ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Critical Junctures in Community College Student Progress
Author: Michalowski, Sam
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Grounded Theory,Two Year College Students,Institutional Research,Community Colleges,Enrollment,Enrollment Trends,Educational Attainment,Academic Degrees,Learner Engagement,Outcomes of Education,Urban Schools,Stopouts,Decision Making,School Policy,Intervention,Qualitative Research,Academic Persistence,Student Motivation,Student Attrition,School Holding Power,Dropout Research,Dropouts,Dropout Characteristics

Existing research demonstrates a strong relationship between the prevalence of irregular  enrollment patterns among community college students and their low rates of degree attainment (Adelman 2006; Bahr 2009; Berkner et al. 2000; Goldrick-Rab 2004, 2007; Horn and Nevill 2006). However, very little is known about the features and processes that shape community college students' enrollment patterns--and their academic engagement, in general. To generate more foundational understanding of these issues as they pertain to outcomes, an interview study was conducted with 55 continuing and former students of a large urban community college. Employing a grounded theory approach (Charmaz 2006; Glaser and Strauss 1967), systematic analysis of interview transcripts along with administrative data revealed that interviewees' decisions to attend part-time, stop-out for one or more semesters or leave college altogether were shaped at critical junctures where demands from family, health and work life-realms intersected with their academic difficulties and challenges. Interviewees' differential life experiences, interpersonal skills and socially-based resources contributed to or protected against academic disengagement in varying and revealing ways during critical junctures. Moreover, nontraditional interviewees' success in life-tasks outside of college (e.g., working, child-rearing, immigrating) was found to play a significant role in decision-making during critical junctures. The self-esteem garnered through life-task success either helped them rationalize abandoning their educational goals when faced with academic difficulties as these threatened their self-esteem; or, it influenced optimistic cognitive strategies to manage these threats and to persevere through critical junctures. Presented are implications for community colleges in terms of policies and interventions to address academic disengagement and directions for future institutional research. Appendices include: (a)Tables and Diagrams; and (b) Interview Protocol. (Contains 8 tables, 1 diagram and 27 footnotes.)
The Determinants of Out-Migration among In-State College Students in the United States
Author: Ishitani, Terry T.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: State Colleges,College Graduates,Migration,Grants,Graduate Surveys,In State Students,Occupational Mobility,Performance Factors,Longitudinal Studies,Predictor Variables,Individual Differences

Using national data, this study examined out-migration behavior of college graduates who attended in-state institutions in the United States. Unlike previous studies on the issue of student migration, in which researchers used a single equation approach, the present study employed a multi-level technique to assess effects of factors from individual, institutional, and state levels on post-graduation migration. The study findings suggest that grant recipients, students who applied for multiple institutions, and college graduates from highly selective institutions are more likely to leave their native states, while Hispanics, college graduates from doctoral institutions, and students who reside in states with higher gross domestic product are more likely to remain in their native states. States by Region are appended. (Contains 3 tables.)
Use of Authentic-Speech Technique for Teaching Sound Recognition to EFL Students
Author: Sersen, William J.
Date: 2011-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Regression (Statistics),English (Second Language),Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis,Listening Comprehension,Listening Skills,Thai,Test Results,Scores,Worksheets,Speech,Speech Skills

The main objective of this research was to test an authentic-speech technique for improving the sound-recognition skills of EFL (English as a foreign language) students at Roi-Et Rajabhat University. The secondary objective was to determine the correlation, if any, between students' self-evaluation of sound-recognition progress and the actual (quantified) results of their progress in the course of the research period. Sixty-four participants took part in this study. The duration of the research period was two semesters. Two research instruments were utilized: 30 versions of a test-worksheet containing authentic English text for aural-test purposes, and one questionnaire which was administered at the end of each semester. The collected data were statistically analyzed by using average, percentage, frequency and standard deviation. Graphics facilitate explanation of analyses, including depiction of linear regression (trend) when appropriate. Conclusions would suggest that use of the authentic-speech technique, together with additional though minimal class exercises, resulted in a robust improvement in sound-recognition skills by all research participants. Analysis of the questionnaire results, moreover, confirmed that the students participating in this study were largely convinced they had made progress toward resolving earlier sound-recognition problem-areas. [This research was funded by Roi-Et Rajabhat University (RERU).] (Contains 5 tables and 5 figures.)
IES Teacher Assignment Final Report. CRESST Report 786
Author: Silk, Yael
Date: 2011-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Feedback (Response),Reading Comprehension,Metacognition,Biology,Secondary School Teachers,Professional Development,Control Groups,Experimental Groups,Integrated Curriculum,Program Effectiveness,Reading Strategies,Cognitive Processes,Teacher Collaboration,Educational Opportunities,Learner Engagement,History Instruction,Scoring Rubrics,Assignments

The goal of this study was to test the effectiveness of WestEd's Reading Apprenticeship (RA) professional development program on teacher practices and student learning. The professional development is designed to teach high school teachers how to integrate subject-specific literacy instruction into their regular curricula. The CRESST researchers found that history and biology treatment teachers significantly outscored control teachers on three dimensions (reading comprehension strategies, metacognitive processes, and collaborative meaning making). History treatment teachers outperformed control teachers on an additional three dimensions (reading opportunities, support for reading engagement, and student feedback); biology treatment teachers scored higher on the adjusting instruction measure as compared to control teachers. Appended are: (1) History Teacher Assignment Rubric and Coversheets; and (2) Biology Teacher Assignment Rubric and Coversheets. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)
Pathways and Partnerships for Child Care Excellence
Author: Administration for Children and Families (DHHS), Office of Child Care
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Child Care,Financial Support,Low Income Groups,Child Health,Child Safety,Improvement,Child Caregivers,Professional Development,Accountability,Policy,Standards

More than 12 million American children regularly rely on child care to support their healthy development and school success. Of these, over 1.6 million children receive a child care subsidy from the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program each month. In addition, CCDF helps leverage child care investments from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and other funding streams, resulting in financial support to make child care more affordable for a total of 2.5 million children each month. Each year, CCDF invests over $5 billion ($7 billion in 2009 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), plus additional funds transferred from TANF to CCDF. States, Territories, and Tribes annually spend $1 billion to support child care quality improvement, resulting in better learning environments and more effective caregivers in child care centers and family child care homes across the country. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is pursuing a comprehensive approach to helping more children in low-income families access high-quality care. ACF's Office of Child Care (OCC) administers the CCDF and works with State, Territory, and Tribal governments to provide strong support for children and their families as they juggle work schedules and struggle to find affordable, high-quality child care for their children. This paper provides details on the following: (1) Pathways to Excellence for Child Care Programs; (2) Pathways to Excellence for Child Care Professionals; and (3) Pathways to Stronger Policies and Accountability. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Accessible Reading Assessments for Students with Disabilities: The Role of Cognitive, Grammatical, Lexical, and Textual/Visual Features. CRESST Report 785
Author: Abedi, Jamal
Date: 2011-01-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Test Items,Reading Tests,Disabilities,Student Evaluation,Adaptive Testing,Visual Perception,Test Construction,Grammar,Readability,Test Format,Cognitive Ability,Standardized Tests,Language Arts,Grade 8

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of reading test items that may differentially impede the performance of students with disabilities. The findings suggest that there are certain revisions that can be done on current assessments to make them more accessible for students with disabilities. Features such as words per page, typeface changes, point size changes, and unnecessary visuals may be easily adjusted to the optimum level without affecting the validity of the assessment. These changes may help all test takers, not just students with disabilities. Appended are: (1) Rating Guidelines; and (2) Complexity Code Forms for Raters. (Contains 36 tables and 2 figures.)
Highlights from the Technical Assistance and Child Care Resources Sponsored by the Office of Child Care. Office of Child Care Pathways and Partnerships Priorities. Issue Number 2
Author: Administration for Children and Families (DHHS), Office of Child Care
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Collected Works - Serial
Subjects: Technical Assistance,Child Care,Partnerships in Education,Educational Quality,Employed Parents,Quality Control,Educational Improvement,Resource Materials

The Office of Child Care (OCC) administers the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, a multibillion-dollar Federal and State partnership to support access to high-quality child care for working families. OCC helps States, Territories, and Tribes administer their CCDF programs through program support, policy guidance, technical assistance, and research. This OCC newsletter contains the following: (1) Resource Spotlight on School-Age and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems; (2) Emerging Projects; (3) Targeted Resources: School-Age Care; (4) Spotlight on New Resources; (5) Planned Technical Assistance Activities; and (6) School-Age Quick Facts. (Contains 7 endnotes.)
Correcting Correlations When Predicting Success in College
Author: Saupe, Joe L.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Success,Grade Point Average,Academic Achievement,Predictor Variables,Scores,Correlation,College Freshmen,College Entrance Examinations,Grades (Scholastic),High School Students,College Students,Academic Persistence

The purpose of this study is to illustrate techniques for correcting a correlation between a predictor of success in college (admission test score or indicator of high school performance) with a measure of success in college (one-year retention or first-year GPA) given the restricted variances in the population used to calculate the correlations. In other words, this study demonstrates procedures for estimating correlations in the unrestricted population (students who attend college and students who do not attend college) based upon correlations calculated for the restricted population (students who attend college). A secondary purpose is to set the foundation for and stimulate additional studies designed to estimate these correlations in other unrestricted higher education and college student populations. This study focuses on correlations involving admission test scores, indicators of success in high school, and first-year college GPA. The data for this study come from a population of first-time freshmen who entered a major research university with moderately selective admission standards in the fall 2008 semester, whose high school class percentile rank was 50 or greater, who entered the fall semester as full-time, degree-seeking students, and who completed both semesters with complete data for the study variables. There are 3,668 students in this population. In sum, the true relationships between predictor variables and college success measures can be masked by restricted range as well as other extraneous variables. The present study demonstrates the influence that restricted range can have on this relationship and suggests that these predictor variables are probably more accurate than what is generally shared in the literature and in practice. This study will have been successful if it stimulates others to explore the use of the correction formulas to estimate correlations between predictor variables and indicators of success in college for unselected populations. (Contains 3 tables.)
Contingent Instructors and Student Outcomes: An Artifact or a Fact?
Author: Johnson, Iryna Y.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Grades (Scholastic),Academic Achievement,School Holding Power,Academic Persistence,Teacher Characteristics,Student Motivation,Nontenured Faculty,Part Time Faculty,Research Universities,Teacher Influence,College Faculty

This study addresses methodological problems surrounding existing research on exposure to contingent instructors and student outcomes. By applying non-aggregated and aggregated measures of exposure to contingent instructors to the same data, this analysis demonstrates that effects of commonly used measures of exposure to contingent instructors have little to do with actual contingent instructor effects on student outcomes. Two multi-level approaches--cross-classified and multiple membership models--are applied in the single-institution analysis of faculty status effect on student outcomes--grades and one-year retention. The analysis showed no variability in student retention and a significant variability in grades by faculty characteristics. Compared to their tenured and tenure-track peers, contingent instructors are likely to assign higher grades, which may lead to lowered levels of academic challenge and student motivation to do their best work. (Contains 8 tables, 5 figures and 3 endnotes.)
Why Do All the Study Abroad Students Look Alike? Using an Integrated Student Choice Model to Explore Differences in the Development of White and Minority Students' Intent to Study Abroad
Author: Salisbury, Mark H.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Undergraduate Study,Minority Groups,Study Abroad,Student Characteristics,Intention,White Students,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,Asian American Students,Racial Differences,Social Influences,Cultural Influences,Academic Aspiration,Socioeconomic Influences,Human Capital

Despite substantial efforts across postsecondary education to increase minority participation in study abroad, the homogeneity of study abroad participants remains largely unchanged (Desoff, 2006; Shih, 2009). This study applies an integrated student choice model (Perna, 2006) to identify differences between white and minority (African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American) students across measures of human, financial, social, and cultural capital previously shown to influence aspirations to study abroad (Salisbury et al., 2009). Analysis of data from 6,828 students at 53 institutions participating in the Wabash National Study on Liberal Arts Education suggests numerous differences between racial groups with considerable implications for institutions, scholars, and policymakers. (Contains 4 tables.) [This paper was supported by a generous grant from the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College to the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education at The University of Iowa.]
Validity Research on Teacher Evaluation Systems Based on the Framework for Teaching
Author: Milanowski, Anthony T.
Date: 2011-03-18
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Evidence,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Observation,Validity,Measurement Techniques,Error of Measurement,Educational Policy,Evaluation Methods,Correlation,Evaluation Research,Interrater Reliability,Evaluation Criteria

After decades of disinterest, evaluation of the performance of elementary and secondary teachers in the United States has become an important educational policy issue. As U.S. states and districts have tried to upgrade their evaluation processes, one of the models that has been increasingly used is the Framework for Teaching. This paper summarizes validity evidence pertaining to several different implementations of the Framework. It is based primarily on reviewing the published and unpublished studies that have looked at the relationship between teacher evaluation ratings made using systems based on the Framework and value-added measures of teacher effectiveness. The research results summarized suggest that teacher ratings made using evaluation systems based on or related to the Framework have a correlation with value-added estimates of teacher effectiveness, in the 0.2 to 0.3 range. Measurement error in both the value-added estimates and evaluation ratings likely bias these correlations downward. Though fragmentary, the evidence reviewed suggests that Framework-based evaluation ratings can show substantial inter-rater agreement and, if multiple observers and multiple occasions of observation are used, the ratings can be reliable. However, a score based on a single observation by one observer is likely to have low reliability. The paper also discusses ways to extend and improve validity research on teacher evaluation systems. &quot;Inter-rater Agreement Details for Cincinnati&quot; is appended to this document. The contributions to this research of current and former colleagues Steven Kimball, Herbert Heneman, Allan Odden, H. Alix Gallagher and Bradford White, are gratefully acknowledged. (Contains 6 tables, 2 figures, and 6 footnotes.)
Exploding the Myths about DETC Accreditation: A Primer for Students
Author: Distance Education and Training Council
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Guides - Classroom - Learner
Subjects: Distance Education,Accreditation (Institutions),Transfer Policy,Educational Quality,Consumer Education

Prospective distance education students are faced with a bewildering number of choices in selecting an institution that is best suited to achieving their educational goals. They also face a confusing forest of institutions' promotional claims of being the best or most respected school. This primer is intended to help the prospective student of an online or distance education school or college sort out the confusing claims made about accreditation and about different accrediting agencies. This guide will help dispel some common myths, and will help provide students with a basic understanding of what the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) accreditation is and how it can help them make a good choice of where to study. In their quest for information on online institutions, would-be students often consult a number of sources, primarily from Web site searches. These searches may produce equally bewildering, and at times, unreliable and inaccurate information.
Integrating Faith-Based Organizations into State-Funded Pre-K Programs: Resolving Constitutional Conflict. Pre-K Policy Brief Series
Author: Goldman, Dan
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Preschool Education,State Aid,Religious Organizations,State Church Separation,Constitutional Law,Public Agencies,Courts,Religion,Court Litigation,Guidance

This policy brief addresses federal and state constitutional issues that arise when faith-based organizations participate in state prekindergarten (pre-k) programs and recommends safeguards to ensure that public funding of those programs complies with constitutional principles respecting the separation of church and state and freedom of religion. To date, there have been no court decisions analyzing a state pre-k program under the federal or state constitutions, although decisions addressing public funding of other religiously affiliated educational programs provide guidance on how courts might consider these issues. The recommendations and guidance provided in this brief are general in nature; every state's constitution and jurisprudence differ and the law in this area is evolving. State Constitution Religion Provisions and Participation of Faith-Based Pre-K Providers are appended. (Contains 42 endnotes.)
Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card
Author: Baker, Bruce D.
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Poverty,Family Income,Educational Finance,Educational Opportunities,Financial Support,State Aid,Equal Education,Expenditure per Student

Building a more accurate, reliable and consistent method of analyzing how states fund public  education starts with a critical question: What is fair school funding? In this report, &quot;fair&quot; school funding is defined as a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty. This report presents a National Report Card on Fair School Funding that measures the fairness of the school finance systems in all 50 states, as defined above. The central purpose of the Report Card is to evaluate the extent to which state systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, where they live, or where they attend school. As noted, equal educational opportunity means that all children (and the public schools that serve them) have access to those resources, inputs, and services necessary to provide the &quot;opportunity to learn&quot;--that is, the opportunity to achieve established outcome goals. Appendices include: (1) National Child and Student Poverty Rates; (2) NCES State and Local Revenues per Pupil by State; (3) &quot;Education Week&quot; Rankings (2007); (4) Education Trust Rankings (2006); (5) A Better Measure for Student Poverty; and (6) State Funding Distribution with Title I. (Contains 16 figures, 6 tables and 32 footnotes.)
Including Children with Disabilities in State Pre-K Programs. Pre-K Policy Brief Series
Author: Boylan, Ellen
Date: 2010-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Federal Legislation,Disabilities,Public Education,Inclusion,Preschool Education,State Programs,Mainstreaming,Educational Policy,Educational Quality,Access to Education,Student Rights,At Risk Students,State Aid,Early Intervention

States and local school districts are required by federal law to educate preschool age children with disabilities in typical early childhood programs alongside children who do not have disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. This policy brief provides an overview of the law and sets forth a list of policy recommendations that can help ensure that children with disabilities receive an appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. It is intended to serve as a resource for policy makers and advocates seeking to increase inclusion in state funded pre-k programs. Appendices include: (a) Summary of Federal Laws Promoting Inclusion of Pre-k; and (b) What is High Quality Pre-k? (Contains 1 table and 69 endnotes.)