ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Trends in Student Aid, 2012. Trends in Higher Education Series
Author: Baum, Sandy
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Student Financial Aid,Federal Aid,Grants,Income,Undergraduate Students,Graduate Students,Tax Credits,Student Loan Programs,Higher Education,Full Time Equivalency,Federal Government,Paying for College,Trend Analysis,Financial Support,Work Study Programs,State Aid,Debt (Financial)

The recent focus on student debt makes reliable data about how much students are borrowing, how borrowing patterns differ among students across different types of institutions and at different levels of enrollment, and about changes over time particularly important. While total student borrowing has grown rapidly over the past decade, the rate of growth has decreased in recent years. The total volume of education loans disbursed doubled from $55.7 billion (in 2011 dollars) to $113.4 billion between 2001-02 and 2011-12. Over these years, the number of Stafford Loan borrowers almost doubled, while the average amount borrowed from subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford Loans combined increased by 8%, from $7,627 (in 2011 dollars) to $8,230. The growth rate in education loans from 2001-02 to 2011-12 was &quot;slower&quot; than over the previous decade, when the total grew 150%, from $22.3 billion (in 2011 dollars) to $55.7 billion. Moreover, the total volume of education loans disbursed increased by 64% in inflation-adjusted dollars between 2001-02 and 2006-07, and the growth rate slowed to 24% over the next five years. In 2011-12, undergraduate students received an average of $13,218 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student in financial aid, including $6,932 in grant aid from all sources, and $5,056 in federal loans. Federal grant aid almost tripled in constant dollars between 2001-02 and 2011-12, increasing from 20% to 26% of the total $185.1 billion in undergraduate aid. The number of students receiving Pell Grants, the central federal grant program providing funding for low- and moderate-income students, increased from 2.7 million in 1981-82 and 3.8 million in 1991-92 to 4.3 million in 2001-02 and to 9.4 million (37% of all undergraduates) in 2011-12. The composition of student aid is very different for undergraduates than for graduate students. In 2011-12, the estimated 25.5 million undergraduates received 51% of their aid in the form of grants, 40% as loans, and 9% in a combination of tax credits or deductions and Work-Study. For the 3.9 million graduate students, these percentages were 29%, 68%, and 3%, respectively. Total education borrowing, including federal student and parent loans, as well as nonfederal loans, declined by 4% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2011-12--the first decline in at least 20 years. However, the 2011-12 total of $113.4 billion was 24% higher than five years earlier. Only 2% of students who first enrolled in 2003-04 had borrowed more than $50,000 from federal and nonfederal sources combined by 2009. Over 40% did not borrow and another 25% borrowed $10,000 or less. (Contains 21 tables and 57 figures.) [This paper was written with the assistance from Charles Kurose.]
Graduating to a Pay Gap: The Earnings of Women and Men One Year after College Graduation
Author: Corbett, Christianne
Date: 2012-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: College Graduates,Gender Differences,Income,Employment,Salary Wage Differentials,Comparable Worth,Gender Discrimination,Debt (Financial),Student Financial Aid,Career Choice,Majors (Students),Working Hours,Grades (Scholastic),College Choice,Individual Characteristics,Student Loan Programs,Public Policy,Federal Legislation,Unions

Women are paid significantly less than men are in nearly every occupation. Because pay equity affects women and their families in all walks of life, it is not surprising that many women consider the issue important. For more than 130 years, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has advocated for gender equity in education and the workplace. During this time, women have gone from a small minority on college campuses to a majority of the student body. Today, women make up half the workforce, but they continue to earn less than men do throughout their careers. Why does this gender pay gap persist? This question is a focal point of AAUW's research and advocacy work. This report finds that women working full time already earn less than their male counterparts do just one year after college graduation. Taking a closer look at the data, the authors find that women's choices--college major, occupation, hours at work--do account for part of the pay gap. But about one-third of the gap remains unexplained, suggesting that bias and discrimination are still problems in the workplace. A bibliography is included. (Contains 13 figures and 8 footnotes.)
Approaches Used by Faculty to Assess Critical Thinking--Implications for General Education
Author: Nicholas, Mark
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: General Education,Standardized Tests,Social Sciences,Natural Sciences,Critical Thinking,Faculty Development,Multiple Choice Tests,Humanities,College Faculty,Interviews,Focus Groups,Teacher Attitudes,Intellectual Disciplines,Thinking Skills,Evaluation Methods,Student Evaluation,Accountability,Portfolio Assessment,Statistical Analysis,Essays,Writing Assignments

This investigation focused on a group of 17 faculty drawn from disciplines in the humanities social sciences and natural sciences. Using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and qualitative coding strategies, this study examined how faculty conceptualized the term critical thinking (CT), and how they assessed for it in general education courses. The study adopted an exploratory approach and hence did not use an operational definition of CT.  This study found that that faculty assessed for CT implicitly through disciplinary content. Their approach focused on aspects of CT that were most relevant to their disciplinary needs. Faculty in the natural sciences leaned toward rationalistic, empirical approaches, faculty from philosophy focused on rationality and formulaic procedural processes, faculty in the humanities focused on aporetic elements of CT, and faculty in the social sciences relied on empirical artifacts and standards while recognizing the role of perspective in CT. Faculty rejected the use of multiple choice tests as a valid means of assessing CT. They assessed for CT through other communicative learning outcomes. Faculty did not use formal assessment instruments to explicitly assess for CT and hence had no way to gauge the efficacy of their pedagogical approaches. This study raises questions on the efficacy of discipline-general assessment approaches used by national governing bodies, commercial standardized tests and general education programs to teach and assess CT in general education. It presents empirical evidence on the need for a complex, multi-disciplinary, inclusive approach to conceptualizing CT. An approach that reflects how faculty approach CT in the undergraduate classroom and fulfills the aspirations for multi-disciplinarity in general education. The findings of this study have implications for the assessment of CT in general education, national accountability efforts and for faculty development. (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)
M-DCPS Student Performance in International Baccalaureate and Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education Programs. Research Brief. Volume 1102
Author: Blazer, Christie
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Advanced Placement Programs,Academic Achievement,Outcomes of Education,Graduation Rate,High School Students,Achievement Tests,Test Results,Public Schools

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of M-DCPS students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) programs. Outcome data are provided for the eight M-DCPS schools offering the two programs and corresponding examinations. Participation in international studies programs continues to grow, with over 4,500 examinations taken by M-DCPS students during the 2010-11 school year. The number of IB examinations taken increased by 13 percent from 2009-10 to 2010-11 and the number of Cambridge AICE examinations taken increased by 21 percent. A comparison of student outcomes between the two programs indicates that IB students were more successful in passing their exams and receiving diplomas than Cambridge AICE program students. Seventy-nine percent of IB examinations received passing scores, compared to 51 percent of Cambridge AICE examinations. In addition, 65 percent of students participating in the IB program received an IB diploma at the conclusion of the 2010-11 school year, while 53 percent of Cambridge students received an AICE diploma. (Contains 12 tables.)
From Normal Variation to Unacceptable Uncertainty: A Brief Review of Anomalies in the 2010 FCAT Results. Research Brief. Volume 1002
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2010-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Test Results,Scores,Achievement Tests,Achievement Gains,Academic Achievement,Mathematics Tests,Reading Tests,Differences,Change,Scaling,Equated Scores,Test Construction

The release of School Grades by the State of Florida in the late summer of 2010 created quite a stir. Over 500 elementary schools all over the state dropped at least one grade level. Among those schools that experienced drops, the Reading Gains and Mathematics Gains components seemed especially low. Some of the historically best performing schools saw unprecedented shortfalls in gain percents. Ad hoc analyses of the summary results by districts throughout the state uncovered radical shifts in points earned by schools. The results seemed that they just could not be true. Coordinated calls for review by Superintendents and research staff led the State Department of Education to call for two independent audits for further evaluation. The findings of the audits supported the initial results and concluded that the fluctuations in gains were within historical ranges. No violations of protocol were uncovered and the School Grades were deemed correct. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the FCAT score results that prompted concern, clarify in nontechnical terms the test construction and equating justifications, and propose a perspective for confronting the compromises to accountability in the future.
Dropout and Graduation Rates 2007-2008. Research Brief. Volume 0804
Author: Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Research Services
Date: 2009-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Dropouts,Graduation,Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Longitudinal Studies,Secondary School Students,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Grade 12,At Risk Students,Gender Differences,Attendance Patterns,Males,Females,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Academically Gifted,English (Second Language),Disabilities,Limited English Speaking,Age Differences,High School Equivalency Programs

The District conducts a &quot;cross-sectional&quot; analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A &quot;longitudinal&quot; analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method addresses a different aspect of how many students are dropping out of school. This research brief provides information on the cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates and longitudinal graduation rates for 2007-2008. (Contains 7 tables.)
Dropout and Graduation Rates 2009-2010. Research Brief. Volume 1101
Author: Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Research Services
Date: 2011-10-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Dropouts,Graduation,Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Longitudinal Studies,Secondary School Students,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Grade 12,At Risk Students,Gender Differences,Attendance Patterns,Males,Females,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Academically Gifted,English (Second Language),Disabilities,Limited English Speaking,Age Differences,High School Equivalency Programs

The District conducts a &quot;cross-sectional&quot; analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A &quot;longitudinal&quot; analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method addresses a different aspect of how many students are dropping out of school. This research brief provides information on the cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates and longitudinal graduation rates for 2009-2010. (Contains 7 tables.) [For the 2008-2009 edition of this report, see ED536604.]
FCAT Retakes: Trends in Multiple Attempts at Satisfying FCAT Graduation Requirements. Research Brief. Volume 0805
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2009-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Achievement Tests,Testing,Repetition,Graduation Requirements,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,High School Students,Cohort Analysis,Public Schools

According to Florida Law, students must pass the Grade 10 FCAT, among other academic requirements, in order to receive a standard high school diploma. Specifically, students must achieve a &quot;passing&quot; score of 300 or above on both the FCAT SSS Reading and the FCAT SSS Mathematics tests. Technically, students can retake the FCAT as many times as they want, until they pass it, and can even enroll for a &quot;free&quot; 13th year of public education should they need additional instruction to successfully pass the FCAT. At the time of this study, students had up to seven standard opportunities to pass the Grade 10 FCAT prior to graduation. Students who did not pass the FCAT in the spring of their sophomore year could retest in the fall, spring, and summer of their junior and senior years. The purpose of this study is to report the results of tracking the FCAT retake occurrences and outcomes for one grade-level cohort group as they advance through their M-DCPS careers. Although summaries of the test results for any retake occasion across all current test-takers have been available on a yearly basis, this is the first cumulative tracking for FCAT retake performance.
Dropout and Graduation Rates 2010-2011. Research Brief. Volume 1107
Author: Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Research Services
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Dropouts,Graduation,Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Longitudinal Studies,Secondary School Students,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Grade 12,At Risk Students,Gender Differences,Attendance Patterns,Males,Females,Racial Differences,White Students,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Academically Gifted,English (Second Language),Disabilities,Limited English Speaking,Age Differences,High School Equivalency Programs

The District conducts a &quot;cross-sectional&quot; analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A &quot;longitudinal&quot; analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method addresses a different aspect of how many students are dropping out of school. This research brief provides information on the cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates and longitudinal graduation rates for 2010-2011. (Contains 7 tables.) [For the 2009-2010 edition of this report, see ED536597.]
Importance of Subgroup Membership and Its Contribution to Equitable School District Comparisons. Research Brief. Volume 1005
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Achievement Tests,Test Results,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,Comparative Analysis,White Students,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,Economically Disadvantaged,English Language Learners,Disabilities,School Demography,Public Schools

When one compares summary FCAT data from the Miami-Dade district to other major districts in the State, it appears that student performance in Miami-Dade district is generally lower. However, overall summary data can be deceiving. Part of the reason is that the subgroups that make up each district have distinctly different success rates. One can get a clear picture of this by comparing the subgroup performances over the whole State. The subgroups reported on in this paper are those readily available from the NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress Report. The phenomenon investigated here is relevant for the subgroups identified, but also for other unmeasured or, as yet, unidentified subgroups. More importantly, the differential representation of subgroups with unique educational requirements can have wide-ranging effects throughout the district. Districts with high proportions of particularly challenging subpopulations are forced to redirect their limited educational assets to meet these demands. The assessment of effectiveness and distribution of resources across districts should reflect these differences.
Time to English Reading Proficiency. Research Brief. RB 1201
Author: Shneyderman, Aleksandr
Date: 2012-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Achievement,English (Second Language),Reading Skills,Limited English Speaking,Language Proficiency,Age Differences,High School Students,Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Middle School Students,Time Factors (Learning)

The time it takes for an English Language Learner (ELL) to reach reading proficiency in English depends on the grade level of entry into the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program and on the student's initial English proficiency level. The summary table below presents the average years to English proficiency across different grade levels for students entering the ESOL program at beginning Level 1 versus the more advanced Levels 2-4. For the majority of students who enter as ELLs in 9th grade or higher, the time in high school is not sufficient to reach reading proficiency in English. For no student group defined by the initial grade and ESOL level combination is one year of learning adequate to reach levels of English proficiency sufficient for students' FCAT results to be interpreted as valid indicators of what students know and are able to do in the content areas of reading and mathematics. In fact, students who enter the ESOL program at the lowest level of English proficiency in grade 3 or later (the majority of students) do not reach levels of FCAT reading achievement comparable to those of non-ELL students even after four academic years of learning English. Thus, the inclusion of the FCAT results of ELL students into the state accountability system after only one year of English learning puts the schools and school districts with large numbers of ELL students at a distinct disadvantage. (Contains 1 table.)
Enrollment Projections for Presentation &amp; Discussion: 2010-11 Pupil Population Estimating Conference. Research Brief. Volume 0901
Author: Blazer, Christie
Date: 2009-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Enrollment,Enrollment Projections,Enrollment Trends,Trend Analysis,Comparative Analysis

The 2010-11 projected enrollment offered by Research Services represents a small increase in student enrollment. The District's student enrollment is projected to be 341,324 in 2010-11, an increase of 0.3 percent (1,077 students) from 2009-10. A slight increase in the District's 2009-10 student enrollment reversed a seven year decline. (Contains 3 figures and 5 tables.)
Dropout and Graduation Rates 2008-2009. Research Brief. Volume 0902
Author: Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Research Services
Date: 2010-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Dropouts,Graduation,Dropout Rate,Graduation Rate,Longitudinal Studies,High School Students,Public Schools,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Racial Differences,Ethnicity,African American Students,White Students,Hispanic American Students,Disabilities,Special Education,Academically Gifted,Limited English Speaking

The District conducts a &quot;cross-sectional&quot; analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A &quot;longitudinal&quot; analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method addresses a different aspect of how many students are dropping out of school. This research brief provides information on the cross-sectional and longitudinal dropout rates and longitudinal graduation rates for 2008-2009. (Contains 7 tables.) [For the 2007-2008 edition of this report, see ED536596.]
Performance Flags: Using Local Norms to Highlight Needy Students and Exceptional Teachers. Research Brief. Volume 0803
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2009-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Achievement Tests,Academic Achievement,High Achievement,Local Norms,Students,Public Schools,Public School Teachers,Identification

References to FCAT results dominate the appraisal of students, schools, and districts. Yet, with all these reports of scores and grades it is not easy to spot extraordinary performance. It is the purpose of this paper to introduce Performance Flags--a new look to FCAT statistics that can help Miami-Dade district in the simple and speedy detection of exceptional achievement at a school, grade, or classroom level. These Performance Flags, an outgrowth of Local Norms, are color-coded to readily differentiate the extraordinary from the ordinary. They are founded on comparisons within the school district and display both absolute and relative standing among students, classrooms, and schools. They can be applied at various levels, compared easily to discover trends, and can hopefully contribute substantively to program evaluation, policy making and improvement planning.
Single-Scorer School Grading Formula. Research Brief. Volume 1001
Author: Froman, Terry
Date: 2010-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Effectiveness,Grading,Measurement Techniques,Computation,Mathematical Formulas,Writing Tests,Achievement Tests,Scoring

Due to budgetary concerns, the FDOE restructured the Writing portion of the FCAT assessment program for 2010. Among the changes was a difference in how the writing essays were scored. In the past, two people independently judged each essay and each assigned a score from 1 to 6. In the event of a disagreement between judges, the average of the scores was assigned. Thus, &quot;half-value&quot; final scores like 2.5 and 3.5 were possible results. When it came to grading schools, the convention was to have the percent of students scoring 3.5 or higher constitute the writing component of the overall point total. However, in 2010 only a single judge would score each essay. Scores between integer values (2.5, 3.5, etc.) would no longer be possible. Since a score of 3.5 could not occur, it would not be possible to summarize a school's performance in an equivalent manner comparable to the &quot;percent scoring 3.5 or higher&quot; standard of the past. To keep the school summary scores as alike in meaning as possible, some accommodation to the school grading methodology would have to be introduced. Since a numerical school summary defined by the &quot;percent scoring 3.5 or higher&quot; would not be strictly possible, the initial solution considered was to simply substitute the average of the &quot;percent scoring 4 or higher&quot; and the &quot;percent scoring 3 or higher.&quot; On the surface, this seems to make sense; after all, the average of 3 and 4 is 3.5. However, while this proposal superficially seems straightforward and fair, there is a subtle source of systematic bias hidden in that kind of computation. The purpose of this paper is to explain the nature of the calculation error and suggest an alternative procedure that would provide a more accurate estimate consistent with the &quot;3.5 or higher&quot; traditional approach.