ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Great Expectations, Mixed Results: Standards and Performance in Denver's New Public Schools, 2007-2011
Author: Ooms, Alexander
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Academic Standards,State Standards,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators,Public Schools,Metropolitan Areas,School Restructuring,Progress Monitoring,Academic Achievement,Achievement Gains,School Effectiveness,Performance Based Assessment,Comparative Analysis,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Achievement Rating,Charter Schools,School Demography,Educational Development

In conjunction with the Denver Plan instituted in 2005, Denver Public Schools (DPS) has embarked upon a consistent strategy of opening new schools in an effort to improve overall academic performance. DPS has pursued this strategy under several different paths: an annual request for proposals from charter school applicants; allowing current schools to pursue innovation status under Colorado's 2008 Innovation Schools Act; and the redesign--usually including significant changes to both personnel and curricula--of chronically underperforming schools. This approach--a mix of new charter, innovation, and redesign schools--has been part of a gradual district shift from a centralized administration with operational control of all schools, to district oversight of different types of schools with a variety of both governance models and autonomy. Thirty-six new schools have been initiated in Denver in the past five years and have academic growth data for their students, but these schools have been compared differently, under varying criteria and against disparate data sets, with little strategic attention or acknowledgement of which programs or school types are improving, which are seeing the substantial increases in performance, and which are falling short. The author believes it is time to begin to disaggregate and untangle this mix of new schools and both establish and report on new school performance. For this paper, the author measures the academic growth of every newly created school in Denver that commenced operations between 2007 and 2011 by examining their median growth percentile (MGP). Median growth percentiles, calculated by the Colorado Department of Education, measure the annual academic progress of student cohorts on the CSAP test and are, in the author's belief and despite their limitations, the best available measure of student academic growth across different schools and different years. This paper examines the academic performance of these new schools both as a group and segregated by school type (charter, innovation and redesign). The data in this analysis is based on a small sample over a limited period of time and is neither conclusive nor definitive. The author hopes that this analysis will be only the first of multiple efforts that help delineate the performance of Denver's new schools. Appended are: (1) Individual school profiles; (2) Methodology; (3) List of DPS New Schools 2007-2011; and (4) List of schools and median growth percentile. (Contains 13 footnotes.
True North: Goals for Denver Public Schools
Author: Donnell-Kay Foundation
Date: 2012-05-22
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Public Schools,Educational Objectives,Educational Policy,Educational Planning,Educational Indicators,Academic Achievement,Outcomes of Education,Educational Principles,Access to Education,Educational Quality,Language Proficiency,Long Range Planning,Strategic Planning,Benchmarking,Progress Monitoring,Educational Opportunities,School Location,Geographic Location,Demography,Achievement Gains,Elementary Secondary Education

Many metrics along K-12 education may serve as indicators of potential success, but they are not goals. Students must leave the public school system at least proficient enough to face the tasks ahead. At the moment when students depart the K-12 system to enter college or career, it matters neither how proficient they were years before, nor the pace at which they have risen. Simply put: exit-level proficiency should be the primary goal of any public school system. The most recent version of The Denver Plan--the primary strategic document for the district--lists five major goals and multiple supporting indicators. However, too few of these goals (and the accompanying metrics) either focus on or prioritize academic achievement. DPS can often meet the objectives in the Denver Plan regardless of a corresponding rise or decline in student academic outcomes. The current goals of the Denver Plan lack rigor, structure, and consistency. In place of these goals, this paper urges a renewed focus on two fundamental principles that are critical to Denver Public Schools: (1) Achievement: students must attain annual academic growth so that they possess a sufficient level of proficiency upon leaving the district; and (2) Access: students must have equal opportunity to attend quality schools regardless of their grade level, demographics, and location. Achievement and access form an axis on which the district can accomplish its central purpose of exit-level proficiency for all students. This paper proposes three simple long-term goals for DPS. In support of those three goals, this paper provides additional context, historical benchmarks, and eight indicators to gauge annual progress. Appended are: (1) An Assessment of the Goals in the Denver Plan; and (2) Largest 35 Colorado Districts and Student Growth Scores, 2011. (Contains 4 footnotes.)
The Nation's Report Card: Writing 2011. National Assessment of Educational Progress at Grades 8 and 12. NCES 2012-470
Author: National Center for Education Statistics (ED)
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: National Competency Tests,Writing Tests,Grade 8,Grade 12,Writing Achievement,Computer Assisted Testing,Racial Differences,Gender Differences,School Location,Word Processing,Public Schools,Private Schools,Economically Disadvantaged,Low Income Groups,Time on Task,Computer Uses in Education,Writing Attitudes,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,Writing Evaluation,Evaluation Criteria,Elementary School Students,Junior High School Students,Middle School Students,High School Students,Secondary School Students

This report presents results of the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in writing at grades 8 and 12. In this new national writing assessment sample, 24,100 eighth-graders and 28,100 twelfth-graders engaged with writing tasks and composed their responses on computer. The assessment tasks reflected writing situations common to both academic and workplace settings and asked students to write for several purposes and communicate to different audiences. The results of the 2011 writing assessment offer a new opportunity to understand the ability of eighth- and twelfth-grade students to make effective choices in their writing and allow for insight into the role and impact of technology on writing education and performance. Twenty-four percent of students at both grades 8 and 12 performed at the &quot;Proficient&quot; level in writing in 2011. The NAEP &quot;Proficient&quot; level represents solid academic performance for each grade assessed. Students performing at this level have clearly demonstrated the ability to accomplish the communicative purpose of their writing. Fifty-four percent of eighth-graders and 52 percent of twelfth-graders performed at the &quot;Basic&quot; level in writing in 2011. The &quot;Basic&quot; level denotes partial mastery of the prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade. Three percent of eighth- and twelfth-graders in 2011 performed at the &quot;Advanced&quot; level. This level represents superior performance. (Contains 32 figures and 6 tables.)
Classifying the Colleges of the Forgotten Americans: A Geographically-Based Classification of Public Master's Colleges and Universities
Author: Katsinas, Stephen G.
Date: 2011-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Classification,Community Colleges,State Colleges,Human Capital,Student Financial Aid,Public Policy,Geographic Location

At the 2009 meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education's Council on Public Policy in Higher Education, Pat Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, asserted that Master's Colleges and Universities (MCUs) are the most understudied sector of American higher education. This paper described how the 265 public MCUs, which in 2006-7 served 2.5 million students, are for the first time geographically classified in a manner consistent with the 2005 Basic Classification of Associate's Colleges published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carnegie's 2005 edition, the first to classify Associate's Colleges, created urban, suburban, and rural sub-classifications that reflect the importance of place in the assignment by states of community college service delivery areas. The proposed public MCU classification is applied using National Center for Education Statistics data on enrollments, institutions, and student financial aid. This is followed by a brief discussion on the use of this geographically-based classification of public MCUs to bring greater precision to postsecondary research, policy, and practice. (Contains 6 tables and 1 footnote.)
How Do Charter Schools Get the Teachers They Want? Issue Brief
Author: Gross, Betheny
Date: 2011-03-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Charter Schools,Teacher Selection,Teacher Competencies,Teacher Qualifications,Teacher Recruitment,Teacher Characteristics,Interpersonal Relationship,College School Cooperation,Teacher Salaries,Racial Differences,Teaching Experience,Teacher Certification,Incentives

Like all school leaders, charter school leaders want to hire talented and passionate teachers. At the same time, they know talent and passion aren't enough. As the quote above suggests, charter school leaders want to hire teachers whose talents and passions "fit their schools." An experienced teacher with strong skills and knowledge might struggle in a charter school where collaboration is the norm if she or he is used to working alone with the classroom door closed. Making these kinds of distinctions during the hiring process can be difficult. Given the importance and difficulty of finding the right teacher, how can charter schools get the teachers they want and need? This issue brief looks at that question by drawing on a recent multi-year field study of charter schools in six cities in three states conducted by researchers at the University of Washington. When it comes to finding the teachers they want and need, many of the charter schools in the study took a purposeful and careful approach to finding and identifying their teaching staff. This issue brief highlights the most promising recruitment and selection practices from these schools. (Contains 11 footnotes.)
Details from the Dashboard: Charter Schools by Geographic Region
Author: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Date: 2012-02-27
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Charter Schools,Geographic Location,Geographic Regions,Enrollment Rate,Enrollment Trends,Geographic Distribution,Statistical Distributions,Statistical Data,Urban Schools,Suburban Schools,Municipalities,Rural Schools,School Demography,School Statistics,Educational Trends

While a majority of charter schools nationwide operate in urban and suburban areas, charter schools exist in all corners of the nation, and are expanding into all types of communities. This "Details from the Dashboard" report presents statistics on the number of charter schools and students enrolled in charter schools by the four geographic regions that are defined by the National Center for Education Statistics' Common Core of Data: urban, suburban, towns and rural areas. Total Number of Schools and Students by State and Geographic Region, 2009-2010 are appended. (Contains 3 tables, 2 footnotes and 2 endnotes.)
Assess, Coordinate, Execute: How to ACE an Executive Director Search. Issue Brief
Author: Mitchell, Mollie
Date: 2011-06-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Leadership Effectiveness,Leadership Qualities,Search Committees (Personnel),Search Strategies,Charter Schools,Governing Boards,Administrative Change,Guidelines,Administrator Responsibility,Leadership Responsibility,Personnel Selection,Administrator Evaluation,Administrator Qualifications,Administrators

This issue brief presents a meaningful strategy for how charter school boards can hire top-notch, well-suited leaders for their schools. Written by Mollie Mitchell, founder and president of The K12 Search Group, this brief is a how-to guide for managing the process of bringing on a new charter school leader. As Ms. Mitchell notes, the only thing worse than having no ED, is having the wrong ED. This brief will help boards ensure they hire the right leader for their schools.
An Accident of History: Breaking the District Monopoly on Public School Facilities
Author: Smith, Nelson
Date: 2012-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Charter Schools,Educational Facilities,Traditional Schools,Public Education,Public Schools,School Districts,Grants,Educational Finance,Financial Support,Expenditure per Student,Educational Equity (Finance)

Traditional public school districts hold a monopoly over the financing and ownership of public education facilities. With rare exceptions, public charter schools have no legal claim to these buildings. This monopoly is an accident of history. It would never have developed had there been substantial numbers of other public schools, not supervised by traditional districts, when public school facilities laws were written. The district model of facilities planning is not suited to a diverse portfolio of autonomous schools with distinct programs and life-cycles that require different spaces at different times. What public charter schools currently receive in facilities aid is simply inadequate. Of the 42 jurisdictions with charter laws, only 17 provide any kind of direct facilities aid, either capital grants or per pupil funding, and just three of those provide per-pupil capital funding of more than $1,000. The status quo is costly both to public charter schools, which must use operating dollars to pay for facilities expenses, and to districts, which pay inordinate amounts to maintain vacant facilities and lose potential rental income in the process. Certain principles should guide the creation of a new system: It must serve all the children in a given community; treat all public schools as equal competitors for available space; make school performance an element in decisions about occupancy; only require payment for space if public facilities dollars are provided to schools; and free educators (in both charters and traditional schools) to focus on student achievement rather than facilities. Change must begin in the state capital by ensuring charters equitable access to both existing space and any state facilities revenue streams. Local leaders should make school facilities a municipal concern, rather than leaving it to school district officials. States and municipalities should consider at least three options for professional, third-party management of the public education facilities portfolio: real estate trusts; municipal construction authorities; and contracts with nonprofit corporations. The transition to new modes of ownership and financing will take time--but there is no excuse for inaction on facilities inequities, even within the current legal framework. (Contains 115 endnotes.)
A Mission to Serve: How Public Charter Schools Are Designed to Meet the Diverse Demands of Our Communities. Issue Brief
Author: Kern, Nora
Date: 2012-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Charter Schools,Institutional Mission,School Demography,Disadvantaged Environment,Disadvantaged Schools,Effective Schools Research,Academic Achievement,High Achievement,Community Education,Institutional Characteristics,Case Studies,Change Strategies,Educational Change

The public charter school movement has grown rapidly in the 20 years since the first public charter school opened in 1992, with over 5,600 schools now serving more than two million students. One of the most exceptional developments within the first two decades of the movement has been the rise of high performing public charter schools with missions intently focused on educating students from traditionally underserved communities. Given that the demographics of these communities are often homogenous, it is no surprise the demographics of these schools are that way as well. In fact, the student populations at these public charter schools usually mirror the populations in nearby district schools. While much media attention rightly has been given to these schools, the past decade or so also has seen a noteworthy rise in high performing public charter schools with missions intentionally designed to serve racially and economically integrated student populations. These schools are utilizing their autonomy to achieve a diverse student population through location-based strategies, recruitment efforts and enrollment processes. Perhaps most notably, a growing number of cities--and the parents and educators in them--are welcoming both types of public charter school models for their respective (and in some cases unprecedented) contributions to raising student achievement, particularly for students who have previously struggled in school. This brief showcases this development in three of these cities: Denver, Washington, D.C., and San Diego. Percentage of Students Enrolled in Illinois and Missouri, by Racial/Ethnic Group, 2010-2011 is appended. (Contains 21 endnotes.)
Beyond City Limits: Expanding Public Charter Schools in Rural America. Issue Brief
Author: Stuit, David
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Charter Schools,Rural Areas,Rural Schools,Educational Development,Enrollment Rate,Enrollment Trends,Educational Needs,Barriers,Performance Factors,Educational Planning,Educational Quality,Change Strategies,Educational Change,Institutional Characteristics,Statistical Data,School Expansion

Rural students comprise a vital segment of the American public education system. Presently, one in four public school enrollees--over 11 million children--attend rural schools in the U.S. Rural enrollment is trending upward at a faster rate than other locales. From 2006 to 2009, enrollment in rural public schools increased by almost one million students, marking an 8 percent rise, while enrollment trends in urban and suburban schools were flat. This issue brief explores how public charter schools can meet the educational needs of rural communities. In the following sections the authors describe the common challenges faced in rural public education, depict the current landscape of rural charter schools, and discuss some key hurdles that must be overcome in order to launch a successful rural charter school. Additionally, they highlight some innovative approaches that charter schools have used to achieve success in rural communities and offer policy recommendations for achieving charter school quality and scale in rural communities. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 50 sources.)
Details from the Dashboard: Charter School Race/Ethnicity Demographics
Author: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: School Demography,Ethnicity,Charter Schools,Race,Public Schools,School Districts,Enrollment Trends,State Surveys,Institutional Characteristics,Statistical Data,School Statistics,Enrollment Rate,Racial Composition

This "Details from the Dashboard" report examines race/ethnicity breakouts for public charter schools and traditional public schools at the state and the school district level. The data in this report indicate that in the large majority of states, the race/ethnicity student demographics of charter schools are almost identical to those of the surrounding school district. Race/Ethnicity Percentages by Charter Public Schools and Traditional Public Schools, State and School Districts with Largest Charter Student Enrollment, 2010-2011 are appended. (Contains 2 tables and 7 endnotes.)
Free to Lead: Autonomy in Highly Successful Charter Schools. Issue Brief
Author: Ableidinger, Joe
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Charter Schools,Institutional Autonomy,Success,Leadership Effectiveness,Leadership Styles,Interviews,Effective Schools Research,Institutional Characteristics,School Based Management,School Administration,Performance Factors,High Achievement

Autonomy is a key component of the charter school concept. By allowing charter schools to have autonomy over decisions concerning finance, personnel, scheduling, curriculum and instruction, states have enabled many of these schools to produce stellar results for their students. This issue brief explores autonomy at five excellent charter schools across the country. When interviewed, all five school leaders identified ways autonomy has enhanced their ability, and the ability of their teachers, to achieve high levels of student performance.
Digital Faculty: Professors, Teaching and Technology, 2012
Author: Allen, I. Elaine
Date: 2012-08-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Higher Education,Surveys,Rewards,College Faculty,College Administration,Administrator Attitudes,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Faculty Workload,Criteria,Tenure,Promotion (Occupational),Electronic Publishing,Textbooks,Teacher Developed Materials

This study reports the results of two related, but separate, surveys. The first is a nationally representative sample of higher education faculty members who are teaching at least one course during the current academic year. A total of 4,564 faculty responded to the survey, representing the full range of higher education institutions (two-year, four-year, all Carnegie classifications, and public, private nonprofit, and for-profit) and the complete range of faculty (full- and part-time, tenured or not, and all disciplines). Three-quarters of the respondents report that they are full-time faculty members. Just over one-quarter teach online, they are evenly split between male and female, and over one-third have been teaching for 20 years or more. A second outreach effort focused on academic administrators--in particular those responsible for academic technology at their institutions. These administrators were asked many of the same questions directed to the faculty, to enable a comparison of how they match (or differ from) the views of the instructors they support. There are a wide variety of titles among those invited to participate--the most common being "Director of Academic Computing" and "Director of Instructional Technology." A total of 591 administrators provided a sufficient number of responses to be included in the study. The respondents include slightly more men than women, with about one-quarter having been in their current position for 20 years or more. The study focuses on what aspects of digital life faculty members are embracing and which they do not use or do not like. The study is primarily concerned with the faculty perspective, and uses results from the administrators to show where the two groups are either in agreement or diverge in their views. Appended are: (1) Chart Data; and (2) Characteristics of the Sample. [This paper, a joint project with "Inside Higher Ed," was written with Doug Lederman and Scott Jaschik. Financial support for this project was provided by CourseSmart, Deltak, Pearson, and Sonic Foundry.]