AERA Announces Most Read Education Research Articles of 2015

Newswise — WASHINGTON, D.C., February 10 – Research on special education, non-cognitive skills, degree completion, educational inequality and more appeared in the 10 most popular journal articles published by the American Educational Research Association in 2015. Based on the number of times they were accessed online, the following were the most popular AERA research articles published in 2015.
(Full articles can be accessed at no cost through the links below. All files are PDF.)

1. Minorities Are Disproportionately Underrepresented in Special Education: Longitudinal Evidence Across Five Disability Conditions
   A federally funded study found that racial, ethnic, and language minority students in elementary and middle school are less likely than otherwise similar white, native-English-speaking children to be identified as having disabilities and, as a result, are disproportionately underrepresented in special education.
   Educational Researcher, June/July 2015
   Paul L. Morgan, George Farkas, Marianne M. Hillemeier, Richard Mattison, Steve Maczuga, Hui Li, Michael Cook
2. Measurement Matters: Assessing Personal Qualities Other Than Cognitive Ability for Educational Purposes
   The authors advise policymakers and practitioners to move cautiously before using existing measures to evaluate educators, programs, and policies, or diagnosing children as having “noncognitive” deficits.
   Educational Researcher,May 2015
   Angela L. Duckworth, David Scott Yeager
3. Improving Outcome Measures Other Than Achievement
   Researchers offer justification for including nonacademic outcome measures in longitudinal surveys that assess educational progress and success.
   AERA Open, April-June 2015
   Kristin Anderson Moore, Laura H. Lippman, Renee Ryberg
4. The Potential for School-Based Interventions That Target Executive Function to Improve Academic Achievement: A Review
   A federally funded meta-analysis of 25 years’ worth of research found no conclusive evidence that developing students’ executive function skills leads to better academic performance.
   Review of Educational Research, December 2015
   Robin Jacob, Julia Parkinson
5. The Role of Schooling in Perpetuating Educational Inequality: An International Perspective
   Study findings indicate that unequal access to rigorous mathematics content is widening the gap in performance on a prominent international math literacy test between low- and high-income students, not only in the United States but in countries worldwide.
   Educational Researcher, October 2015
   William H. Schmidt, Nathan A. Burroughs, Pablo Zoido, Richard T. Houang
6. The Community College Route to the Bachelor’s Degree
   Research found that discrepancies in BA attainment between undergraduates at community colleges and 4-year colleges may be partially explained by community college students’ falling behind in credit accumulation during their third year.
   Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, March 2015
   David B. Monaghan, Paul Attewell
7. Does College Teach Critical Thinking? A Meta-Analysis
   The authors estimate that the overall effect of college on critical thinking skills is comparable to moving a student who starts at the 50th percentile to the 72nd percentile by the end of 4 years.
   Review of Educational Research, September 2015
   Christopher R. Huber, Nathan R. Kuncel
8. Polygenic Influence on Educational Attainment: New Evidence From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health
   A nationally representative study of siblings supports previously published research on unrelated individuals that links specific genotypes to educational attainment among adults in their mid-20s to early 30s.
   AERA Open, July-September 2015
   Benjamin W. Domingue, Daniel W. Belsky, Dalton Conley, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Jason D. Boardman
9. Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade
   Research found that access to state-supported early childhood programs significantly reduces the likelihood that children will be placed in special education in the third grade, academically benefiting students and resulting in considerable cost savings to school districts.
   Clara G. Muschkin, Helen F. Ladd, Kenneth A. Dodge
10. Benefits and Pitfalls of Multimedia and Interactive Features in Technology-Enhanced Storybooks: A Meta-Analysis
    A meta-analysis on the effects of technology-enhanced stories for children’s literacy development found that animated pictures, music, and sound effects improved story comprehension and vocabulary, while interactive elements were distracting.
    Review of Educational Research, December 2015
    Zsofia K. Takacs, Elise K. Swart, Adriana G. Bus