Author
Gary W. Ritter
Other affiliations: Arkansas Department of Education, University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Bio: Gary W. Ritter is an academic researcher from Saint Louis University. The author has contributed to research in topics: School discipline & Merit pay. The author has an hindex of 16, co-authored 115 publications receiving 1578 citations. Previous affiliations of Gary W. Ritter include Arkansas Department of Education & University of Arkansas.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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TL;DR: In this paper, a meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for improving the academic skills of students enrolled in public schools Grades K-8 in the United States and further investigates for whom and under what conditions tutoring can be effective.
Abstract: This meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for improving the academic skills of students enrolled in public schools Grades K–8 in the United States and further investigates for whom and under what conditions tutoring can be effective. The authors found 21 studies (with 28 different study cohorts in those studies) reporting on randomized field trials to guide them in assessing the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs. Overall, the authors found volunteer tutoring has a positive effect on student achievement. With respect to particular subskills, students who work with volunteer tutors are likely to earn higher scores on assessments related to letters and words, oral fluency, and writing as compared to their peers who are not tutored.
176 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a survey that surveyed all stakeholders surrounding public school systems, including students, parents, teachers, principals, and counselors to gain a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions of standardized testing.
Abstract: The passage of "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) legislation has led to an increased awareness of testing and assessment in public school systems and its impact. A cursory review of the academic literature and national news sources on the impact of standardized testing revealed a plethora of anecdotal cases of students experiencing illness, anxiety, and heightened levels of stress all attributed to the administration of these examinations. Furthermore, numerous studies have surveyed teachers regarding the impact of standardized tests, producing similar overviews that low performance on these examinations is correlated with increased levels of anxiety and stress. An element glaring by its omission is a formal study that surveys all stakeholders surrounding public school systems, including students, parents, teachers, principals, and counselors to gain a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions of standardized testing. Furthermore, a unique aspect of this study is the linking of student, parent, and teach...
87 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature and number of disciplinary referrals, but that most of the differences occur across rather than within schools.
Abstract: There is much discussion in the United States about exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions) in schools. According to a 2014 report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Black students represent 15% of students, but 44% of students suspended more than once and 36% of expelled students. This analysis uses seven years of individual infraction-level data from public schools in Arkansas. We find that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature and number of disciplinary referrals, but that most of the differences occur across rather than within schools. Across the state, black students are about 2.4 times as likely to receive exclusionary discipline (conditional on reported infractions and other student characteristics) whereas within school, this same conditional disparity is not statistically significant. Within schools, the disproportionalities in exclusionary discipline are driven primarily by non-race factors such as free- and reduced-price lunch (FRL) eligibility and special education status. We find, not surprisingly, that schools with larger proportions of non-White students tend to give out longer punishments, regardless of school income levels, measured by FRL rates. Combined, these results appear to indicate multiple tiers of disadvantage: race drives most of the disparities across schools, whereas within schools, FRL or special education status may matter more.
73 citations
TL;DR: While numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between exclusionary discipline and negative student outcomes, this relationship was likely confounded by other factors related to the underlying of the underlay student outcomes as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: While numerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between exclusionary discipline and negative student outcomes, this relationship is likely confounded by other factors related to the underlyi...
53 citations
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Book•
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: The Scientific Research in Education (SRE) as mentioned in this paper is a survey of the role of science in education, focusing on the similarities and differences between scientific research in education and scientific inquiry in other fields and disciplines.
Abstract: Researchers, historians, and philosophers of science have debated the nature of scientific research in education for more than 100 years. Recent enthusiasm for "evidence-based" policy and practice in educationa "now codified in the federal law that authorizes the bulk of elementary and secondary education programsa "have brought a new sense of urgency to understanding the ways in which the basic tenets of science manifest in the study of teaching, learning, and schooling. Scientific Research in Education describes the similarities and differences between scientific inquiry in education and scientific inquiry in other fields and disciplines and provides a number of examples to illustrate these ideas. Its main argument is that all scientific endeavors share a common set of principles, and that each fielda "including education researcha "develops a specialization that accounts for the particulars of what is being studied. The book also provides suggestions for how the federal government can best support high-quality scientific research in education.
1,300 citations
TL;DR: It was found that the effect size of human tutoring was much lower than previously thought, and the effect sizes of intelligent tutoring systems were nearly as effective as human tutors.
Abstract: This article is a review of experiments comparing the effectiveness of human tutoring, computer tutoring, and no tutoring. “No tutoring” refers to instruction that teaches the same content without tutoring. The computer tutoring systems were divided by their granularity of the user interface interaction into answer-based, step-based, and substep-based tutoring systems. Most intelligent tutoring systems have step-based or substep-based granularities of interaction, whereas most other tutoring systems (often called CAI, CBT, or CAL systems) have answer-based user interfaces. It is widely believed as the granularity of tutoring decreases, the effectiveness increases. In particular, when compared to No tutoring, the effect sizes of answer-based tutoring systems, intelligent tutoring systems, and adult human tutors are believed to be d = 0.3, 1.0, and 2.0 respectively. This review did not confirm these beliefs. Instead, it found that the effect size of human tutoring was much lower: d = 0.79. Moreover, the eff...
1,018 citations