ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Induction Programs for the Support and Development of Beginning Teachers of Science. National Science Teachers Association Position Statement
Author: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Date: 2007-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Mentors,Science Teachers,Beginning Teachers,Beginning Teacher Induction,Science Instruction,Educational Objectives,Outcomes of Education,Stakeholders

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that schools and teacher preparation programs provide new teachers of science with comprehensive induction programs. Research suggests these programs should address specifics for teachers of science, involve trained mentors, provide adequate time to support continual learning of new teachers of science, and support teachers during their induction period, defined as the first two to three years of teaching. Induction programs not only provide new teachers with the support they need during the critically important early years of teaching, these programs can set practices and beliefs that last throughout a teacher's career (Luft, Roehrig, and Patterson 2003). NSTA supports the development of science-specific induction programs with a strong mentoring component for all preK-12 new teachers of science. Such a program focuses on the content of science, science teaching, and includes a robust mentoring component. The science-specific programs described in this paper are structured and comprehensive and identify goals and desired outcomes.
The Integral Role of Laboratory Investigations in Science Instruction. Position Statement
Author: National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
Date: 2007-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Scientific Principles,Second Language Learning,Science Teachers,Science Instruction,Science Education,Science Curriculum,Middle School Students,High School Students,Science Laboratories,Summative Evaluation,Formative Evaluation,Professional Associations

For science to be taught properly and effectively, labs must be an integral part of the science curriculum. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that all preK-16 teachers of science provide instruction with a priority on making observations and gathering evidence, much of which students experience in the lab or the field, to help students develop a deep understanding of the science content, as well as an understanding of the nature of science, the attitudes of science, and the skills of scientific reasoning (NRC 2006, p. 127). Furthermore, NSTA is committed to ensuring that all students--including students with academic, remedial, or physical needs; gifted and talented students; and English language learners--have the opportunity to participate in laboratory investigations in a safe environment. This paper presents NSTA's declarations on laboratory investigations in science instruction. (Contains 1 resource.)
Physics Undergraduate Degrees: Results from the 2008 Survey of Enrollments and Degrees. Focus On
Author: Mulvey, Patrick J.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Physics,Bachelors Degrees,Science Education,Science Departments,College Graduates,Females,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,Disproportionate Representation,Black Colleges

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census of all degree-granting physics departments in the United States and Puerto Rico. The survey, collecting data from the 754 departments that granted bachelor's degrees in the class of 2008, had a 97% response rate. Estimates were derived and included in the totals for non-responding departments. One of the findings of this survey reveals that about 70% of the physics departments that offer the bachelor's as their highest physics degree average 5 or fewer degrees a year. The number of physics bachelor's conferred has increased 58% since a low in 1999. The number of physics bachelor's conferred at doctoral-granting departments has increased 74% since the class of 1999. Physics Bachelor's Degrees Conferred, Academic Years 1998-2008 are appended. (Contains 8 figures and 6 tables.)
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards Alignment with Wisconsin Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics
Author: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Academic Standards,State Standards,Alignment (Education),English,Language Arts,Mathematics,Early Childhood Education,Child Development

Wisconsin's adoption of the Common Core State Standards provides an excellent opportunity for Wisconsin school districts and communities to define expectations from birth through preparation for college and work. By aligning the existing Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards with the Wisconsin Common Core State Standards, expectations can be set from birth through high school completion. Since 2003, the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards have helped all programs serving children under mandatory school age to identify what children from birth through age 5 should know and be able to do. Schools across the state have worked with child care, Head Start, and other community programs to incorporate the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards into their early childhood special education, four-year-old kindergarten, and five-year-old kindergarten programs. The adoption of &quot;Wisconsin Common Core State Standards&quot; will allow significant alignment between the &quot;Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards&quot; and the Wisconsin Common Core State Standards in the areas of English language arts and mathematics. The Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards provide developmental expectations for young children from birth through kindergarten that are foundational to the Wisconsin Common Core State Standards for kindergarten through grade 12. School districts are encouraged to use both the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and the Wisconsin Common Core State Standards as they move forward with their standards work in early childhood special education, four-year-old kindergarten, five-year-old kindergarten programs, and the primary school years. This brief document provides information that will assist in these efforts.
Crafting a Balanced System of Assessment in Wisconsin. Recommendations of the Next Generation Assessment Task Force
Author: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Date: 2009-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Student Evaluation,Measurement,Academic Achievement,Achievement Tests,Summative Evaluation,Benchmarking,Formative Evaluation

The Next Generation Assessment Task Force was convened to formulate Wisconsin's path forward. Task force members listened to leaders from business and technology sectors as well as leaders from PK-12 and higher education. This summary shares the process, definitions, assumptions, and recommendations of the task force. This paper aims to use these findings as a blueprint for the next generation of assessment. [This report was supported by the Great Lakes West Comprehensive Assistance Center.]
Wisconsin Response to Intervention: A Guiding Document
Author: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Guides - General
Subjects: Disabilities,Guidance,Response to Intervention,Educational Objectives,Culturally Relevant Education,Data,Decision Making,Benchmarking,Educational Quality,Instructional Effectiveness,Student Evaluation,Student Improvement,Cooperation,Screening Tests,Disability Identification,Students

To assist Wisconsin education leaders with planning for Response to Intervention (RtI), the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), in partnership with Wisconsin education stakeholders, has developed this informational brief. This brief is intended to provide guidance for implementation of RtI and should not be read as administrative rule. This brief provides Wisconsin's vision for RtI, shares a definition and an accompanying visual model for RtI, reviews essential elements of RtI, highlights existing state resources for getting started, responds to frequently asked questions, and includes a glossary of terms. Bolded words are defined in the glossary. The information presented in this brief reflects research, evidence-based practice, and high quality pedagogy. (Contains 2 footnotes.)
Do Vouchers and Tax Credits Increase Private School Regulation? A Statistical Analysis. CATO Working Paper
Author: Coulson, Andrew J.
Date: 2010-10-04
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Educational Vouchers,Tax Credits,School Choice,Statistical Analysis,Private Schools,State Regulation,Robustness (Statistics)

School voucher and education tax credit programs have proliferated in the United States over the past two decades. Advocates have argued that they will enable families to become active consumers in a free and competitive education marketplace, but some fear that these programs may in fact bring with them a heavy regulatory burden that could stifle market forces. Until now, there has been no systematic, empirical investigation of that concern. The present paper aims to shed light on the issue by quantifying the regulations imposed on private schools both within and outside school choice programs, and then analyzing them with descriptive statistics and regression analyses. The results are tested for robustness to alternative ways of quantifying private school regulation, and to alternative regression models, and the question of causality is addressed. The study concludes that vouchers, but not tax credits, impose a substantial and statistically significant additional regulatory burden on participating private schools. Appendices include: (1) Quantifying Private School Regulation; (2) Multilevel Regression Results; (3) Robust OLS Regression Results; and (4) Robustness Testing. (Contains 3 figures, 15 tables and 34 endnotes.)
They Spend What? The Real Cost of Public Schools. Policy Analysis. No. 662
Author: Schaeffer, Adam
Date: 2010-03-10
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Education,Public Schools,Expenditure per Student,Educational Finance,Metropolitan Areas,Elementary Secondary Education,School Districts,Accountability,Politics of Education

Although public schools are usually the biggest item in state and local budgets, spending figures provided by public school officials and reported in the media often leave out major costs of education and thus understate what is actually spent. To document the phenomenon, this paper reviews district budgets and state records for the nation's five largest metro areas and the District of Columbia. It reveals that, on average, per-pupil spending in these areas is 44 percent higher than officially reported. Real spending per pupil ranges from a low of nearly $12,000 in the Phoenix area schools to a high of nearly $27,000 in the New York metro area. The gap between real and reported per-pupil spending ranges from a low of 23 percent in the Chicago area to a high of 90 percent in the Los Angeles metro region. To put public school spending in perspective, the author compares it to estimated total expenditures in local private schools. The author finds that, in the areas studied, public schools are spending 93 percent more than the estimated median private school. Citizens drastically underestimate current per-student spending and are misled by official figures. Taxpayers cannot make informed decisions about public school funding unless they know how much districts currently spend. This paper therefore presents model legislation that would bring transparency to school district budgets and enable citizens and legislators to hold the K-12 public education system accountable. Appendices include: (1) Notes on the Per-Pupil Spending Calculations; and (2) Financial Transparency in Education Act. (Contains 6 figures, 26 tables and 57 notes.)
Making Schools Work Better
Author: Parsons, Jim
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Research Projects,Synthesis,Learner Engagement,Effective Schools Research,Elementary Schools,Reputation,Educational Philosophy,Instructional Leadership,At Risk Students,Student Attitudes,Longitudinal Studies,Parent Participation,Participative Decision Making,Formative Evaluation,Teacher Role,Teacher Student Relationship,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Collaboration,Interpersonal Relationship,School Culture

This paper synthesizes four research projects the authors completed between 2006-2011. The first research study was a case study of leadership in five highly-effective elementary schools in Alberta. Second, we thoroughly reviewed literature in the area of &quot;Student Engagement.&quot; Our third research project included 50+ interviews compiling ten years of success stories from the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI). The final research project was longitudinal study asking high school students at risk of not completing high school why they had disengaged with learning and how they would change schools. This paper attempts to reflect upon our collective research. We have synthesized our work into seven key findings, twenty-one specific positive actions, and three actions that suggest principals should not do. Key findings include: (1) engaging students; (2) encouraging specific teacher actions; (3) building good relationships; (4) building spaces for learning; (5) focusing on &quot;how&quot; learning takes place, not on what is learned; (6) involving parents; and (7) practicing shared leadership. As authors, we hope these reflections help inform efficacious school leadership.
Unbearable Burden? Living and Paying Student Loans as a First-Year Teacher. Policy Analysis. No. 629
Author: McCluskey, Neal
Date: 2008-12-15
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Beginning Teachers,College Graduates,Public School Teachers,Teacher Salaries,Student Loan Programs,Debt (Financial),Loan Repayment,Public Schools,Fiscal Capacity

It is widely believed that starting public school teacher salaries are too low, and student loan burdens are too high. If true, everyone could be facing a situation in which recent college graduates cannot afford to go into teaching because they will be unable to repay their college debts. Public policies are already being formulated on the basis of that conclusion. To provide legislators with a more objective basis for policymaking, this paper assesses first-year teachers' ability to pay back college loans given their actual salaries and expenses. This method eliminates both the subjectivity of determining debt burdens on the basis of debtors' feelings, and the imprecision of using correlations between debt-to-income ratios and overall default rates. The findings reveal that first-year teachers in even the least affordable of the 16 districts examined can easily afford to pay back their debts. Indeed, with just some basic economizing, a first-year teacher could not only pay back average debt, but could handle debt levels nearly three times the national average. This does not mean that current teacher salaries or student debt burdens are &quot;right&quot;--only markets can determine that--but it does mean that there is no need for policymakers to intervene in either teacher pay or student aid to assure that college graduates can afford to become public school teachers. Appendices include: (1) District Profiles; and (2) Data and Sources. (Contains 1 table and 42 notes.)
Walking the Talk: Supporting Teachers' Growth with Differentiated Professional Learning
Author: Grierson, Arlene L.
Date: 2011-04-08
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Reading Teachers,Faculty Development,Reading Achievement,Educational Assessment,Reading Instruction,Cooperative Learning,Individualized Instruction,Coaching (Performance),Literacy,Goal Orientation,Social Support Groups,Grade 1,Grade 2,Grade 3

This paper details how a 7-month reading-focused professional development initiative, centered on the assessment-to-instruction cycle, supported teachers' growth by combining small group sessions with related individualized literacy coaching. Analysis of participants' experiences revealed the significance of differentiated professional learning in supporting teachers' abilities to first modify their reading assessment practices, and then modify their reading instructional practices in response to their students' identified needs. Importantly, requisite to supporting teachers' diverse needs and interests was differentiating the content, process, and expected outcomes of this professional learning initiative. Notably, this study documented how &quot;walking the talk&quot; with respect to differentiated learning, enhanced teachers' abilities to provide responsive differentiated instruction for their students. Implications include the use of students' reading assessment results as a catalyst for teacher change and use of proximal goal setting following collaborative small group sessions to delineate the differentiated foci of concurrent classroom-based coaching.
The Poverty of Preschool Promises: Saving Children and Money with the Early Education Tax Credit. Policy Analysis. No. 641
Author: Schaeffer, Adam B.
Date: 2009-08-03
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Preschool Education,Politics of Education,Evidence,Elementary Secondary Education,School Choice,Private Schools,Tax Credits,Educational Change

The political momentum behind state-level preschool programs is tremendous, but existing proposals are often flawed and expensive. Preschool can provide small but statistically significant short-term gains for low-income children; however, these gains usually fade quickly in later grades. There is little evidence to support the belief that large-scale government preschool programs are effective, by themselves, in improving long-term student outcomes. Reform of the existing K-12 system should therefore remain the primary focus of those interested in sustainable improvement in student outcomes. Given that many states have already instituted pre-K programs, or are committed to doing so, this paper proposes model early education legislation aimed at maximizing their chances for long-term success. The Early Education Tax Credit aims to sustain any potential preschool benefits and establish a solid academic foundation for later success. The program would improve the quality and efficiency of preschool options by harnessing market forces and would pay for itself by using savings generated from the migration of students from public to private schools in grades K-4. The Early Education Tax Credit approach is unique in meeting the demands of activists for expanded access to high-quality preschool, meeting the needs of children and the preferences of their parents, and meeting the goal of increased educational freedom--all while keeping the budgetary impact low or positive. Appended are: (1) The Early Education Tax Credit Act (Donation and Family-Use Education Tax); and (2) The EETC in Action. (Contains 4 figures and 80 notes.)
The Affirmative Action Myth. Policy Analysis. No. 540
Author: Gryphon, Marie
Date: 2005-04-06
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: College Admission,Affirmative Action,Educational Policy,Politics of Education,Minority Group Students,Race,Role of Education,Educational Environment,Court Litigation,Government School Relationship

In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2003 decision upholding admissions preferences, affirmative action remains a deeply divisive issue. This tendency to frame the argument over preferences in terms of fundamental values is common to both sides of the debate. Because the nation's history with respect to race is so painful, the resulting argument is heated, personal, and ultimately unproductive. Overwhelmingly, such debates turn on considerations of "fairness" or "merit," as if there were one best way to admit students to college. There is no "fair" way to admit students to elite public institutions at the expense of taxi drivers and construction workers. Subsidies to particularly talented and capable students are especially difficult to justify. In the private sphere, on the other hand, institutions deserve broad latitude to create the educational environments they deem effective for their institutional mission. The most broadly appealing argument against racial preferences in college admissions is that they are uniquely harmful, both legally and socially. In public universities, preferences have broken down constitutional protections against classification by race--protections that form a still insecure bulwark against habits of racial abuse and oppression that have festered for centuries. Erosion of the legal doctrine of racial neutrality is a high price to pay for a system of preferences that moves only a few thousand students a year from one college to another, but it is a price the Supreme Court has unwisely chosen to pay. Preferences are only permitted, not required, however, and policymakers should reassess whether the benefits of racial classification in schools outweigh the costs. This Policy Analysis addresses support for racial preferences on the narrowest possible ground: the claim that they benefit formerly oppressed racial groups and promote racial healing. This study shows that this claim is untrue. Administrators and policymakers of all political persuasions should therefore oppose racial preferences in universities. (Contains 2 figures and 150 notes.)