Educational Researcher 43卷7期

1. The Effect of Community Linguistic Isolation on Language-Minority Student Achievement in High School

Author: Timothy Arthur Drake

Source: Educational Researcher 43.7 (November 2014 ): 327-340.

Abstract:Research on language-minority student outcomes has revealed sizeable and persistent achievement gaps. The reasons for these gaps are often closely linked with other factors related to underperformance, including generational status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Using sociocultural second-language acquisition theories and community linguistic capital as a theoretical frame, this study builds upon the extant literature to examine the relationship between community linguistic isolation and language-minority 10th-grade student achievement outcomes. I find that language minority achievement gaps are three to five tenths of a standard deviation in reading and math but that the effect is attenuated by increased levels of linguistic isolation. These results appear robust to a number of specifications. Possible reasons for the attenuation are also discussed.

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2. The Impact of Open Textbooks on Secondary Science Learning Outcomes

Author: T. Jared Robinson, Lane Fischer, David Wiley, and John Hilton III

Source: Educational Researcher 43.7 (November 2014 ): 341-351.

Abstract:Given the increasing costs associated with commercial textbooks and decreasing financial support of public schools, it is important to better understand the impacts of open educational resources on student outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze whether the adoption of open science textbooks significantly affects science learning outcomes for secondary students in earth systems, chemistry, and physics.

This study uses a quantitative quasi-experimental design with propensity score matched groups and multiple regression to examine whether student learning was influenced by the adoption of open textbooks instead of traditional publisher-produced textbooks. Students who used open textbooks scored .65 points higher on end-of-year state standardized science tests than students using traditional textbooks when controlling for the effects of 10 student and teacher covariates. Further analysis revealed statistically significant positive gains for students using the open chemistry textbooks, with no significant difference in student scores for earth systems of physics courses. Although the effect size of the gains were relatively small, and not consistent across all textbooks, the finding that open textbooks can be as effective or even slightly more effective than their traditional counterparts has important considerations in terms of school district policy in a climate of finite educational funding.

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3. What’s Past Is Prologue: Relations Between Early Mathematics Knowledge and High School Achievement

Author: Tyler W. Watts, Greg J. Duncan, Robert S. Siegler, and Pamela E. Davis-Kean

Source: Educational Researcher 43.7 (November 2014 ): 352-360.

Abstract:Although previous research has established the association between early-grade mathematics knowledge and later mathematics achievement, few studies have measured mathematical skills prior to school entry, and few have investigated the predictive power of early gains in mathematics ability. The current paper relates mathematical skills measured at 54 months to adolescent mathematics achievement using multisite longitudinal data. We find that preschool mathematics ability predicts mathematics achievement through age 15, even after accounting for early reading, cognitive skills, and family and child characteristics. Moreover, we find that growth in mathematical ability between age 54 months and first grade is an even stronger predictor of adolescent mathematics achievement. These results demonstrate the importance of prekindergarten mathematics knowledge and early math learning for later achievement.