This study was designed to investigate the impact of family cultural capital on reading motivation and reading behavior among new immigrant children and non-immigrant children. This research used Chang and Wang's family cultural capital, reading motivation, and reading behavior questionnaire to conduct the survey. The target population of this study was students enrolled in fifth grade and sixth grade in elementary school in the fall of 2017 in Tainan, Taiwan. The sample include 414 students from new immigrant families and 422 students from non-immigrant families; the total number of individuals was 837. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analytical procedures were performed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicate that the seven latent variables were related to each other directly or indirectly. The main findings of this study are as follows: 1) family socioeconomic status significantly affects students' acquisition of family cultural capital; 2) family reading habits significantly affect students' reading motivation; 3) intrinsic reading motivation significantly affects students' reading behavior; and 4) external reading motivation shows no direct significant effect on reading time or the number of items read.

A three-district case study was conducted to determine the effects of the 50-cent debt test on fast-growth Texas school districts. The 50-cent debt test for Texas schools came into existence as part of Senate Bill 351 in 1991. Prior to the passing of Senate Bill 351, districts in Texas were limited to issuing 10% of their assessed valuation. Of the 75 school districts that currently meet the criteria to be considered a fast-growth district, 15 of the districts had an Interest and Sinking tax rate of $0.50 in 2014. Also, 33 of the 75 districts had an Interest and Sinking tax rate of $0.40 or higher in 2014. The 50-cent cap on the interest and sinking fund tax rate for districts is arbitrary and inefficient. The limit does not take into account a district's enrollment growth or the wishes of local taxpayers who might vote to authorize debt to build additional facilities or a higher tax rate to pay down debt sooner. Over the past 20 years, Texas voters have approved $96.7 billion of the $118.4 billion resulting in over 81% of funding sought for facilities being approved. The issuance of the approved bond authorization by these voters is governed …

The purpose of this study determined if a significant relationship existed between the amount of professional development that teachers participated in and the impact on the classroom instruction that followed. The goal was to study the effect that this had on student achievement in the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for English 1 and Algebra 1 for students at a large north Texas high school. Testing years for the study included the school years 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16. Additional variables included the work in three areas of teacher professional development over the three-year period. Fourteen teachers, in two subjects, were studied in their implementation of classroom instruction. Particular attention was given to the instructional changes, and the number of hours of professional development in the areas of instruction, technology, and differentiation. Teachers were given opportunities to participate in 18 hours of professional development in all three areas in each of the three years. Teachers were then asked to incorporate the work that they completed each year into their day to day classroom instruction. The goal of the implementation of the professional development in addition to the curricular specifics regarding instruction of state standards was expected to produce …

The purpose of this study was to explore characteristics that influence Latino male students' enrollment in four-year colleges. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach and acquired information specifically pertaining to the high school Latino male population. Participants for the study included Latino male high school students in Grades 9-12, parents of Latino male high school students in Grades 9-12, and counselors of high school students in Grades 9-12. The study was conducted across two campuses. Data for student and parent participants were obtained through an online survey questionnaire and counselor data was obtained through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The results of this study reveal that there are influential characteristics that contribute to Latino males' potential enrollment in college. Of the data obtained from student participants, 70.2% of participants on Campus 1 and 90.5% of participants on Campus 2 planned on attending college. Responses from parent surveys found that 85.8% of parents had expectations for their Latino male student to attend college. Through the semi-structured focus group interviews, it was found that the school district and campuses in which the study was conducted had several procedures or processes in place to positively encourage Latino male student enrollment in four-year colleges. Results of …

This study was designed to investigate the correlational relationship between four school elements listed on the Texas Academic Progress Report (TAPR) and the academic achievement of 8th grade African American male students. Data for this study was provided from the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) Office for Public Information Requests. The study included four independent variables: percent of socioeconomically disadvantaged students, average years of teachers' experience, attendance rate and average class size in mathematics. The dependent variable was the 8th grade African American males' performance on the mathematics STAAR exam. The study examined scores from the mathematics STAAR exam for the years 2012-2014. The sample population included 1,540 schools and 47,169 individual test results. The results of the correlational analysis indicate that none of the independent variables were correlated to each other, but each of the independent variables had a statistically significant correlation with the dependent variable at the p < .05 level. The study also sought to explore the variance in academic achievement that could be explained by the four independent variables when used as a model. The results of the simple multiple regression suggest that not only were the results statistically significant at the p < .01 level, but …

The primary focus of RtI has been at the elementary school level. However, over the past few years there has been a shift, and RtI has been expanding to secondary schools. Through this expansion, it is unclear if RtI has been effectively implemented at the secondary level. The ultimate goal for any school implementing change is institutionalization or sustainability. Therefore, this qualitative case study examined the institutionalization or sustainability of RtI systems in one high school. This study was designed to deepen the understanding of secondary RtI and to add to the literature on RtI at the secondary level. The purpose was to understand how one secondary school addressed the complexity and uniqueness of the secondary environment while sustaining RtI practices. The participants in this study shared several research-based practices that they believed assisted struggling students to become academically successful. The findings regarding RtI practices and implementation were supported by researchers whose works were analyzed in the literature review. The study concluded that understanding the phases of change, the three major forces which influenced change and a clear, well thought out plan are vital components to success.