ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Teacher Incentive Fund: Implementation and Impacts of Pay-for-Performance after Two Years. Executive Summary. NCEE 2015-4021
Author: Chiang, Hanley
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Merit Pay,Incentives,Grants,Teacher Salaries,Principals,Salaries,Program Implementation,Teacher Attitudes,Teacher Behavior,Administrator Attitudes,Administrator Behavior,Teacher Effectiveness,Administrator Effectiveness,Academic Achievement,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools

Recent efforts to attract and retain effective educators and to improve teaching practices have focused on reforming evaluation and compensation systems for teachers and principals. In 2006, Congress established the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), which provides grants to support performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals in high-need schools. This executive summary describes a study that focuses on performance-based compensation systems that were established under TIF grants awarded in 2010. It examines grantees' programs and implementation experiences and the impacts of pay-for-performance bonuses on educator effectiveness and student achievement. The full report, the second from the study, describes the programs and implementation experiences of all 2010 TIF grantees in the 2012-2013 school year, the second of four years of implementation for nearly all grantees. The report also provides detailed findings from a subset of 2010 TIF grantees, the evaluation districts, that participated in a random assignment study of the pay-for-performance component of TIF. For the ten evaluation districts that completed two years of TIF implementation, the report provides an in-depth analysis of TIF implementation and the impacts of pay-for-performance bonuses on educator and student outcomes after the first (2011-2012) and second (2012-2013) years. [For the full report, see ED559723.]
College Costs and Prices: Some Key Facts for Policymakers. Lumina Issue Papers
Author: Johnson, Nate
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Tuition,Higher Education,Costs,Paying for College,Educational Finance,Public Colleges,Geographic Location,Community Colleges,Student Financial Aid,State Aid,Fees,Commuter Colleges,Commuting Students,On Campus Students

Tuition is rising, more students are in debt and at higher levels than ever before, and pressure is mounting from every direction and in both political parties--from the White House to state legislatures to overwhelmed parents and students--to do something about it. On the other hand, many colleges and college systems across the country have become more innovative and resourceful in providing higher education at lower cost, reducing expenditures on business operations, taking advantage of new technology, and redesigning instruction to make better use of expensive faculty time. So why hasn't this translated--usually--into costs savings for students? This issue paper outlines details of some key facts about higher education costs and prices that may provide some context for current policy debates. They include: (1) The actual cost to provide a public college education; (2) How much of the cost is covered by tuition; (3) How states differ in tuition and public support; (3) Why tuition is not going down even after colleges cut costs; (4) How institution subsidies differ from state financial aid; (5) What students' total education expenses actually are; and (6) Pros and cons of lower tuition.
Accountability and Virginia Public Schools, 2014-2015 School Year
Author: Virginia Department of Education
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Accountability,Public Schools,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education,Academic Standards,Academic Achievement,Accreditation (Institutions),Benchmarking,Limited English Speaking,Scores,Transfer Students,Achievement Gap,Educational Assessment,Tests,History,Social Sciences,Science Tests,Grade 5,Writing Tests,United States History,Educational Objectives,State Standards,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement

This report explains that The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--known since 2001 as No Child Left Behind (NCLB)--requires states to set annual objectives for increasing student achievement in reading and mathematics and closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Under the flexibility waiver granted by the US Department of Education, accountability is focused on improving outcomes for students in Virginia's lowest-performing schools, which must meet annual measurable objectives (AMOs) for raising reading and mathematics achievement. These annual objectives in reading and mathematics replaced the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets that schools were required to meet from 2002 until 2011. While the AMOs are intended as yearly goals for low-performing schools, all schools are expected to meet or exceed the objectives. Separate AMOs have been set for student subgroups, including Proficiency Gap Groups comprising students who historically have had difficulty meeting the commonwealth's achievement standards including:(1) Students with disabilities, limited English proficiency, and economically disadvantaged students; (2) African American Students not of Hispanic origin; and (3) Hispanic students of one or more races. All public schools--including schools that do not receive Title I funds under ESEA--must develop and implement improvement plans to raise the achievement of student subgroups not meeting the annual benchmarks. This document reports that achievement during 2013-2014 on the grade-3 history/social science test, the grade-3 science test, grade-5 writing test, and the United States History I and the United States History II content-specific tests will be factored into accreditation ratings for 2014-2015. These tests will not be administered during 2014-2015 and subsequent years as a result of legislation approved by the 2014 General Assembly. School divisions are required to certify annually that content previously assessed with the discontinued tests is being taught, and that a locally approved test consistent with Board of Education guidelines is used to measure student progress. Virginia, under flexibility granted by the US Department of Education, has established AMOs designed to reduce proficiency gaps between students in high-performing and low-performing schools within six years.
Childhood Fitness and Academic Performance: An Investigation into the Effect of Aerobic Capacity on Academic Test Scores
Author: Hobbs, Mark
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Statistical Analysis,Grade 5,Elementary School Students,Physical Fitness,Mathematics Achievement,Comparative Analysis,Measurement,Scores,Influences,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Body Weight,Body Composition,Obesity,Physical Activity Level,Student Behavior,Academic Achievement,Physical Education,Correlation

The purpose of this quantitate ve study was to determine whether or not students in fifth grade who meet the healthy fitness zone (HFZ) for aerobic capacity on the fall 2013 FITNESSGRAM® Test scored higher on the math portion of the 2013 fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, than students that failed to reach the HFZ for aerobic capacity on the fall 2013 FITNESSGRAM® Test. Ninety-six fifth grade students at a public elementary school in Greenville, SC participated in MAP testing, and the fifteen meter FITNESSGRAM® PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run). Their body mass index (BMI) and number of laps ran on the PACER was put into the FITNESSGRAM®'s computer based program which will calculate their aerobic capacity and show whether or not they met the HFZ requirements as determined by the FITNESSGRAM®. These students were then placed into two groups, those who met the HFZ and those who did not meet the HFZ. The corresponding math MAP scores for the two groups was averaged and compared to one another. The data was disaggregated by race and gender. The demographic data for the study's participants are enumerated as follows. Male participants numbered fifty-three, with forty-one being Caucasian, seven African American, and five other (includes Hispanic, more than one ethnicity, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaskan). Female participants numbered forty-three, with twenty-eight being Caucasian, ten African American, and five other. The average math MAP RIT score for students that met the HFZ for aerobic capacity was 226.9, while the average score for those that did not meet the HFZ for aerobic capacity was 218.4. This is a difference of 8.5 points. Having a health enhancing level of aerobic fitness was a positive influence for academic achievement regardless of gender or race. School districts need to allocate sufficient funds, resources, personnel, and facilities in order to provide students with quality physical education at the elementary level. The following are appended: (1) Picture of SECA® Scale; (2) Graphs of MAP Scores for Met and Not Met Healthy Fitness Zones; (3) Graph of Met Healthy Fitness Zone for Aerobic Capacity; and (4) Graph of Mean Math MAP RIT Scores.
Early Years Education: Are Young Students Intrinsically or Extrinsically Motivated Towards School Activities? A Discussion about the Effects of Rewards on Young Children's Learning
Author: Theodotou, Evgenia
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Student Motivation,Rewards,Positive Reinforcement,Learning Activities,Learning Processes,Student Attitudes,Educational Benefits,Barriers,Learning Motivation,Outcomes of Education,Young Children

Rewards can reinforce and at the same time forestall young children's willingness to learn. However, they are broadly used in the field of education, especially in early years settings, to stimulate children towards learning activities. This paper reviews the theoretical and research literature related to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational theory, with particular focus on the concept of rewards, discussing how this theoretical framework explains children's learning and attitudes. It argues that rewards usually have a detrimental impact on young students' learning and behaviour but in some cases can contribute beneficially to children's willingness to learn.
The Application of Portfolios to Assess Progress in Writing of EFL Students at Secondary Schools in Banda Aceh
Author: Eridafithri
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,High School Students,Portfolios (Background Materials),Writing Evaluation,Questionnaires,Language Teachers,Educational Practices,Islam,Religious Education,Scoring Rubrics,Prior Learning,Student Evaluation,Teacher Attitudes,Foreign Countries,Teacher Role,Observation,Scoring,Vocabulary,Grammar

Portfolios are one of the alternatives that can be used for writing assessment. Portfolios are not common in the curriculum. The lack of dissemination to language teachers have made portfolios disregarded. In order to encourage teachers to use portfolios for assessment of writing, they need to have adequate information about portfolios, how they can be used for assessment as well as the benefits of using them for assessment. This study discusses why teachers do not use portfolios for assessing writing done by senior high school students. It focuses on English teachers at Islamic senior high schools in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, and also looks at alternatives to help teachers use portfolios for assessment. The 26 teachers who participated in this study were given a questionnaire in order to find out their background knowledge related to portfolios and the difficulties they faced as teachers. Data from the questionnaire was supported by observations made by the researcher whilst monitoring their teaching. The results of this study showed that a large percentage of teachers found it difficult to design a rubric/set of instructions for using portfolios for writing assessment, whilst from the observation it was revealed that the complexities of correcting portfolios discouraged them from using portfolios as one of their means of assessment.
Reaching All Students with Excellent STEM Teachers. Education Leaders' Brief
Author: Public Impact
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: STEM Education,Demand Occupations,Labor Market,Supply and Demand,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Shortage,Teacher Salaries,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Recruitment,Educational Change,Models,Elementary Secondary Education

In the U.S., STEM subjects--science, technology, engineering, and math--face urgent needs for great STEM teachers and well-educated students. An Opportunity Culture can help by extending the reach of excellent STEM teachers already in our schools and creating a teaching profession that attracts and retains these teachers through higher pay, within regular budgets, and multiple advancement opportunities. The Education Leaders' Brief summarizes the grim facts about STEM employment and learning in the U.S. today, emerging efforts to stem the shortage of skilled teachers, and how an Opportunity Culture can help. [Public Impact contributors to this publication include Sharon Kebschull Barrett, Lyria Boast, Elaine Hargrave, Gillian Locke, Christen Holly, Emily Ayscue Hassel, and many others who contributed to underlying materials. Beverley Tyndall was responsible for the production of this brief.]
Touchstone Education: New Charter with Experienced Leader Learns from Extending Teachers' Reach. An Opportunity Culture Case Study
Author: Barrett, Sharon Kebschull
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Charter Schools,Effective Schools Research,Educational Improvement,Educational Change,Compensation (Remuneration),Teacher Leadership,Teacher Effectiveness,Mastery Learning,Organizational Culture,Academic Achievement,Change Strategies,Educational Methods

In 2012, Touchstone Education opened its first school, Merit Preparatory Charter School of Newark (&quot;Merit Prep Newark&quot;), in New Jersey, with 84 sixth-graders, 90 percent of whom are low-income, with most entering Merit Prep several years behind grade level. In reading and science, Merit Prep Newark has shown strong early results in its first year: In March 2013 tests, students already demonstrated two years of growth in reading and 1.25 years of growth in science, based on the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. This is one in a series of case studies looking at how districts, charter schools, and other programs have begun using Opportunity Culture models or experimented with similar means of expanding teachers' impact on students and peer teachers. In &quot;Touchstone Education: New Charter With Experienced Leader Learns From Extending Teachers' Reach,&quot; the authors take a first look at this small first-year school within a charter school organization that has big plans for growth, and see how it combined versions of two Opportunity Culture models: Multi-Classroom Leadership and a Time-Technology Swap for strong reading results. [This report was written with contributions from Joe Ableidinger, Bryan C. Hassel, and Emily Ayscue Hassel.]
Coös Youth with Mentors More Likely to Perceive Future Success. Paper 202. New Hampshire and New England Fact Sheet No. 9
Author: Scovill, Kent
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Mentors,Adolescents,Student Attitudes,Success,Academic Achievement,Grade 7,Grade 11,Public Schools,Secondary School Students,Well Being,Graduation,Higher Education,Interpersonal Relationship,Self Esteem

This fact sheet explores whether Coös youths' mentor experiences and their academic attitudes and well-being are linked. Authors Kent Scovill and Corinna Jenkins Tucker analyze data from the Coös Youth Study collected in 2008, focusing on seventh and eleventh grade students from all public schools in Coös County, New Hampshire. Of the Coös youth surveyed, 82 percent with a mentor relationship reported believing that they were likely to graduate college, compared to 72 percent of those without a mentor, and 63 percent of Coös youth with a mentor agreed that they could do anything they set their minds to, while 53 percent of youth without a mentor agreed. The authors conclude that, given the benefits of mentor relationships for youth, increased efforts should be made in Coös County to promote and increase the longevity of mentor relationships either informally or through established mentoring programs like Big Brother/Big Sister.
Sixty Percent of Coös Youth Report Having a Mentor in Their Lives. Paper 194. New Hampshire and New England Fact Sheet No. 8
Author: Scovill, Kent
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Adolescents,Mentors,Grade 7,Grade 11,Interpersonal Relationship,Gender Differences,Secondary School Students,Comparative Analysis,Marital Status,Parents

In this brief, authors Kent Scovill and Corinna Jenkins Tucker describe Coös youths' mentor relationships using data from the Carsey Institute's Coös Youth Study collected in 2007. They report that, in 2007, a majority of Coös youth in seventh and eleventh grade (60.2 percent) report having a mentor. In addition, 68 percent of Coös youths' mentors are extended family members, and females are more likely than males to report a mentor relationship. Considering how mentoring relationships can play a crucial role in adolescents' lives, they conclude that efforts to strengthen the capacity for arranged and naturally occurring mentor relationships in Coös County could be strengthened with local and broader support.
The Importance of Outdoor Activity and Place Attachment to Adolescent Development in Coös County, New Hampshire. Paper 208. New Hampshire and New England Issue Brief No. 37
Author: Seaman, Jayson
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Adolescent Development,Recreational Activities,Attachment Behavior,Place of Residence,Age Differences,Grade 8,Grade 12,Secondary School Students

This brief discusses the rates of participation in structured and unstructured outdoor activities as Coös County youth age, along with the relationship between outdoor activity involvement and indicators of place attachment throughout this period. The analysis is based on data collected between 2008 and 2013 as part of the Carsey Institute's Panel Study of Coös County youth. Authors Jayson Seaman and Sean McLaughlin, who concentrate on a subsample of 222 youth who completed surveys in both eighth and twelfth grade, report that Coös County youth participated in outdoor activities at a rate 20 percent higher than national averages for youth their age between 2008 and 2013. Participation in unstructured outdoor activities remained fairly constant throughout adolescence, while participation in structured activities declined by 50 percent. The most highly involved youth showed the strongest connection to community in twelfth grade, but also reported the lowest commitment to the area. The research described in the brief supports the idea of cultivating youth interest in the outdoors and should be framed as not only a possible source of personal identity and place attachment, but also--insofar as activity involvement helps foster goal setting and affinity for the region's natural amenities--a potentially viable source of economic vitality for future generations of Coös residents.
Projected Statewide Impact of &quot;Opportunity Culture&quot; School Models
Author: Holly, Christen
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Models,State Programs,Program Implementation,Academic Achievement,Teacher Salaries,Career Development,Taxes,Organizational Culture,Fellowships,Teacher Effectiveness,Effective Schools Research,Administrative Principles,Enrollment Rate,Staff Utilization,Compensation (Remuneration),Budgets,Achievement Gains,Economic Impact,Fiscal Capacity,State Policy,Change Strategies,Teacher Leadership,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation

This brief estimates the impact of a statewide implementation of Opportunity Culture models, using North Carolina as an example. Impacts estimated include student learning outcomes, gross state product, teacher pay, and other career characteristics, and state income tax revenue. Estimates indicate the potential for a statewide transition to Opportunity Culture models to provide a brighter future for students, teachers, and the state's economy.
Variation Found in Rates of Restraint and Seclusion among Students with a Disability. Paper 206. National Issue Brief No. 67
Author: Gagnon, Douglas J.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Disabilities,Student Behavior,Public Schools,Students,Discipline,Barriers,Behavior Modification,Behavior Problems,Student Diversity

The restraint and seclusion of individuals--practices usually associated with highly restrictive environments--are extreme responses to student behavior used in some public schools. In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Vincent Connelly report that restraint and seclusion are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability. In addition, the majority of U.S. school districts does not restrain or seclude students with a disability; 59.3 percent of districts report no instances of restraint, while 82.5 percent do not report a single instance of seclusion. However, a small proportion of districts report exceedingly high rates. The authors also find that low-poverty, low-diversity school districts use restraint and seclusion on students with a disability more than twice as often as high-poverty, high-diversity districts. The authors conclude that, overall, the relationships between restraint and seclusion rates, and disability type and school characteristics, warrant further research. This brief draws on data from the 2009-2010 Civil Rights Data Collection and the 2009 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
A Better Blend: A Vision for Boosting Student Outcomes with Digital Learning
Author: Public Impact
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Blended Learning,Electronic Learning,Outcomes of Education,State Policy,Educational Policy,Accountability,Pacing,Teacher Effectiveness,Educational Quality,Computer Assisted Instruction,Individualized Instruction

Blended learning that combines digital instruction with live, accountable teachers holds unique promise to improve student outcomes dramatically. Schools will not realize this promise at large scale with technology improvements alone, though, or with technology and today's typical teaching roles. This brief explains how schools can use blended learning to encourage improvements in digital instruction, transform teaching into a highly paid, opportunity-rich career that extends the reach of excellent teachers to all students and teaching peers, and improve student learning at large scale. This is called a &quot;better blend&quot;: combining high-quality digital learning and excellent teaching. Schools can immediately pursue a better blend at small scale. To achieve excellent learning at scale, state policymakers must change state policy to enable and incentivize a better blend in large numbers of schools. These policies must address five categories: funding, people, accountability for learning, technology and student data, and timing and scalability. [Public Impact team members contributing to this report were Joe Ableidinger, Jiye Grace Han, Bryan C. Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel.]