ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Multitask Summary Scoring with Longformers
Author: Botarleanu, Robert-Mihai
Date: 2022-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Automation,Scoring,Documentation,Likert Scales,Artificial Intelligence,Task Analysis,Natural Language Processing,Learning Processes,Regression (Statistics),Error Patterns,Models,Prediction

Automated scoring of student language is a complex task that requires systems to emulate complex and multi-faceted human evaluation criteria. Summary scoring brings an additional layer of complexity to automated scoring because it involves two texts of differing lengths that must be compared. In this study, we present our approach to automate summary scoring by evaluating a corpus of approximately 5,000 summaries based on 103 source texts, each summary being scored on a 4-point Likert scale for seven different evaluation criteria. We train and evaluate a series of Machine Learning models that use a combination of independent textual complexity indices from the ReaderBench framework and Deep Learning models based on the Transformer architecture in a multitask setup to predict concurrently all criteria. Our models achieve significantly lower errors than previous work using a similar dataset, with MAE ranging from 0.10-0.16 and corresponding R[superscript 2] values of up to 0.64. Our findings indicate that Longformer-based models are adequate for contextualizing longer text sequences and effectively scoring summaries according to a variety of human-defined evaluation criteria using a single Neural Network. [This paper was published in: &quot;AIED 2022, LNCS 13355,&quot; edited by M. M. Rodrigo et al., Springer Nature Switzerland, 2022, pp. 756-761.]
In-Person vs. Virtual: Learning Modality Choices and Movement during COVID-19 Varies Depending on Students&apos; Ethnicity and Prior Academic Performance
Author: Lee, Ji-Eun
Date: 2021-10-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Learning Modalities,In Person Learning,Electronic Learning,Distance Education,COVID-19,Pandemics,Academic Achievement,Ethnicity,Race,White Students,Hispanic American Students,Multiracial Persons,Asian American Students,Blacks,African American Students,Selection,Preferences,Change,Middle School Students,Grade 7

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on education systems in the U.S, prompting a variety of changes to school learning environments. This study investigates student/family choices of learning modality in one large school district in the U.S and examines how these choices differ by students' race/ethnicity and performance level. Results revealed that the majority of White, Hispanic, and multiracial students initially selected in-person learning, whereas the majority of Asian and Black students selected virtual learning. Although 60% of Black students initially selected virtual learning, half of Black students transitioned to in-person learning by the end of the Fall semester. Further, only 23% of low-performing students started with virtual learning, and more than half of these students moved to in-person learning during the Fall. Findings suggest that student choice of learning modality varies depending on their race/ethnicity and academic performance, and these choices may have implications on their learning experiences and achievement during COVID-19.
A Comparison of Machine Learning Algorithms for Predicting Student Performance in an Online Mathematics Game
Author: Lee, Ji-Eun
Date: 2022-04-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Algorithms,Mathematics Tests,Computer Games,Learning Analytics,Interaction Process Analysis,Middle School Students,Anxiety,Mathematics Instruction,Models,Validity,Algebra,Learning Processes,Computer Assisted Instruction,Comparative Analysis,Mathematical Concepts,Concept Formation,Sampling,Correlation,Scores,Prediction

This paper demonstrates how to apply Machine Learning (ML) techniques to analyze student interaction data collected in an online mathematics game. We examined: (1) how different ML algorithms influenced the precision of middle-school students' (N = 359) performance prediction; and (2) what types of in-game features were associated with student math knowledge scores. The results indicated that the Random Forest algorithm showed the best performance in predicting posttest math knowledge scores among the seven algorithms employed. Out of 37 features included in the model, the validity of the students' first mathematical transformation was the most predictive of their math knowledge scores. Implications for game learning analytics and supporting students' algebraic learning are discussed based on the findings.
Using Student Experience Data to Co-Design Learning Environments
Author: Nwafor, Ednah
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Middle School Students,High School Students,Student Experience,Student Attitudes,Feedback (Response),Educational Environment,Instructional Design,Student Participation,Equal Education,Cooperation,Educational Practices,Educational Policy,Student Centered Learning,Power Structure,Learner Engagement,Data Use,Teacher Collaboration,Program Implementation

This brief shares learnings from Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) district partnerships around the sixth Essential Action: Measure What Matters. This Essential Action focuses on achieving equitable learning environments through the routine collection and review of relevant student feedback data to co-design new practices and policies to improve learning environments. Although the following paper highlights a specific student feedback tool (Elevate), the authors believe these learnings are applicable to other student-centered data systems used by schools and districts alike to measure what matters. As a result of working directly with district and school partners, in addition to focus groups with BELE Network coaches and leaders, the authors found five key actions as necessary for supporting effective implementation of student-centered data systems to improve learning conditions and experiences at the classroom and school level: (1) center and share power with students through student experience data; (2) clearly and frequently communicate the purpose for student data systems; (3) use data to cultivate and model a culture of learning and growth for adults and students; (4) build on and nurture foundational trust and safety through practices that demonstrate respect and professional regard; and (5) demonstrate and facilitate effective implementation through district- and school-level support. Each section of this paper centers on a key action, interwoven with field examples (&quot;In Action&quot;) of the condition's practical application in partner districts. [This report was produced with the National Equity Project, part of the Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) Network.]
Whole Child, Whole Family, Whole Community: A New Vision for Universal Preschool Quality Standards
Author: Colorado Children's Campaign
Date: 2023-08-04
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Holistic Approach,Preschool Education,Equal Education,Access to Education,Educational Quality,Academic Standards,State Standards,Teaching Methods,Play,Inclusion,Difficulty Level

As Colorado prepares to establish quality standards for its Universal Preschool (UPK) program, the state has the opportunity to be a national model for supporting early childhood. The Children's Campaign's vision is that Colorado's universal preschool standards will support the &quot;whole child&quot; so that all Colorado children can have a strong start in life. Quality standards for early childhood programs must reflect both the unique needs of children in their earliest years and the realities of early childhood providers. The Children's Campaign has identified attributes of high-quality preschool standards that can be used to inform our state's early childhood community as it takes on this important work. The attributes are: (1) Play-based and grounded in early childhood development; (2) Inclusive; (3) Streamlined; (4) Adaptable; (5) Rigorous; and (6) Supported.
Ontario Public Colleges&apos; Standards of Practice for International Education
Author: Colleges Ontario (Canada)
Date: 2023-03-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Standards,Educational Experience,Foreign Students,Foreign Countries,Student Recruitment,Enrollment Trends,Higher Education,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,Academic Achievement,Educational Attainment,Outcomes of Education,Career Development,Private Colleges,Public Colleges,Marketing,College Admission,Orientation,Well Being,Inclusion,Diversity,Health Insurance,School Safety

Ontario's colleges are committed to providing students of all backgrounds with a rewarding postsecondary experience that prepares them for long-term success in their careers. In recent years, colleges have expanded their global outreach as greater numbers of international students enrol in Ontario. The province is a recognized world leader in post-secondary education and the colleges' tremendous success attracting international students is pivotal to Ontario's long-term prosperity. This document builds on the ongoing strengthening of programs and supports for all students by establishing a common set of minimum standards for international student activity. The standards build on existing practices and the legislative and policy framework and quality assurance mechanisms that guide all college activities. The goal of these standards is to support the well-being of international learners to enhance their opportunities for academic and personal success.
People-Powered Pathways: Lessons in How to Build Students&apos; Social Capital through Career-Connected Learning
Author: Markle, Robert
Date: 2023-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Career Pathways,Social Capital,Career Education,Social Networks,Human Capital,Pilot Projects,Schools,Nonprofit Organizations,Teaching Models,Student Interests,Values,Goal Orientation,Interpersonal Relationship,Communication Skills,College Preparation,Career Readiness

Schools are increasingly engaging in career-connected learning to increase career exposure and skill development. But focusing on skills alone will fall short, particularly if schools hope to address long-standing opportunity gaps. Awareness of possible careers and access to jobs depends not only on learning and achievement, but on personal and professional relationships that serve as gateways to career opportunities. Opportunity sits at the intersection of students' human capital--what they know and can do--and their social capital--who they know and can depend on for support and access. To launch a career, students need more than skills--they also need people willing to take a bet on their potential. With the aim of helping leaders implement effective, equitable strategies for building students' social capital, this report offers field-tested considerations for piloting social capital building within existing career pathways initiatives. The observations draw from an 18-month pilot during which the authors leveraged their social capital playbook to provide direct support to a group of three intermediary organizations--Education Strategy Group, Generation Schools Network, and Hawai'i P-20--collectively supporting 20 sites in the K-12 career pathways space. In the course of the pilot, the authors sought to understand how schools and nonprofits can make social capital building an explicit, effective, and equitable component of existing career-connected learning models.
Think before You Act: Thinking Time Contributes to Math Problem-Solving Efficiency
Author: Chan, Jenny Yun-Chen
Date: 2020-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Anxiety,Algebra,Problem Solving,Web Based Instruction,Instructional Effectiveness,Teaching Methods,Self Efficacy,Time Management,Thinking Skills,Efficiency,Knowledge Level,Grade 9,Goal Orientation,Prediction

This study examined if and how thinking time, defined as the time from the start of the problem to the students' first action to solve, influences their problem-solving efficiency, defined as the number of steps taken to solve the problem, using Graspable Math, a web-based mathematical tool. We found that: (1) students who took longer to think about the problems solved individual problems with fewer steps; (2) thinking time significantly predicted step efficiency above and beyond students' algebra knowledge or their affective disposition towards mathematics; and (3) the relation between thinking time and step efficiency was not moderated by students' knowledge in algebra, math self-efficacy, or math anxiety.
Tapping into Federal COVID-19 Relief Funding &amp; Medicaid to Support Schools and the Wellbeing of Students
Author: Healthy Schools Campaign
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Schools,COVID-19,Pandemics,Federal Aid,Health Services,Federal Programs,State Federal Aid,Eligibility,Low Income Groups,Well Being,Teachers,Students,Mental Health,Mental Health Programs,Elementary Secondary Education,Emergency Programs,Grants,Social Support Groups,State Action

This handout expands upon and consolidates information from the 2021 &quot;RESTART &amp; RECOVERY: Leveraging Federal COVID Relief Funding &amp; Medicaid to Support Student &amp; Staff Wellbeing &amp; Connection&quot; resource. It includes guidance about how states can utilize federal relief funding to expand school Medicaid to support student mental health, including recommendations for coordination across agencies. [This handout was co-published with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH).]
Safe School Environments: Research, Policy, and Investments in Colorado
Author: Colorado Children's Campaign
Date: 2023-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Safety,School Violence,Weapons,Evidence Based Practice,Equal Education,Educational Environment,Educational Policy,Educational Practices,Prevention,Injuries,Well Being,Bullying,Conflict,Law Enforcement,School Security,Security Personnel,Investment

Schools should be safe places for young people, educators, school staff, and community members, and policies and practices can help create learning environments where kids thrive. Gun violence in U.S. schools has prompted calls for increased school safety measures; however, which policies contribute to safe school environments is often a topic of debate. How can schools create safe environments while also fostering welcoming, equitable school climates that support growth, learning, and community? To help Colorado policymakers and school communities answer this question, the Colorado Children's Campaign has identified and compiled research on strategies that are supported by strong evidence. While school safety can be defined broadly as freedom from physical, emotional, and psychological violence, this brief focuses on promoting freedom from bodily harm in a school setting. Strategies that support students' well-being and prevent bullying, fighting, the use of weapons, and other types of violence can contribute to reducing harm. [Leslie Colwell, Megan Ives, Erica Manoatl, and Jackie Zubrzycki contributed to this report.]
State of the States 2023: Policies to Increase Teacher Diversity
Author: Swisher, Abigail
Date: 2023-07-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: State Policy,Teacher Selection,Minority Group Teachers,Diversity (Faculty),Teacher Student Relationship,Academic Achievement,Minority Group Students,Social Justice,Race,Educational Policy,State Aid,Teacher Effectiveness,Trend Analysis,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Recruitment,Program Development,Teacher Persistence,Faculty Mobility,Incentives,Scholarship,Loan Repayment,Apprenticeships,High School Students,Career Education,Alternative Teacher Certification

Teachers of color have a positive impact on all students and make a particularly pronounced difference in the lives of students of color. For students of color, having a teacher of color can increase academic achievement and advanced course-taking, reduce discipline incidents, improve attendance, increase high school graduation and college-going, as well as increase social-emotional outcomes like grit and sense of self-efficacy. The national movement for teacher diversity--driven by both a national reckoning around racial injustice and mounting research on the positive impact that teachers of color have on students--is clearly ascendant. This is a policy area that will require sustained commitment from states to achieve progress and increase the number of teachers of color in the workforce. So to what extent is this commitment reflected in state policies and funding? In National Council on Teacher Quality's first comprehensive scan of state teacher diversity policies, this report takes stock of key trends across 50 states and the District of Columbia. [This report received funding from the Belk Foundation.]
Perceptual and Number Effects on Students&apos; Solution Strategies in an Interactive Online Mathematics Game
Author: Lee, Ji-Eun
Date: 2021-04-00
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Teaching Methods,Middle School Students,Computer Games,Educational Games,Problem Solving,Prior Learning,Goal Orientation,Addition,Multiplication,Learning Strategies,Learning Analytics,Mathematical Concepts,Comparative Analysis,Numbers,Outcomes of Education

We investigated the effects of proximal grouping of numbers, problem-solving goals to make 100, and prior knowledge on students' solution strategies in an online mathematics game. Logistic regression on 857 problem-level data points from 227 middle-school students showed that students were more likely to use productive solution strategies on addition and multiplication problems when proximity supported number grouping, 100 was the problem-solving goal, and students had high prior knowledge. Furthermore, when proximity and number goals did not support problem-solving, students with low prior knowledge were less likely to use productive solution strategies on multiplication problems than students with high prior knowledge. Findings demonstrate that the effects of perceptual and number features on solution strategies vary by students' prior knowledge.
Choice Is Not Always Good: Reducing the Role of Informational Inequality in Producing and Legitimating Higher Education Inequality. CCRC Working Paper No. 133
Author: Dougherty, Kevin J.
Date: 2023-04-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Higher Education,Equal Education,Access to Information,College Choice,Career Choice,College Attendance,College Enrollment,Information Dissemination,Decision Making,Costs,Disadvantaged Youth

This paper examines how the process of making higher education choices in the United States--whether to enter higher education, attend a particular college, or follow a particular path through college--produces and legitimates social inequality. The paper's central thesis is that a societal regime of many choices--while serving individual freedom and producing social well-being--&quot;produces&quot; societal inequality in a way that obscures that process of social reproduction for virtually all who participate in that choice regime. Students often make choices that do not serve their interests as well as they might wish, particularly if students are faced with many choices and do not have adequate information. The incidence of those suboptimal choices is not random but is socially stratified. It is higher for less advantaged people, and unequal provision of good information plays a crucial role in producing those socially stratified suboptimal choices. Secondly, the provision of many choices &quot;legitimates&quot; social inequality. Seemingly offered many choices in life, both the fortunate and unfortunate in society come to feel that much of the inequality they experience is due to their own actions and therefore is legitimate. The paper concludes by offering various prescriptions for reducing the socially stratifying impacts and ideological consequences of a high-choice regime. It lays out how we could more equally distribute high-quality information, nudge students toward better choice making, reduce the costs to students of suboptimal choices, and mitigate blaming self and others by demystifying the nature of choice. In making these arguments, this paper draws on the research literature in sociology of education, behavioral economics, cognitive psychology, and social psychology of inequality.
A Guide to Expanding Medicaid-Funded School Health Services. Updated
Author: Mays, Alex
Date: 2022-03-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: School Health Services,Federal Programs,State Federal Aid,Eligibility,Low Income Students,State Policy,Change,Administrative Organization,Access to Health Care,Outcomes of Education,Educational Improvement,Partnerships in Education,Program Development

&quot;A Guide to Expanding Medicaid-Funded School Health Services&quot; provides background on school-based Medicaid and outlines various opportunities to advance state policy changes required to access federal funds. In December 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services clarified Medicaid reimbursement in school-based settings, opening the door to more funding. This Guide covers best practices for bringing state Medicaid plans into alignment with federal policy, designing the administrative processes, and tackling other obstacles to improving student access to care. It also covers building a sustainable funding structure and offers concrete lessons for collaboration among agencies. It is designed for anyone working to expand access to school health services, including state and local education agency staff, state Medicaid agencies, school health providers, public health professionals and children's health advocates. All of these stakeholders share a common goal: improve student health and educational outcomes.
Healthcare Training Programs in Community Colleges: A Landscape Analysis of Program Availability and Student Completions
Author: Kopko, Elizabeth
Date: 2023-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Community Colleges,Allied Health Occupations Education,Allied Health Personnel,Student Characteristics,College Role,Programs,Public Colleges,Private Colleges,For Profit Colleges,Postsecondary Education,College Graduates,Academic Degrees,Racial Composition,Ethnicity,Gender Differences,Wages

This report describes a study of healthcare training programs that CCRC conducted to understand the current role that community colleges play in training healthcare workers, including public health workers. In an analysis of 2019-20 data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the authors examine the range and types of healthcare programs offered by postsecondary institutions and the number and characteristics of students who graduate from these programs. Findings from the study provide policymakers and community college leaders a better understanding of the role community colleges currently play and their potential to take on greater responsibility in training healthcare workers.
Affirmative Action: Implications for Endowments, Foundations, and the Broader Industry
Author: Novello, Amanda
Date: 2023-08-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Affirmative Action,Endowment Funds,Philanthropic Foundations,Court Litigation,Schools,Nonprofit Organizations,Legal Responsibility,Laws,Black Colleges,Racial Factors,Educational Attainment

Affirmative action, a practice used since the 1960s to edge toward equity and address historical and ongoing injustice through higher education attainment, was struck down last month by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The immediate and longer term direct and indirect impacts of this ruling are vast and, in some cases, murky. In response, we've compiled insights into the potential implications of this ruling to educational institutions, foundations, and across the nonprofit asset management sphere. [Contributions to this report by George Suttles.]