Does One Size Fit All? Recent Gaming Research by Girlie Delacruz

In a recent presentation at the American Educational Research Association meeting, CRESST Senior Researcher Girlie Delacruz explored whether incentives to use feedback produced different learning results depending on the students themselves. The intervention was a mathematics computer game. 

Click here to view Dr. Delacruz's presenation, "Against the One-Size-Fits-All Model: Designing Games for Learning to Support Students With Varying Academic Motivation. 

Click here to read a related new research report by Dr. Delacruz, "Impact of Incentives on the Use of Feedback in Educational Videogames." 

Joan Herman Quoted in Education Week

CRESST Director Joan Herman was recently quoted in Education Week regarding a new CRESST report that found substantial student improvements at Locke High School in Los Angeles. Locke, one of the lowest performing schools in California, transitioned to a number of smaller schools in 2007.  

Click here to read a full copy of the Education Week article, "Network of Green Dot Schools Raises Performance, Study Finds." 

Click here for a copy of CRESST Report 815, "Evaluation of Green Dot’s Locke Transformation Project…"

Major CRESST Study Finds Significant Improvements at Locke High School

With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CRESST conducted a multi-year evaluation of a major school reform project at Alain Leroy Locke High School, historically one of California’s lowest performing secondary schools. The CRESST evaluation, employing a strong quasi-experimental design, found statistically significant, positive effects for the Green Dot Locke transformation including improved achievement, school persistence, and completion of college preparatory courses.

Click here for a copy of CRESST Report 815, "Evaluation of Green Dot’s Locke Transformation Project…"

Do Afterschool Programs Work for High School Students?

Although considerable research suggests that afterschool programs can have
positive effects for elementary and middle school students, few evaluations
have examined their effect on high school students.

Click here to find out if and how afterschool programs can have positive
outcomes for high school students. Research by Jia Wang and Jordan Rickles.

Click here for other CRESST studies of afterschool programs.

Jia Wang Discusses Turnaround High School at AERA

At the recent American Educational Research Association meeting, CRESST Senior Researcher Jia Wang discussed a major evaluation of a charter school that has substantially improved outcomes for high school students.

Click here to download a copy of Jia Wang’s presentation, An Evaluation of a Turnaround Charter School, co-authored by Joan Herman and Jordan Rickles. 

Click here to download CRESST research reports authored or co-authored by Jia Wang.

CRESST Shares at National School Boards Association

At the annual conference of the National School Boards Association, Ron Dietel shared useful assessment information with attendees, including information about the forthcoming consortia assessments to measure the Common Core State Standards. 

Click here to download a copy of Dietel's presentation. 

Click here to download a copy of the assessment guidebook that Dietel shared with all attendees. 

Li Cai Introduced as New CRESST Co-Director at AERA

At this year's annual AERA meeting, CRESST Directors Joan Herman (L) and Eva Baker (R) welcomed Associate Professor Li Cai as a new CRESST Co-Director. 

Although still early in his career, Cai has already garnered a host of distinguished honors, including the prestigious Anne Anastasi Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association.

Click here for a complete announcement. 

CRESST Afterschool Research Presented at AERA

Participation in the LA’s BEST afterschool program," said Denise Huang at the recent American Educational Research Association meeting, "has added value for students’ middle school achievement in course GPA and math scores."  

Huang, a CRESST senior researcher, has led a series of of important studies on afterschool programs. 

Click here to view a copy of Huang's AERA presentation.

Click here to download a copy of Huang's AERA paper with co-authors Deborah La Torre, Seth Leon, Nikki Duong, and Cheri Hodson.   

Co-Director Li Cai Shares at NCME Annual Meeting

CRESST Co-Director Li Cai recently shared his research at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Click here to download a copy of Associate Professor Li Cai's presentation, Second Generation, Multidimensional, and Multilevel Item Response Theory Modeling. 

NCME is a leading professional organization whose members conduct research on assessment, evaluation, testing, and other aspects of educational measurement.

Margaret Heritage Co-authors New ELL Article

Margaret Heritage, CRESST Assistant Director for Professional Development, is co-author of a new article, Instruction for Diverse Groups of English Language Learners. Aida Waiqui from WestEd is the lead-author.

The two researchers emphasize that the Common Core State Standards provide an important opportunity to improve learning for millions of ELL students. 

Click here for a copy of the new article.