ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Collective Bargaining and the Performance of the Public Schools
Author: Moe, Terry M.
Date: 2007-05-25
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Collective Bargaining,Unions,Public School Teachers,Public Schools,School Effectiveness,Academic Achievement,School District Size,Contracts,Minority Groups

Students of American politics have had little to say about public sector unions and their impacts on government. There is, of course, a vast literature on public bureaucracy. But that literature has always emphasized that the power of bureaucrats is rooted in their expertise, or in the entrepreneurial activities of agency leaders. It has largely ignored the fact that bureaucrats can and often do join unions to promote their own interests, and that the power of these unions may have important consequences for--and help explain--the policies, organization, and performance of government. In this paper, I study the effects of unionization on public education. Specifically, my focus here is on the public schools, which are among the most common form of government agency in the United States, and I investigate whether collective bargaining by teachers--the key bureaucrats in this case--affects the capacity of the schools to educate children. Using data from the state of California, the analysis shows that, in large school districts, the restrictiveness of the teacher contract has a very negative impact on academic achievement. It also shows that, in these large districts, restrictive contract rules are especially negative in their effects on the academic achievement of minorities. The evidence presented here, then, suggests that public sector unions do indeed have important consequences for American public education. Whether they are consequential in other areas of government remains to be seen, but it is an avenue of research well worth pursuing. (Contains 2 figures, 4 tables, and 18 footnotes.)
Teaching Aptitude of Student Teachers and their Academic Achievements at Graduate Level
Author: Sajan, K. S.
Date: 2010-03-28
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Student Teachers,Vocational Aptitude,Teaching (Occupation),Aptitude Tests,Academic Achievement,Sampling

The present investigation aims at studying teaching aptitude of student teachers with respect to their gender and academic achievement at graduate level examination. The sample for this study is selected by stratified random sampling from the Teacher Education institutions of Malabar area of Kerala. Teaching Aptitude Test Battery (T A T B) developed by Singh and Sharma (1998) is used to measure aptitude in teaching. Analysis of the results show that majority of students have ample teaching aptitude. The female students are found to be significantly better than their male counter parts in teaching aptitude test. The academic achievements at graduate level examination have no substantial relation with aptitude in teaching. (Contains 3 tables.)
Re-Imagining Teacher Professional Development and Citizenship Education: Lessons for Import from Colombia
Author: Noonan, James M.
Date: 2010-03-03
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Citizenship,Democracy,Citizenship Education,Educational Change,Professional Development,Foreign Countries,Teachers,Teacher Role,Teacher Education,Academic Achievement,Democratic Values,Rural Education,Leadership,Cross Cultural Studies,Evaluation,Conflict

This paper examines the role of teachers in the implementation of citizenship education in Colombia. Consistent with its highly-decentralized school system, Colombia's National Program of Citizenship Competencies was developed with the participation of many local, national, and international partners. Among the most involved and most critical participants were the primary implementers of the reform: teachers. Teacher training is important to student achievement, but in a context that also seeks to teach democratic citizenship, training must be attentive to reciprocal learning and shared leadership. This paper highlights the impact of teacher training in one rural department and how a cross-cultural collaboration between Colombian and US-based educators benefited practitioners on both sides. Four key lessons on the design and delivery of professional development on citizenship education (and more broadly) are offered for educators and policymakers: the use of democratic pedagogy; the promotion and extension of teachers' self-awareness; the cross-pollination of perspectives across all levels; and a humble and inclusive expertise. (Contains 1 figure and 10 footnotes.)
Do Students Care about School Quality? Determinants of Dropout Behavior in Developing Countries
Author: Hanushek, Eric A.
Date: 2007-01-08
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Student Attitudes,Dropouts,Foreign Countries,Attendance,Educational Quality,Developing Nations,Correlation,Elementary School Students,Academic Persistence,Decision Making,Enrollment Trends,Dropout Research,Student Characteristics,Rural Urban Differences,Academic Achievement,Outcomes of Education,Parent Influence

School quality and grade completion by students are shown to be directly linked, leading to very different perspectives on educational policy in developing countries. Unique panel data on primary school age children in Egypt permit estimation of behavioral models of school leaving. Students perceive differences in school quality, measured as expected achievement improvements in a given school, and act on it. Specifically, holding constant the student's own ability and achievement, a student is much less likely to remain in school if attending a low quality school rather than a high quality school. This individually rationale behavior suggests that common arguments about a trade-off between quality and access to schools may misstate the real issue and lead to public investment in too little quality. Further, because of this behavioral linkage, there is an achievement bias such that common estimates of rates of return to years of school will be overstated. The paper demonstrates the analytical importance of employing output-based measures of school quality. (Contains 29 footnotes.)
Getting Farther Ahead by Staying Behind: A Second-Year Evaluation of Florida's Policy to End Social Promotion
Author: Greene, Jay P.
Date: 2006-09-14
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Social Promotion,Grade Repetition,Standardized Tests,Educational Policy,Program Effectiveness,Academic Achievement,Research Design,Program Evaluation,Differences,Reading Achievement,Achievement Gains,Comparative Analysis

Social promotion has long been the normal practice in American schools. Critics of this practice, whereby students are promoted to the next grade regardless of academic preparation, have suggested that students would benefit academically if they were made to repeat a grade. Supporters of social promotion claim that retaining students (i.e, holding them back) disrupts them socially, producing greater academic harm than promotion would. A number of states and school districts, including Florida, Texas, Chicago, and New York City, have attempted to curtail social promotion, by requiring students to demonstrate academic preparation on a standardized test before they can be promoted to the next grade. This study analyzes the effects of Florida's test-based promotion policy on student achievement two years after initial retention. It builds upon our previous evaluation of the policy in two ways. First, we examine whether the initial benefits of retention observed in the previous study continue, expand, or contract in the second year after students are retained. Second, we determine whether discrepancies between our evaluation and the evaluation of a test-based promotion policy in Chicago are caused by differences in how researchers examined the issue, or by differences in the nature of the programs. Our analysis shows that, after two years of the policy, retained Florida students made significant reading gains relative to the control group of socially promoted students. These academic benefits grew substantially from the first to the second year after retention. That is, students lacking in basic skills who are socially promoted appear to fall further and further behind over time, whereas retained students appear to be able to catch up on the skills they are lacking. Further, we find these positive results in Florida, both when we use the same research design that we used in our previous study, and when we use a design similar to that employed by the evaluation of the program in Chicago. The differences between the Chicago and Florida evaluations appear to be caused by differences in the details of the programs, and not by differences in how the programs were evaluated. (Contains 5 tables and 10 footnotes.)
The Fiscal Impact of the D.C. Voucher Program
Author: Aud, Susan L.
Date: 2006-08-15
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Charter Schools,Private Schools,Federal Aid,School Choice,Program Effectiveness,Federal Government,Educational Vouchers,Educational Finance,Grants,Educational Improvement,Funding Formulas,Expenditure per Student

In August 2004 the first ever federally funded school voucher program began in Washington, D.C. Eligible students could attend a private school of their choice in the District of Columbia. Each participant received up to $7,500 for school tuition, fees, and transportation. In addition, the D.C. Public School System (DCPS) and D.C. charter school system each received $13 million in federal grants to improve their programs. This study examines the fiscal impact of the voucher program on DCPS and the District of Columbia. The program is currently funded by the federal government and creates a net inflow of funds to both the District and DCPS. This study also examines the fiscal impact of the program under several proposed changes to the law. Those scenarios include funding the program locally, making it universally available to all D.C. public school students, and expanding capacity by including regional private schools. Our findings include the following: (1) The current program saves the city nearly $8 million, mostly because it is federally funded and includes a federal grant to public schools; (2) If federal grant subsidies were withdrawn and the program were locally funded, the city would still save $258,402 due to the greater efficiency of school choice; (3) A locally funded universal program would maximize the economic benefits of school choice, saving $3 million; and (4) The process by which both DCPS and its schools are funded is not conducive to efficiency or excellence. The voucher program currently allows the central administration to retain an even higher share of overall funding than it did previously, leaving the management of reduced expenditures predominately at the school level. A universal school choice program could help to put a larger share of resources into the hands of schools. (Contains 27 notes and 7 tables.)
Gender Gaps in College and High School Graduation by Race, Combining Public and Private Schools
Author: Chaplin, Duncan
Date: 2006-11-16
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: High Schools,Private Schools,Females,Graduation Rate,Males,Gender Differences,High School Graduates,College Graduates,Regression (Statistics),Evaluation Methods,Measurement Techniques,Racial Differences

Each year our college system gives twice as many bachelor's degrees (BAs) to African  American females as males. Large gender gaps favoring women also exist for other groups. Indeed, on average our college system gives 35% more BAs to females than males across all racial and ethnic groups. Traditional explanations for this pattern have focused on what happens in college. In this brief we note that at least part of the story can be found in differences in high school graduation rates. While the differences in high school graduation rates are far smaller, the variations by race and gender follow the same pattern as those found in college. We find that our high schools are graduating about 23% more African-American females than males each year and our estimates suggest about a 4% difference that favors females across all ethnic groups. In order to conduct this analysis we build on methods of calculating public high school graduation rates used in previous Urban Institute work and enhance them by adding in graduates from private high schools. (Contains 7 tables and 16 footnotes.)
Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School Graduation Rates
Author: Greene, Jay P.
Date: 2006-06-05
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Graduation Rate,High School Students,High School Graduates,Males,Gender Differences,Racial Differences,School Districts,Enrollment Trends,Public Schools,Urban Schools

This study uses a widely respected method to calculate public high school graduation rates for the nation, for each state, and for the 100 largest school districts in the United States. The authors calculate graduation rates overall, by race, and by gender, using the most recent available data (the class of 2003). While this report builds upon a foundation of previous reports, there is much that is new. First, this report contains graduation rate estimates for the class of 2003, the most recent year for which data are available. Second, in this report the authors are able for the first time to break out graduation rates by gender. Observers have long suspected that the graduation rate for boys is significantly lower than that for girls. Third, this report contains graduation rates for each of the 100 largest school districts in the country. (Contains 5 tables and 14 endnotes.)
School Governance and Information: Does Choice Lead to Better-Informed Parents?
Author: Kisida, Brian
Date: 2007-07-24
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Class Size,Democracy,School Choice,School Size,Governance,Scholarship Funds,Public Policy,Access to Information,Parent Participation,Democratic Values,Educational Vouchers,Comparative Analysis,Low Income Groups,Urban Schools,Private Schools,Public Schools

Political theorists have long argued that the average citizen's lack of information and lack of clear policy preferences provide the rationale for public policy to be guided by experts and elites. Others counter that it is precisely the practice of deference to elites that perpetuates and even exacerbates the problem of apathetic and uninformed citizens. According to them, requiring citizens to take responsibility for political decisions and procedures motivates them to obtain the information and training necessary to become effective citizens. Here we look at school choice programs as an environment poised to provide insight into this debate. Theories of school choice suggest that parents need to and can make informed decisions that will tend to situate their students in appropriate schools. School choice, in a sense, brings elements of participatory democracy into the world of compulsory education, and thus brings the same potential benefits and problems that have long challenged democratic theorists. Increasing choices to parents may give them an incentive to raise their information levels about the schools their children attend. Akin to the information gathering of consumers in a marketplace, choice parents should have more reasons to gather more information about their schools than parents without options. Alternatively, a lack of any increase in information levels amongst school choosers would suggest that despite the increased incentives to gather information, having choices per se is not sufficient to overcome the costs of information gathering. To test whether the availability of school choice increases parent information about schools, we analyze data from the second year experimental evaluation of the Washington Scholarship Fund, a privately-funded partial-tuition voucher program. We find that presenting parents with choices does lead to higher levels of accurate school-based information on measures of important school characteristics. Specifically, parents in the school choice treatment group provided responses that more closely matched the school-reported data about school size and class size than did parents of control group members. Robustness Check Using Covariates in Ordered Logit is appended. (Contains 4 tables and 6 footnotes.)
WICHE's PSEP: Professional Student Exchange Program
Author: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Date: 2010-01-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Student Exchange Programs,Out of State Students,Tuition,Student Financial Aid,Program Descriptions,Guidance Programs,Interstate Programs,Health Education,Professional Education,State Aid,Eligibility,Grantsmanship

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has been providing Western residents with &quot;affordable access to the healthcare professions&quot; for more than 55 years through its Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP). If an individual enrolls through WICHE's PSEP, he pays reduced tuition at out-of-state public and private institutions. More than 14,000 professionals have received their education through PSEP, most in the healthcare professions. This paper provides an overview of how the program works, how a person may apply, and what he needs to do once he is funded through the program. A list of frequently asked questions and corresponding answers is also provided.
Western Policy Exchanges
Author: Krueger, Carl
Date: 2009-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Federal Legislation,Educational Finance,Grants,Low Income Groups,Access to Education,State Federal Aid,Funding Formulas,Student Financial Aid,Partnerships in Education,Postsecondary Education,Outreach Programs,Program Effectiveness,Program Descriptions,Barriers

The College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) Program is a federal formula grant designed to foster partnerships among federal, state, and local governments and philanthropic entities to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Created by the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, the CACG Program provides $66 million per year for two years to state agencies or organizations designated by each state's governor. Recently introduced federal legislation would expand and continue the program for an additional five years as part of the proposed College Access and Completion Fund. This issue of &quot;Exchanges&quot; highlights the challenges and accomplishments of state CACG projects and presents lessons learned across the four states that were part of the network in the first year. If the grant is extended--a very real possibility--states will have an opportunity to develop sustainable programs that greatly increase postsecondary participation and success for low-income students. Having the chance to learn from each other will help states improve their own programs and develop sustainable initiatives. (Contains 2 endnotes.)
Student Exchange Programs: Statistical Report. Academic Year, 2009-10
Author: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Date: 2010-01-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Higher Education,Student Exchange Programs,Tuition,Student Financial Aid,Statistical Distributions,Enrollment Rate,Cost Effectiveness,Regional Cooperation,Interstate Programs,Out of State Students,Technology Integration,Online Courses,Program Descriptions,Annual Reports

Over 55 years ago, the Western states formed the Western Regional Education Compact and agreed to share higher education resources in the West through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Through WICHE's three student exchange programs, nearly 26,000 residents of 15 Western states are enrolled at reduced levels of tuition in a broad spectrum of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) helped some 24,500 students and their families save $173.4 million dollars in tuition by paying 150% of resident tuition, instead of the full nonresident rate at 145 participating WUE institutions. Five hundred masters, doctorate and graduate certificate students enrolled in programs of study through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) have saved more than $5 million dollars; they pay only resident tuition, instead of nonresident, in participating programs. Finally, almost 700 students paid significantly reduced tuition while preparing for their professional degree in 10 healthcare professions while enrolled through WICHE's Professional Student Exchange Program (PSEP). In addition, WICHE has created a network of Western institutions that are partnering to exchange courses via the Internet, through the Internet Course Exchange (ICE). This report covers Fall 2009 enrollments for WUE, WRGP and PSEP, as well as detailing the funds that flow between &quot;sending&quot; states and &quot;receiving&quot; institutions in the Professional Student Exchange Program. (Contains 10 tables.)
Tuition and Fees in the West, 2009-10. Policy Insights
Author: Van Horn, Brandi
Date: 2010-01-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Public Colleges,Tuition,Cost Indexes,Fees,Institutional Research,Student Costs,Educational Policy,Policy Analysis,Budgets,Educational Finance,Enrollment Projections,Change Strategies

This issue of &quot;Policy Insights&quot; reviews the results from Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE's) annual survey of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the region. The survey on which the report and this policy brief are based was administered to state higher education executive offices or system offices in the Western states. The survey response rate was 100 percent. Respondents were invited to correct previous years' data, and the averages calculated were not weighted by enrollment. Average resident undergraduate tuition and fees for the academic year 2009-10 at public two-year institutions in the WICHE states increased by 6.4 percent ($160) from the previous year, while published prices at public four-year institutions grew by 12.5 percent ($639). By comparison, nationally, the one-year increase was 7.3 percent for two-year and 6.5 percent for four-year institutions. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index fell 2.1 percent. The increase in the regional average price for two-year institutions in the West was slightly below the national average increase. The increase in the regional average price for the West was substantially above the national average for four-year institutions (by 22.3 percent), though the actual average tuition within the region for these institutions remains substantially below the national average. (Contains 5 figures, 1 table, and 9 endnotes.)
2010 Resource Cards on California Schools
Author: EdSource
Date: 2010-03-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Finance,Public Education,Financial Policy,Background,Postsecondary Education,Academic Achievement,Budgets,Standardized Tests,Enrollment Rate,Graduation Rate,Teacher Characteristics,Collective Bargaining,Teacher Student Ratio,Information Sources

With an index, and separate sections that cover related topics, this booklet provides fingertip access to the latest information about California's public education system. The 2010 Resource Cards also include a robust section on community colleges. This booklet contains the following sections: (1) School Finance/Related Laws, which includes School Finance and Related Laws; (2) K-12 General Background/Staffing, which includes Background and Staffing; (3) K-12 Student Performance; and (4) Postsecondary Education.