ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Premature Celebrations: The Persistence of Inter-District Funding Disparities
Author: Baker, Bruce D.
Date: 2010-04-20
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Finance,School Districts,Resource Allocation,Educational Equity (Finance),Public Schools,State School District Relationship,Financial Policy

Two interlocking claims are being increasingly made around school finance: that states have largely met their obligations to resolve disparities between local public school districts and that the bulk of remaining disparities are those that persist within school districts. These local decisions are described as irrational and unfair school district practices in the allocation of resources between individual schools. In this article, we accept the basic contention of within district inequities. But we offer a critique of the empirical basis for the claims that within district gaps are the dominant form of persistent disparities in school finance, finding instead that claims to this effect are largely based on one or a handful of deeply flawed analyses. Next, we present an empirical analysis, using national data, of 16-year trends (1990 to 2005)and recent patterns (2005 to 2007) of between-district disparities, finding that state efforts to resolve between-district disparities are generally incomplete and inadequate and that in some states between-district disparities have actually increased over time. (Contains 26 footnotes, 1 table, and 7 figures.)
Beyond Free Lunch: Which Family Background Measures Matter?
Author: Lubienski, Sarah Theule
Date: 2010-05-25
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Family Characteristics,Socioeconomic Status,Social Class,Predictor Variables,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Elementary School Students,Student Characteristics,Child Care,Parent Participation,Child Health,Expectation,Achievement Gains,African Americans,Asian Americans,Hispanic Americans

Most studies of school achievement use free-lunch eligibility or other basic indicators to adjust for differences in students' socioeconomic backgrounds. This study determines whether these variables are enough to separate the confounding effects of students' backgrounds from the main variables of interest in education studies. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study dataset from the kindergarten class cohort of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) provides an unusually vast array of information regarding children's home resources and experiences. This plethora of parent-reported data raises questions about which variables researchers should include in their analyses, and it provides an extraordinary opportunity to examine this question. Using a split-sample design, stepwise regression, and multi-level modeling, this study systematically examines over 200 ECLS-K student background variables to determine which factors predict reading and mathematics achievement after typical SES controls are employed. The study identifies several variables that are important supplements to traditional SES measures, including the number of children in the household, mother's age at first birth, and children's books at home. Results indicate the extent to which &quot;value added&quot; studies can be flawed when using only basic demographic variables. The findings hold implications for data collection and accountability efforts, including NCLB, teacher evaluation plans, and the design of state longitudinal data systems. (Contains 17 footnotes and 12 tables.)
Mathematics Reform and Teacher Quality in Elementary Grades: Assessments, Teacher Licensure, and Certification
Author: Georges, Annie
Date: 2010-06-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Grades (Scholastic),Academic Standards,Educational Change,Teacher Competencies,Teaching Methods,State Standards,Teacher Certification,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Educational Assessment,Accountability,Educational Policy,Mathematics Skills,Mathematics Instruction,Elementary School Mathematics,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis

We analyzed the gap in mathematics standards, assessments and accountability, and teacher licensure and certification requirements in mathematics for elementary grades. We found states delineated mathematics academic standards in specific content areas. Licensure and certification requirements were weak indicators since they lacked the specificity of conceptual and procedural knowledge that could strengthen mathematics content knowledge and inform instructional practices. The most recent changes in licensure and certification requirements intended to affect teacher quality are not reaching a large proportion of elementary teachers; thus, their overall impact on teacher quality is likely to be limited. We discuss policy strategies for licensure and certification requirements likely to have a broader reach in addressing teacher quality at the elementary grades. (Contains 8 footnotes, 6 tables, and 5 figures.)
Cheating in the First, Second, and Third Degree: Educators' Responses to High-Stakes Testing
Author: Amrein-Beardsley, Audrey
Date: 2010-06-30
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cheating,Federal Legislation,Focus Groups,Testing,High Stakes Tests,Teacher Attitudes,Teachers,Educational Policy,Test Validity,Teacher Surveys,Interviews,Educational Legislation,Accountability,Elementary Secondary Education

Educators are under tremendous pressure to ensure that their students perform well on tests. Unfortunately, this pressure has caused some educators to cheat. The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of, and degrees to which, a sample of teachers in Arizona were aware of, or had themselves engaged in test-related cheating practices as a function of the high-stakes testing policies of No Child Left Behind. A near census sample of teachers was surveyed, with valid responses obtained from about 5 percent, totaling just over 3,000 teachers. In addition, one small convenience sample of teachers was interviewed, and another participated in a focus group. Data revealed that cheating occurs and that educators can be quite clever when doing so. But how one defines cheating makes it difficult to quantify the frequency with which educators engage in such practices. Our analysis thus required us to think about a taxonomy of cheating based on the definitions of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree offenses in the field of law. These categories were analyzed to help educators better define, and be more aware of others' and their own cheating practices, in an attempt to inform local testing policies and procedures. (Contains 1 figure.)
Understanding Agenda Setting in State Educational Policy: An Application of Kingdon's Multiple Streams Model to the Formation of State Reading Policy
Author: Young, Tamara V.
Date: 2010-07-10
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Policy,Policy Formation,Models,Reading,State Officials,Role,Politics of Education,State Government

Drawing on interview data from reading policy actors in California, Michigan, and Texas, this study applied Kingdon's (1984, 1995) multiple streams model to explain how the issue of reading became prominent on the agenda of state governments during the latter half of the 1990s. A combination of factors influenced the status of a state's reading policy agenda, including feedback from parents, teachers, and business groups; student achievement data; political pressure from the state administration; regional and national interest; a pervasive belief that reading is a building block for student success; and a widespread perception that the decline in reading achievement was symbolic of the failure of public schools. In addition, governors promoted reading to high agenda prominence by influencing which issues were placed on the decision agenda (agenda setting) and which alternatives were given serious attention (alternative specification). Finally, the findings suggest that the applicability of Kingdon's national-level model to the state level may depend on both the issue being examined and the participation of the state executive branch. (Contains 2 footnotes and 1 table.)
Identity and Motivation among Hispanic English Language Learners in Disparate Educational Contexts
Author: Lopez, Francesca
Date: 2010-07-20
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Group Membership,Student Attitudes,Bilingual Education,Academic Achievement,Second Language Learning,Student Motivation,Educational Opportunities,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Acculturation,Stress Variables,Immersion Programs,Teaching Methods,Hispanic American Students,Bias,Scores,Educational Policy,School Districts

Perception of scholastic competence, perception of educational opportunities, motivation, and acculturative stress are student level variables that have been established in the relevant literature as predicting academic achievement. This study examined the degree to which those variables accurately predict student group membership in two districts (Texas and Arizona) with disparate language acquisition methods: Structured English Immersion (SEI) and Bilingual Education (BE) classrooms. The sample included 295 Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs) in middle elementary school, ages 9-11. Students' perceptions of scholastic competence, perceptions of educational opportunities, motivation, and acculturative stress contributed to predict 73.3% of the participants' group membership. Post-hoc analyses of group differences resulted in moderately higher scholastic competence and perceived educational opportunities for ELLs in the Texas district, whereas acculturative stress, perceived discrimination, and maladaptive motivation scores were moderately higher for ELLs in the Arizona district. ELLs in the SEI group, however, also had slightly higher scores on adaptive motivation. Competing hypotheses and policy implications are discussed in the context of prior research. (Contains 6 footnotes and 5 tables.)
Can School Structures Improve Teacher-Student Relationships? The Relationship between Advisory Programs, Personalization and Students' Academic Achievement
Author: McClure, Larry
Date: 2010-07-30
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Student Relationship,Academic Achievement,Student Surveys,Small Schools,Grade Point Average,Standardized Tests,Scores,Student Attitudes,School Culture,Learner Engagement

This study focused on the relationships between student-perceived levels of personalization, students' opinions about advisory period, and academic outcomes. Surveys were administered to 10,044 students over three consecutive years at 14 redesigned small schools and survey responses were linked to students' weighted single-year grade point averages and English Language Arts standardized test scores. Results of a series of multi-level models indicated that more positive perceptions of personalization were predictive of better academic outcomes. Student perceptions of the advisory period were related to academic achievement as well, but in the opposite direction: more positive feelings about advisory period were associated with worse academic outcomes. These results are consistent with qualitative work suggesting that higher levels of personalization are associated with higher levels of academic achievement, improved school culture, and more student engagement. However, these results also suggest that the relationships among advisory period, personalization and academic outcomes are not as straightforward as was previously thought. (Contains 5 tables.)
Using Assessments for Instructional Improvement: A Literature Review
Author: Young, Viki M.
Date: 2010-08-20
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Instructional Improvement,Adult Learning,Educational Change,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Instructional Leadership,Teaching Methods,Formative Evaluation,Educational Assessment,Student Evaluation,Organizational Theories,Academic Achievement

The current educational reform policy discourse takes for granted the central role of using data to improve instruction. Yet whether and how data inform instruction depends on teachers' assessment practices, the data that are relevant and useful to them, the data they typically have access to, and their content and pedagogical knowledge. Moreover, when one considers teachers' organizational contexts, it is clear that school leadership and support for using data, capacity-building strategies, and the norms of adult learning and collaboration circumscribe opportunities to examine relevant data and to improve instructional practice in response. This literature review examines teacher as well as organizational practices and characteristics as they pertain to formative uses of assessment. We identify opportunities for important research to illuminate how and under what conditions teachers and schools as organizations can use data to inform instruction. (Contains 9 footnotes.)
Do Minimum Grading Practices Lower Academic Standards and Produce Social Promotions?
Author: Carifio, James
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Locus of Control,Grade Inflation,Self Efficacy,Dropout Rate,Social Promotion,Academic Standards,Motivation,Grading,School Holding Power,Student Attitudes,History,Elementary Secondary Education,Higher Education,Student Motivation

Although schools have always struggled with student failure, retention, and attrition, the turn of the new century has produced added pressures for schools to reduce student dropout rates. In the current political and economic environment, increased costs and reduced budgets are forcing difficult choices in how best to spend limited resources. Cognizant of the secondary and affective aspects of assigned grades on student confidence, self-efficacy, and motivation, increasing numbers of schools have been experimenting with modified grading practices. Many of the strategies addressing the problem have been described in the popular press as &quot;minimum grading practices&quot; or &quot;zeros aren't permitted&quot; (ZAP) programs. Proponents argue that modified grading helps contribute positively to student motivation--primarily through maintaining a healthy locus of control within the student. Critics counter that those practices offer unfair and unearned assistance to low-performing students and contribute to overall grade inflation. This article explores minimum grading and ZAP programs in the larger context of the historical and ongoing debates concerning student retention and social promotion. The analysis will focus on the alleged social benefits such practices claim to realize and the collateral social harms they may induce.
When We Really Believe: How Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish School System Is Reconciling IDEIA with the NCLB Mandate
Author: Guilott, Maria C.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Disabilities,Special Needs Students,Educational Improvement,School Districts,Accountability,Achievement Gap,Curriculum,Data,Decision Making,Professional Development,Literacy,Inclusive Schools

The &quot;all children can learn&quot; call to action made no exceptions when it appeared on the educational landscape, and educators began to shift their thinking to ensure that students with disabilities were challenged in academic achievement. Two federal mandates, not only No Child Left Behind (NCLB 2001) but also the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA 2004), have both sought to close the achievement gap for students with disabilities. Two authorities believe that NCLB and IDEIA have &quot;drastically changed the way in which educators and the general public look at outcomes for children with special needs.&quot; With the advent of NCLB, which prominently placed students with disabilities in the accountability systems as a viable subgroup, the established, well-intentioned practices of accommodating students &quot;out of learning&quot; changed to finding ways to help those students access and succeed using the general curriculum. The sanctions for failing to attain Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in any subgroup prompted a flurry of quick fixes across the nation. This article seeks to examine how programming, district issues, curriculum, instruction, professional development, and focused interventions contribute to narrowing the achievement gap for students with disabilities, as demonstrated by improvements of one district, St. Tammany Parish Public Schools in Louisiana, on state test results meeting NCLB requirements. (Contains 3 figures and 8 tables.)
The Erosion of Academic Freedom
Author: Ledoux, Michael W.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Freedom,Accreditation (Institutions),Teacher Educators,Teaching Methods,Models,Identification,Higher Education,Teacher Education,Course Descriptions,Instructional Design

This article originated from a single question: do the restrictions that various accrediting agencies place on teacher educators limit, or entirely eliminate, academic freedom? Considering that question makes it apparent the problem is much broader than academic freedom. The issue has two foci: personal identity and the impact of market influences, and the attendant model of rationality, on education. The argument here, however, is that restricting teacher educators' academic freedom really signifies a deeper and more-systemic problem facing society today. Although academic freedom's history is elusive, the nineteenth-century introduction of the freedom to teach and learn has allowed academicians the freedom to teach what they think appropriate using whatever pedagogical methodology they prefer. The assault on academic freedom is only a symptom of a deeper and more-insidious problem in higher education in general and teacher education in particular. As teacher educators construct syllabi, they no longer act as arbiters, based on expertise and competency, of the content and methodology of their courses and programs. Instead teacher educators must meet standards imposed by the various accrediting agencies. The implication is clear: accrediting agencies can deprive institutions, faculty, and students of academic freedom by attacking the individual's self-identity.
Gender Matters in Elementary Education: Research-Based Strategies to Meet the Distinctive Learning Needs of Boys and Girls
Author: Bonomo, Virginia
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary Education,Females,Brain,Gender Differences,Physical Development,Males,Teaching Methods,Student Needs,Learning Processes,Child Development,Cognitive Development,Perceptual Development,Biology,Student Behavior,Student Characteristics

Research indicates that gender influences how children learn. Those findings do not necessarily mean that boys learn one way and girls another. Still, there are significant differences with respect to gender and how our brains develop. Researchers have found that no single area of development influences those gender differences: rather, a combination of developmental differences affects the brain, sensory motor, and physical development. In order to teach gender differences, educators need to be aware of them and have knowledge of effective gender-based teaching strategies. This article discusses the types differences, such as brain-based gender differences, sensory-perception-based differences, physical differences, and biological differences and explores how such differences are relevant to education. It offers some strategies for teaching with respect to gender differences. (Contains 3 tables.)
Evaluating the Impact of Distance Learning Support Systems on the Learning Experience of MBA Students in a Global Context
Author: Bentley, Yongmei
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Distance Education,Online Courses,Learning Experience,Evaluation,Masters Degrees,Business Administration Education,Foreign Countries,Colleges,Surveys,Questionnaires,Blended Learning,Electronic Libraries,Electronic Learning,Educational Environment,Virtual Classrooms,Research Methodology,Information Technology

This paper reports the findings from an investigation into the distance learning support systems of a UK University's overseas MBA programme. This programme is provided to several countries around the world in alliance with the overseas' local higher educational institutions (HEIs), and is delivered primarily via online courses, but also with periods of face-to-face teaching by both UK and local staff. The aim of the research was to evaluate the learning support mechanisms that are used to deliver this programme overseas, and to determine their impact on the learning experience of the MBA students. The primary research method was questionnaire surveys which were conducted over two periods: April-July 2008, and January-March 2009. The first survey showed a high level of satisfaction with the MBA programme as delivered, but also indicated areas that could see further improvement. The impacts of programme changes were examined in the second survey which revealed students' improved satisfaction with the programme after the implementation of the changes in the programme support systems. The outcomes of this research have not only helped improve the learning support systems and enhanced the quality of this particular programme, but could also help provide guidelines for other HEIs that offer, or intend to offer, blended learning courses globally. (Contains 12 tables and 2 figures.)
The VLE as a Trojan Mouse: Policy, Politics and Pragmatism
Author: Brown, Mark
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Electronic Learning,Delivery Systems,Management Systems,Distance Education,Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Virtual Classrooms,Blended Learning,Outcomes of Education,Models,Information Technology,Educational Technology

This paper argues that selecting a new Learning Management System (LMS) is a strategic decision about the future direction of your institution. However, the development of a robust methodology for the selection of a new LMS is particularly challenging given the fluidity of the e-learning environment. This is especially so when both quantitative and qualitative factors are overlaid by institutional requirements involving political considerations. Selecting the technology is only part of the process and the least problematic aspect. The real challenges are embedded in institutional culture. The paper reflects on the tactics, strategies and approval process involved in the decision to adopt Moodle to replace a proprietary system for the delivery of learning in New Zealand's largest university-level distance education provider. Critical to the process was the explication of guiding principles, pedagogical criteria and identification of institutional requirements, along with politically astute alliances and allegiances to inform and endorse the selection process. Those centrally involved in the decision process draw on their experiences and reflect on the type of questions that senior managers need to ask when considering new strategic initiatives in open and distance learning. (Contains 1 figure.)