Study: Digital Leisure Reading Does Little to Improve Reading Comprehension for Students A new comprehensive review of research on digital leisure reading habits finds a virtually nonexistent relationship between digital reading and improvement in reading comprehension among students.
Study: Diverse College Classrooms Linked to Better STEM Learning Outcomes for All Students Students achieve better grades in college science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses when those classrooms have higher numbers of underrepresented racial-minority and first-generation college students.
Statement from AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine on the House FY 2024 Labor-HHS-Education Bill and Amendment to Eliminate Funding for the Institute of Education Sciences On November 13, the House Rules Committee reported a rule to advance H.R. 5894, the FY 2024 House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill to the full House of Representatives. The consideration of this bill on the House floor includes an amendment (Amendment 76) that eliminates all FY 2024 funding for the Institute of Education Sciences. This amendment is without foundation, and strikes at the heart of bipartisan support for evidence-based policy and practice in education.
Study: School Debate Programs Linked to Improvements in Academic Achievement, Graduation Rates, and College Enrollment Participating in policy debate programs in middle and high school is associated with improvements in English language arts achievement and increases in the likelihood that students graduate from high school and enroll in postsecondary education.
Study: Struggling Students Who Repeat Third Grade See Improved Achievement Third-grade retention can increase the reading and math scores of struggling students, with positive effects lasting into middle school.
Study: Admissions Policies that Consider Grades and Test Scores in Context of Available Opportunities Indicators of high school grades and standardized test scores that take into account the levels of school, neighborhood, and family resources available to students are strongly associated with those students’ success in college, according to new research published in AERA Open.
Study Finds That State-Mandated Civics Test Policy Does Not Improve Youth Voter Turnout New research finds that a commonly used state-mandated civics test policy—the Civics Education Initiative—does not improve youth voter turnout, at least in the short term.
AERA Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Race in College Admissions Today the U.S. Supreme Court made it harder for higher education to achieve student equity and inclusivity, but avenues remain open and higher education must seize them.
Study Finds That a Small Number of Teachers Effectively Double the Racial Gaps Among Students Referred for Disciplinary Action The top 5 percent of teachers most likely to refer students to the principal’s office for disciplinary action do so at such an outsized rate that they effectively double the racial gaps in such referrals, according to new research.
Giving Parents Better School Quality Data Encourages Them to Consider Less Affluent, Less White Schools—To a Point In a study published in AERA Open, researchers found that providing parents with achievement growth data encourages them to consider schools with greater economic and racial diversity, but only up to a point.
AERA Selects Leslie T. Fenwick to Deliver 2023 Brown Lecture in Education Research Leslie T. Fenwick, dean emerita of the Howard University School of Education, where she is a professor of educational policy and leadership, and dean in residence at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education has been selected by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) to present the 2023 Brown Lecture in Education Research.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement State early literacy policies improve elementary students’ reading achievement on high-stakes tests, particularly in third grade and in states with comprehensive policies and third-grade retention requirements.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Protecting Diversity: Can We Afford to Throw Out Grutter Before Its Expiration Date? Greater campus diversity at U.S. law schools is associated with lower student attrition for underrepresented students of color. Greater campus diversity is associated with higher GPAs and higher predicted likelihood of bar passage for Black law students.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Evaluating the Impacts of Performance Funding and Promise Programs on the Enrollment of Low-Income Students Low-income student bonuses in 26 states that operated performance funding policies had no effect on the number of first-time, full-time Pell Grant recipients or on the percentage of first-time students receiving Pell Grants at public, four-year universities. However, these bonuses did increase the average amount of Pell Grant aid to first-time, full-time students by 0.7 percent.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Disparities in Teachers’ Working Conditions, Qualification Gap, and Poverty-Based Achievement Gap in 38 Countries Gaps in teaching experience, workload, and stress between teachers in high-poverty and low-poverty schools in the U.S. are among the largest in the world. Teachers in high-poverty schools in the U.S. have less experience, work more instructional hours, and report more job-related stress than their counterparts in low-poverty schools.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Changes in Children's Kindergarten Readiness in the Wake of COVID-19: Statewide Evidence From Louisiana Between 5 and 15 percent fewer kindergarteners met readiness benchmarks across multiple areas after schools closed in 2020, with the largest declines in literacy, mathematics, and physical development.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Interaction With a Television Character Powered by Artificial Intelligence Promotes Children's Science Learning This project showcases a collaboration between PBS Kids and university researchers to integrate artificial intelligence into children’s television shows so that the shows’ characters can ask children questions, comprehend children’s responses, and provide specific feedback.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: School Choice and Reading Development in Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade Preliminary results show that school type—traditional public, non-traditional public, or Catholic—does not have a relationship with elementary reading growth for students from kindergarten to fifth grade.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: They Only Hate the Term: Explaining Opposition to History Curricula and Critical Race Theory Americans, on average, express overwhelming support for antiracist curriculum, even when parental consent is not required. When the literal term “Critical Race Theory” is presented, support drops from 76 percent to 57 percent, with support falling across all demographic groups.
AERA23 Study Snapshot: Following the Letter of the Law: 2020–2021 Retention Outcomes Under Michigan’s Read by Grade Three Law Under Michigan’s “Read by Grade Three” grade retention law, school districts in 2020–21 disproportionately retain economically disadvantaged students, suggesting that students from more advantaged backgrounds avoid retention, potentially though better advocacy by their families.
AERA Announces 2023 Award Winners in Education Research AERA has announced the winners of its 2023 awards for excellence in education research.
Joint Statement on the Work and Legacy of the Late Judy Heumann from the Leaders of AERA, the AERA Special and Inclusive Education Research SIG, and the AERA Disability Studies in Education SIG Judith “Judy” Heumann, widely regarded as “the mother” of the disability rights movement, passed away unexpectedly in Washington, D.C., on the afternoon of March 4, 2023.
AERA Announces 2023 Fellows AERA has announced the selection of 24 exemplary scholars as 2023 AERA Fellows.
Janelle Scott Voted AERA President-Elect; Key Members Elected to AERA Council Janelle Scott, professor and the Birgeneau Distinguished Chair in Educational Disparities at the University of California, Berkeley, in the School of Education, has been voted president-elect of the American Educational Research Association.
AERA Statement on the Shooting at Michigan State University We are saddened by the tragic loss of life and harm caused last night during the deadly shooting at Michigan State University, and we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends, and communities of the victims.
AERA Statement on Providing Our Support for the Victims of the Turkey and Syria Earthquakes The destruction caused by the earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria earlier this month has created immense pain and hardship for millions of people in the region. We express our concern for our colleagues, students, educators, and all people throughout Turkey and Syria who are experiencing significant loss of life, pain, trauma, and suffering.