http://rer.sagepub.com Review of Educational Research RSS feed -- OnlineFirst Articles Review of Educational Research 0034-6543 http://rer.sagepub.com:80/icons/banner/title.gif http://rer.sagepub.com http://rer.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0034654309341374v1?rss=1 This article systematically reviews research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading success of children in the elementary grades: reading curricula, instructional technology, instructional process programs, and combinations of curricula and instructional process. Study inclusion criteria included use of randomized or matched control groups, a study duration of at least 12 weeks, valid achievement measures independent of the experimental treatments, and a final assessment at the end of Grade 1 or later. A total of 63 beginning reading (starting in Grades K or 1) and 79 upper elementary (Grades 2 through 5) reading studies met these criteria. The review concludes that instructional process programs designed to change daily teaching practices have substantially greater research support than programs that focus on curriculum or technology alone. ]]> Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:42:44 PST info:doi/10.3102/0034654309341374 American Educational Research Association 2009-11-01 Article http://rer.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0034654309341375v2?rss=1 The authors (a) discuss the importance of alignment for facilitating proper assessment and instruction, (b) describe the three most common methods for evaluating the alignment between state content standards and assessments, (c) discuss the relative strengths and limitations of these methods, and (d) discuss examples of applications of each method. They conclude that choice of alignment method depends on the specific goals of a state or district and that alignment research is critical for ensuring the standards-assessmentinstruction cycle facilitates student learning. Additional potential benefits of alignment research include valuable professional development for teachers and better understanding of the results from standardized assessments. ]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:24:53 PDT info:doi/10.3102/0034654309341375 American Educational Research Association 2009-09-24 Article