The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effects of academic interventions on academic achievement and academic anxiety outcomes among secondary students. A systematic search yielded 19 studies comprising 2377 participants from research conducted between 1990 and 2020. Results revealed statistically significant differences favoring academic treatments over the control on academic outcomes (g = 0.66, SE = 0.17) but no statistically significant benefits for academic anxiety outcomes (g = -0.13, SE = 0.11). Moderator analysis revealed that the domain focus of the intervention (i.e., math, literacy, or science) did not explain the variance in student outcomes in either achievement or anxiety. The findings from this study corroborate previous research with elementary students, which found that academic interventions improve academic outcomes but do not substantially reduce academic anxiety. These findings suggested that academic anxiety may need to be addressed directly. However, the authors caution against drawing strong conclusions due to the limited research in this area.

This article describes a curricular program for use in middle school social studies classrooms that supports the development of emergent bilinguals' language, literacy skills, and acquisition of content knowledge. The program leverages four supports found to be impactful for emergent bilinguals: 1) foregrounding content to increase students' readiness to learn language through content instruction; 2) making meaningful and relevant connections to students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds in complex disciplinary texts and activities; 3) engaging students in discussions and collaborations through heterogeneous teams that include students with a variety of linguistic proficiencies; and 4) using formative assessment to increase feedback and instructional responsiveness. The article presents illustrative examples of how these supports were embedded within a unit on ancient Greece and offers guidance on how middle school social studies teachers can incorporate supports in their units.

This study examined the relations between reading anxiety, general anxiety, and test anxiety in a sample of students with reading difficulties ( n = 536). It also tested if dimensions of anxiety were differentially related to word reading accuracy and fluency, text reading fluency, or reading comprehension. The results indicated that the three anxiety measures were significantly related ( r = 0.51 to 0.56, p < .001). Additionally, higher reading anxiety was related to poorer word reading fluency, text reading fluency, and comprehension outcomes. Further analyses indicated that these relations existed in students who fell in the middle and upper quantiles for reading, but not the lowest quantile. This pattern of findings suggests that the relation is complex and varies depending on severity of reading difficulty. Results may help to inform future efforts to support students with reading difficulties, including students with dyslexia.

This study examined the initial efficacy of World Generation (WorldGen), a Tier I social studies instructional approach for emergent bilingual (EB) students and their native English-speaking (non-EB) peers in Grades 6 and 7. WorldGen builds on prior research on instructional practices that have been associated with improved content knowledge and literacy outcomes for EBs in classes of students with varying English proficiency. Using a within-teacher design, middle grades world history teachers' classes were randomly assigned to WorldGen treatment (17) or comparison conditions (16) for three to four approximately two-week units. The student sample included 42% EBs. Students in the treatment condition (n = 373) scored higher, on average, on world history content (Hedges' g = 0.47) and vocabulary knowledge (Hedges' g = 0.41) than students in the comparison condition (n = 343) but no statistically significant findings were yielded regarding disciplinary literacy skills at the end of WorldGen instruction. Of primary interest, the statistically significant main effects indicated that world history content knowledge and vocabulary learning was similar for both current EB and non-EB students in the treatment condition. The findings provide initial support for the use of the WorldGen instructional practices for improving content acquisition and vocabulary in general education social studies classes with students with a range of English proficiency. Furthermore, teachers perceived the WorldGen instructional practices and materials as providing the information and learning experiences necessary to support students in meeting grade-level expectations. This study examined the initial efficacy of World Generation (WorldGen), a Tier I social studies instructional approach for emergent bilingual (EB) students and their native English-speaking (non-EB) peers in Grades 6 and 7. WorldGen builds on prior research on instructional practices that have been associated with improved content knowledge and literacy outcomes for EBs in classes of students with varying English proficiency. Examining WorldGen with Emergent Bilingual Students.image

Background: Many schools around the world involuntarily began remote learning in March of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought immediate changes and challenges to teaching and learning that are likely to influence student achievement into the foreseeable future. While large numbers of students face difficulties in learning to read under typical conditions, remote learning resulted in substantial deficits in reading outcomes.Aims: This study aimed to examine the relative impact of the pandemic on reading performance in United States (U.S.) for students with and without disabilities.Methods: and procedure: In this interpretive analysis, we compared the progress of a large sample of students (n = 219,500) by using the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, in two grade levels (Grades 4 and 8), with and without disabilities, at two time points (2019 and 2022).Outcomes and results: Statistically significant decreases were identified on the reading outcomes of students in U.S. Students without disabilities experienced a significant decrease in their reading outcomes pre-and post-pandemic, compared to students with disabilities (SWDs).Conclusions and implications: We discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' reading performance and the implications for effective reading instructions in the future.

Research has shown that academic anxiety can affect academic performance and emotional well-being. Despite previous research emphasizing the importance of understanding academic anxiety and indicating a strong association between academic performance and academic anxiety, no systematic reviews or meta-analyses have examined the effects of academic interventions on academic and anxiety outcomes. This article reports on a meta-analysis of studies examining academic interventions conducted with elementary students (kindergarten to Grade 6), in which both academic achievement and academic anxiety outcomes were reported. The systematic search yielded 13 studies comprising 1545 participants and revealed statistically significant differences favoring academic treatments over the control for academic achievement outcomes (g = 0.63, k = 11) but no statistically significant benefits for academic anxiety outcomes (g = -0.06, k = 11). The authors caution against drawing strong conclusions due to the heterogeneity in effects and the small number of studies in the extant literature.

Students in the middle grades are expected to read complex texts to acquire content knowledge, particularly in social studies/history and science. Most students with disabilities are included in social studies/history and science classes yet read below grade level, requiring significant support with accessing text knowledge. Question generation is one high-impact, evidence-based practice that content area teachers can use to support students as they read complex text. This practice has been studied in rigorous research studies, and findings suggest that students’ reading comprehension increases when they apply the practice while reading. The authors provide an overview of question generation, including explanations of each step in the instructional process, so content area teachers can integrate this reading comprehension practice into their instruction.

Students in the middle grades are expected to read complex texts to acquire content knowledge, particularly in social studies/history and science. Most students with disabilities are included in social studies/history and science classes yet read below grade level, requiring significant support with accessing text knowledge. Question generation is one high-impact, evidence-based practice that content area teachers can use to support students as they read complex text. This practice has been studied in rigorous research studies, and findings suggest that students' reading comprehension increases when they apply the practice while reading. The authors provide an overview of question generation, including explanations of each step in the instructional process, so content area teachers can integrate this reading comprehension practice into their instruction.