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The purpose of this feasibility study was to examine the potential impact of reading digital interactive e-books, Word Knowledge e-books (WKe-Books), on essential skills that support reading comprehension with third-fifth grade students. Students (N= 425) read two WKe-Books, that taught word learning and comprehension monitoring strategies in the service of learning difficult vocabulary and targeted science concepts about hurricanes. We investigated whether specific comprehension strategies -- 1) word learning and strategies that supported general reading comprehension, 2) summarization, and 3) question generation, show promise of effectiveness in building vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills in the WKe-Books. Students were assigned to read one of three versions of each of the two WKe-Books, each version implemented one strategy. The books employed a choose-your-adventure format with embedded comprehension questions that provided students with immediate feedback on their responses. Paired samples t-tests were run to examine pre-to-post differences in learning the targeted vocabulary and science concepts taught in both WKe-Books. For both WKe-Books, students demonstrated significant gains in word learning and on the targeted hurricane concepts. Additionally, Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) revealed that no one strategy was more associated with larger gains than the other. Performance on the embedded questions in the books was also associated with greater posttest outcomes for both WKe-Books. These findings suggest that the affordances offered by technology, which are unavailable in paper-based books, can effectively support students' development of reading-related skills, including strategy use. Further, this work discusses important considerations for implementation and future development of e-books that can enhance student engagement and improve reading comprehension. [This paper was published at "arXiv" 2024.]

Between 2003 and 2013, the proportion of California 8th graders enrolled in Algebra or a more advanced course nearly doubled to 65 percent. In this paper, we consider the organizational processes that accompanied this curricular intensification. Facing a complex set of accountability, institutional, technical/functional, and internal political pressures, California schools responded to the Algebra-for-all effort in diverse ways. While some schools detracked by enrolling all 8th graders in Algebra, others "tracked up," creating more advanced geometry opportunities while increasing algebra enrollments. These responses created a new differentiated course structure that is likely to benefit advantaged students. Consistent with the Effectively Maintained Inequality hypothesis, we find that detracking occurred primarily in disadvantaged schools while "tracking up" occurred primarily in advantaged schools. [This paper was published in the "American Education Research Journal" v53 n4 p1229-1266 Aug 2016 (EJ1111102).]

Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) is a social emotional model that achieves academic outcomes through combining use of real-time student data with proven relationship-building strategies and intensive teacher collaboration to prevent course failure. BARR is a recipient of US Department of Education "Investing in Innovation (i3)" Development and Validation grants. This paper presents results of the first two years of BARR implementation, including a randomized controlled trial in the first year. Students who experienced BARR earned significantly more credits toward graduation and had a lower core course failure rate than students in the control condition. By the second year, the achievement gap between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students had closed. Implications of combining positive intentional relationships with academic rigor are discussed.

Ninth grade is a pivotal year for students. Numerous studies find that academic performance in 9th grade often sets the student's trajectory throughout the high school years, as well as the probability of graduation. The Building Assets Reducing Risks (BARR) model is a comprehensive approach that addresses developmental, academic, and school environment challenges in the 9th grade year. This paper presents the results of a one-year randomized controlled trial that tested the effectiveness of the BARR model in a large suburban high school. The results demonstrated that students in the BARR experimental group earned significantly more credits in core classes (F(4,516) = 24.21, p<0.001) and demonstrated significantly more growth from fall to spring in NWEA mathematics (F(4,470) = 388.12, p<0.001) and reading scores (F(4,490) = 251.84, p<0.001) when compared to students in the control group. BARR is unique in that is it a socio-emotional model that produces significant academic results and increases student success in the critical 9th grade year. Appended are: (1) References; and (2) Tables and Figures.

Motivation to read is crucial to improving reading skill. While there is extensive research examining reading motivation among elementary students, with respect to adolescents, research is limited. Employing a person-centered approach can aid in developing a better understanding of adolescent reading motivation and would help address possible barriers to engaging adolescent readers. The present study extracted reading motivation profiles in a sample of 367 high school students based on their responses on the Adaptive Reading Motivation Measure (ARMM). Three profiles emerged--high (HRM), ambivalent/neutral (ARM), and low reading motivation (LRM)--where students in the HRM profile performed better on the reading achievement assessment and reported reading more often compared to their peers in other profiles. Results shed light on key facets of adolescent reading motivation, which have implications for addressing motivational barriers to engaging adolescent readers. [This paper was published in "Reading Psychology."]

This study investigated the relative importance of three subdomains of early number competence (number, number relations, and number operations) in predicting later mathematics achievement in cross-sequential samples of pre-K, kindergarten (K), and first graders (N=150 at each grade). OLS-regression analyses showed that each subdomain predicted mathematics achievement at each grade level, controlling for the other two subdomains as well as background variables. All of the subdomains explained a significant amount of variance in later mathematics achievement. Unconditional quantile regression analyses examined relations between number competencies and mathematics achievement at quantiles representing low (0.2), intermediate (0.5) and high (0.8) achievement. The subdomain of number operations was highly related to mathematics achievement for high achievers. For low achievers, number and number relations abilities were most highly related to future mathematics achievement in the pre-K sample, and number relations abilities in the K and first grade samples. Findings highlight the unique importance of all three subdomains of early number competence for later mathematics achievement, but show some of the relations are contingent upon achievement level. [The paper will be published in "Journal of Experimental Child Psychology."]

We compared high school students' performance in a traditional comprehension assessment requiring them to identify key information and draw inferences from single texts, and a scenario-based assessment (SBA) requiring them to integrate, evaluate and apply information across multiple sources. Both assessments focused on a non-academic topic. Performance on the two assessments were moderately correlated (r=0.57), but the SBA was more difficult (Study 1; n=342). The two assessments similarly depended on basic reading skills but diverged in the relation to academic knowledge and (non-academic) topic knowledge (Study 2; n= 1,107). Academic knowledge was highly predictive of traditional comprehension, but less so for SBA. Topic knowledge was more predictive of SBA than traditional comprehension. Thus, the two assessments tap into similar constructs related to comprehension; however, the level of topic knowledge is more important for performance on scenario-based, multiple-source reading tasks, whereas academic knowledge is more important for traditional reading comprehension tasks. [This paper was published in "Learning and Instruction" v73 Article 101462 2021.]

Students' experiences of boredom at school are receiving increased research attention. Most inquiries to date have focused on how often students experience boredom in classroom situations and in specific subject areas. Despite its frequency, limited research efforts have explored how students' boredom experiences might inform positive education initiatives. This paper examines students' school boredom experiences from a positive education lens through which school mental health professionals can evaluate students' school boredom experiences systematically. We introduce the "School Boredom Mindset" (SBM) concept that identifies a subset of high-risk students expressing unfavorable school attitudes. A preliminary analysis of 2,331 California secondary (Grades 7-12) students' responses on well-being indicators explored the SBM's viability. The findings show that students with the strongest SBM reported substantially lower well-being than their peers. The discussion offers suggestions for future research needed to evaluate the SBM concept's meaning and the value of its contribution to positive education. While this research moves forward, we provide practitioners with resources to better evaluate students' boring feelings at school and consider its meaning within the broader effort of fostering thriving well-being. [This is the in press version of an article published in "Journal of Positive School Psychology."]

This study examines differential effects of the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program on behavioral and academic outcomes of middle school students. Researchers administered screenings to grade 6 students to assess traumatic stress and then randomized those with elevated levels to the CBITS treatment (n = 150; 47% female) or comparison group (n = 143; 53% female). Analyses examined the overall impact of CBITS and differential effects among subpopulations of students who reported clinically significant externalizing (n = 75; 67% female) or internalizing behavior (n = 185; 53% female) at baseline. Overall, students who received CBITS reported significantly reduced post-traumatic stress symptoms and marginally significant improvements in internalizing symptoms. Relative to counterparts in the comparison group, students exhibiting externalizing behaviors in the CBITS group reported significantly reduced post-traumatic stress, dissociation, anger, internalizing and total behavior problems, and also significantly improved scores on a standardized literacy assessment at posttest and follow-up. Students with internalizing behavior problems showed differential academic effects at 1-year follow-up; those in CBITS did significantly better on standardized math tests. [This paper was published in "School Mental Health" 2021 (EJ1319697).]

Culturally responsive assessment practices include validated measures appropriate for use with diverse populations. Considering the increasing population of Latinx students in U.S. schools, measures need co-validated English and Spanish (SEHS) language forms. This study examined the Social Emotional Health Survey--Secondary with Latinx students who completed a form in either Spanish or English. With a matched sample of 1,404 Latinx students across 113 California schools, the analyses examined the factor structure, measurement invariance, and latent-trait factor means of students who completed the SEHS in either Spanish or English. The factor structure was invariant across groups with some latent mean differences observed. Educational practice implications are considered. [This paper was published in "Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment" v39 n2 p242-246 2021 (EJ1290904).]

A socioeconomic status- (SES-) related achievement gap in mathematics emerges prior to school entry, and increases as children move through elementary school. This gap makes implementation of demanding mathematics standards (e.g., the Common Core State Standards) an ongoing challenge. Early educational intervention is a strategy for addressing this challenge. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in public American preschools (1) to replicate the efficacy of an intervention, "Pre-K Mathematics," for low-SES children, and (2) test the combined impact of this intervention and a Common-Core aligned kindergarten intervention, "Early Learning in Mathematics." Forty-one clusters of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, containing a sample of 389 low-SES children from an agricultural region, were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. The original impact findings were replicated: Child mathematics outcomes in prekindergarten were positive and significant. Gains were maintained in kindergarten. Thus, the gap can be reduced and gains maintained by sustained early intervention. [This paper was published in "Educational Research and Evaluation."]

Few studies have considered academic vocabulary interventions for students who have learning disabilities (LD) and also are English Learners (EL). This research explored the effects of the third year of the CHAAOS (Creating Habits that Accelerate the Academic Language of Students) vocabulary intervention for eighth grade students who received English Language Arts (ELA) in special education classes. Over 70% of student participants had LD and over half were EL. Special education teachers delivered 12 weeks of intervention spaced across seven months to 36 students. Researchers compared outcomes on receptive and expressive measures with 17 students in business-as-usual (BAU) special education ELA. Students receiving CHAAOS intervention learned the 48 taught words better than students in BAU conditions, retained their knowledge of words four weeks following the close of the intervention, and ended the year with higher vocabulary scores on a standardized measure than students in BAU classes. Students who were EL performed similarly on receptive knowledge of words to students who were native English speakers. This study documents the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary routines for students who have LD and are also EL. [This paper will be published in "Learning Disability Quarterly."]

In this multi-year study, we taught English/Language Arts teachers of students with Learning Disabilities in middle school to incorporate 15 minutes of daily vocabulary activities with students in their intact special education English/Language Arts classes. During Year 1, teachers taught 48 words to their sixth grade students, who learned and retained the words significantly better than students in business-as-usual control classes. In the current study, we report the second year results, as the sixth grade students entered seventh grade. Students (n = 42) in treatment classes again learned 48 new vocabulary words significantly better than similar students in business-as-usual (BAU, n = 21) special education classes. In seventh grade, students also outperformed BAU students on maintenance of these age appropriate words (p < 0.001) and on a standardized measure of vocabulary (p = 0.04). [This paper will be published in "Journal of Learning Disabilities."]

Schools are an essential setting for mental health supports and services for students. To support student well-being, schools engage in universal mental health screening to identify students in need of support and to provide surveillance data for districtwide or statewide policy changes. Mental health data have been collected via anonymous and self-identified response formats depending on the purpose of the screening (i.e., surveillance and screening, respectively). However, most surveys do not provide psychometric evidence for use in both types of response formats. The current study examined whether responses to the Social Emotional Health Survey--Secondary (SEHS-S), a school mental health survey, are comparable when administered using anonymous vs. self-identified response formats. The study participants were from one high school and completed the SEHS-S using self-identified (n = 1,700) and anonymous (n = 1,667) formats. Full measurement invariance was found across the two response formats. Both substantial and minimal latent mean differences were detected. Implications for the use and interpretation of the SEHS-S for schoolwide mental health are discussed. [This paper will be published in the journal "Assessment for Effective Intervention.]

The purpose of the study was to examine the quality of high school programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States. The Autism Program Environment Rating Scale-Middle/High School (APERS-MHS) was used to rate the quality of programs for students with ASD in 60 high schools located in three geographic locations in the US (CA, NC, WI). Findings indicated that the total quality rating across schools was slightly above the adequate criterion. Higher quality ratings occurred for program environment, learning climate, family participation, and teaming domains. However, quality ratings for intervention domains related to the characteristics of ASD (e.g., communication, social, independence, functional behavior, transition) were below the adequate quality rating level. Also, quality ratings for transition were significantly higher for modified (primarily self-contained) programs than standard diploma (primarily served in general education) programs. School urbanicity was a significant predictor of program quality, with suburban schools having higher quality ratings than urban or rural schools, controlling for race, school enrollment size, and title 1 eligibility status. Implications for working with teachers and school teams that support high-school students with ASD should include a targeted focus on transition programming that includes a breadth of work-based learning experiences and activities that support social-communication domains. [This paper is published in "Autism" v24 n3 p707-717 2020 (EJ1250643).]

Remediation has long been a costly way to address the misalignment between K-12 and higher education. In 2011, the California State University (CSU), the nation's largest public four-year university system, enacted "Early Start," requiring students needing remediation to enroll in such courses in the summer before their freshman year. We estimate the impact of Early Start summer remediation relative to both traditional fall remediation and relative to no remediation at all. Our results suggest Early Start summer remediation has not improved student performance or persistence relative to either alternative. As many states move away from remedial courses altogether, there is continued need for both innovation and for evidence in policy and practice to improve college readiness and success. [This paper was published in "Journal of Policy Analysis and Management" v39 n2 p348-375 Spr 2020 (EJ1249962).]

Hiring presents an important opportunity for districts to find educators with values and beliefs that align with district goals. Yet beliefs about how to best address persistent challenges like inequality are difficult to measure. We use administrative data from over 10,000 applications to certificated positions in an urban California school district and structural topic modeling (STM) to code applicant essays about closing achievement gaps, identify their beliefs, and test how they influence application behavior and hiring. Compared to white applicants, Hispanic and African American applicants are more likely to identify structural causes for inequities and discuss educators' responsibilities for addressing inequality by challenging biases, as well as experiences with cultural and linguistic diversity. Similar themes emerge among applicants applying to and being hired in schools with more marginalized students. Techniques like STM can decipher hard-to-measure beliefs from administrative data, providing valuable information for hiring and decision-making. [This paper was published in "RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences" v5 n3 p103-127 2019.]

This study investigated the dimensionality of bilingual phonological awareness (PA) in English and Spanish by replicating a kindergarten model in Grade 1, and presents alternatives to modeling clustered data. English and Spanish tasks were analyzed from previously collected samples totaling 1,586 first grade Spanish-speaking English learners. Four distinct approaches to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were examined: (a) uncentered student-level data, (b) student-level data centered at the classroom means, (c) classroom-level data, and (d) multilevel CFA. Results indicated that while the multilevel CFA provided the most comprehensive view of the data, the multi-level student-level estimates were not appreciably different from estimates based on student-level data centered at the classroom means, and multi-level classroom-level estimates were comparable to estimates based on the analysis of classroom means. Importantly, English and Spanish PA were statistically separable at the student-level, but minimally distinct (r= 0.86) and slightly less correlated than what has been reported for kindergarten (r=0.93). At the classroom level, the correlation was moderate (r=0.51), and substantially reduced compared to kindergarten (r=0.83). The distinction at the classroom-level between kindergarten and Grade 1 imply that instruction differentiates the abilities across languages at the classroom-level, but less so at the student-level. [This paper was published in "New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development" n166 p79-110 2019 (EJ1221842).]

Dual-factor models of mental health are increasingly supported but little is known about longitudinal trends in dual-factor mental health. The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to empirically identify dual-factor mental health classes at each of Grades 9 through 12 and latent transition analysis (LTA) to examine stability of classes over four academic years. A sample of 875 adolescents from two cohorts reported on their social-emotional strengths and psychological distress. Cross-sectional LPAs for each grade year resulted in four mental health classes: "complete mental health," "moderately mentally healthy," "symptomatic but content," and "troubled." An LTA model indicated that the "complete mental health" class exhibited the most stability, followed by "moderately mentally healthy" and "symptomatic but content" classes. The "troubled" class exhibited the least stability. Less than 24% of participants remained in the same mental health class across all years. Findings support regular monitoring of students' dual-factor mental health to accurately inform mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention efforts. [This paper was published in "Journal of School Psychology" 2019.]

Parent-teacher relationship (PTR) quality is linked to child and family-school functioning and may be especially important in the school adjustment of autistic children. However, measurement of PTR quality has been limited by inconsistency in the use of measures, a paucity of two-informant measurement, and limited psychometric consideration. We examined the psychometric properties of the Parent-Teacher Relationship Quality Scale (PTRQS), a parent- and teacher-report measure of PTR quality derived from multiple sources. Specifically, we examined the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of the PTRQS among parents and teachers of 192 autistic children in preschool to 2nd grade. Results supported a three-factor model, including (1) parent-perceived relationship quality, (2) teacher-perceived comfort with parent(s), and (3) teacher perceptions of parent abilities. Scores exhibited high internal consistency. As evidence of convergent validity, all three factors of PTR quality, as well as the total PTRQS score, were strongly associated with parent interview-based PTR quality, parent perceptions of teacher effectiveness, and teacher-rated parental school involvement. The two teacher-rated PTR quality factors were also associated with student-teacher relationship quality. Results indicated that (1) the measure can validly capture PTR quality in the context of preschool and early elementary-age autistic children; (2) early PTR quality is linked to parental involvement; and (3) teacher-rated PTR factors are linked to autistic students' own relationships with their teachers. The results have implications for researchers and school psychologists measuring PTR quality in their practice. [This paper was published in "Journal of School Psychology" v95 p25-42 2022 (ISSN 0022-4405).]

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating "We Have Skills," a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817 of their students. On key outcomes of student academically related behavioral skills and classroom adjustment, intervention teachers reported greater gains for their students than comparison teachers (Hedges's g [greater than or equal to] 0.19). Baseline scores moderated effects, demonstrating greater differences between conditions for initially struggling students. Intervention teachers also reported greater improvements on their sense of self-efficacy for classroom management and concerns about student behavior (|g| [greater than or equal to] 0.30) relative to comparison teachers. Effect sizes were similar to or greater than those reported for similar programs, and an economic analysis suggested that We Have Skills was less costly than many. The findings support cost-effective solutions that teach social--behavioral skills in early elementary grades--and suggest that such programs may be especially beneficial for students who struggle with academically related behaviors. [This is the online version of an article published in "Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness."]

Student behavior problems in general-education classrooms present a major barrier to effective teaching. Behavior challenges, such as disruptions, noncompliance, and peer conflicts, reduce instructional time, whereas prosocial behaviors, such as paying attention, being ready to work, asking for help, participating in class, and completing homework, improve academic performance. Most interventions developed to address student behavior problems were not designed for general-education students in typical classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results from a novel intervention developed to enhance behavioral self-management skills among all upper-elementary students in general-education classrooms. "We Have Choices," a universal intervention, was designed to increase students' capacity to make appropriate behavioral choices and decrease teachers' responsibility by transferring behavior management to students. An initial randomized controlled trial with 86 fourth- to sixth-grade teachers and 2,055 students suggested that "We Have Choices" was associated with improvements in student-reported use of self-management strategies, teacher-reported student prosocial behavior, and teacher-reported self-efficacy in behavior management and instruction. Teachers gave the program high scores for social validity, suggesting a good fit for their classrooms. [This is the online version of an article published in "Psychology in the Schools."]

A vast majority of elementary students struggle with the core, pre-algebraic concept of mathematical equivalence. The Improving Children's Understanding of Equivalence (ICUE) intervention integrates four research-based strategies to improve outcomes for second grade students: (1) introducing the equal sign before arithmetic, (2) non-traditional arithmetic practice, (3) concreteness fading exercises, and (4) comparison and explanation. In a large-scale randomized control trial in California public schools, 132 second grade teachers were randomly assigned to either use the ICUE intervention or an active control consisting of non-traditional arithmetic practice alone. Using data from 121 teachers in the analytic sample, the study found that students in the intervention group outperformed students in the active control on proximal and transfer measures of equivalence with no observable trade-offs in computational fluency. The findings suggest that the ICUE intervention helps students construct a robust understanding of mathematical equivalence, a critical precursor to success in algebra. [This paper will be published in "Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness."]

Policymakers face dilemmas when choosing a policy, program, or practice to implement. Researchers in education, public health, and other fields have proposed a sequential approach to identifying interventions worthy of broader adoption, involving pilot, efficacy, effectiveness, and scale-up studies. In this paper, we examine a scale-up of an early math intervention to the state level, using a cluster randomized controlled trial. The intervention, "Pre-K Mathematics," has produced robust positive effects on children's math ability in prior pilot, efficacy, and effectiveness studies. In the current study, we ask if it remains effective at a larger scale in a heterogeneous collection of pre-K programs that plausibly represent all low-income families with a child of pre-K age who live in California. We find that "Pre-K Mathematics" remains effective at the state level, with positive and statistically significant effects (effect size = 0.30, p < 0.01). In addition, we develop a framework of the dimensions of scale-up to explain why effect sizes might decrease as scale increases. Using this framework, we compare the causal estimates from the present study to those from earlier, smaller studies. Consistent with our framework, we find that effect sizes have decreased over time. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our study for how we think about the external validity of causal relationships. [This is the online version of an article published in "Evaluation Review."]

This study identified distinct, homogeneous latent profiles of at-risk (n = 141) and not at-risk (n = 149) first grade readers. Separate latent profile analyses were conducted with each subgroup using measures of phonological awareness, decoding, linguistic comprehension, and oral reading fluency. This study also examined which measures best differentiated the latent profiles. Finally, we examined differences on two measures of reading comprehension as a function of profile membership. Results showed two latent profiles of at-risk students and three latent profiles of not at-risk students. Latent profiles were generally rank ordered with regard to achievement across measures. However, the higher performing at-risk profile and the lowest performing not at-risk profile were nearly identical across measures. Phonological awareness and decoding measures were best at differentiating latent profiles, but linguistic comprehension was also important for the lowest performing students. Oral reading fluency was limited to distinguishing the highest achieving students from the other profiles, and did not perform well with the lower achieving profiles. Most of the pairwise comparisons of reading comprehension scores were consistent across measures, but the nearly identical profiles showed a significant difference on only one reading comprehension measure. Implications for identifying at-risk first grade readers and designing targeted early reading interventions for at-risk students are discussed. [This paper was published in "Journal of School Psychology" v69 p111-126 May 2018.]

Background knowledge is a strong predictor of reading comprehension; yet little is known about how different types of background knowledge affect comprehension. The study investigated the impacts of both domain and topic-specific background knowledge on students' ability to comprehend and learn from science texts. High school students (n = 3650) completed two background knowledge assessments, a pretest, comprehension tasks, and a posttest, in the context of the Global, Integrated, Scenario-based Assessment (GISA) on Ecosystems. Linear mixed effects models revealed positive effects of background knowledge on comprehension and learning as well as an interactive effect of domain and topic-specific knowledge, such that readers with high domain knowledge, but low topic-specific knowledge improved most from pretest to posttest. We discuss the potential implications of these findings for educational assessments and interventions. [This paper was published in "Discourse Processes" v55 n5-6 p510-524 2018 (EJ1184439).]

Contemporary mental health assessment conceptualizations focus on both well-being and distress. This study presents initial validation information for the "Social Emotional Distress Survey--Secondary" (SEDS-S), which was designed for school-based complete mental health screening that employs brief self-report measures of well-being and distress. The SEDS-S structure was investigated using two independent samples of U.S. high school students (N = 3,780). Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested a one-factor model of distress with good model fit. Path analyses revealed significant positive relations of the SEDS-S distress factor with symptoms of anxiety and depression, and a significant negative relation with life satisfaction and strengths scores. Future research directions and use in school-based screening applications are discussed. [This paper represents the Online First version, to be published in "Assessment for Effective Intervention."]

Imagine a large randomized controlled trial study of a mathematics educational intervention planned in two large urban districts. District 1 gets a new administrator and drops out. In the meantime, the state test changed, so one of the planned outcome measures is no longer usable. Teacher dropout is high. And, as the analysis is being completed, the evidence standards for judging the quality of the study are revised. Welcome to the real world of educational research in authentic settings. In this structured poster session, participants have opportunities to (a) learn about colleagues' previous struggles, stumbles, and successes, (b) discuss these experiences, and (c) begin to draft a guide for handling various challenges (known, potential, and unforeseen) of study implementation.

Approximately one out of every three or four youths worldwide will meet the criteria for a formal mental health disorder in their lifetime (Costello, Mustillo, Keller, & Angold, 2004). Considering that approximately half of all mental disorders have onset by 14 years of age (World Health Organization, 2014), it is important to be mindful of how to identify, treat, and prevent symptoms in early adolescence. Recognizing the barriers to accessing private mental health care (e.g., geographic location, cost, and stigma), and coupled with findings that most youths do not seek help when they experience psychosocial distress (Christina et al., 2000), schools are ideal locations in which to implement efforts to prevent and respond to youths' mental health needs (Manassis et al., 2010). This recommendation for school-based services is aligned with findings that many school associated negative developmental outcomes are linked with psychological distress, including difficulties with social relationships, lack of initiative with schoolwork, and low academic achievement (Fröjd et al., 2008). Robust research findings indicate that youths' feelings of school belonging (a) can mitigate negative developmental outcomes (Lester, Waters, & Cross, 2013), (b) protect against psychological distress (Gratis, 2013; Pittman & Richmond, 2007), and (c) are associated with a range of positive psychological and educational developmental outcomes (Allen & Bowles, 2012). As such, it is possible that considering school belonging as part of schoolwide mental health screening could contribute unique information in support of prevention and intervention strategies to improve adolescents' mental health. Though previous research indicates that school belonging is positively associated with academic achievement (Furrer & Skinner, 2003) and positive mental health indicators (Pittman & Richmond, 2007; Vieno, Perkins, Smith, & Santinello, 2005), the potential additive predictive effects of students' school belonging when included within a school-based, universal complete mental health screening framework has not yet been thoroughly investigated. [This paper was published in: K. Allen (Ed.) and C. Boyle (Ed.), "Pathways to Belonging" (p65-81). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.]

Community-academic partnerships are believed to increase the effectiveness and feasibility of action research. While factors facilitating and hindering community-academic partnerships have been identified, their influence on the collaborative process is unknown, especially during community-academic partnership initiation and development. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study (quantitative[right arrow]QUALITATIVE) evaluated perspectives of members in an autism community-academic partnership to determine frequently endorsed and influential factors facilitating and hindering the collaborative process during the community-academic partnership's development. Participants (n = 11; community stakeholders, implementation scientist, and researchers) endorsed and ranked the importance of factors present in the formation of the community-academic partnership then completed a semi-structured qualitative interview to elaborate on survey responses. Interviews were coded using a coding, comparison, and consensus method and analyzed using the Rapid Assessment Process for frequency and salience of themes across interviews. Integrating mixed methods yielded ranked factors that were perceived to facilitate and hinder the development of the community-academic partnership, and highlighted the relative influence of interpersonal factors on the facilitation of community-academic partnership processes and organizational factors on the hindrance of community-academic partnership processes during development. Some discrepancies emerged between community and academic partners. Results may assist to improve the development of community-academic partnerships, which is becoming increasingly important in healthcare services research, dissemination, and implementation. [This paper was published in "Action Research" v19 n2 p277-300 Jun 2021.]

The Early Fractions Test is a paper-pencil test designed to measure mathematics achievement of third- and fourth-grade students in the domain of fractions. The purpose, or intended use, of the Early Fractions Test is to serve as a student pretest covariate and a test of baseline equivalence in the larger study. In this report, we discuss our exploration of options for scoring and data modeling and make recommendations for optimal scoring and data modeling procedures. We also report on the results of data modeling, including analyses of dimensionality, scale reliability estimates, the intraclass correlation coefficient for the 66 schools represented in the sample, and the percentage of the variance in student achievement as measured by the end-of-year mathematics test that is explained by their scores on this beginning-of-year test.

This study examines the the prevalence of trauma experiences and traumatic stress in a diverse group of Asian American middle school students from a large urban school district. Descriptive statistics document the mean number of self-reported trauma experiences and posttraumatic stress subscale scores and how these rates differ by students' gender and Asian ethnic subgroups (including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Samoan, Southeast Asian, and Other). Furthermore, we assess the degree to which one or more traumatic events is associated with students' self-reported symptoms of severe traumatic stress and the types of traumatic events that are the most powerful predictors of elevated stress. These in-depth findings underscore the need for routine, school-based screening to identify and bring culturally-competent, trauma-informed support and interventions to Asian American middle school students experiencing traumatic stress. [This paper was published in "Asian American Journal of Psychology" v8 p209-223 2017.]

Persistent school segregation may allow advantaged groups to hoard educational opportunities and consign minority students to lower-quality educational experiences. Although minority students are concentrated in low-achieving schools, relatively little previous research directly links segregation to measures of school quality based on student achievement growth, which more plausibly reflect learning opportunities. Using a dataset of public elementary schools in California, this study provides the first analysis detailing the distribution of a growth-based measure of school quality using standard inequality indices, allowing disparities to be decomposed across geographic and organizational scales. We find mixed support for the school opportunity hoarding hypothesis. We find small White and Asian advantages in access to high-growth schools, but most of the inequality in exposure to school growth is within racial groups. Growth-based disparities both between and within groups tend to be on a more local scale than disparities in absolute achievement levels, focusing attention on within-district policies to mitigate school-based inequalities in opportunities to learn. [This paper was published in "Social Forces" v95 n3 p1077-1104 2017.]