Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition Por
The first U.S. charter school opened in 1992, and the scale of the charter movement has since grown to 4,000 schools and more than a million students in 40 states plus the District of Columbia. With this growth has also come a contentious debate about the effects of the schools on their own students and on students in nearby traditional public schools (TPSs). In recent years, research has begun to inform this debate, but many of the key outcomes have not been adequately examined, or have been examined in only a few states. Do the conflicting conclusions of different studies reflect real differences in effects driven by variation in charter laws and policies? Or do they reflect differences in research approaches — some of which may be biased? This book examines four primary research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of students transferring to charter schools? (2) What effect do charter schools have on test-score gains for students who transfer between TPSs and charter schools? (3) What is the effect of attending a charter high school on the probability of graduating and of entering college? (4) What effect does the introduction of charter schools have on test scores of students in nearby TPSs?
Focus on the Wonder Years: Challenges Facing the American Middle School Por
Young teens undergo multiple physical, social-emotional, and intellectual changes, which have been viewed as setting them apart from both younger and older students. The basic concept of a separate middle school was to better focus on and serve the special needs of children in their early teens. The question is whether middle schools, as currently designed and operated, are performing that function well. Or, as some have alleged, do they unintentionally encourage poor behavior, alienation, disengagement, and low achievement? This monograph is a comprehensive assessment of the American middle school. It presents observations on a variety of very real issues — troubling social climates and associated behavioral problems, teachers who lack subject-matter expertise, parents who seem uninvolved, among others. The authors offer ways of tackling these issues: reassessing the organization of grades K-12; specifically assisting the students most in need; finding ways to prevent disciplinary problems; working with proven professional-development models; helping parents understand the schools goals and methods and how they can help their children learn at home; and exploring how other countries promote the well-being of and provide positive school climates for students of comparable age to support academic achievement.
Making Out-Of-School-Time Matter: Evidence for an Action Agenda Por
A loosely connected set of providers, clients, sponsors, and intermediaries make up the local markets referred to as the out-of-school-time (OST) field. This field and the actors in it have been evolving in response to shifts in the economy, the growing demand for services associated with increased numbers of working mothers in the labor force, concerns over youth development or the lack thereof, and increased academic expectations for youth programs. This report presents the findings of a broad-ranging literature review intended to identify, frame, and assess relevant OST issues. Drawing on recent studies the authors provide an objective view of the politicized debate over the future of the field. They identify and address the level of demand for OST services, the effectiveness of offerings, what constitutes quality in OST programs, how to encourage participation, and how to build further community capacity. The report provides recommendations for improving the current debate over provision.
Making Sense of Test-Based Accountability in Education Por
Test-based accountability systems that attach high stakes to standardized test results have raised a number of issues on educational assessment and accountability. Do these high-stakes tests measure student achievement accurately? How can policymakers and educators attach the right consequences to the results of these tests? And what kinds of tradeoffs do these testing policies introduce? This book responds to the growing emphasis on high-stakes testing and offers recommendations for more-effective test-based accountability systems.
School-Based Drug Prevention: What Kind of Drug Use Does It Prevent? Por
School-based drug prevention, popular with the public and politicians alike, is now a nearly universal experience for American youth. Analysis has shown that the best programs can reduce use of a wide range of substances. But questions remain regarding how to think about and, hence, fund, these programs. Should they be viewed principally as weapons in the war against illicit drugs, or, at the other extreme, do prevention programs benefit students and society most by reducing use of alcohol and tobacco? The authors address these questions by comparing for the first time the social benefits of school-based prevention programs' long-run impacts on a diverse set of different substances.
The Prevalence of Collaboration Among American Teachers: National Findings from the American Teacher Panel Por
Teacher collaboration is an important component of long-term career development for educators across the United States. For example, collaborative activities (such as peer observation and co-planning meetings) can provide opportunities for teachers to engage in informal mentoring with more-experienced and more-effective colleagues, experiment with new instructional approaches, and co-construct understandings of policies and practices — which, in turn, can shape their teaching practice. However, many factors impede support of teacher collaboration. These include norms of teacher autonomy, isolation, and limited instructional support from principals. These factors might be particularly salient in high-poverty schools, which have been found to have lower levels of capacity to support professional learning among teachers. However, little is known about teacher collaboration across multiple settings in the United States, and differences based on poverty rates have not been examined with nationally representative data. Based on data from a survey of a nationally representative sample of K–12 teachers in the United States that was conducted in the fall of 2016, this report explores the prevalence of teacher collaboration in schools across the United States and assesses the extent to which teacher collaboration varies in schools with different levels of students in poverty. Analysis focuses on teachers' reports of three particular aspects of teacher collaboration: the prevalence of opportunities, the frequency of collaboration activities, and the usefulness of collaboration experiences. The findings might inform policy and practice related to teacher collaboration opportunities at the school, district, state, and national levels.
Reforming Teacher Education: Something Old, Something New Por
Teacher education has been subject to both scathing criticism and innumerable efforts designed to reform it or to save it from being dismantled. One of the latest and most well funded efforts aimed at teacher education reform is boldly titled Teachers for a New Era (TNE). Eleven colleges and universities of various types nationwide were selected to participate in TNE. The TNE initiative emphasizes evidence-based decisionmaking, close collaboration between education and arts and sciences faculty, and teaching as an academically taught clinical-practice profession. The RAND Corporation and the Manpower Research Demonstration Corporation followed and evaluated the TNE initiative from October 2002 to September 2005, conducting on-site interviews with TNE grantees. The authors place TNE in the larger context of teacher education reform and critically examine the process by which reform will result in highly qualified teachers capable of producing improvements in student learning. They also examine TNE’s contributions to the grantee institutions’ teacher education programs and organizational culture and assess the sustainability of TNE beyond the life of the grant.
Connecting What Teachers Know About State English Language Arts Standards for Reading and What They Do in Their Classrooms: Findings from the American Teacher Panel Por
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Research Questions
What do U.S. ELA teachers know and report doing in the classroom in regard to selection of complex, grade-level texts?
What do these teachers know and report doing in the classroom for close reading of complex, grade-level texts?
What is the relationship between teachers' self-reported reading instructional approaches and their understanding of two ideas aligned with most state reading standards: use of complex texts and close reading of texts?
In a 2016 report, RAND researchers explored English language arts (ELA) teachers' implementation of their state standards, with a specific focus on three key aspects: teachers' instructional materials, their knowledge about their standards, and their instructional practices. This report provides an update based on data from a spring 2016 survey of the RAND American Teacher Panel (ATP). In particular, the authors connect teachers' approaches to reading instruction with their understanding of two ideas aligned with most state standards related to reading: use of complex texts and close reading of texts. The findings imply that ELA teachers need clearer messages about the reading instruction approaches and practices aligned with their state standards, as well as better supports and curriculum resources to engage in those approaches. In particular, teachers need guidance on the use of leveled readers — or texts written at students' individual reading levels — and how to address reading skills through texts.
Mathematical Proficiency for All Students: Toward a Strategic Research and Development Program in Mathematics Education Por
A clear need exists for substantial improvement in mathematics proficiency in U.S. schools. While the federal government and the nation's school systems have made significant investments toward improving mathematics education, the knowledge base supporting these efforts has generally been weak. The RAND Mathematics Study Panel was convened as part of a broader effort to inform the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement on ways to improve the quality and usability of education research and development (R&D). The panel has proposed a strategic R&D program supporting the improvement of mathematics proficiency, and equity in proficiency, among U.S. school students. The panel identified three areas for focused R&D-development of teachers' mathematical knowledge used in teaching, teaching and learning of skills needed for mathematical thinking and problem-solving, and teaching and learning of algebra from kindergarten through the 12th grade. The panel also recommends that the initial stages of the program include three key study areas: collecting evidence to support decisions concerning standards of mathematical proficiency, creating analytic descriptions of current instructional practice and curriculum in U.S. classroom, and developing measures of mathematical proficiency.
Challenges of Conflicting School Reforms Por
A decade ago, New American Schools (NAS) launched an ambitious effort for whole-school reform to address the perceived lagging achievement of American students and the lackluster school reform attempts that have produced so few meaningful changes. As a private nonprofit organization, NAS set out to help schools and districts significantly raise the achievement of large numbers of students by offering whole-school designs and design-based assistance during the implementation process. NAS is currently in the scale-up phase of its effort, and its designs are being widely diffused to schools across the nation. During the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 school years, RAND assessed the effects of NAS designs on classroom practice and student achievement in a sample of schools in a high-poverty district. RAND found that high-poverty schools often have fragmented and conflicting environments with difficult and changing political currents and entrenched unions. Teachers in high-poverty schools tend to face new accountability systems and fluctuating reform agendas. These teachers generally lack sufficient time for implementing reform efforts, often becoming demoralized and losing their enthusiasm for the difficult task of improving student performance under difficult conditions. RAND concluded that high-stakes tests may motivate schools to increase performance and to seek out new curricula and instructional strategies associated with comprehensive school reforms. However, those same tests may provide disincentives to adopt richer, more in-depth curricula that can succeed in improving the learning opportunities of all students, particularly those in high-poverty settings.
Health, Well-Being, and Education in an Urban School District: Baltimore City Public Schools Prior to the Implementation of the 21st Century Buildings Program Por
This report presents findings from the initial phase of a study to examine whether and how rebuilding and renovating of Baltimore City Public Schools buildings affects students, school staff, school conditions, and the surrounding community. The report summarizes findings on three sets of exploratory analyses that examine associations between factors that may be influenced by the school building conditions prior to the renovations taking place: (1) the relationship between students' perception of school climate, student health and well-being, and student education outcomes; (2) the relationship between teachers' perceptions of school climate, teacher health and well-being, and their students' education outcomes; and (3) the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and students' perceptions of school climate. We found that students' and teachers' perception of school climate was correlated with measures of mental health in both populations, and that students' physical and mental health is moderately correlated with education outcomes, in particular with thinking about dropping out of school. We found no statistically significant correlations between teacher physical and mental health and student education outcomes, nor were we able to identify statistically significant relationships between our measures of neighborhood quality and students' assessment of the school climate.
Improving Mathematics and Science Education: A Longitudinal Investigation of the Relationship Between Reform-Oriented Instruction and Student Achievement Por
The term reform-oriented teaching describes a collection of instructional practices that are designed to engage students as active participants in their own learning and to enhance the development of complex cognitive skills and processes. This monograph presents the findings of a multiyear National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded study of the effectiveness of reform-oriented science and mathematics instruction. It builds on an earlier RAND study, called the Mosaic project, which found “a weak but positive relationship” between reform-oriented practices and student achievement. The present study, called Mosaic II, extends this earlier research in two important ways. First, it incorporates more-diverse indicators of student exposure to reform-oriented practices, including innovative, vignette-based measures. Second, it follows students for three years in order to measure the relationship after longer exposure to reform practices.
Vital Assets: Federal Investment in Research and Development at the Nation's Universities and Colleges Por
To provide an empirical basis for assessing the federal investment in university-based research and development (R&D), RAND compiled a comprehensive list of federal R&D funds going to every university and college in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico using its RaDiUS database and analyzed the resulting data by state and a variety of relevant institutional characteristics (public versus private, including and excluding medical schools, etc.). The report is intended as a reference document for national, regional, state, and university decision-makers and planners interested in assessing the relative competitiveness of particular university systems and individual campuses in obtaining federal R&D funds. It is also intended to stimulate further analysis of trends, priorities, and resource allocations involving federally funded R&D.
Paying for Research Facilities and Administration Por
Federal spending for scientific research at U.S. academic institutions equals approximately $15 billion each year. According to the analysis in this report, about three-quarters of this amount supports the direct costs of conducting research. The other one-quarter covers facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. The authors estimate that universities pay between $0.7 and $1.5 billion in F&A costs that would otherwise be eligible for federal reimbursement. This report provides up-to-date quantitative and qualitative data on F&A costs to inform that policy debate.
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