ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Title III Accountability and District Improvement Efforts: A Closer Look. ESEA Evaluation Brief: The English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act
Author: Tanenbaum, Courtney
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: State Officials,Educational Finance,Academic Achievement,Second Language Learning,Accountability,Technical Assistance,Program Effectiveness,Grants,English (Second Language),Limited English Speaking,Federal Legislation,Standards,Educational Legislation,Interviews,Data Collection,Administrators,Language Proficiency,Educational Improvement,Educational Objectives,Student Evaluation,Measures (Individuals),Educational Indicators,Federal Programs

&quot;Title III Accountability and District Improvement Efforts: A Closer Look&quot; (2010) summarizes findings from interviews with six Title III Directors and nine Title III district-level directors in the spring of 2009. States and districts were selected in order to collect information from some entities with a long history of serving English Learners (ELs) as well as from entities that have experienced a rapid increase in EL enrollments in recent years. Findings from this small sample cannot be generalized to all states or districts. Key findings from the brief are as follows: (1) Each of the five states interviewed for the study has one or more districts that have not met their Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for 2 years or more. These states require these districts to develop an improvement plan, as required by Title III. These states also are requiring districts that miss their AMAOs for even 1 year to submit a notice of the failure to their EL parents. The states are providing sample parent letters to districts for this purpose; (2) The six states vary in the technical assistance systems they have put in place to help districts achieve their AMAO targets. California and New York have established regional centers that regularly provide supports in the nature of improvement plan suggestions and professional development; (3) In all six states interviewed, the majority of the EL population is enrolled in Title I schools. All of the state officials surveyed indicated that coordination of services between the Title I and Title III offices has increased in recent years; and (4) Challenges district officials reported include the shortage of teachers with special EL training, the difficulty in making schools feel accountable for their EL students' achievement when the AMAOs only apply at the district level, and inadequate funding. (Contains 1 exhibit and 9 notes.) [For the companion reports, see &quot;Title III Accountability: Behind the Numbers&quot; (ED511982) and &quot;Title III Policy: State of the States&quot; (ED511984).]
Title III Policy: State of the States. ESEA Evaluation Brief: The English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act
Author: Ramsey, Andrea
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Federal Legislation,Testing,Second Language Learning,Politics of Education,Accountability,English (Second Language),Language Proficiency,Longitudinal Studies,Interviews,Data Collection,Standards,Educational Objectives,Student Evaluation,Measures (Individuals),Educational Improvement,Academic Achievement,Limited English Speaking,Program Effectiveness,Grants,Educational Legislation,Educational Indicators,Federal Programs

&quot;Title III Policy: State of the States&quot; (2010) discusses state implementation of the Title III accountability requirements based on phone interviews with six state Title III Directors in the spring of 2009, interviews with six experts and university-based researchers who work on education for English Learners, and based on earlier data collected in 2004 through 2007 under the Study of State Implementation of Accountability and Teacher Quality under No Child Left Behind and under the National Longitudinal Study of No Child Left Behind. Key findings discussed in the brief are as follows: (1) All states had established English language proficiency (ELP) standards by the 2006-07 school year, and all states had established ELP assessments by the 2007-08 school year. While many states missed the earlier deadlines established by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the U.S. Department of Education, this may be attributable to the difficulty and/or newness of the tasks involved. Very few states had English language proficiency standards or assessments before the 2001 ESEA amendments required them; (2) Many states reported difficulties developing a cut score for Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAO) 1 and AMAO 2 because of their lack of experience with this type of testing. For example, establishing an English language proficiency growth target, which is required for AMAO 1, is difficult without historical growth data. In 2006-07, only 12 state directors reported that their states had finalized AMAO targets. More than half were in the process of revising their AMAOs, a process that is still continuing in some states, based on the ELP testing data they were beginning to collect through the annual assessments; and (3) In 2006-07, 30 states were applying accountability actions to districts that had not met their AMAO targets for consecutive years. Eighteen of these 30 states were using preliminary AMAO targets, since only 12 states had finalized their AMAOs by 2006-07. In addition, due to delays in the development of ELP standards, assessments, and AMAOs, some states refrained from imposing consequences. (Contains 5 exhibits and 33 notes.) [For the companion reports, &quot;Title III Accountability: Behind the Numbers&quot; (ED511982) and &quot;Title III Accountability and District Improvement Efforts: A Closer Look&quot; (ED511983).]
Who Will Teach? Experience Matters
Author: National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
Date: 2010-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Retirement,Baby Boomers,Retirement Benefits,Politics of Education,Educational Policy,Labor Force,Geographic Location,Faculty Mobility,Teacher Competencies,Labor Force Development,Teacher Characteristics,Public Schools,Age Differences,Labor Turnover,Teaching Experience,Educational Finance,Human Capital

Working with Richard Ingersoll, professor of Education and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) examined and analyzed data from the &quot;Schools and Staffing Survey&quot; (SASS), the largest and most comprehensive source of data on teachers, gathered from a nationally representative survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical division of the U.S. Department of Education. To better understand the impact of current teacher retirement systems, NCTAF and the Third Mile Group conducted a policy inventory of 14 states, which were selected to represent a balance of older and younger teachers in their workforces, inclusion or exclusion from the Social Security system, and geographic diversity. NCTAF's analysis of 20 years (six cycles) of SASS data clearly demonstrates an alarming reality: Almost half of the teaching workforce is made up of Baby Boomers who are at or near retirement. In 1976, when young Baby Boomers were flooding into the ranks of teaching, the average teacher age was 36; in 2007-08 it was 42 (SASS data). This country now has the oldest teaching workforce in more than half a century. Based on the realities uncovered and documented in this study, NCTAF has developed several recommendations to help schools, districts, and states develop 21st century workforce policies. These are: (1) Create state leadership coalitions to focus on developing comprehensive 21st century education workforce plans that go beyond recruitment and replacement strategies; (2) Align retirement policies with workforce and educational goals; (3) Examine and consider potential reforms to retirement plans; (4) Facilitate informed policy decisions by supporting additional research about the impact of early retirements on teaching quality, why individual teachers make the decisions they do, and how frequently teachers are leaving one district or state to teach in another district or state; (5) Create systems to identify and assess veteran teachers who are effective and interested in continuing to work in education; and (6) Pilot and fund new workforce development strategies and career paths. Five case studies are appended.
Profiles in Excellence: Washington State. Using a Statewide Coalition to Transform Teaching through National Board Certification
Author: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Leadership,Teacher Certification,National Standards,Profiles,Teacher Improvement,Instructional Improvement,Statewide Planning,Partnerships in Education,Instructional Leadership,Improvement Programs,Instructional Innovation,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Academic Standards

In 1998, Washington State had 51,512 classroom teachers, but only 29 of them were National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). By 2009, the number of NBCTs in Washington had grown to 3,975--5th in the nation in total numbers, and 2nd in the nation in new teachers certifying that year. The state's successful strategy for increasing the number of NBCTs year by year is a good story, but what happens after teachers achieve certification is an even better one. The Washington story is being played out every day through the work of the state's National Board Certified Teachers and the coalition that supports them. Throughout the state, National Board Certified Teachers are: (1) Leading from the classroom, improving student learning; (2) Stepping up to leadership on the state and national stage; (3) Serving in high-need schools; and (4) Working with policymakers to inform sound policy. Many of the lessons learned in Washington State are applicable to other states, as well. These are: (1) Leveraging the investment in NBCTs; (2) Involving teacher leaders in setting policies that affect them; (3) Uniting on goals and outcomes for maximum impact; (4) Dividing the work to make things happen; (5) Sharing responsibility for monitoring challenges and opportunities; (6) Being vigilant with a policy agenda that supports National Board Certification; (7) Providing a variety of opportunities for teachers so they can find their own paths to grow from NBCT to accomplished teacher leader; and (8) Keeping NBCTs connected. (Contains 4 endnotes.)
Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service. Teacher Sourcebook, Volume III
Author: McCullough, Julie, Ed.
Date: 2004-00-00
Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Subjects: United States History,Civics,Archives,History Instruction,Instructional Materials,Primary Sources,Research Tools,Public Agencies,Web Sites,Computer Uses in Education,Teaching Guides,Lesson Plans,Bibliographies,Civil Rights,African American History,American Indian History,Voting,Transcripts (Written Records),Educational Resources

Thousands of educators are using America's most important historic documents to help students learn the story of their nation and its citizens, thanks to the Our Documents initiative. This was one of the main objectives of Our Documents, which is part of the "National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service," launched by President George W. Bush in September 2002. It is co-sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), National History Day (NHD), and the USA Freedom Corps.  Since the launch, teachers around the country have been tapping into the resources on the "Our Documents" web site, directing their students to it, and encouraging students to produce National History Day projects based on the documents. The "Our Documents" web site (www.ourdocuments.gov) features full-color images of one hundred milestone documents, drawn primarily from the holdings of the National Archives; transcriptions; brief essays that place the documents in their historical context; and resources for teachers. In addition to viewing the documents, visitors to the site can access the Teacher Sourcebooks. This volume provides suggestions for using the milestone documents in the classroom. It contains the list of one hundred milestone documents, an explanation of key themes in the documents, a timeline putting the documents in chronological order, lesson plans and classroom exercises, information on the student and teacher competitions, and a bibliography of works related to the documents. [Support for this document was provided by The History Channel and Siemens. For Volume II, see ED512023.]
The Impact of Teacher Experience: Examining the Evidence and Policy Implications. Brief No. 11
Author: Rice, Jennifer King
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Salaries,Poverty,Academic Achievement,Teacher Transfer,Teaching Experience,Evidence,Longitudinal Studies,Educational Policy,Teacher Effectiveness,Productivity,Educational Research,Guidelines,Experienced Teachers,Disadvantaged Schools,Personnel Policy,Teacher Distribution,Teacher Placement,Correlation

In education, teacher experience is probably &quot;the&quot; key factor in personnel policies that affect current employees: it is a cornerstone of traditional single-salary schedules; it drives teacher transfer policies that prioritize seniority; and it is commonly considered a major source of inequity across schools and, therefore, a target for redistribution. The underlying assumption is that experience promotes effectiveness. Is this really the case? Do students attain higher levels of achievement when taught by more experienced teachers? What is the relationship between teacher experience and teacher productivity? Over 40 years of teacher productivity research suggests that the simple assumption that &quot;more is better&quot; requires greater nuance; experience effects are complex and depend on a number of factors. Recent evidence from CALDER (National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research) studies using rich state datasets provides new insight into the effects of teacher experience. Several key findings emerge, some confirming previous understandings and others raising new questions. These findings have important policy implications. This paper offers three recommendations: (1) Frontload experience-based compensation; (2) Implement evaluation, professional development, compensation, and dismissal policies that encourage ongoing effectiveness among veteran teachers; and (3) Look beyond policies to distribute inexperienced teachers evenly across high- and low-poverty schools, and identify retention strategies to increase returns to teacher experience in high-poverty schools. (Contains 10 notes and 4 figures.)
The Role of Simplification and Information in College Decisions: Results and Implications from the H&amp;R Block FAFSA Experiment. An NCPR Working Paper
Author: Bettinger, Eric P.
Date: 2009-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Control Groups,Eligibility,Student Financial Aid,Experimental Groups,Need Analysis (Student Financial Aid),Financial Aid Applicants,Student Financial Aid Officers,Student Loan Programs,Enrollment Rate,Grantsmanship,Federal Aid,Performance Technology,Delivery Systems,Access to Information,Help Seeking

Growing concerns about low awareness and take-up rates for government support programs like financial aid for college have recently spurred calls to simplify the application process and enhance visibility. However, little research has been done to determine whether such reforms would truly improve college access and in what form &quot;simplification&quot; should take. This project examines the effects of two experimental treatments designed to test the importance of simplifying the process of receiving financial aid and providing clear information about personal aid eligibility using a random assignment research design. H&amp;R Block tax professionals helped low- to moderate-income families complete the FAFSA, the federal application for financial aid. Families were then immediately given an estimate of their eligibility for government aid as well as information about local postsecondary options. A second randomly-chosen group of individuals received only personalized aid eligibility information, which was calculated based on data from the tax form, but they did not receive help completing the FAFSA. Comparing the outcomes of participants in the treatment groups to a control group using multiple sources of administrative data, the analysis suggests that individuals who received assistance with the FAFSA and information about aid were substantially more likely to submit the aid application. High school seniors among this group were also much more likely to enroll in college and receive need-based financial aid the following fall. The program also increased college enrollment for independent adults with no prior college experience, and it increased aid receipt among independent adults who had previously attended college. These results suggest that simplifying the process and providing direct help with the application along with better information could be effective ways to improve college access. However, only providing aid eligibility information without also giving assistance with the form had no significant effect on FAFSA submission rates or college outcomes. Figures and tables are appended. (Contains 6 tables, 2 figures, and 30 footnotes.)
Summer: A Season when Learning Is Essential. Issue Brief No. 43
Author: Afterschool Alliance
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Equal Education,Summer Programs,Enrichment Activities,Income,Employed Parents,Low Income Groups,Educational Experience,Educational Quality,Achievement Gap,Child Health,Child Development,Breakfast Programs,Nutrition,Lunch Programs,Disadvantaged Youth

Children eagerly anticipate summertime--it gives them a break from the school year routine and can be filled with fun and games. Parents want their children to be safe, to learn new skills and explore their interests. Employed parents want all of these things for their kids, along with childcare that will allow them to work free from worries about their children's safety. Summer programs can meet all of these needs, while also providing academic enrichment that mitigates the summer learning gap, which is felt most acutely by lower income families. Summer programs can round out a child's education and offer experiences that aren't available during the school year. They offer lower income families a way to level the playing field, to give their children enrichment activities and learning opportunities that are otherwise more readily available to affluent families. Summer programs have the potential to help reverse summer learning loss and increase educational equity. They are good for children and families, and help make schools more successful. Investing in summer learning programs pays off in myriad ways. (Contains 26 endnotes.) [For "Summer: A Season When Learning Is Essential. Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 33", see ED502304.]
D.C. Out-of-School Time Programs Tackle Outcome Measures
Author: Winkler, Mary K.
Date: 2010-09-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Pilot Projects,After School Programs,Technical Assistance,Youth Programs,Program Effectiveness,Enrichment Activities,Barriers,Performance Factors,Measurement Techniques,Program Descriptions,Institutional Characteristics

In summer 2009, the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (The Trust) was engaged in an ongoing effort to build the internal capacity of its OST grantees and help strengthen and improve the quality of services for the District's children and youth. At the same time, the Urban Institute (UI) and The Center for What Works (CWW) were looking for partners to develop and test an outcome measurement framework with local OST providers. This overlap of interests and goals led to a pilot project (January-June 2010) to train a sample of the Trust's OST grantees on collecting and reporting outcome data. The organizations selected for the pilot represented a diverse cross-section of the Trust's OST grantees: (1) They offered a wide range of after-school activities; (2) They operated in different settings including public charter schools, community-based non-profit groups, and faith-based organizations; (3) They focused on children and youth of various ages between 5 and 24; and (4) They operated programs of different sizes serving as few as 25 and as many as 100 or more youth. At least five key findings emerged from this six-month pilot program: (1) Participants in the pilot were eager to learn; (2) Providing ready-made tools facilitated grantees' learning curve; (3) Technical ability varied greatly among participants; (4) Providing technical assistance was critical to the success of the pilot; and (5) Prior experience with outcome measurement led to different needs and expectations about training materials. [This research was conducted in conjunction with The Center for What Works.]
Smallest Victims of the Foreclosure Crisis: Children in the District of Columbia
Author: Comey, Jennifer
Date: 2010-08-31
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Neighborhoods,Public Schools,Housing,Methods,Economic Impact,Student Characteristics,Trend Analysis,Urban Areas,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Socioeconomic Status,Place of Residence,African Americans,Whites,Racial Differences,Hispanic Americans,Asian Americans,Low Income Groups,Limited English Speaking

The Open Society Institute and the Foundation to Promote Open Society funded three research organizations from the National Neighborhood Indicator Partnership (NNIP) to explore how foreclosures have affected children in individual cities. This brief focuses on the foreclosure trends and impact on children living in Washington, D.C., between 2003 and 2008. The authors hypothesize that the rapid increase in the number of homes that are in the process of foreclosure and have completed foreclosure (i.e., lost to the lender) during the past few years will in turn affect more families with children in the District, leading to additional residential instability. If informed, agencies, advocates, and providers in the housing and education fields can attempt to minimize the negative effects of these disruptive moves. This report, the first in a series of three, answers the following research questions: (1) How many public school children have foreclosures affected in the District of Columbia and how has the number changed over time?; (2) What are the demographic characteristics of the school children affected by foreclosure and have they changed over time?; and (3) Are the affected school children clustered in particular neighborhoods or schools? In the first section, the authors describe the D.C. housing market and trends in foreclosures for all households in the District; in the second section, they focus on households with public school students going through foreclosure; and in the final section, they discuss the implications of their findings for housing and education providers and agencies. Appendices include: (1) Methodology for Merging Student and Foreclosure Data; and (2) Methodology for Identifying Renters. (Contains 10 figures, 2 tables and 8 notes.) [This report was written with the assistance of Kathy Pettit, Leah Hendey and Jose Loya.]