ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
How State Takeover School Districts Shake Up Teacher Professional Development
Author: Pennington, Kaitlin
Date: 2014-06-05
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: School Districts,Faculty Development,State Action,School Turnaround,School District Reorganization,Governance,Change Strategies,Federal Aid,Accountability,Case Studies,Cluster Grouping,State School District Relationship,State Policy

Over the past few decades, many state departments of education have taken over low-performing schools or districts as a school turnaround strategy. Recently, that strategy has shifted to creating new districts--managed by the state--that include schools and parts of districts that face challenges in performance. The governance structure brings schools together based on similar needs, rather than on geographic proximity. This new state takeover strategy varies in terms of the level of state control and local influence, and its success has been mixed or cannot yet be fully measured. Nonetheless, it has sparked new thinking and innovation in states and districts throughout the United States. Schools or districts taken over by state departments of education operate under a governance structure that grants them freedom from some of the restrictions placed on typical U.S. school districts. This freedom has allowed school and district leaders in state takeover districts to experiment with everything from school staffing, to the school calendar, to curriculum and lesson planning. This issue brief focuses on another area of innovation for state takeover schools and districts--teacher professional development. As a growing body of evidence points to the overriding importance of teachers in promoting student achievement, professional development that supports teachers in meaningful ways has also become a hot topic in policymaking circles at the district, state, and federal levels. Yet ensuring that teachers receive effective professional development with the resources available is a challenge all districts face, and there is a long history of states and districts using funds ineffectively in this area. Because state takeover districts are given the opportunity to rethink district policies and practices, often with new leadership in place, this brief takes a closer look at how several state takeover districts govern teacher professional development. A close look at state takeover districts in Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee reveals the following trends in the governance of teacher professional development: (1) complete autonomy for charter schools; (2) partnerships with outside service providers; and (3) connecting teacher evaluation and professional development. Lessons learned from the innovation in these districts could influence professional-development spending and practices in districts throughout the United States. While it is too soon to tell if the professional-development governance systems in state takeover districts are effective, they are worth noting--if for no other reason than that they break the mold. Contains endnotes.
The Power of the Pygmalion Effect: Teachers' Expectations Strongly Predict College Completion
Author: Boser, Ulrich
Date: 2014-10-06
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Expectations of Students,Common Core State Standards,Educational Change,Resistance to Change,Longitudinal Studies,Data Collection,High School Graduates,College Graduates,Graduation Rate,Teacher Student Relationship,Minority Group Students,Racial Bias,Predictor Variables,Disadvantaged Youth,College Preparation,Regression (Statistics)

People do better when more is expected of them. In education circles, this is called the Pygmalion Effect. It has been demonstrated in study after study, and the results can sometimes be quite significant. In one research project, for instance, teacher expectations of a pre-schooler's ability was a robust predictor of the child's high school GPA. Raising student expectations has been in the news a lot recently as part of a larger conversation about improving learning outcomes. Most notably, a group of states have developed the Common Core State Standards, which go a long way toward establishing higher standards by setting out what students should know and be able to accomplish in reading and math. More than 40 states have adopted the standards so far. Recently, however, there has been a great deal of political pushback against them; a number of states, including Oklahoma, recently abandoned the reform effort. To look at the issue of expectations more closely, researchers analyzed the National Center for Education Statistics' Education Longitudinal Study, or ELS, which followed the progression of a nationally representative sample of 10th grade students from 2002 to 2012. The ELS has a longitudinal design, which allows researchers to link teacher expectations to individual student data collected up to 10 years later. For some findings, researchers conducted a logistic regression of students' actual academic outcomes on teachers' expectations. In other areas, researchers reported simple frequencies. The study showed the following: (1) High school students whose teachers have higher expectations about their future success are far more likely to graduate from college; (2) Secondary teachers have lower expectations for students of color and students from disadvantaged backgrounds; and (3) College-preparation programs and other factors that support higher expectations are significant predictors of college graduation rates. These findings build on a large body of research on the power of expectations.
Teacher Diversity Revisited: A New State-by-State Analysis
Author: Boser, Ulrich
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Diversity (Faculty),Minority Group Teachers,National Surveys,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Student Relationship,Demography,Racial Differences,Scores,Statistical Analysis,Statistical Surveys,State Surveys,School Districts,Minority Group Students,Teacher Persistence,Whites,Role Models,Academic Achievement,Career Choice,Educational Opportunities,Race,African American Teachers,Achievement Rating,Statistical Data,Trend Analysis

In 2011, a study by the Center for American Progress (CAP) found that the demographics of the teacher workforce had not kept up with student demographics and showed that students of color made up more than 40 percent of the school-age population. In contrast, teachers of color were only 17 percent of the teaching force. Since this time, the nation has only grown more diverse. Therefore, the authors decided to revisit the issue of teacher diversity, and calculated again their groundbreaking &quot;Teacher Diversity Index,&quot; an approach pioneered in the 2011 study that ranks states on the percentage-point difference between teachers of color and students of color. For the current analysis, the authors relied on data from the 2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, a nationally representative survey of teachers and principals administered every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics. They also relied on 2011 data from the Common Core of Data, which is also administered by the National Center for Education Statistics. And for the first time, they looked at teacher diversity within some select states. Findings include: (1) The gap between teachers and students of color continues to grow; (2) Almost every state has a significant diversity gap; (3) When looking across racial and ethnic backgrounds, the Hispanic teacher population had larger demographic gaps relative to students; and (4) Diversity gaps are large within districts. An appendix contains tabular data on teacher demographics by state and race. [For &quot;Teacher Diversity Matters: A State-by-State Analysis of Teachers of Color&quot; (2011), see ED535665.]
Parallel Lives, Different Outcomes: A Twin Study of Academic Productivity in U.S. School Districts
Author: Hanna, Robert
Date: 2014-07-11
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Productivity,Academic Achievement,Cohort Analysis,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators,School Statistics,Data Analysis,School District Spending,Funding Formulas,Equal Education,School District Autonomy,Finance Reform,Resource Allocation,Change Strategies

This paper explores what happens to similar groups of children educated in different school districts. In this case, the &quot;twins&quot; in the study are groups of students who live in the same state in similar geographies and who share certain demographic characteristics. For this report, &quot;twin districts&quot; have very similar sizes and they have the following in common: (1) The proportion of students who are from low-income families; (2) The proportion of students who have limited English proficiency or are English language learners; and (3) The proportion of students who receive instruction through individualized educational programs. The study's twin districts, however, differ in terms of per-pupil spending and revenues. The goal of this paper was to study twin districts and use the data culled to provide recommendations for how districts can best leverage their school funding investments--in other words, achieve a bigger bang for their educational buck. Using data available from the U.S. Department of Education, the authors compiled a dataset with over 7,000 K-12 districts from over 15,000 local education agencies across the county. All data on spending and achievement was from the 2009-10 school year. In this analysis, they identified 424 pairs of districts to analyze from this larger dataset. Given that tests and proficiency definitions differ across states, only twin districts within the same state are identified and compared. Additionally, the authors also completed interviews with 20 district superintendents from across the United States to discuss what control they have over their districts' spending and what spending constraints they face from outside governing bodies--the state, the federal government, and school boards. Based on their in-depth look at twin districts and their subsequent analysis of the data, the authors offer the following findings: (1) When it comes to education, spending does not always equal results; (2) There are significant funding inequities between demographically similar districts; and (3) Districts have limited control over their own expenditures. A table showing descriptive statistics for 424 sets of twins from the 2009-10 school year is appended. [For the accompanying report, &quot;Return on Educational Investment: 2014. A District-by-District Evaluation of U.S. Educational Productivity&quot; (2014), see ED561093.]
How Public Universities Can Promote Access and Success for All Students
Author: Flores, Antoinette
Date: 2014-09-09
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Public Colleges,Universities,Access to Education,Educational Finance,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Outcomes of Education,High Achievement,Student Financial Aid,Grants,Graduation Rate,Interviews,Case Studies,Need Analysis (Student Financial Aid)

The nation's public universities--a key vehicle of upward mobility--must do more to even the playing field for all students. As it currently stands, students from the least advantaged populations earn degrees at a lower rate and are burdened with a greater portion of debt than their peers. However, some standout public universities are reversing these trends by committing to need-based funding, offering successful student support programs, and providing institutional leadership. This issue brief examines three such universities--the University of California, Riverside, or UCR; the University of South Florida Tampa campus, or USF; and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, or UNCC--and assesses some of the policies behind their positive outcomes. All three of these high-performing schools increased their percentages of Pell Grant recipients at significantly higher rates over the same period, compared to just an 8 percent increase for the average four-year public university. Additionally, they have minimized graduation gaps across demographics while also increasing overall graduation rates. Based on interviews with relevant staff from each university, this issue brief details some of the actions behind the positive results.
Conservative Politicians Are Lashing Out at Courts That Order Equal Funding for Education
Author: Corriher, Billy
Date: 2014-03-27
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Funding Formulas,Court Litigation,Ideology,Political Attitudes,State Legislation,State Regulation,State Action,Finance Reform,Equal Education,Educational Finance,Resource Allocation,Politics of Education,Judges

Conservative governors and legislators across America are angry at the third branch of government. Some of these lawmakers are pushing legislation that could throw judges off the bench, while others are pushing to limit judicial authority. In one state, a governor unilaterally removed a justice of the state supreme court. Another Republican governor has publicly vowed to defy a ruling in a pending case if he does not like the outcome. Many of these proposals violate the separation of powers principles in their respective state constitutions, but some of these politicians want to amend their state constitutions to give the executive and legislative branches exclusive control over judicial appointments. This conservative backlash is a response to court rulings that require the legislatures to spend more money on education or to distribute those funds more equally. These proposals send a message--a warning to judges that legislators have the means to punish courts that rule against the state. The increasing focus on measurable results--in the form of student testing--in education has changed the nature of the judiciary's role in education funding. With measurable goals and testing data, courts can more easily determine whether a school system is achieving its goal of educating students. Every state constitution in America requires each respective state to provide an education for school-age children. Many of the &quot;education clauses&quot; require states to offer a &quot;thorough and efficient&quot; or &quot;free&quot; system of education. The students who sue to enforce these constitutional obligations will have a hard time succeeding if the courts are susceptible to pressure from the executive and legislative branches. This paper discusses instances in which courts in Kansas, Washington state, New Jersey, and Alaska were involved in cases regarding inequitable school funding. As these arguments wind their way through state courts, advocates for education-funding equality must act to protect judicial independence.
Regression Levels of Selected Affective Factors on Science Achievement: A Structural Equation Model with TIMSS 2011 Data
Author: Akilli, Mustafa
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Regression (Statistics),Science Achievement,Structural Equation Models,Secondary School Science,Secondary School Students,Grade 8,Success,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,Factor Analysis,Student Attitudes,Scientific Attitudes,Predictor Variables,Science Education,Educational Assessment,Foreign Countries,Goodness of Fit,Self Efficacy,Affective Objectives,Science Curriculum,International Assessment,Elementary Secondary Education,Mathematics Tests,Science Tests,Mathematics Achievement

The aim of this study is to demonstrate the science success regression levels of chosen emotional features of 8th grade students using Structural Equation Model. The study was conducted by the analysis of students' questionnaires and science success in TIMSS 2011 data using SEM. Initially, the factors that are thought to have an effect on science success were detected out of TIMSS questionnaire and KMO and Bartlett's tests were done to test appropriateness of these items to factor analysis. Explanatory Factor analysis was done for the sub-dimensions that were seen to be suitable for factor analysis and then, confirmative factor analysis was done using LISREL and the appropriateness of dimensions to the model was tested. Seeing that the concordance indexes od dimensions were suitable to the model, structural model was rested. At the end of the SEM test, it was found that the attitudes and values of 8th grade students predicted their science success in a positive way, and their self- confidence predicted their success in a negative way.
The Impact of Physical Settings on Pre-Schoolers Classroom Organization
Author: Tadjic, Mirko
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Classroom Techniques,Preschool Children,Classroom Environment,Physical Environment,Scheduling,Class Activities,Educational Philosophy,School Safety,Interior Design,Educational Practices,Educational Strategies,Preschool Education

The physical setting plays an important role in the lives of pre-schoolers and can be an important component of children's experience and development when it is wisely and meaningfully designed. The classroom organization enhances and supports the pre-schooler capability to perform activities himself, initiate and finish tasks, creates the possibility of his own determined choices and responsibilities, permits to connect and interrelate with educators and other participants easily and helps to improve his cognitive skills. In this research, the classroom environment is approached in terms of diverse aspects, as a relation between physical atmosphere and the curriculum philosophy, the planning of proceedings, adjustments, safekeeping topics and assignment of zones, equipment resources, illumination, surfaces and other environmental factors.
John Dewey--Philosopher and Educational Reformer
Author: Talebi, Kandan
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Philosophy,Educational Change,Psychology,Progressive Education,Teacher Characteristics,Teacher Education

John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator, founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism, a pioneer in functional psychology, and a leader of the progressive movement in education in the United States.
FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) Users: Summary and Case Studies
Author: Mixter, Jeffrey
Date: 2013-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Technology Integration,Libraries,Electronic Publishing,Cataloging,Vocabulary,Interviews,Foreign Countries,Library Automation,Classification,Attitude Measures

Over the past ten years, various organizations, both public and private, have expressed interest in implementing the Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) in their cataloging workflows. As interest in FAST has grown, so too has interest in knowing how FAST is being used and by whom. Since 2002 eighteen institutions in six countries have expressed interest in learning more about FAST and how it could be implemented in cataloging workflows. Currently OCLC is aware of nine agencies that have actually adopted or support FAST for resource description. This study, the first systematic census of FAST users undertaken by OCLC, was conducted, in part, to address these inquiries. Its purpose was to examine: (1) how FAST is being utilized; (2) why FAST was chosen as the cataloging vocabulary; (3) what benefits FAST provides; and (4) what can be done to enhance the value of FAST. Interview requests were sent to all parties that had previously contacted OCLC about FAST. Of the eighteen organizations contacted, sixteen agreed to provide information about their decision whether to use FAST (nine adopters, seven non-adopters). This document presents: (1) a brief overview of FAST; (2) a brief analysis of common characteristics of parties that have either chosen to adopt FAST or chosen against using FAST; (3) suggested improvements for FAST vocabulary and services; (4) tables summarizing FAST adopters and non-adopters; and (5) sixteen individual &quot;case studies&quot; presented as edited write-ups of interviews.
Tiers for Fears: Sensible, Streamlined Sharing of Special Collections
Author: Massie, Dennis
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Library Materials,Library Administration,Libraries,Archives,Case Studies,Library Services,Surveys,Research

This report presents strategies for providing efficient and affordable interlending of actual physical items from special collections for research purposes, as well as advice on determining if a loan is the most appropriate way to fulfill a particular request. Lending physical items ranks among the most divisive issues in the field of archives and special collections, perhaps the one most likely to bring out equal parts raw emotion and well-reasoned professional opinion. But solid evidence indicates that the practice of lending physical items from special collections is becoming as common as not doing so. From 2009 through 2011, a working group made up of resource sharing supervisors and special collections curators from OCLC Research Library Partnership institutions studied this issue. The most significant activity of the working group was creating a set of tools that will help institutions reconsider and streamline their processes for handling loan requests for special collections materials. These tools include: (1) a tiered approach to streamlining workflows associated with lending special collections, outlining minimal, moderate and maximum amounts of effort and overhead, to be invoked based on the material, the request, and the risk tolerance of curators and administrators; (2) a model written policy on sharing special collections; and (3) a &quot;trust&quot; checklist to serve as a conversation starter between a prospective lender and an institution interested in borrowing an item from special collections. This report contains a complete description of the working group's activities, plus all of the tools listed above, and advice on how best to use them. The report's principles intentionally dovetail with the Association of College and Research Libraries' 2012 revision of Guidelines for Interlibrary and Exhibition Loans of Special Collections Materials (ALA 2012). The following tools are included: (1) Model Local Policy for Lending Special Collections Materials for Research Purposes; and (2) The SHARES Facility Trust Checklist. The following are apppended: (1) Case Study--Pennsylvania State University; and (2) In-depth Analysis of the 2010 Sharing Special Collections Working Group Survey.
Collection Directions: Some Reflections on the Future of Library Collections and Collecting
Author: Dempsey, Lorcan
Date: 2014-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Library Materials,Library Services,Users (Information),Library Networks,Shared Resources and Services,Academic Libraries,Library Development,Library Administration,Investment,Trend Analysis,Models,Organizational Change,Data,Learning Processes,Learning Strategies,Research Methodology,Research Needs,Scholarship,Electronic Libraries,Change Strategies

This article takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. The authors look at the changing dynamics of print collections, at the greater engagement with research and learning behaviors, and at trends in scholarly communication. The goal is to provide some context within which libraries can discuss changing patterns of investment across collection categories. [This report was published in &quot;portal: Libraries and the Academy&quot; v14 n3 p393-423 Jul 2014 (EJ1038113).]