ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Learning by Doing Career Academies
Author: Stern, David
Date: 2005-11-19
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Career Academies,High Schools,Self Evaluation (Groups),Site Analysis,Program Effectiveness,Program Implementation,School Effectiveness,Educational Research,Academic Achievement,High School Students,School Demography,Student Mobility,School Holding Power

This paper's title summarizes the authors' two main aims. For a number of years, the authors have been helping high schools and districts that are attempting to create or improve career academies. Their assistance includes developing the schools' own capacity to keep track of results for students, relying mainly on information that is ordinarily available from student transcripts. They believe it is essential for schools themselves to continuously gauge results of career academies (or other educational programs), because even if career academies (or other programs) have been found to be effective somewhere, they are unlikely to be effective everywhere. Therefore, one purpose of this paper is to describe how schools can self-monitor, and what they can learn in the process of operating career academies. Second, they wish to add to general knowledge about career academies, by testing some ideas about why they may be more effective in some places and times than in others. Specifically, they conduct a cross-site analysis to explore whether sites that implement certain features of the academy model to a greater degree also obtain bigger gains in performance of academy students. Both parts of the analysis in this paper focus on student performance during high school, not post-high school outcomes such as employment or college attendance. (Contains 10 tables and 10 footnotes.)
Planning Guide for Career Academies
Author: Dayton, Charles
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Career Academies,Resource Materials,Guidelines,Educational Planning,Program Guides,High Schools,Communities of Practice,Developmental Studies Programs,Educational Objectives,Educational Needs,Improvement Programs,Program Development

A career academy is a small learning community within a high school, which selects a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year period. Students enter through a voluntary process; they must apply and be accepted, with parental knowledge and support. A career academy involves teachers from different subjects working together as a team. This team manages the program, with one member usually serving as the coordinator or lead teacher. One reason why growing numbers of states, districts, and high schools have decided to start career academies is that they have been found to be effective in improving students' performance. This document presents guidelines and resource materials to assist individuals in planning career academies. [For the previous edition, "Planning Guide for Career Academies" (2002), see ED473608.]
High Poverty Schools and the Distribution of Teachers and Principals. Sanford Working Paper Series. SAN06-08
Author: Clotfelter, Charles
Date: 2006-12-07
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Poverty,Academic Achievement,Labor Market,Educational Opportunities,Principals,Teacher Placement,Teacher Qualifications,Educational Quality,Administrator Qualifications,Teacher Competencies,Disadvantaged Youth,Equal Education,Educational Policy,Federal Legislation,Teaching Experience,Colleges,Teacher Certification,Scores,National Standards,Alternative Teacher Certification,Labor Turnover

Although many factors combine to make a successful school, most people agree that quality teachers and school principals are among the most important requirements for success, especially when success is defined by the ability of the school to raise the achievement of its students. The central question for this study is how the quality of the teachers and principals in high poverty schools in North Carolina compares to that in the schools serving more advantaged students. A related question is why these differences emerge. The consistency of the patterns across many measures of qualifications for both teachers and principals leaves no doubt that students in the high poverty schools are served by school personnel with lower qualifications that those in the lower poverty schools. Moreover, in many cases the differences are large. Additional evidence documents that the differences largely reflect predictable outcomes of the labor market for teachers and principals. Hence, active policy interventions are needed to counter these forces if the ultimate goal is to provide equal educational opportunity. (Contains 4 figures, 11 tables and 13 footnotes.)
Parental Choice in the Netherlands: Growing Concerns about Segregation. Sanford Working Paper Series. SAN10-02
Author: Ladd, Helen F.
Date: 2010-06-09
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: School Segregation,School Choice,Educationally Disadvantaged,Educational Policy,Foreign Countries,Educational Trends,Freedom,Immigrants

The Netherlands has a long history of parental choice and school anatomy. This paper examines why segregation by educational disadvantage has only recently emerged as a policy issue in the Netherlands. In addition, we document the levels and trends of school segregation in Dutch cities. We find segregation levels that are high both absolutely and relative to those in the U.S. cities. Current efforts to limit segregation in Dutch cities inevitably confront the deeply held Dutch value of freedom of education. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures and 18 footnotes.)
Self-Assessment Guide for Small Learning Communities and Career Academies
Author: Dayton, Charles
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Check Lists,Career Academies,Program Effectiveness,Self Evaluation (Groups),Program Guides,Communities of Practice,Program Implementation,Program Evaluation,Educational Quality,Student Records,Academic Standards,Partnerships in Education,Data Analysis,Educational Improvement,Student Characteristics,Academic Achievement,Curriculum Evaluation,Evaluation Criteria,Evaluation Methods,Evaluation Research,Small Group Instruction

In order to assess how completely a Small Learning Community (SLC) and/or Career Academy is implemented in any given site, and to connect the degree of implementation with the amount of improvement in student performance, two kinds of information are needed. The first is information on the quality of implementation, which can be collected by academy staff or outside observers, to assess how well the SLC/academy features have been established. The second is data on student performance, the kind normally kept by schools and districts, which can give a picture of who is enrolled in academies, whether their course-taking experience is consistent with the academy model, and how their performance is affected as a result. To assist in collecting implementation information, this &quot;Guide&quot; begins with a &quot;Self-Assessment Checklist and Scoring Guide&quot;. The three sections of this--Small Learning Communities, Curriculum and Instruction, and Partnerships with Employers, Community, and Higher Education--derive from the definition of Career Academies agreed to by the organizations working to support them nationally, supplemented by more recent guidelines for evaluating SLCs. The requirements of California's Partnership Academies are also considered. The purpose of the &quot;Checklist&quot; is twofold. One is to obtain an indication of how well the SLC/Academy stacks up against national and state criteria for quality implementation. A second and perhaps more important purpose of the &quot;Checklist&quot; is to identify each SLC's/Academy's relative strengths and weaknesses and initiate a process of reflection and improvement. There is a second brief section on &quot;Analyzing Student Data&quot; that includes suggestions for compiling and analyzing commonly available data for measuring SLC/Academy effectiveness. This can answer three kinds of questions: (1) Demographics--Do SLC/Academy students represent a cross section of the school?; (2) Program experience--Does student co taking reflect the SLC/Academy design?; and (3) Student outcomes--Are SLC/Academy students showing improved attendance, retention, credits, grades, test scores, graduation rates, and college entrance rates? As explained in this section, these questions can be addressed by: (1) Comparing snapshots over time for an individual SLC/ Academy; (2) Analyzing year-to-year changes for individual students; and (3) Relating program characteristics to student performance.
Career Academies: A Proven Strategy to Prepare High School Students for College and Careers
Author: Stern, David
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: High Schools,Career Academies,College Preparation,Program Effectiveness,High School Students,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Program Evaluation,Educational History,Postsecondary Education,Enrollment Trends,Outcomes of Education,Employment Level,Job Skills,At Risk Students,Dropout Prevention

Career academies, after more than four decades of development and three decades of evaluation, have been found by a conclusive random assignment study to be effective in improving outcomes for students during and after high school. Career academies have therefore become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy to prepare students for both college and careers. The number of career academies has been expanding rapidly, in part because academies have been found to be effective, and in part because they embody ideas promoted by several major high school reform movements. This paper describes the growth and evolution of career academies, reviews the evaluation evidence, explains how career academies reflect widely accepted principles of high school reform, and considers prospects for the future. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure and 10 footnotes.) [Originally prepared as an update and condensation in 2000 of the book: &quot;Career Academies: Partnerships for Reconstructing American High Schools&quot; (ED361409) published in 1992, this document brings up to date the history and research findings regarding career academies.]
CASE's ESEA Reauthorization Recommendations
Author: Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc.
Date: 2011-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Elementary Secondary Education,Disabilities,Accountability,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Student Evaluation,Student Development,Administrator Effectiveness,Academic Achievement,Data Collection,College Readiness,Careers,Charter Schools,Special Education

This paper presents the recommendations by the Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc. (CASE) for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). CASE is a non-profit professional organization which provides leadership and support to approximately 5,000 members by influencing policies and practices to improve the quality of education. CASE believes it is extremely important that the goals and provisions of the ESEA and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are carefully aligned to promote success for ALL students. CASE continues to believe it is important for these two very significant laws to send consistent messages in terms of expectations as they relate to assessment and accountability measures of student growth and administrator and teacher effectiveness.
Scheduling Guide for Small Learning Communities/Career Academies
Author: Clark, Patricia
Date: 2006-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Career Academies,High Schools,Scheduling,School Administration,Teamwork,Counselor Role,Planning,Computer Software,Course Selection (Students),Conflict

Small Learning Communities (SLCs) and Career Academies, one variety of SLC, have grown rapidly in recent years. They are among the few high school reform approaches that seem promising and popular, bringing students together into cohorts where they support each other, teachers into teams where they do the same, and students and teachers into closer relationships which seem to benefit both. Yet while SLCs seem to work "when well implemented", they are not easy to implement. They embody a number of variations from the way high schools typically operate. In the authors' experience, failure to adhere to these two requirements--cohort student scheduling and team teacher scheduling--is responsible for the most frequent downfalls of SLCs. They have seen a number of SLCs and Career Academies fail outright because of poor master scheduling, and many others struggle when the job is done clumsily. As such, the authors have written this "Scheduling Guide" for SLCs and Career Academies. The authors begin with a fuller explanation of why scheduling is so important to the success of an SLC. Chapter II explains who needs to be involved in developing a master schedule, and in what ways. Chapter III delves into the process itself, the complexities of what needs to happen when, organized into five stages and a series of steps within each, with an annual calendar that provides a suggested timeline. Chapter IV discusses the potential conflicts that arise in the process and the many constraints that have to be considered in developing a master schedule. Chapter V reviews the features needed in software designed to assist scheduling and touches on what training and support exists to assist those who want to learn more. Appended are: (1) Alternative Bell Schedules; (2) Software Matrix; and (3) Glossary. A bibliography is included.
You Asked, but Will Not Listen: (Re)framing a Phenomenological Study about (Dis)connections between Special Education Early Intervention and Foster Care
Author: Palladino, John M.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Intervention,Special Education,Foster Care,Phenomenology,Toddlers,Infants,Federal Legislation,Individualized Family Service Plans,Child Welfare

Within the United States a significant population of foster care infants and toddlers access early special education services under the parameters of the &quot;Individuals with Disabilities Education Act&quot; (IDEA)-Part C (United States Congress 2004). A dearth of literature exists about special education interventionists' services for this particular population of infants and toddlers. Without their contributed insights, policy makers, practitioners, and the academy may lack full awareness of how best to serve foster care recipients of early special education intervention. In response, a State-funded phenomenological study ensued with 50 special education interventionists who described their provision of services within foster care situations. Although the intent of the project was to report back to the funders how best to enhance the services, an unexpected deviation from the original research plan had to occur when the funders rejected one of the essential findings and requested its deletion from the final grant report. This article traces the study's progression towards the inevitable outcome and how the researchers negotiated appeasing the funders while maintaining ethical practices of phenomenological research, all within the parameters of external grant/government-funded scholarship. (Contains 9 footnotes.)
A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South's Public Schools. SEF Research Report
Author: Suitts, Steve
Date: 2010-01-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Public Schools,Student Diversity,Minority Group Students,Low Income Groups,Regional Characteristics,Differences,Enrollment,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,American Indians,Asian American Students,Population Trends,Educational History,School Segregation,Scores,National Competency Tests,Educational Finance,Labor Force

This report finds that the South's public schools have a majority of students of color for the first time in history. In the school year ending 2009, African American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander, American Indian, and multi-racial children constituted slightly more than half of all students attending public schools in the 15 states of the South. This transformation establishes an important landmark in American diversity and a historic milestone for the only section of the United States where racial slavery, White supremacy, and racial segregation of schools were enforced though law and social custom for more than two-thirds of the nation's history. In 2007, the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) released its report, &quot;A New Majority: Low Income Students in the South's Public Schools,&quot; showing that low income students--children eligible for free or reduced lunch--also have become a majority in the South's public schools. SEF's new report finds that the percentage of low income students in the South's public schools has continued to increase since 2007. As a result of these two changes in school enrollment, the South is now the first and only region in the nation's history to have both a majority of low income students and a majority of students of color enrolled in public schools. This report analyzes this important landmark by examining the over-arching historical, social political and demographic events of the last 140 years that established today's trend and its implications for Southern education and the Southern economy. Appended are: (1) Students of Color in the South's Public Schools; (2) Students of Color in US Public Schools; (3) Counting Race and Ethnicity in Public School Enrollment; and (4) Low Income Students in US Public Schools, 2008. A bibliography is included. (Contains 12 endnotes.)
Southern Education and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: An Analysis of Historic Federal Funding to Improve the South's Low-Achieving Schools. Issue Brief
Author: Southern Education Foundation
Date: 2009-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Finance,Federal Aid,Federal Legislation,Public Education,Low Income Groups,Income,Budgets,Student Financial Aid,Federal Programs,College Students,Disabilities,Disadvantaged Schools,Poverty,Special Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Higher Education

The new federal stimulus law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), offers Southern states a historic opportunity to improve public education from pre-school through college especially for low income students. ARRA allocates over $100 billion directly to the 15 states of the South for creating jobs and spurring economic renewal during the next two years, and more than one-third of these funds will go toward education. Never before has a federal economic recovery law recognized to this degree the central role that education plays in states' economic growth. As early as the end of March 2009, the US Department of Education will begin to send the first payments totaling $35 billion for education in Southern states. The total amount each Southern state receives will range from approximately $602 million in West Virginia to as much as $7.9 billion for Texas schools and students. Some funds must be spent in one year; other funds can be spent over two or three years. ARRA expressly advises states that these new funds are a &quot;one-time funding opportunity&quot; for stabilizing education budgets and improving schools. In a region plagued by a long history of underfunded education, ARRA presents an unprecedented opportunity to lessen the effects of the deep recession on education spending in the South. It will provide significant federal funding to help the South's low income students, now a majority in the South's public schools, as well as improve the region's low-achieving schools. Amid hard times, the South should make the most of this unique opportunity. Appended are: (1) ARRA Fiscal Stabilization Funds and State Education Budget Shortfalls 2009 &amp; 2010; and (2) Per Pupil Revenues from ARRA Education Funds by Major Programs. (Contains 2 tables, 4 charts and 4 footnotes.)
Guidance for Developing and Selecting Assessments of Student Growth for Use in Teacher Evaluation Systems (Extended Version)
Author: Herman, Joan L.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Teacher Evaluation,Testing,Test Selection,Test Construction,Student Evaluation,Achievement Gains,Academic Achievement,Academic Standards,Scores,Accuracy,Reliability,Validity,Test Bias,Measurement,Teacher Influence

States and districts across the country are grappling with how to incorporate assessments of student learning into their teacher evaluation systems. Sophisticated statistical models have been proposed to estimate the relative value individual teachers add to their students' assessment performance (hence the term teacher "value-added" measures). The strengths and limitations of these statistical models, as well as the value-added measures they produce, have been widely debated. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the quality of the student assessments that these models use to estimate student growth, which is fundamental to the trustworthiness of any teacher value-added measure. Assessments that nominally address the subject or grade level that educators teach do not necessarily suffice for the purposes of measuring growth and calculating the value that teachers contribute to that growth. In fact, student growth scores require at least two assessments of student learning--one near the beginning of the school year or the end of the prior year and another at the end of the current school year. Carefully designed and validated assessments are needed to provide trustworthy evidence of teacher quality. Herein lies the purpose of this brief: to provide guidance to states and districts as they develop and/or select and refine assessments of student growth so that the assessments can well serve teacher evaluation purposes. This brief identifies an extensive set of propositions, claims, and evidence sources that are important to the validity argument and which justify the use of student growth assessments as part of teacher evaluation. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.) [For the shorter version of this document, "Developing and Selecting Assessments of Student Growth for Use in Teacher Evaluation Systems", see ED524110.]