school, being suspended, and reporting substance abuse or police trouble, when demographic variables and the pre-placement abuse/neglect factor were controlled. Better parent-child relationships also were associated with better performance in language arts, but not in mathematics. In general, few differences in the pattern of significant relationships were observed for a transracial adoptee subset of adolescents.

Instructional Sensitivity of a Complex Language Arts Performance Assessment

Validation of assessments intended to improve instruction and learning should include evidence of instructional sensitivity. This study investigated the instructional sensitivity of a standards-based ninth-grade performance assessment that required students to write an essay about conflict in a literary work. Before administering the assessment, teachers of 886 ninth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three instructional groups: literary analysis, organization of writing, and teacher-selected instruction. Despite the short duration of instruction (8 class periods), results support the instructional sensitivity of the assessment in two ways: Instruction on literary analysis significantly improved students' ability to analyze and describe conflicts in literature, and instruction on the organization of writing led to significantly higher scores on measures of coherence and organization.

Relationships Among Measures as Empirical Evidence of Validity: Incorporating Multiple Indicators of Achievement and School Context

In this article we examine empirical evidence on the criterion, predictive, transfer, and fairness aspects of validity of a large-scale language arts performance assessment, referred to as the Performance Assignment (PA). We use multilevel models to avoid biased inferences that might result from the naturally nested data. Specifically, we examine the relationships of the assessment with the Stanford Achievement Test, 9th Edition and the California High School Exit Examination. The results indicate that the measures are related, that students demonstrate a degree of transfer, and that the language arts PA is relatively more fair than comparison assessments. The results are robust to various model specifications and demonstrate that benefits do not accrue to all students equally.

Language Arts Performance Assignments: Generalizability Studies of Local and Central Ratings

We conducted generalizability studies to examine the extent to which ratings of language arts performance assignments, administered in a large, diverse, urban district to students in second through ninth grades, result in reliable and precise estimates of true student performance. The results highlight three important points when considering the use of performance assessments in large-scale settings: (a) Rater training may significantly impact reliability; (b) simple rater agreement indices do not provide enough information to assess the reliability of inferences about true student achievement; and (c) assessments adequate for relative judgments of student performance do not necessarily provide sufficient precision for absolute criterion-referenced decisions.

Performance assessment and the literacy unit of the new standards project

To overcome the dominance of machine-scored tests, the Literacy Unit of the New Standards Project, housed at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, is attempting to develop an alternative system of English Language Arts performance assessment for K-12 schools, using on-demand tasks lasting typically three to five days and involving the reading of a selection and writing of an essay and portfolios. The portfolio system, which is being piloted by 1,500 teachers in 20 states, includes a student handbook, complete with a list of entries, and a scoring system, which includes anchor entries and rubrics. A number of important questions have emerged form this project: (1) Do multiple choice tests collect significant data from students at the low end of performance? (2) What tasks or portfolio entries adequately sample domains like reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and how should these tasks and entries be weighted in scoring portfolios? (3) What are the acceptable trade-offs between validity and reliability and between efficiency (low cost) and or authenticity? (4) Can an audit or moderation system track the reliability of judging at various school sites? (5) Does the use of decimal scoring, allowing readers to add to or subtract from a score, increase reliability? (6) What are the methods for defining Mastery and cut-off scores after scoring is completed?

Correction: The Effect of Elementary Latin Instruction on Language Arts Performance

Previous articleNext article No AccessCorrection: The Effect of Elementary Latin Instruction on Language Arts PerformancePDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Elementary School Journal Volume 78, Number 3Jan., 1978 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/esj.78.3.1001414 Views: 1Total views on this site Copyright 1978 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Effect of Elementary Latin Instruction on Language Arts Performance

Nancy A. Mavrogenes West High School Aurora, Illinois Since about 1967, pioneered by the Philadelphia public school system, an innovative program of a daily twenty-minute period of Latin instruction in the intermediate grades has produced solid results in children's language and reading performance. It is the purpose of this paper to describe these programs and the results. Evidence will also be presented in support of FLES (Foreign Languages in the Elementary School) to indicate that foreign language learning relates to the needs or interests of children (1: 543).