ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Market- and Performance-Based Reforms of Teacher Compensation: A Review of Recent Practices, Policies, and Research. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-09
Author: Podgursky, Michael J.
Date: 2010-03-12
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Teacher Salaries,Quasiexperimental Design,Elementary Secondary Education,Program Effectiveness,Public Education,Educational Practices,Educational Policy,Literature Reviews,Policy Analysis,Governance,Compensation (Remuneration),Finance Reform,Academic Achievement,Trend Analysis,Salary Wage Differentials,Merit Pay,Teacher Effectiveness

This paper provides a review of recent policy initiatives to reform teacher compensation systems and evidence regarding the effect of these policies. The first section examines the current structure of teacher compensation in the U.S. K-12 public education system. The compensation "system" for teachers is fragmented and uncoordinated. Teacher compensation is largely set by salary schedules that are neither market-oriented nor performance-driven. The second section reviews pay reforms being implemented in U.S. public school districts. The third section of the paper examines the small but growing evaluation literature on compensation reform, paying particular attention to evidence from studies using experimental and quasi-experimental designs to assess the impact of the program on student achievement and teacher outcomes. A final section provides observations on prospects for future reform, and suggestions for policy research. (Contains 6 tables and 10 footnotes.)
The Impact of Incentives on Effort: Teacher Bonuses in North Carolina. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-06
Author: Ahn, Tom
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Teacher Attendance,Rewards,Accountability,Governance,Educational Policy,Incentives,Program Effectiveness,Teacher Effectiveness,Change Strategies,Finance Reform,Productivity,Work Ethic,Data Interpretation,State Surveys

Teacher effort, a critical component of education production, has been largely ignored in the literature due to measurement difficulties. Using a principal-agent model, North Carolina public school data, and the state's unique accountability system that rewards teachers for school-level academic growth, we show that we can distill effort from teacher absence data and capture its effect on student achievement in a structural framework. We find that: (1) Incentives lead teachers to try harder. The bonus program reduced the number of sick days taken by about 0.6 days for an average teacher; (2) When teachers try harder, students do better. Increased effort of teachers translates into improved student performance. Estimates show that standardized reading scores increased by about 1.3% of a standard deviation and standardized math scores by about 0.9% of a standard deviation; and (3) Group-level incentives can actually be more powerful than individual-level incentives. Policy simulations from the model estimates show that an individual bonus program would actually produce weaker incentive effects. While free-rider effects are eliminated, individual incentives push a majority of teachers into one of two categories: those who would qualify for the bonus even without trying and others would not qualify no matter how hard they worked. A bibliography is included. (Contains 3 figures and 10 footnotes.)
Citizen Perceptions of Government Service Quality: Evidence from Public Schools. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-16
Author: Chingos, Matthew M.
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Public Schools,Academic Achievement,Accountability,Educational Policy,Governance,Educational Quality,Audits (Verification),National Surveys,Delivery Systems,Political Attitudes,Regression (Statistics),Citizen Participation,Public Opinion,Least Squares Statistics,Institutional Characteristics

Conventional models of democratic accountability hinge on citizens' ability to evaluate government performance accurately, yet there is little evidence on the degree to which citizen perceptions of the quality of  government services correspond to actual service quality. Using nationally representative survey data, we find that citizens' perceptions of the quality of specific public schools reflect publicly available information about the level of student achievement in those schools. The relationship between actual and perceived school quality is two to three times stronger for parents of school-age children, who have the most contact with schools and arguably the strongest incentive to be informed. However, this relationship does not differ by homeowner status or by respondents' race, ethnicity, income, or education. A regression discontinuity analysis of an oversample of Florida residents confirms that public accountability systems can have a causal effect on citizen perceptions of service quality. The appendix section includes the following tables: (1) Relationship Between School Characteristics and Respondents' School Ratings, Marginal Effects from Ordered Probit Models; (2) Descriptive Statistics, By Whether Respondent Identified Local Elementary and Middle Schools; and (3) Relationship Between Schools' Demographic Characteristics and Respondents' Ratings, by Respondent Characteristics. (Contains 11 tables, 1 figure, and 17 footnotes.)
U.S. Math Performance in Global Perspective: How Well Does Each State Do at Producing High-Achieving Students? PEPG Report No.: 10-19
Author: Hanushek, Eric A.
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Mathematics Tests,National Competency Tests,Young Adults,Mathematics Achievement,Comparative Education,Comparative Testing,International Education,Urban Schools,Parent Background,Educational Attainment,White Students,Federal Legislation,High Achievement,Foreign Countries

To see how well U.S. schools do at producing high-achieving math students, the authors compare the percentage of U.S. public and private school students in the graduating Class of 2009 who were highly accomplished in mathematics in each of the 50 states and in 10 urban districts to percentages of high achievers in 56 other countries. Their analysis relies on test-score information from young adults collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Their findings reveal that the percentage of public and private school students in the U.S. Class of 2009 who were highly accomplished is well below that of most countries with which the U.S. generally compares itself. No less than 30 of the 56 other countries that participated in the PISA math test had a larger percentage of students who scored at the international equivalent of the advanced level. It is not only Taiwan that did dramatically better than the U.S. At least 20 percent of students in Hong Kong, Korea, and Finland were also highly accomplished. Twelve other countries had more than twice the percentage of highly accomplished students as the U.S.: In order of math excellence, they are Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, Macao, Australia, Germany, and Austria. The remaining countries that educate to a high level of accomplishment a higher proportion of their students than the U.S. are Slovenia, Denmark, Iceland, France, Estonia, Sweden, the U.K., the Slovakia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, Norway, Ireland and Lithuania. Appendices include: (1) U.S. Science and Reading Performance in Comparative Perspective; (2) Methodology for Comparing U.S. States to International Performance; and (3) Further Reflections on the Phillips Studies. (Contains 7 figures, 8 tables and 33 footnotes.) [This paper was prepared under the auspices of Education Next, the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, and the Harvard Kennedy School.]
Teacher Incentive Pay and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the NYC Bonus Program. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-07
Author: Goodman, Sarena
Date: 2010-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Teacher Salaries,Merit Pay,Class Activities,Teacher Persistence,Teacher Motivation,Program Effectiveness,Educational Policy,Incentives,Productivity,Mathematics Achievement,Reading Achievement,Teacher Qualifications,Beginning Teachers,Student Surveys,Teacher Surveys,Outcomes of Education,Evidence,Educational Assessment,Educational Indicators

Teacher compensation schemes are often criticized for lacking a performance-based component. Proponents of merit pay argue that linking teacher salaries to student achievement will incentivize teachers to focus on raising student achievement and stimulate innovation across the school system as a whole. In this paper, we utilize a policy experiment conducted in the New York City public school system to explore the effects of one performance-based bonus scheme. We investigate potential impacts of group-based incentive pay over two academic years (2007-2008 and 2008-2009) on a range of outcomes including: teacher effort, student performance in math and reading, and classroom activities, measured through environmental surveys of teachers and students. We also explore impacts on the market for teachers by examining teacher turnover and the qualifications of newly hired teachers. Overall, we find the bonus program had little impact on any of these outcomes. We argue that the lack of bonus program impacts can be explained by the structure of the bonus program. Group bonuses led to free-riding, which significantly reduced the program's incentives. Once we account for free-riding, we find evidence that the program led teachers to increase their effort through a significant reduction in absenteeism. When considering the effectiveness of performance-based teacher pay, the structure of incentives matter. (Contains 11 tables, 3 figures and 24 footnotes.)
Is Traditional Teaching Really All that Bad? A Within-Student Between-Subject Approach. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-15
Author: Schwerdt, Guido
Date: 2010-06-19
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Characteristics,Academic Achievement,Lecture Method,Instructional Effectiveness,Educational Practices,Productivity,Grade 8,Standardized Tests,Teacher Qualifications,Institutional Characteristics,Predictor Variables,Computation,Mathematical Formulas,Mathematics Achievement,Science Achievement,Schematic Studies

Recent studies conclude that teachers are important for student learning but it remains uncertain what actually determines effective teaching. This study directly peers into the black box of educational production by investigating the relationship between lecture style teaching and student achievement. Based on matched student-teacher data for the US, the estimation strategy exploits between-subject variation to control for unobserved student traits. Results indicate that traditional lecture style teaching is associated with significantly higher student achievement. No support for detrimental effects of lecture style teaching can be found even when evaluating possible selection biases due to unobservable teacher characteristics. Selection on unobservables following Altonji et al. (2005) is appended. (Contains 9 tables and 8 footnotes.)
An Analysis of Arizona Individual Income Tax-Credit Scholarship Recipients' Family Income, 2009-10 School Year. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Paper. PEPG 10-18
Author: Murray, Vicki E.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Taxes,Economically Disadvantaged,Scholarships,Family Income,Governance,Educational Policy,Tax Credits,Student Financial Aid,Eligibility,Audits (Verification),Student Records,Data Analysis,State Surveys,State Aid,Family Financial Resources

In 2009, the &quot;East Valley Tribune and the Arizona Republic&quot; alleged that Arizona's individual   income tax-credit scholarship program disproportionately serves privileged students from higher-income families over those from lower-income backgrounds. Yet neither paper collected the student-level, scholarship recipient family income data needed to verify their allegation. This analysis does by using family income and related data provided by school tuition organizations (STOs) for 19,990 individual income tax-credit scholarship recipients, representing almost 80 percent (79.4 percent) of all scholarship recipients in 2009. These student-level data show there is no factual basis for claims that the individual income tax-credit scholarship program fails to help poor and lower-income students. This analysis finds that scholarship recipients' median family income was almost $5,000 lower than the U.S. Census Bureau statewide median annual income. It was also almost $5,000 lower than the median incomes in recipients' neighborhoods, as estimated using student addresses and zip codes. More than two-thirds (66.8 percent) of scholarship recipients' family incomes would qualify them for Arizona's means-tested corporate income tax-credit scholarship program, which is limited to $75,467 for a family of four. Finally, a higher proportion of scholarship recipients come from families whose incomes qualify them as poor (at or below $20,050 for a family of four) than the U.S. Census Bureau statewide average, 12.8 percent compared to 10.2 percent. (Contains 2 tables and 19 footnotes.)
Advancing Performance Pay in the Obama Administration: The Influence of Political Strategy and Alternative Priorities. Program on Education Policy and Governance Working Papers Series. PEPG 10-04
Author: Smarick, Andrew
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Teacher Effectiveness,Incentives,Federal Programs,Teacher Motivation,Program Effectiveness,Educational Change,Federal Government,Presidents,Governance,Educational Policy,Merit Pay,Politics of Education,Recognition (Achievement),Change Strategies,Educational Improvement,Political Influences

Even the most cursory look at the current administration's approach to performance pay reveals a noteworthy story. Unlike all of his Democratic predecessors--and some of his Republican ones--President Obama not only appreciates the value of differentiating the compensation of teachers based on a effectiveness, he has put energy and money behind the cause. Digging a little deeper, one can find a second story worth telling. Both during his upstart presidential campaign and since his inauguration, Obama and his team have attempted to delicately navigate the channel between two important Democratic constituencies: establishment organizations--particularly teachers unions--opposed to performance pay and the increasingly prominent education reform crowd that generally supports it. The results to date demonstrate the difficulty of bridging this divide. But below these layers is something far more fascinating and important. The administration's position on performance pay is wrapped up in two much larger issues--first, how the administration envisions the federal government driving change in states and districts, and second, how the administration sees differentiated compensation fitting into broader efforts to reform the teaching profession. These three stories are told through an analysis of speeches made by Senator and President Obama and his education secretary Arne Duncan and the administration's handling of two prominent federal programs, the Teacher Incentive Fund and the Race to the Top. This paper ultimately reaches two major conclusions. First, though the administration's tentativeness on performance pay can be partially explained by its deference to organized labor, a larger factor is its interest in creating a new and comprehensive framework for teacher quality. Second, the administration's strategy for generating change through a combination of incentives, collaboration, and optional reforms did not initially bear much fruit for performance pay, but it lay still have important long-term benefits--for this issue and beyond. (Contains 5 figures and 16 endnotes.)
How Prepared Are Students for College Level Reading? Applying a Lexile[R]-Based Approach. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2010-No. 094
Author: Wilkins, Chuck
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Textbooks,Academic Achievement,Reading Ability,Grade 11,Secondary School Curriculum,College Preparation,Higher Education,School Readiness,Public Schools,High School Students,Alignment (Education),Instructional Effectiveness,Public Officials,Language Arts,Reading Comprehension,Exit Examinations,College Freshmen,English Instruction,College English

This study develops and documents a new methodology that uses the Lexile Framework[R] for Reading to determine the proportion of grade 11 Texas public school students whose scores on the exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading (TAKS-ELAR) or the TAKS-ELAR Accommodated indicate the ability to read and comprehend textbooks used in entry-level (freshman) English courses in the University of Texas system. The findings show that at the 75 percent comprehension level, 51 percent of students can read 95 percent of first-year English textbooks used in entry-level classes in the University of Texas system, 80 percent can read 50 percent of the textbooks, and 9 percent can read no more than 5 percent of the textbooks. The study demonstrates that the methodology developed and documented in this report can be applied in a real-world context. Providing policymakers with information about the proportion of high school students who are prepared to read entry-level college material at the University of Texas system can help policymakers evaluate and understand the effectiveness of efforts to align high school curriculum and instruction with requirements for postsecondary success. Appendices include: (1) Description of the Lexile Framework[R] for Reading; (2) Description of grade 11 exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading; (3) Calculating percentiles for the textbook sample; (4) Using random sampling; (5) Textbooks used by University of Texas system schools; and (6) Complete data tables from application of linking methodology. (Contains 25 tables, 1 figure and 18 notes.) [For the summary report, see ED513586.]
How Prepared Are Students for College Level Reading? Applying a Lexile[R]-Based Approach. Summary. Issues &amp; Answers. REL 2010-No. 094
Author: Wilkins, Chuck
Date: 2010-11-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Textbooks,Academic Achievement,Reading Ability,Grade 11,Secondary School Curriculum,College Preparation,Higher Education,School Readiness,Public Schools,High School Students,Alignment (Education),Instructional Effectiveness,Public Officials,Language Arts,Reading Comprehension,Exit Examinations,College Freshmen,English Instruction,College English

This study develops and documents a new methodology that uses the Lexile Framework[R] for Reading to determine the proportion of grade 11 Texas public school students whose scores on the exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading (TAKS-ELAR) or the TAKS-ELAR Accommodated indicate the ability to read and comprehend textbooks used in entry-level (freshman) English courses in the University of Texas system. The findings show that at the 75 percent comprehension level, 51 percent of students can read 95 percent of first-year English textbooks used in entry-level classes in the University of Texas system, 80 percent can read 50 percent of the textbooks, and 9 percent can read no more than 5 percent of the textbooks. The study demonstrates that the methodology developed and documented in this report can be applied in a real-world context. Providing policymakers with information about the proportion of high school students who are prepared to read entry-level college material at the University of Texas system can help policymakers evaluate and understand the effectiveness of efforts to align high school curriculum and instruction with requirements for postsecondary success. [For the full report, see ED513585.]
Images, Anxieties and Attitudes toward Mathematics
Author: Belbase, Shashidhar
Date: 2010-12-03
Type: Information Analyses
Subjects: Mathematics Education,Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Anxiety,Student Attitudes,Epistemology,Philosophy,Cognitive Processes,Imagery,Models,Self Esteem,Teacher Influence,Emotional Response,Mathematics Achievement

Images, anxieties, and attitudes towards mathematics are common interest among mathematics teachers, teacher educators and researchers. The main purpose of this literature review based paper is to discuss and analyze images, anxieties, and attitudes towards mathematics in order to foster meaningful teaching and learning of mathematics. Images of mathematics are greatly shaped by epistemological and philosophical perspectives of one who views mathematics either as priori or posteriori, absolute or relative, and concrete or nominal. These images as perceived by an individual play a significant role in the development of attitudes towards mathematics in long run. Images of mathematics have possible negative and positive impacts in teaching and learning of mathematics with the subsequent development of attitude toward mathematics as positive or negative (Goolsby, 1988; Ma and Kishor, 1997; & Lakoff and Nunez, 2000). Mathematics anxiety is developed as a result of having a poor image of mathematics due to a general lack of comfort that someone might experience when required to perform mathematically (Wood, 1988), or the feeling of tension, helplessness, and mental disorganization one may have when required to manipulate numbers and shapes (Richardson & Suinn, 1972; Tobias, 1978). In the long run, mathematics anxiety can produce different feelings such as like/dislike (an attitudinal element), happiness/worrisome (a cognitive element), and motivation/fear (an emotional element) (Hart, 1989; Wigfield & Meece, 1988). A theoretical model with different combinations of images, anxieties, and attitudes toward mathematics can be a helpful tool to develop an understanding of the different relationships among them for significant pedagogical implications. (Contains 1 figure.)