ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools
Author: Castrechini, Sebastian
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: English (Second Language),School Districts,Community Resources,School Community Programs,Community Schools,Low Income Groups,Social Services,Agency Cooperation,Youth Programs,Partnerships in Education,At Risk Students,Holistic Approach,Language Skills,Scores,Student Attitudes,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students,Family Involvement,Family Programs,After School Programs,School Counseling,Parent Education,Volunteers,Family School Relationship

In a nation where 42 percent of children live in low-income families, too many schools face the challenge of teaching students burdened with unmet needs that pose obstacles to learning. Community schools that align schools and community resources are a promising strategy for improving student outcomes by providing wraparound services that meet the social, physical, cognitive, and economic needs of both students and families. And while much of the current literature on community schools focuses on highlighting policies and practices to support the implementation of community school models, very little research examines how community schools affect student outcomes. Since 2007, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford University has partnered with the Redwood City School District (RCSD) in Redwood City, California, south of San Francisco, to conduct research on participation and outcomes for students in the Redwood City School District's community schools. This local initiative includes five community schools, with students in grades K through 8, that provided more than 250 programs, services, and events in the 2010-11 school year. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of one district's community schools using quantitative data to show how students and families use services at these schools and how those services work together to positively affect student outcomes. The main findings from this analysis are: (1) Supplemental programs provided at Redwood City School District community schools reached more than 70 percent of the students enrolled at those schools; (2) English learner students with consistent program participation over time showed gains in English language development scores; and (3) Community school programs were linked to positive attitudes about school for middle school students. This report, by focusing on the experience of the Redwood City School District, seeks to inform community school efforts in other parts of the country with insights into potential ways that community schools interact with students and families to improve student outcomes. Community school results framework mapped to indicators and potential data sources is appended. (Contains 7 figures and 36 endnotes.)
The Relational-Behavior Survey as a Predictor of HIV-Related Parental Miscommunication: Implications for HIV, Prevention and Education at Primary Healthcare Service Facilities
Author: Chandler, Michele Denise
Date: 2012-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS),Health Promotion,Multiple Regression Analysis,Predictor Variables,Interpersonal Communication,Communication Problems,African Americans,Knowledge Level,Social Bias,Trust (Psychology),Parents,Age Differences,Gender Differences,Educational Attainment,Family Structure,Prevention,Empowerment

The study examined the relational-behavior survey (RBS) as a predictor of HIV-related parental miscommunication (HPM) among a voluntary sample 75 African American parents at a private healthcare facility located in the southwest region of the United States. A multiple regression analysis indicated that there was significant marginal prediction of the RBS factors (subjective knowledge, knowledge deficiency, relational skills, HIV/STD stigmatization, community empowerment, health distrust) with HPM (R = 0.38, p = 0.09); R squared = 0.14.  In an exploratory MRA backward elimination procedure of the RBS factors and contextual variables (parental age, gender, educational level, and the number of children in the household,) there was a significant prediction of HPM (R = 0.51, p less than 0.01); R squared = 0.26. The backward elimination procedure further indicated that parental educational level and relational skills were the strongest predictors of HPM (R = 0.44, p less than 0.01); R squared = 0.19. Based on the findings, the RBS may be useful in the development of family-life skills programs at primary healthcare facilities. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 2 charts.)
Overhauling Indiana Teacher Evaluation Systems: Examining Planning and Implementation Issues of School Districts. Education Policy Brief, Volume 10, Number 4, Summer 2012
Author: Cole, Cassandra M.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Evaluation,Compensation (Remuneration),Educational Change,State Legislation,Educational Legislation,Superintendents,Surveys,Administrator Attitudes,Familiarity,Selection,Evaluation Methods,Influences,Program Implementation,Program Development,Resource Allocation,Stakeholders,Communication (Thought Transfer),Faculty Development,Student Evaluation,Academic Achievement,Scoring Rubrics,Observation,Teacher Effectiveness

As one part of a broad reform package, the 2011 Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Enrolled Act 001 (Public Law 90), a bill that significantly changed the way Indiana teachers will be evaluated and compensated. An earlier Center for Evaluation &amp; Education Policy (CEEP) policy brief, &quot;Revamping the Teacher Evaluation Process&quot; (Whiteman, Shi, &amp; Plucker, 2011), provides an extensive review of this law and the various evaluation models available to school districts to use. School districts throughout Indiana worked extensively during the 2011-12 school year, with guidance from the Indiana Department of Education, to put together evaluation plans that align with the legislation. This brief is the first of a two-part series that will explore how Senate Enrolled Act 001 is being operationalized across Indiana school districts. In February 2012, a survey was sent to Indiana superintendents to gauge their attitudes and beliefs about the legislation. The findings, which are discussed in this brief, found that superintendents (a) agreed that the evaluation process in Indiana needed to change, (b) believed that student achievement and growth can be measured, (c) agreed that evaluations should be linked to student learning, (d) were less sure that teacher evaluations should be linked to compensation, (e) believed that evaluations should inform professional development, and (f) were concerned about the implementation of the new system/models and needed professional development. This brief also discusses the features of quality evaluation plans and introduces essential elements of a planning process that ensures equitable, effective, and efficient plans for evaluating educators. The second brief, which will be released in fall 2012, will present challenges and implications of Public Law 90 for professional development, policy, and teacher education programs. (Contains 8 tables and 8 web resources.)
Competing for School Improvement Dollars: State Grant-Making Strategies
Author: Lazarin, Melissa
Date: 2012-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Improvement,Improvement Programs,Financial Support,Competition,Grants,State Aid,Change Strategies,Federal Programs,Federal Regulation,Program Implementation,Technical Assistance,Evaluation Criteria,Accountability,Educational Practices,Audits (Verification),State Policy,Funding Formulas,Resource Allocation,Educational Finance,Finance Reform,Educational Change,Delivery Systems,Cohort Analysis

In 2009 the Obama administration announced a focused commitment to turn around 5,000 of the United States' chronically lowest-performing public schools as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This commitment came with $3 billion in funding for the School Improvement Grant program, or SIG, along with new guidelines to ensure that federal dollars are effectively invested at the district and school level. This paper takes a closer look at state grant-making strategies for federal school improvement dollars. Further, it reviews the way in which state funding practices for school improvement have changed as a result of the updated SIG requirements and how states have used their flexibility to implement a competitive grant process. Specifically, this paper details the approach that three states--Illinois, Louisiana, and Vermont--have taken in administering their grant competitions. These states illuminate the spectrum of competitiveness in the state grant-making process that has emerged as a result of the new school improvement regulations. There are five significant findings that emerged from examining these three states that call for further investigation across all states. First, it is evident that states continue to have a great degree of flexibility in implementing their grant-making strategy. Second, as other early research on SIG implementation indicates, access to SIG dollars may be more competitive in some states than in others. Third, all three states needed to provide substantial technical assistance to strengthen the quality of the applications that they received. Fourth, application rates varied substantially across the three states. Fifth and finally, the criteria that states use to monitor districts are clear but the process for grant renewal and termination could be more formal and transparent. This paper begins with an overview of how the SIG program has evolved into a more competitive process. It next takes a brief look at how all states changed their practices once the program was altered and then examines in detail how three states--Illinois, Louisiana, and Vermont--have approached the competitive grant-making process. Lastly, the paper concludes with findings and policy implications and underscores the promise of the SIG program's commitment to turn around schools and address the systemic failures that allow schools to flounder. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables, and 98 endnotes.)
Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Existing Public Investments in Early Childhood Education: Recommendations to Boost Program Outcomes and Efficiency
Author: Cooper, Donna
Date: 2012-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Young Children,Child Care,Educational Quality,Expertise,Predictor Variables,Academic Achievement,Language Acquisition,Child Development,Politics of Education,Human Capital,Federal Government,Barriers,Preschool Education,Alignment (Education),Educational Change,Program Effectiveness

There is a mounting body of research demonstrating the impact of early learning on lifelong success. The quality of early child care is the most consistent predictor of young children's behavior, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Childcare Research Network. Children who receive high-quality child care have better developmental outcomes in early childhood, including better cognitive and linguistic development. The United States faces many urgent educational and economic challenges. Chief among them is the need to create a high-quality early learning system that reaches far more children than the current system permits. In this report the authors describe how conflicting expectations, misaligned system requirements, and programmatic firewalls on the federal level create formidable barriers to the operation of a well-coordinated system of high-quality early childhood education for children from birth to 5 years old. This lack of coordination means that the federal investments are neither operating as efficiently nor as effectively as possible. As a result the country is missing the opportunity to increase the number of young children who enter kindergarten with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions necessary for school and lifelong success. This paper focuses on specific challenges and proposes reforms that can be implemented within the context of current law and that build on the work of the Obama and Bush administrations. To help identify these essential reforms to federal early childhood education programs, the Center for American Progress assembled a number of highly respected experts in the early childhood education field. In this paper they set forth 10 federal reforms that they believe will significantly advance the evolution of the federally supported early childhood education system, improve child outcomes, and ensure system accountability, as well as operational consistency and greater efficiency. Appended are: (1) State approach to education of young English language learners varies dramatically; and (2) State and federal early learning standards at a glance. (Contains 3 figures and 94 endnotes.) [This report was supported by the Irving Harris Foundation.]
Not the Ceiling, but the Floor: Innovative Harlem Early Childhood Education Effort Complicated by Varying Government Regulations
Author: Costa, Kristina
Date: 2012-06-01
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Case Studies,Early Childhood Education,Preschool Education,Educational Innovation,Urban Education,Disadvantaged Youth,Federal Regulation,Federal Programs,Administrative Organization

This case study was produced in conjunction with the Center for American Progress's accompanying report on these issues, &quot;Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Existing Public Investments in Early Childhood Education.&quot; This report establishes a set of policies and administrative changes on the federal level that will begin to address disparities in requirements for publicly-supported pre-K, Head Start, and subsidized child care programs. (Contains 8 endnotes.)
Teaching Children Well: New Evidence-Based Approaches to Teacher Professional Development and Training
Author: Pianta, Robert C.
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Evidence,Professional Development,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Effectiveness,Instructional Improvement,Teacher Improvement,Educational Innovation,Models,Performance Factors,Classroom Environment,Classroom Techniques,Teacher Student Relationship,Best Practices,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Educational Strategies,Educational Practices

There is widespread acknowledgement that the production of effective teaching and teachers is perhaps the critical component of education reform and innovation for improvement of student learning. This aim requires a serious investment of time, rigor, and evaluation to produce professional-development programs that actually work. This report illustrates features of new evidence-supported approaches to professional development that have promise for closing not only the evidence gap, but the achievement gap as well. The focus is on one web-based, scalable approach to professional development--MyTeachingPartner, or MTP--that illustrates how evidence-driven professional development can be designed and used to improve teacher effectiveness and student learning. MTP uses a standardized method of online, individualized coaching and a library of highly focused video clips showing effective teachers in action that are tightly coupled with a standardized metric for observing teacher practice in the classroom, called the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, or CLASS. This report provides background information on the broader challenges of building effective professional development for teachers, the theory of action that undergirds the CLASS-MTP system, and a description of the CLASS-MTP tools and evidence base. The report closes with a discussion of the policy and practice challenges of implementing effective systems of teacher professional development on a district or statewide level based on the evidence gleaned and lessons learned from this work. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 27 endnotes.) [Preparation of this paper was supported in part by the Eunice K. Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.]
No Child Left Behind Waiver Applications: Are They Ambitious and Achievable?
Author: Ayers, Jeremy
Date: 2011-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Accountability,Program Evaluation,State Action,Articulation (Education),Compliance (Legal),Federal Legislation,Federal Programs,Federal Regulation,Federal State Relationship,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Educational Improvement,Improvement Programs,Educational Innovation,Proposal Writing,Program Proposals,Guidelines,Strategic Planning

The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from the law. Applications submitted for the first round of waivers by 11 states to get a feel for how ambitious and achievable they are were reviewed. In taking a qualitative snapshot of the applications, a few findings emerged: (1) Clarity of goals; (2) Clarity of school ratings; (3) Inclusion of subgroups; (4) Readiness to evaluate educators; and (5) Reduction of burden. Two aspects of state applications were then examined: their evaluation and accountability systems. From that review two states--Tennessee and Massachusetts--"stand out" for articulating clear and challenging goals, proposing focused school-rating systems, and having data infrastructure that will help them implement evaluation systems. This report outlines what states must submit in their applications and summarizes some key elements of what states proposed or did not propose. The report concludes with findings that span the applications and recommendations for the Department of Education. Appended are: (1) Flexibility from No Child Left Behind requirements; and (2) Reforms required to receive flexibility. (Contains 2 charts and 24 endnotes.)
Dramatically Bringing down the Cost of Education with OER: How Open Education Resources Unlock the Door to Free Learning
Author: Wiley, David
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Open Education,Social Change,Educational Change,Access to Education,Influence of Technology,Internet,Public Education,Cost Effectiveness,Educational Resources,Information Dissemination,Educational Finance,Public Policy,Electronic Publishing

The nation is in the midst of a revolution in education. For the first time in human history, tools to enable everyone to attain all the education they desire are available. And best of all this education is available at almost no cost. The key to this sea of change in learning is open education resources, or OER. OER are educational materials produced by one party that are licensed to be used free of charge by others. OER come in many forms--from curriculum to homework assignment to textbooks. And OER exist for all levels of education, from kindergarten through college. OER are already being used by learners for self study, by teachers to enhance classroom learning, and by education providers to bring down the cost of instruction. Clearly, open education resources hold some of the answers to maintaining the quality of learning material while significantly reducing the cost of education. With this brief the authors seek to provide a substantive understanding of OER and at the same time inform the emerging public debate over their use in public education. Finally the authors provide key suggestions for how policymakers can best structure the use of OER.
The Middle Class Is Key to a Better-Educated Nation: A Stronger Middle Class Is Associated with Better Educational Outcomes
Author: Madland, David
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Role of Education,Economic Development,Socioeconomic Status,Middle Class,Outcomes of Education,Academic Achievement,Human Capital,Fiscal Capacity,Mathematics Tests,Scores

Education is key to America's economic success as technological change and global competition increase exponentially. Unfortunately, where once the nation was atop the world academically, today American students rank in the middle of the pack. Not surprisingly, business leaders and the American public are concerned about the quality of American education. There are myriad proposals about how to improve the U.S. education system. Yet a critical but often overlooked reason for the poor educational achievement is the decline of the American middle class over the past four decades. To quantify the impact of the middle class on educational achievement, the authors examined math scores in all 50 states between 2003, the first year data on all states are available, and 2009, the most recent year complete data are available. They found that a weaker middle class is associated with significantly lower levels of math performance. Their results indicate that a stronger middle class is associated with higher test scores, separate and above any effects of poverty, overall income levels, and the percentage of non-English speakers. In short, the "middle-classness" of a state directly influences its educational achievement. In the pages that follow, the authors will present the array of academic research on this topic that supports the premise of their paper, and then detail the school and nonschool functions that a strong middle class supports in the education system and society. They turn next in the paper to the specific results of their analysis, which find that a stronger American middle class is associated with higher levels of academic achievement. Appended are: (1) Data; and (2) Models. (Contains 2 figures and 51 endnotes.)
Subtraction by Distraction: Publishing Value-Added Estimates of Teachers by Name Hinders Education Reform
Author: Epstein, Diana
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Standardized Tests,Educational Change,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation,Access to Information,Disclosure,Academic Achievement,Newspapers,News Reporting

In August 2010 the &quot;Los Angeles Times&quot; published a special report on their website featuring performance ratings for nearly 6,000 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers. The move was controversial because the ratings were based on so-called value-added estimates of teachers' contributions to student learning. As with most value-added estimates, the data were based on students' standardized test scores, and the teachers' rankings were in relation to their peers. Publishing these records led to a fierce debate about whether or not it was appropriate to make this kind of personnel information publicly available. But the decision to publish this information is in fact not so simple. As value-added measures become an accepted component of teacher evaluations, states and school districts will increasingly have to grapple with the question of how much information should be made available to the public and how much should remain private because of the nature of the information about individual teachers. This issue brief lays out the main issues to consider and presents examples of how various states and districts are choosing to handle this very thorny subject. It also highlights distinctions between internal district value-added scores and external construction of value-added scores, the implications for their uses in both cases, and the duties and responsibilities of those computing and publishing the measures. This issue brief argues that publicly identifying teachers with value-added estimates will actually undermine efforts to improve public schools. (Contains 38 endnotes.)