ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Meaning in the Method: Pretesting Methods for a Diverse Population. Issue Brief. Number 3
Author: Sprachman, Susan
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Focus Groups,Interviews,Emotional Development,Urban Areas,Young Children,Cognitive Processes,Social Behavior,Social Development,Evaluation Methods,Child Behavior,Cultural Differences,Student Diversity,Parent Attitudes,Interpersonal Competence,Behavior Problems,Child Development,Hispanic Americans,African Americans,Asian Americans,Cambodians,Filipino Americans,Chinese Americans,English,Spanish,Language Usage,Language Skills

A child's ability to develop relationships and connections with others, a sense of who he or she is in the world, and an ability to control impulses and emotions are at the core of social-emotional development. In early childhood, parent reports are one of the most common methods for assessing this type of development. However, parents from different cultural and language backgrounds may vary in their: (1) perceptions of the importance of different social-emotional indicators; (2) willingness to discuss particular behaviors; and (3) ability to understand certain words and phrases. This brief presents findings from the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study, which examined a diverse group of Los Angeles preschoolers. The study integrated three strategies--card sorts, focus groups, and cognitive interviewing--to look at how children's social-emotional behavior could be reliably and validly assessed through parent reports. Rather than identify one piloting strategy as more valid, the authors stress the importance of examining measures developed by and for clinicians and the implications of using these measures with diverse populations. (Contains 3 figures.) [This report was based from &quot;Los Angeles Universal Preschool Programs, Children Served, and Children's Progress in the Preschool Year: Final Report of the First 5 LA Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study&quot; by John Love, Sally Atkins-Burnett, Cheri Vogel, Nikki Aikens, Yange Xue, Maricar Mabutas, Barbara Lepidus Carlson, Emily Sama Martin, Nora Paxton, Margaret Caspe, Susan Sprachman, and Kathy Sonnenfeld.]
School Accountability and Teacher Mobility. Working Paper 47
Author: Feng, Li
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Student Improvement,Grading,Educational Change,Faculty Mobility,Accountability,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Persistence,Incentives,Teaching Methods,Academic Achievement

Struggling schools that come under increased accountability pressure face a number of challenges, changing instructional policies and practices to facilitate student improvement. But what effect does school accountability have on teachers' mobility decisions? This study is the first to exploit policy variation within the same state to examine the effects of school accountability on teacher job changes. Using student-level data from Florida State the authors measure the degree to which schools and teachers were &quot;surprised&quot; by the change in the school grading system that took hold in the summer of 2002--what they refer to as an &quot;accountability shock&quot;--by observing the mobility decisions of teachers in the years before and after the school grading change. Several key findings emerge: (1) over half of all schools in the state experience an accountability &quot;shock&quot; due to this grading change; (2) teachers are more likely to leave schools facing increased accountability pressure--and even more likely to leave schools that face the highest accountability pressure (schools shocked downward to a grade of &quot;F&quot;)--and they are less likely to leave schools facing decreased accountability pressure; (3) While the quality differential between stayers and leavers does not change as a result of increased accountability pressure, schools facing increased pressure experience an increase in the quality of teachers who leave or stay and schools with no accountability shock experience no significant change to the quality of teachers that leave or stay. The results suggest if these schools were able to retain more of their high-quality teachers, perhaps through increased incentives to remain in the school, the performance gains associated with school accountability pressure could be greater than those already observed. (Contains 9 tables, 1 figure and 16 footnotes.)
Constrained Job Matching: Does Teacher Job Search Harm Disadvantaged Urban Schools? Working Paper 42
Author: Hanushek, Eric A.
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Urban Schools,Low Income,Teacher Persistence,Disadvantaged Youth,Academic Achievement,Faculty Mobility,Public School Teachers,Teacher Salaries,Educational Policy,Educational Quality,Teacher Effectiveness,Measurement,Productivity

Search theory suggests that early career job changes on balance lead to better matches that benefit both workers and firms, but this may not hold true in teacher labor markets characterized by salary rigidities, barriers to entry, and substantial differences in working conditions that are difficult for institutions to alter. Education policy makers are particularly concerned that teacher turnover may have adverse effects on the quality of instruction in schools serving predominantly disadvantaged children. Although these schools experience higher turnover, on average, than other schools, the impact on the quality of instruction depends on whether more productive teachers are more likely to depart. In Texas, the availability of matched panel data of students and teachers enables the isolation of teachers' contributions to achievement despite the intricacies of the choices of families, teachers, and administrators. Teachers who remain in their school tend to outperform those who leave, particularly those who exit Texas public schools entirely. This gap is larger for schools serving mainly low income students--evidence that high turnover is not nearly as damaging as many suggest. Correspondence Between Assignment into Sorted and Not-sorted Categories by Test Statistic is appended. (Contains 13 tables, 2 figures and 25 footnotes.)
Competitive Effects of Means-Tested School Vouchers. Working Paper 46
Author: Figlio, David N.
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Public Schools,Private Schools,Tax Credits,Eligibility,School Choice,Outcomes of Education,Competition,Scholarships,Educational Vouchers,Low Income Groups,Achievement Gains,Access to Education,Scores,Achievement Tests,Urban Schools,Metropolitan Areas,Educational Quality,Racial Differences

Voucher options like tuition tax credit-funded scholarship programs have become increasingly popular in recent years. One argument for such school choice policies is that public schools will improve the quality of education they offer when faced with competition for their students. This study examines the effects of private school competition on public school students' test scores in the wake of Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program (now the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program) which offered scholarships to eligible low-income students to attend private schools. The authors examine whether students in public schools that were exposed to a more competitive private school landscape saw greater improvements in their students' test scores after the introduction of the scholarship program, than did students in schools that faced less competition. The degree of competition is characterized by several geo-coded variables that capture students' ease of access to private schools, and the variety of nearby private school options available to students. Findings show greater degrees of competition are associated with greater improvements in students' test scores following the introduction of the program. The findings are not an artifact of pre-policy trends; the degree of competition from nearby private schools matters only after the announcement of the new program, which makes nearby private competitors more affordable for eligible students. Also, schools that we would expect to be most sensitive to competitive pressure see larger improvements in their test scores as a result of increased competition. The findings suggest that means-tested voucher and scholarship programs may be an effective way of improving educational outcomes for low-income students. (Contains 8 tables, 14 figures and 18 footnotes.)
New Estimates of Design Parameters for Clustered Randomization Studies: Findings from North Carolina and Florida. Working Paper 43
Author: Xu, Zeyu
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Test Format,Reading Tests,Norm Referenced Tests,Research Design,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Mathematics Tests,Elementary Schools,Secondary Schools,Statistical Analysis,Statistical Bias,School Statistics,Evaluation Research,Evaluation Problems,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Research Methodology,Longitudinal Studies,Academic Achievement,Educational Testing,Achievement Tests,Criterion Referenced Tests

The gold standard in making causal inference on program effects is a randomized trial. Most randomization designs in education randomize classrooms or schools rather than individual students. Such &quot;clustered randomization&quot; designs have one principal drawback: They tend to have limited statistical power or precision. This study aims to provide empirical information needed to design adequately powered studies that randomize schools using data from Florida and North Carolina. The authors assess how different covariates contribute to improving the statistical power of a randomization design and examine differences between math and reading tests; differences between test types (curriculum-referenced tests versus norm-referenced tests); and differences between elementary school and secondary school, to see if the test subject, test type, or grade level makes a large difference in the crucial design parameters. Finally they assess bias in 2-level models that ignore the clustering of students in classrooms. (Contains 5 figures, 46 tables and 2 footnotes.)
Who Helps Public Schools? Public Education Support Organizations in 2010
Author: de Leon, Erwin
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Public Education,Nonprofit Organizations,Partnerships in Education,Alumni Associations,Fund Raising,School Funds,Urban Education,Disadvantaged,Financial Support,Parent School Relationship,Organizational Objectives,Educational Improvement,Enrichment,Elementary Secondary Education

There are more than 19,000 nonprofit organizations devoted to supporting public education in the United States. These organizations include booster clubs, parent-teacher groups, public education funds, scholarship funds, high school alumni associations, and others. This report assesses the current status of education support organizations; provides details on the activities, capacities, and resources of public education funds; and compares Public Education Network member organizations with other types of education funds. On the basis of a survey of public education funds and an analysis of the latest data available from the National Center for Charitable Statistics, the report identifies key similarities and differences among the groups. The methodology, definition of regions, and survey questionnaire are appended to this report. (Contains 13 tables, 13 figures, and 9 footnotes.)
Residential Instability and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Education Program: What We Know, Plus Gaps in Research
Author: Cunningham, Mary
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Homeless People,Disadvantaged Youth,Physical Health,Federal Legislation,Identification,Enrollment,Transportation,Tutoring,Referral,Mental Health,Program Descriptions,Metropolitan Areas,Outcomes of Education,Academic Achievement,Social Services,Attendance,Behavior Problems

As homelessness increased among families and children during the 1980s and 1990s, policymakers created, and strengthened, the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. The McKinney-Vento EHCY program aims to mitigate the effects of residential instability through the identification of homeless children in schools and the provision of services, including expedited enrollment, transportation to school, tutoring, and mental and physical health referrals. The program has been in place for more than two decades, yet policymakers know little about how schools identify homeless children, the specific services that individual children receive, and how these relate to academic outcomes. In August 2009, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Urban Institute completed a study that looked at the McKinney-Vento EHCY program in the Washington metropolitan region. As part of this reconnaissance, the authors reviewed the literature on how residential instability affects academic outcomes among children; collected descriptive data on the extent of homelessness in the region's schools; and convened a group of homeless liaisons, state coordinators, and advocates to discuss local implementation of the program and types of data collected by program staff. This brief summarizes the literature and data collected during this reconnaissance and provides questions for future research on residential instability and the McKinney-Vento EHCY program. (Contains 1 figure and 3 notes.)
Assisting Newcomers through Employment and Support Services: An Evaluation of the New Americans Centers Demonstration Project in Arkansas and Iowa. Final Report
Author: Koralek, Robin
Date: 2010-03-25
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Economic Development,Demonstration Programs,Job Training,Career Centers,Grants,Immigrants,Program Evaluation,Program Implementation,Federal Programs,Employment Programs,Adjustment (to Environment),Employer Employee Relationship,Wages,Program Descriptions,Employment Patterns,Human Services

This report presents the final results for the evaluation of the New Americans Centers (NACs) demonstration project in Arkansas and Iowa. It focuses on program operations and plans for program sustainability, while highlighting services provided through the demonstration projects in Arkansas and Iowa. It also documents outcomes for New Iowan Centers participants based on analysis of service data and wage records. The NACs demonstration was a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Through the project, ETA provided both Arkansas and Iowa three-year, $850,000 grants to develop NACs within 11 One-Stop Career Centers in high immigrant population areas. The NACs were implemented as a significant part of Arkansas' and Iowa's efforts to help immigrants and other newcomers integrate into these states' economies and communities. The grants were intended to: 1) promote stability and rapid employment with living wages for immigrants and/or newcomers or their family members that were without work or that needed new work; 2) speed the transition of new immigrants into their communities; 3) assist employers with employee/employer relational issues and/or adjustment and assimilation of employees; and 4) enhance the economic development opportunities of these communities. How well the NACs achieved these goals is addressed in the body of this report. Appended are: (1) New Americans Centers Site Summaries; (2) Type and Number of Services Received by New Americans Centers Participants, Employers, and the Community; (3) Demographic and Service Receipt Data for New Americans Centers Participants; (4) Combinations of Services and Pathways of Service Receipt for New Iowan Centers Participants; (5) New Iowan Centers Participant Employment and Earnings Regression Coefficients. (Contains 15 figures, 49 tables and 43 footnotes.) [This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.]
Student Mobility in Rural and Nonrural Districts in Five Central Region States. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2010-No. 089
Author: Beesley, Andrea
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Student Mobility,Municipalities,Suburbs,Rural Areas,American Indian Reservations,Low Income Groups,Comparative Analysis,Rural Urban Differences,Public Schools

This report describes the extent and distribution of student mobility in five Central Region states. The study, which calculated student mobility percentages in each state and compared percentages by locale (city, suburb, town, and rural locale, and degree of rurality) within each state, found no consistent patterns across locales. Research suggests that highly mobile students (students who enter and leave school other than at the beginning or end of the school year) are less successful academically, drop out of school at higher rates, and require more frequent disciplinary action. The report also describes districts in each state with extremely high student mobility, defined as greater than 2 standard deviations above the state mean. Student mobility data are displayed in state maps based on each state's formula for calculating the student mobility percentage. Tables show the level of student mobility by locale from city to rural areas and by degree of rurality (fringe of city and distant and remote rural areas). Three appendixes are included: (1) Data collection and analysis; (2) Mobility percentages by district for the five Central Region states; and (3) National Center for Education Statistics locale codes and definitions. (Contains 5 notes, 2 boxes, 5 maps, and 21 tables.) [This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) by Regional Educational Laboratory Central administered by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.]
Roles and Responsibilities of Faculty Academic Chairs: An Academic Senate Perspective
Author: Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
Date: 2004-00-00
Type: Opinion Papers
Subjects: Community Colleges,College Governing Councils,Department Heads,Governance,Instructional Leadership,Teacher Role,Administrator Role,Administrator Responsibility,Teacher Responsibility,College Faculty,College Administration

This position paper of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges begins by examining the philosophy behind different structures in an academic institution. This discussion leads to a discussion of the roles and responsibilities of &quot;chairs&quot; within that structure and how they might be fulfilled by department chairs, division chairs or deans. The paper concludes that institutional success can only come from widespread discussion and agreement on such philosophy and structure prior to implementation or change. The paper also describes the many advantages to the institution and its successful leadership that result from the use of faculty members in such chair positions. The paper ends with recommendations to local academic senates regarding the impact of such structural discussions on academic and professional matters and on faculty leadership and participation in governance. (Contains 10 footnotes.)
Ensuring the Appropriate Use of Educational Technology: An Update for Local Academic Senates
Author: Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
Date: 2008-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Educational Needs,Distance Education,Governance,Educational Technology,College Governing Councils,Curriculum Development,Teacher Student Relationship,Instructional Effectiveness,Student Needs,Faculty Development,Technology Uses in Education,Community Colleges,State Legislation,Faculty Workload,Higher Education

This position paper of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) examines issues of educational technology that involve policy and implementation matters important to local academic senates. In particular it includes current information regarding separate curriculum review and instructor-student contact. In general, this paper summarizes and updates three earlier ASCCC papers on technology in education. It suggests a variety of effective practices in educational technology and considers appropriate college governance structures that will facilitate planning. A suitable structure will result in decisions that are based on the educational needs of the student rather than the technological convenience of the college. Many of the effective practices require related professional development activities. Recommendations to local academic senates are included. Appended are: (1) Title 5 Language on Distance Education; (2) Title 5 Language on Apportionment for Distance Education; and (3) New Title 5 Language on Apportionment for Distance Education. A bibliography is also included. (Contains 3 footnotes.)
Empowering Local Senates: Roles and Responsibilities of and Strategies for an Effective Senate
Author: Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
Date: 2002-00-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Advisory Committees,Parliamentary Procedures,Faculty Organizations,College Governing Councils,Technical Assistance,Presidents,Empowerment,Power Structure,Governance,Teacher Responsibility,Teacher Role,College Faculty,College Administration,Unions,Models,Community Colleges,State Legislation

This handbook is compiled as a resource for senate presidents. In this handbook, they will find information intended to supplement the wealth of data contained on the Website for the Academic Senate of California. Contained on the pages of this handbook, a senate president will find information about the legislation and regulations that affect academic senates (Part I); his unique responsibilities as a senate president (Part II); as well as suggestions for ensuring that his faculty can be most effective in meeting their academic and professional responsibilities (Part III). The appendices contain samples of materials one may duplicate or download and modify as needed. Appended are: (1) Sample Policy for Delegation of Authority; (2) Sample Governance Consultation Forms; (3) Sample Local Senate/Union Agreement; (4) Reports and Documents Calling for Local Senate President's Signature and/or Senate Approval, Review or Vigilance; (5) Sample Models of Governance; (6) Sample Goal Statements; (7) Sample Year-End Reports; (8) Some Relevant Portions of Law Appendix; (9) Sample Agenda; (10) Additional Information: Parliamentary Procedures; (11) Academic Senate Resolution Process; (12) Sample Resolution Form; (13) Sample Summary of Local Senate Resolutions; (14) Technical Assistance; (15) AAUP/Academic Senate Agreement; (16) Consultation Process; (17) Academic Senate Area Divisions (18) Senate Delegate Roles and Responsibilities; (19) Academic Senate Committees/Chancellor's Office Committees, Task Forces &amp; Advisory Committees; and (20) Nomination/Application to Serve Form. (Contains 1 footnote.) [For the 2002 edition, &quot;Empowering Local Senates: Roles and Responsibilities of and Strategies for an Effective Senate&quot;, see ED467173.]