Education Research & Reports

What Makes KIPP Work? A Study of Student Characteristics, Attrition, and School Finance

Study by: Gary Miron, Jessica L. Urschel, and Nicholas Saxton, College of Education and Human Development,
Western Michigan University

This study argues that KIPP is a model that serves public education by pushing the discussion of increased instruction for children in poverty and for its unique approach to training and supporting urban school administrators. The study finds, however, that because of selective entry and exit of students and higher levels of funding received by KIPP, this model may not be easily replicated in traditional public schools.

Report

Problems with the Use of Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers

Co-authored by: Eva L. Baker, Paul E. Barton, Linda Darling-Hammond, Edward Haertel, Helen F. Ladd, Robert L. Linn, Diane Ravitch, Richard Rothstein, Richard J. Shavelson and Lorrie A. Shepard

This report, produced by scholars convened by the Economic Policy Institute, focuses on claims that measuring teacher effectiveness by using student test scores will lead to improved student achievement. A review of the evidence leads the authors to conclude that test scores should only be a part of an overall comprehensive teacher evaluation program and that states would be unwise to adopt plans which heavily focus on test scores to evaluate and compensate teachers.

Report

TEST, PUNISH, AND PUSH OUT:
How “Zero Tolerance” and High–Stakes Testing Funnel Youth Into the School-to-Prison Pipeline

The report, released by the Advancement project – a Washington-based civil rights group – finds that a growing number of students are leaving school and ending up in the criminal justice system because the concentration on high-stakes tests is turning them off to education or because they are being arrested for actions that in the past would have been addressed within the school system.

Report

Profiles of Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: 2008-2009
Gary Miron and Jessica Urschel
Dept. of Educational Leadership, Research & Technology, College of Education, Western Michigan University

This second annual Profiles report tracks trends in the nonprofit education management industry. The report is a companion to the Profiles of For-Profit Education Management Organizations, written by Miron and Urschel in collaboration with Alex Molnar of Arizona State University.

Report

2008-2009 Edition of Profiles of For-Profit Education Management Organizations
Alex Molnar, Arizona State University; Gary Miron, Western Michigan University; and Jessica Urschel, Western Michigan University

This report jointly released by the Commercialism in Education and Education Policy Research Units at Arizona State University, the Education and Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Western Michigan University College of Education finds little growth in the number of schools managed by for-profit companies. This finding is one of several contained in the 2008-2009 edition of Profiles of For-Profit Education Management Organizations.

Report

The Research that Reaches the Public: Who Produces the Educational Research Mentioned in the News Media?
Holly Yettick

The report, authored by Holly Yettick of the University of Colorado at Boulder, suggests that think tank research is over-represented in the media. It is estimated that university-based studies conducted in 2007 were 14 to 16 times the number of think-tank based studies, yet Education Week, The New York Times and The Washington Post cited university-based studies just twice as often as think tank studies.

Report

Charter Ranking Roulette: An Analysis of Reports That Grade States’ Charter School Laws
By Kevin G. Welner and Wendy C. Chi

In this report, the authors analyze the different ranking systems used to grade each state’s charter school legislation. In addition, authors offer their own ranking system to illustrate the arbitrariness of any given ranking system and to highlight some key charter school issues. They investigate the general, popular phenomenon of rankings in the field of education, exploring the benefits, drawback and appeal of such rankings.

Report
Appendix

Test Results Untrustworthy
By David C. Berliner and Sharon Nichols

In this essay, the authors discuss the findings of their report, The Inevitable Corruption of Indicators and Educators Through High-Stakes Testing. They note that the pressure of high-stakes tests is forcing school districts and State Departments of Education to take inappropriate actions to avoid being labeled as failing.

Essay

Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform
By David C. Berliner, Arizona State University (August, 2005)

This essay offers an analysis about the role of poverty in school reform. The author argues that poverty places severe limits on what can be accomplished through school reform efforts, specifically those related to the No Child Left Behind law. The data presented makes the case that polices designed to reduce family and child poverty are the most powerful way to improve school achievement.

Essay

Charter, Private, Public Schools and Academic Achievement: New Evidence from NAEP Mathematics Data
By Christopher Lubienski and Sarah Theule Lubienski, University of Illinois (January, 2006)

This analysis of U.S. mathematics achievement finds that, after accounting for the fact that private schools serve more advantaged populations, public schools perform remarkably well, often outscoring private and charter schools.

Research

Public Policy and Teacher Labor Markets: What We Know and Why It Matters

This report summarizes the current knowledge about the labor market for teachers and provides policy recommendations to enhance the supply of high quality teachers.(By Susanna Loeb, Associate Professor of Education, School of Education, Stanford University and Michelle Reininger, Graduate Assistant, School of Education, Stanford University)

Research

Value Added-Assessment from the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics

As states and districts wrestle with ways to hold teachers and schools accountable, many are looking at value-added assessment as a way of calculating the effect that schools and teachers have on student achievement - as measured by standardized test scores. (by Marcella Dianda, Student Achievement, and Denise McKeon, NEA Research)

Research

Perceived Effects of State-Mandated Testing Programs on Teaching and Learning: Findings from a National Survey of Teachers
By Pedulla, Joseph J., Abrams, Lisa M., Madaus, George F., Russel, Michael K., Ramos, Miguel A., Miao, Jing; Lynch School of Education, Boston College University (August 2003)

Executive Summary
Research