ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Rising Tide: Do College Grad Rate Gains Benefit All Students?
Author: Eberle-Sudre, Kimberlee
Date: 2015-12-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Graduation Rate,Achievement Gains,School Effectiveness,College Outcomes Assessment,Achievement Gap,African American Achievement,African American Students,Institutional Characteristics,Educational Improvement,Selective Admission,Tables (Data),Success

The population of students of color has grown threefold, and there are more than 40 cultural and social student affinity groups. More impressive, the graduation rate for African American, Latino, and Native students has increased by 13 percentage points in the last decade. In this brief, the authors dig into a decade's worth of data on four-year colleges to understand which are improving and which are not. At improving institutions, they want to understand which students are benefiting. Above all, they want to answer the question: Is the kind of progress that will help close long-standing gaps between groups, gaps that are hobbling the futures of so many students of color and threatening the future of the ever-more-diverse nation being seen? Because public institutions enroll almost two-thirds of first-time, full-time students in four-year colleges and--as the data show--have improved graduation rates the most over the past decade, the authors have focused their analysis mostly on understanding improvements at public four-year institutions.
School Reading Performance and the Extended School Day Policy in Florida. REL 2016-141
Author: Folsom, Jessica Sidler
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Reading Achievement,Extended School Day,Elementary Schools,Supplementary Education,Reading Instruction,School Effectiveness,Institutional Characteristics,Achievement Gains,Elementary School Students,School Size,Minority Group Students,Low Income Students,Time on Task,School Personnel,Compliance (Legal),Regression (Statistics),Statistical Analysis

Florida law requires the 100 lowest performing elementary schools in reading to extend the school day by one hour to provide supplemental reading instruction. This study found that those schools were smaller than other elementary schools and served a higher proportion of racial/ethnic minority students and students eligible for the school lunch program. The lowest performing schools reported increasing the number of minutes of reading instruction provided to students, increasing staff, and providing instruction in the extra hour that differed from instruction during the rest of the day. When growth in performance is measured, initially low scores generally rise, even in the absence of an intervention, because of natural year-to-year variations. While average school reading performance improved among the lowest performing schools, the increase did not exceed the small year-to-year variations expected when measuring initially low student performance. Appended are: (1) Supplemental tables of school characteristics, school reading performance, and survey responses; (2) Florida Department of Education 100 lowest performing elementary schools in reading extended school day reading instruction plans compliance survey; (3) Data and methodology; and (4) Supplemental statistical tests of significance for school characteristics and implementation of extended school day policy.
The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared Responsibility for Low-Income Student Success
Author: Nichols, Andrew Howard
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Federal Aid,Grants,Graduation Rate,College Students,College Graduates,Time to Degree,Public Colleges,Private Colleges,Low Income Groups,At Risk Students,Mentors,Peer Influence,Paying for College,Enrollment Trends,Comparative Analysis

The analysis in this report examines the national gap and institutional-level gaps in graduation rates between Pell and non-Pell Grant recipients at nearly 1,150 four-year, public and private nonprofit institutions across the nation. The data show the national graduation rate for Pell Grant recipients attending institutions in the sample is considerably lower than the completion rate of non-Pell recipients. While almost 65 percent of non-Pell recipients graduate in six years, only half of Pell students leave with a bachelor's degree in the same time frame. This 14 percentage-point gap was nearly the same for both public and private nonprofit institutions, even though graduation rates at private institutions in the sample were higher. Pell Grant Graduation Rate and Overall Institution Graduation Rate is appended. Information on the Pell Graduation Rate Data Tool is provided. Also included are: (1) &quot;Smith College: A Culture That Shouts 'You Belong Here'&quot; (Mandy Zatynski); and (2) &quot;Western Oregon University: Advising for Success&quot; (Mandy Zatynski). [This report is one component of a larger consortium effort exploring student-friendly federal education policy solutions in higher education. The Education Trust acknowledges the consortia partners, the National College Access Network and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, for their guidance, support, and feedback throughout this project. The Education Trust produced this work as a subgrantee of the National College Access Network, manager of the Student Solutions Consortium of the Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery (RADD) initiative, a project funded by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.]
Grappling with Discipline in Autonomous Schools: New Approaches from D.C. and New Orleans
Author: Gross, Betheny
Date: 2016-06-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Discipline,Charter Schools,Public Schools,Case Studies,Data,Access to Information,Reports,Educational Cooperation,School Policy,Expulsion,Standards,Centralization,Enrollment,Program Effectiveness,Elementary Secondary Education

This report profiles leading efforts by two cities to bring consistency and fairness to discipline practices in both district and charter schools--with promising early results: (1) Washington, D.C.--Leaders focused on boosting transparency and leveraging public scrutiny of high discipline rates in all public schools by producing School Equity Reports documenting school-level data on suspension, expulsion, student exit, and midyear enrollment. First published for the 2012-13 school year, the equity reports prepared through 2014-15 show citywide drops in suspension rates overall and among specific student groups, such as those with special needs. Expulsion rates fell by almost half, with D.C. charter schools showing sharper declines in expulsion than district schools; (2) New Orleans: The state-run Recovery School District instituted a centralized hearing process in 2012 to review and approve proposed expulsions for all the city's public schools. Both charter and district public schools must abide by common, agreed-upon standards for expellable offenses. Overall expulsion rates appear to have dropped citywide since the centralized process began. Expelled students are tracked and supported to ensure that they receive appropriate educational services. Though still early in implementation, these cross-sector efforts suggest that city leaders can help reduce perceived or real inequities and unfair use of suspension and expulsion in charter schools without dampening the possibilities for innovation. Other cities struggling with discipline policies should look to these efforts to help guide them toward successful discipline solutions that can be shared across schools and sectors, to the benefit of all students.
Making Sure All Children Matter: Getting School Accountability Signals Right. Waivers in Brief
Author: Ushomirsky, Natasha
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Accountability,Student Rights,Student Records,Academic Achievement,At Risk Students,Minority Group Students,Low Income Groups,White Students,Socioeconomic Status,Achievement Gap,Equal Education,School Responsibility,Racial Differences

School accountability systems have the potential to be a powerful tool to help close the long-standing gaps in achievement that separate low-income students and students of color from their peers. They can do this by: (1) Setting a clear expectation that schools have to serve all of their students--not just some--well; (2) Drawing attention to how schools are performing for all student groups; and (3) Prompting action when schools don't meet expectations for a group of students. A key way that an accountability system signals its expectations is through the ratings it assigns to schools. To better understand the signals that accountability systems are currently sending about group outcomes, the authors analyzed student performance data from three states--Florida, Kentucky, and Minnesota. For each state, they asked, &quot;How are schools that earn the highest accountability rating, as well as lower ratings, performing for all students? How about for low-income students and students of color?&quot; In each state, schools are getting top ratings despite low performance for some groups. In fact, the differences are so large that top-rated schools often perform similarly for their students of color and low-income students as middle- to low-rated schools do for their white and higher income peers. These findings make clear that the signals that school ratings send about group performance are not strong enough to prompt wide-scale attention to and action around gap closing. Despite advances in some areas of school accountability, when it comes to increasing equity in this nation's education system, today's accountability systems still represent, at best, a missed opportunity. Two appendices are included: (1) Data Sources and Relevant Data Notes for Figures 1-6; and (2) Numbers of schools included in Figures 1-5.
Achieving Equitable Access to Strong Teachers: A Guide for District Leaders
Author: Bromberg, Marni
Date: 2016-04-00
Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Subjects: Equal Education,Experienced Teachers,Access to Education,Guides,Low Income Students,African American Students,Strategic Planning,Administrative Principles,Educational Indicators,Best Practices,Barriers,Educational Objectives,Educational Strategies,Change Strategies,Management Information Systems,Data Analysis,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Distribution

The purpose of this guide is to help district leaders take on the challenge of ensuring that students have equitable access to excellent teachers. It shares some early lessons the Education Trust has learned from districts about the levers available to prioritize low-income students and students of color in teacher quality initiatives. The guide outlines a seven-stage process that can help leaders define their own challenges, explore underlying causes, and develop strategies to ensure all schools and students have equitable access to effective teachers.
Meandering toward Graduation: Transcript Outcomes of High School Graduates
Author: Bromberg, Marni
Date: 2016-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: High School Graduates,Academic Records,College Preparation,Secondary School Curriculum,Grades (Scholastic),Racial Differences,Socioeconomic Status,Academic Aspiration,Career Readiness,College Readiness,Longitudinal Studies,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,White Students,Outcomes of Education

Graduation rates have reached an all-time high and postsecondary enrollment rates are steadily rising in this country. However, thousands of those new college students are testing into remedial reading, writing, or math courses because they don't have the foundation to perform at the levels demanded in college classes. Employers, too, report that high school graduates don't have the basic foundational skills to start in entry-level positions. Are students being exposed to the foundational content that would prepare them to achieve their postsecondary goals? Are they being afforded experiences that groom them to problem solve, study effectively, and work productively in teams? To get better answers to these questions, the authors dug into the most recent national database of high school transcripts to find out what information it could provide about the experiences and preparation of this nation's graduates. How many young people are completing a full college- and career-prep curriculum? How many also have grades that show evidence of mastery? And how do those patterns differ by race and socioeconomic status as well as students' own aspirations? The data suggest that students are meandering toward graduation. Rather than ensuring students have access to a cohesive curriculum that aligns high school coursework and students' future goals, high schools are prioritizing credit accrual, which treats graduation as the end goal. These data call attention to how far the nation has yet to travel to assure that all students--and most especially students from disadvantages backgrounds and students of color--are fully prepared to take advantage of the full range of opportunities that await them after high school. Instead of being prepared for college &quot;and&quot; career, many of the nation's students turn out to have been prepared for neither.
A Randomized Control Trial of a Statewide Voluntary Prekindergarten Program on Children's Skills and Behaviors through Third Grade. Research Report
Author: Lipsey, Mark W.
Date: 2015-09-29
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Preschool Education,Outcomes of Education,Randomized Controlled Trials,State Programs,Program Evaluation,Longitudinal Studies,Academic Achievement,Child Behavior,Achievement Tests,Rating Scales,Program Effectiveness,Primary Education,Elementary School Teachers,School Readiness,Attendance,Student Characteristics,Sustainability,Elementary School Students,Regression (Statistics)

In 2009, Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute, in coordination with the Tennessee Department of Education's Division of Curriculum and Instruction, initiated a rigorous, independent evaluation of the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program (TN- VPK). TN-VPK is a full-day prekindergarten program for four-year-old children expected to enter kindergarten the following school year. The program in each participating school district must meet standards set by the State Board of Education that require each classroom to have a teacher with a license in early childhood development and education, an adult-student ratio of no less than 1:10, a maximum class size of 20, and an approved age-appropriate curriculum. TN-VPK is an optional program focused on the neediest children in the state. It uses a tiered admission process, with children from low-income families who apply to the program admitted first. Any remaining seats in a given location are then allocated to otherwise at-risk children, including those with disabilities and limited English proficiency. The current report presents findings from this evaluation summarizing the longitudinal effects of TN-VPK on pre-kindergarten through third grade achievement and behavioral outcomes for an Intensive Substudy Sample of 1076 children, of which 773 were randomly assigned to attend TN-VPK classrooms and 303 were not admitted. Both groups have been followed since the beginning of the pre-k year.
Funding Gaps 2015: Too Many States Still Spend Less on Educating Students Who Need the Most
Author: Ushomirsky, Natasha
Date: 2015-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Financial Support,Educational Finance,Income,Poverty,School Districts,Geographic Location,Minority Group Students,English Language Learners,Disabilities,Educational Equity (Finance),State Aid,Public Schools,Socioeconomic Status

Although money isn't the only thing that matters for student success--districts with similar funding levels and similar demographics can produce vastly different results for their students--inequities in funding are foundational to all sorts of other inequities in the nation's school system. A district with more resources, for example, can pay teachers more, making it easier to attract the strongest educators. It can also offer students more support and enrichment, which are critical to the success of all children, but are especially important for those students who may not have access to these opportunities outside of school. In this study, the authors ask: (1) How do the revenues of districts serving the most students in poverty (the highest poverty districts) compare with those serving the fewest students in poverty (the lowest poverty districts) in each state and across the country? (2) How much funding does the state provide to districts, and how does it distribute those dollars? and (3) How do the revenues of districts serving the most students of color compare with those of districts serving the fewest students of color? They focus specifically on state and local revenues and exclude federal sources because federal dollars are intended--and targeted--to provide supplemental services to such specific groups of students as those in poverty, English learners, and students with disabilities. In this analysis, the authors focus on learning how states allocate the resources that they oversee. Their analysis finds that nationally, funding inequities are devastatingly large. The highest poverty districts in the country receive about $1,200 less per student than the lowest poverty districts. The differences are even larger--roughly $2,000 per student--between districts serving the most students of color and those serving the fewest. Funding gaps within each state show a great deal of variation. While some states provide substantially more funding to their highest poverty districts, others provide substantially less. Moreover, some states that fund their highest poverty districts equally, or even progressively (meaning, they allocate more funding to these districts), are still providing substantially fewer dollars to districts that serve the most students of color than to those that serve the fewest.
Ensuring Equitable Access to Strong Teachers: Important Elements of an Effective State Action Plan
Author: Metz, Rachel
Date: 2015-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Access to Education,Equal Education,State Action,Statewide Planning,Strategic Planning,Guidelines,Data Analysis,Stakeholders,Partnerships in Education,Policy Formation,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Improvement

Every community has strong teachers who help their students learn to high levels. But far too often low-income students and students of color are short-changed when it comes to teacher quality. Federal law requires states to end these disparities. But states, recognizing that most hiring, compensation, and promotional decisions, not to mention choices about school working conditions, are made at the district or school-level, have asked what they can do. We have reviewed a number of state teacher equity plan drafts, and some state offices have reached out to The Education Trust for assistance and feedback on their plans. As state education leaders prepare their state teacher equity plans, &quot;Ensuring Equitable Access to Strong Teachers,&quot; provides a framework to fine-tune and strengthen their final drafts. We hope this resource assists states in their ongoing efforts to ensure every low-income student has the benefit of a highly effective teacher.
Evaluation of the Tennessee Voluntary Prekindergarten Program: Kindergarten and First Grade Follow-Up Results from the Randomized Control Design. Research Report
Author: Lipsey, Mark W.
Date: 2013-08-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Preschool Education,Outcomes of Education,Randomized Controlled Trials,State Programs,Program Evaluation,Followup Studies,Grade 1,Kindergarten,Academic Achievement,Child Behavior,Grade Repetition,Attendance,Discipline,Special Education,Elementary School Students,Achievement Tests,Rating Scales,Program Effectiveness,Student Characteristics,Elementary School Teachers

In 2009, Vanderbilt University's Peabody Research Institute, with the assistance of the Tennessee Department of Education's Division of Curriculum and Instruction, initiated a rigorous, independent evaluation of the state's Voluntary Prekindergarten program (TN- VPK). TN-VPK is a full-day prekindergarten program for four-year-old children expected to enter kindergarten the following school year. The program in each participating school district must meet standards set by the State Board of Education that require each classroom to have a teacher with a license in early childhood development and education, an adult-student ratio of no less than 1:10, a maximum class size of 20, and an approved age-appropriate curriculum. TN-VPK is an optional program focused on the neediest children in the state. It uses a tiered admission process with children from low-income families who apply to the program admitted first. Any remaining seats in a given location are then allocated to otherwise at-risk children including those with disabilities and limited English proficiency. The current report is the second in a series that presents findings from this evaluation. The prior report described outcomes at the end of the pre-k year for the children in the Intensive Substudy sample who participated in TN-VPK in comparison to those who did not participate. The present report summarizes the longitudinal effects of TN-VPK on kindergarten outcomes and those first grade outcomes that are currently available. At the end of prekindergarten, TN-VPK effects could be examined only on early achievement measures and teacher ratings of academic skills and behavior obtained at the very beginning of the kindergarten year. A notable addition in this current report is that results are now available on several other &quot;non-cognitive&quot; academic outcomes, including grade retention, attendance, recorded disciplinary actions, and special education services.
Checking In: Do Classroom Assignments Reflect Today's Higher Standards? K-12 Practice. Equity in Motion Series
Author: Santelises, Sonja Brookins
Date: 2015-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Middle School Students,Reading Assignments,Writing Assignments,Literacy,Models,Common Core State Standards,Alignment (Education),Discussion (Teaching Technique),Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Difficulty Level,Student Motivation,Learner Engagement,Relevance (Education),Thinking Skills

Prepared for school district and education leaders, &quot;Checking In&quot; is the first in the &quot;Equity in Motion&quot; series, which scrutinizes how issues of equity are translating into the daily activities of schools and educators. Nearly every state has adopted new, more rigorous standards for college and career readiness over the past five years, but after many hours of professional development and revised observational protocols, is the rigor of the new standards reaching students? In this report, The Education Trust responds with &quot;not so much.&quot; This assignments analysis conducted by an Ed Trust team of content experts finds that middle grades assignments do not reflect the high-level goals set by new, more rigorous college- and career-ready standards. Key findings include: (1) Overall, only about 5 percent of assignments fell into the high range on the assignment analysis framework (met 6-8 indicators); (2) Fewer than 4 in 10 assignments (or 38 percent) were aligned with a grade-appropriate standard. Moreover, rates in high-poverty schools were considerably lower, at roughly one-third of all assignments; (3) Fifty-five percent of assignments were connected to a text. However, overall, only 16 percent of assignments required students to use a text for citing evidence as support for a position or a claim; (4) Only 4 percent of all assignments reviewed pushed student thinking to higher levels. About 85 percent of assignments asked students to either recall information or apply basic skills and concepts as opposed to prompting for inferences or structural analysis, or requiring author critiques. Many assignments show an attempt at rigor, but these are largely surface level; and (5) Relevance and choice--powerful levers to engage early adolescents--are mostly missing in action. Only 2 percent of assignments meet both indicators for engagement. Contains notes.