< Back Review of Ohio's Lost Einsteins: The Inequitable Outcomes of Early High Achievers Summary A recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report examines the achievement growth of Ohio's "early high achievers," some of whom are identified as gifted and talented (GT). Its conclusion-which was examined in a new review-was that closing the "gifted identification gap" can help to close the "excellence gap." Publication Date December 2, 2021 Research Areas Assessment & Accountability Authors Scott Imberman; Eunice Han, Yongmei Ni, University of Utah Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report Uses Ungrounded Assumptions to Make Claims About the Effectiveness of a Gifted and Talented Label An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Recent study offers no solid answer as to whether more investment should be made for gifted and talented identification for early high achievers. EAST LANSING, MI (December 2, 2021) - A recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report examines the achievement growth of Ohio's "early high achievers," some of whom are identified as gifted and talented (GT). Its conclusion-which was examined in a new review-was that closing the "gifted identification gap" can help to close the "excellence gap." Eunice Han and Yongmei Ni of the University of Utah reviewed Ohio's Lost Einsteins: The Inequitable Outcomes of Early High Achievers . They found that the report's data limitations and research design did not support a causal inference on the effectiveness of GT identification. The report tracks the students' academic performance from fourth grade to enrollment in college. It finds that early high-achieving students who are Black, Hispanic, and low-income tend to perform worse than White, non-disadvantaged peers in various educational outcomes. In addition, Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged early high-achieving students are less likely to be identified as GT than their White, Asian/Pacific Islander, and non-disadvantaged peers. The report then makes a causal inference with insufficient grounding. It finds that GT identification improves the academic performance of early high achievers, especially for Black students and students in high-minority but low-poverty schools. Based on this finding, the report concludes that if economically disadvantaged and minority early high-achievers were identified for GT programs at the same rate as their non-disadvantaged, high-achieving peers, it could decrease the "excellence gaps" in the long run. This central causal claim is unsubstantiated, given the data limitations and key assumptions in the study's research design. The report, therefore, is premature in offering its policy recommendations to, for instance, use universal screening for GT services to help early higher achievers "maintain their altitude" and close "excellence gaps" for economically disadvantaged students and students of color. Find the review, by Eunice Han and Yongmei Ni, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Ohio's Lost Einsteins: The Inequitable Outcomes of Early High Achievers , written by Scott Imberman and published by the Fordham Institute, at: https://fordhaminstitute.org/sites/default/files/publication/pdfs/ohios-lost-einsteins-report-web-final.pdf NEPC Reviews ( http://thinktankreview.org ) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: https://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/ About The Great Lakes Center The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at https://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Contact: Michelle Renée Valladares: (720) 505-1958, michelle.valladares@colorado.edu Eunice Han : (801) 587-1398, eunice.han@economics.utah.edu Yongmei Ni: (801) 587-9298, yongmei.ni@utah.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back District Awards for Teacher Excellence: Final Report Summary Gratz's review finds although the report is thorough and presents some interesting findings, "it suffers from two major constraints: data not collected and questions not asked." Gratz cautions against using this report for policymaking. Publication Date March 3, 2011 Research Areas Teacher Workforce Authors Donald B. Gratz, Curry College Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report on Texas Pay for Performance Plan Offers Little to Guide Policy March 3, 2011 EAST LANSING, MI (March 3, 2011) –A Think Twice review of a new report which evaluates the performance pay plan for Texas teachers concludes that though it is thorough and presents interesting findings, the limitations in the data and analyses caution against its usefulness in guiding policymaking. The review, by Donald Gratz, chair of the Education Department of Curry College, found that the report, published by Vanderbilt University's National Center for Performance Incentives (NCPI), "suffers from two significant limitations: data not available and questions not asked." The review was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education, with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The NCPI report, District Awards for Teacher Excellence: Final Report , comes amid growing interest in ways to tie teacher pay to performance. As the largest program of incentive-based teacher pay in the nation, the Texas District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) plan is "bound to attract attention," Gratz writes. The experimental Texas plan is voluntary, with districts opting in if they want to share in a pool of $150 million to $190 million annually. This money funds merit awards that are made to teachers on the basis of their students' performance on the state achievement test plus other factors determined by individual districts. Sixteen percent of the state's districts participate, and these districts, which tend to be urban and poor, serve nearly half the students in the state. Although Vanderbilt NCPI identifies the District Award report as "Final," Gratz points out that the report is based on only one or two years of data. The analyses of teacher perceptions of the program and of teacher retention are based on a single cycle of awards for teachers. The analysis of student achievement data covers just two years. This is, Gratz notes, "not enough data to draw solid conclusions." Moreover, he writes that "little is known about how districts actually implemented D.A.T.E., or about such factors as school culture, leadership and class size." The report's authors also acknowledge many of these limitations, stating for example, "It is important to emphasize again that this is a simple comparison, and does not account in any way for school or student characteristics that might also influence students' gains" (p. 91). Gratz found that the report focuses mostly on describing the Texas program, which districts took part, and why and how they designed their version of the program. As a program evaluation, the report "does not consider broader questions such as whether incentive pay produces positive results, not just higher test scores, and under what conditions." Nor does the report consider the validity of using the Texas achievement test (TAKS) as the single measure of achievement. The review also points out that while the report finds large differences in how participating school districts implemented the program, "[t]he report can't determine whether higher test scores are due to better teaching, more drill, professional development, or something else." Gratz credits the report for presenting "many intriguing findings about teacher attitudes, the potential impact of group versus individual awards, and other program factors." He also praises the authors for noting many, although not all, of the key limitations of the report. However, he concludes that its evaluation design does not yield results from which policymakers can determine the success of the program. The report's findings, according to Gratz, "are interesting but not sufficient for guiding policy." Find Don Gratz's review and a link to the NCPI report on the Great Lakes Center website at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . The Think Twice think tank review project, a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policy makers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by the support of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The review is also available on the National Education Policy Center website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-district-awards . --###-- The mission of the Great Lakes Center is to improve public education for all students in the Great Lakes region through the support and dissemination of high quality, academically sound research on education policy and practices. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Contact: Teri Battaglieri – (517) 203-2940; greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org Donald B. Gratz – (617) 333-2130; dgratz@curry.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admission Standards in Teacher Prep Summary A recently issued report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) advocated raising the bar for entry into teacher preparation programs as a means to improve teacher quality across the country. The report reviewed the academic requirements at 221 institutions in 25 states, and argued for boosting entry requirements. Publication Date March 23, 2017 Research Areas Teacher Workforce Authors Kate Walsh, Nithya Joseph and Autumn Lewis; Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Boston College; Megina Baker, Project Zero, Harvard University; Wen-Chia Chang, Boston College; M. Beatriz Fernández, Alberto Hurtado University, Chile; and Elizabeth Stringer Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Multiple unsupported, unfounded claims limit report on raising the bar for teacher admissions EAST LANSING, Mich. (Mar. 23, 2017) — In a recently issued report, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) advocated raising the bar for entry into teacher preparation programs as a means to improve teacher quality across the country. The report, Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admission Standards in Teacher Prep , reviewed the academic requirements at 221 institutions in 25 states, and argued for boosting entry requirements. An academic review of the report released today finds the report to be problematic and lacking research to support its claims. A team of reviewers, led by Boston College's Marilyn Cochran-Smith, reviewed the report for the Think Twice think tank review project. Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) , is funded in part by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice . Also contributing to the review were Megina Baker, Wen-Chia Chang, M. Beatriz Fernández, and Elizabeth Stringer Keefe. The reviewers are part of Project TEER (Teacher Education and Education Reform) , which is a collaborative research group interested in the intersection of teacher education policy and practice, on one hand, and neoliberal education reform, on the other. According to the reviewers, the report suggests that raising the bar through higher admission standards for teacher education programs will improve teacher quality. Unfortunately, the report does not provide sufficient supports for its assertions or recommendations. Additionally, the review find the report fails to adequately address claims regarding: The impact on teacher diversity of raising admissions requirements for teacher candidates; The public perceptions of teaching and teacher education; or Attracting more academically able teacher candidates. The review team concludes that the report ignores a large body of research and offers little guidance for policymakers or institutions seeking to use the information. Find the review on the GLC website: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admissions Standards in Teacher Prep at: http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Admissions_Yearbook_Report Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The review can also be found on the NEPC website: http://nepc.colorado.edu Dr. Cochran-Smith is the Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools and Director of the Doctoral Program in Curriculum and Instruction at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Contact: Marilyn Cochran-Smith , (617) 552-4591, cochrans@bc.edu Daniel J. Quinn , (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Review of The Broken Pipeline: Advanced Education Policies at the Local Level Summary A recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report describes current policies and practices at the district level across the U.S. that are designed to provide what the report calls advanced and gifted education. A review of the report determines, however, that its conclusions and policy suggestions lack validity. Publication Date July 18, 2024 Research Areas Governance & Public Education; Assessment & Accountability Authors Adam Tyner; Eunice S. Han, University of Utah Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Study Fails to Prove Need for Doubling Down on Advanced and Gifted Education Programs An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Instead of providing credible evidence supporting their effectiveness, the report relies on inadequate research to advocate for expanding the use of advanced and gifted education programs. GRAND RAPIDS, MI (JULY 18, 2024) - A recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute report describes current policies and practices at the district level across the U.S. that are designed to provide what the report calls advanced and gifted education. A review of the report determines, however, that its conclusions and policy suggestions lack validity. In her review of The Broken Pipeline: Advanced Education Policies at the Local Level , Eunice S. Han of the University of Utah finds murky terminology, a lack of evidence-based indicators, and issues with the data sources and analyses. The report's stated goal is to provide a better understanding of district policies to improve the provision of advanced education programs by examining the breadth of district policies for such programs. It is based on data from a survey conducted in 2023, and it addresses issues including identification, program types, curriculum, teacher support, and predictors for policy implementation. The report constructs an "advanced education index" that gauges the prevalence of advanced education programs and the comprehensiveness of district policies. Then, based on this index, it concludes that U.S. district policies for advanced learners are subpar. Professor Han discusses the research and methodological challenges that restrict the report and make its conclusions unreliable. Given its data limitations and problems, such as nonrepresentative samples and the absence of other important variables, with the key assumptions in the report's methodology, the report's associated policy suggestions are overstated. Find the review, by Eunice S. Han, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Find The Broken Pipeline: Advanced Education Policies at the Local Level , written by Adam Tyner and published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, at: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/research/broken-pipeline-advanced-education-policies-local-level NEPC Reviews ( https://nepc.colorado.edu/reviews ) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Eunice S. Han (801) 587-1398 eunice.han@economics.utah.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back An Opportunity Culture for All : Making teaching a highly paid, high-impact profession Summary A report from Public Impact calls for a sweeping restructuring of the teaching profession. Public Impact in its consulting work promotes school turnarounds, charter schools, and market-based reforms. Publication Date December 12, 2013 Research Areas Teacher Workforce Authors Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel; Patricia Hinchey, Penn State University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Unsubstantiated wishes and beliefs mar Public Impact report EAST LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 12, 2013) – A recent report from Public Impact calls for redesigned teacher roles to extend the reach of "excellent" teachers to more students through a variety of structural school changes. The report claims to provide a scalable way to increase teacher pay and planning time within current school budgets. Despite its assertions, an academic review released today finds the report short on evidence to support either its premises or recommendations. An Opportunity Culture for All : Making teaching a highly paid, high-impact profession , authored by Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel, calls for a sweeping restructuring of the teaching profession. Dr. Patricia Hinchey, an education professor at Penn State University who has written extensively on teaching and teacher assessment, reviewed the report for the Think Twice think tank review project. The review was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The report is based on two unsupported premises: (1) that only one in four teachers is good enough to help close achievement gaps, and (2) that current efforts to recruit and retain excellent teachers are inadequate. The authors call for changes to the teaching profession to increase the reach of excellent teachers through new types of team-based teaching positions, increased use of paraprofessionals, and increased reliance on technology. It also suggests that teacher salaries might rise because of savings from restructured staffing and shifting of other resources. Increased teacher pay would be linked to a variety of arrangements that increased the number of students a teacher was accountable for. In her review, Hinchey, finds that the report targets teacher excellence, but it offers no specific means of identifying and assessing that quality. The report does implicitly define excellent teachers as those who produce greater gains in student achievement based on test scores. It also assumes that teachers alone can close the achievement gap, despite evidence that outside factors have a far greater impact on student achievement than in-school factors. The review highlights that no evidence was presented to ground the report's assertions and projections. In addition, Hinchey finds that the report fails to acknowledge existing literature that contradicts many of its claims regarding teacher quality, promised gains in student achievement, or large increases in teacher pay. She also calls attention to the lack of references to support the report's heavy reliance on technology. "Overall, the proposal is based on unsupported assumptions, assertions and projections—wishes and beliefs that if the approach were put into practice, it would somehow play out to the benefit of students," Hinchey concludes. "Lacking an empirical base, the report is not a useful guide for policy." Find this Think Twice review on the Great Lakes Center website: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find An Opportunity Culture for All : Making teaching a highly paid, high-impact profession on the web: http://opportunityculture.org/an-opportunity-culture-for-all/ Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The review can also be found on the NEPC website: http://nepc.colorado.edu The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Contact: Patricia H. Hinchey, (570) 333-5285, pxh12@psu.edu Dan Quinn, (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Marshall Jean, University of Chicago Summary A study from the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), an organization that often advocates for charter schools, attempted to provide an in-depth analysis of policy features across the states that allow for online charter schools. The report concluded that online charter schools should use a separate regulatory framework than brick-and-mortar charter schools. The report is part of a series of three, which were sponsored by the Walton Foundation. Publication Date April 18, 2016 Research Areas Governance & Public Education; Technology & AI Authors Rosa Pazhouh, Robin Lake, Larry Miller; Gary Miron, Western Michigan University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release CRPE online charter school report could be useful to policymakers, review finds EAST LANSING, Mich. (Apr. 18, 2016) — A study from the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), an organization that often advocates for charter schools, attempted to provide an in-depth analysis of policy features across the states that allow for online charter schools. The report concluded that online charter schools should use a separate regulatory framework than brick-and-mortar charter schools. An academic review of the report finds that it potentially offers a solid contribution for policymaking. Gary Miron, Western Michigan University, reviewed the report, The Policy Framework for Online Charter Schools , for the Think Twice think tank review project. Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), is funded in part by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. In his review of the report, Miron describes it as a well-organized description of policy features, and that the policy recommendations generally, but not always, follow well from the study's evidence. Miron notes that the report appears to be one of three sponsored by the Walton Foundation. He says, "the three reports appear to be jointly coordinated and planned, although they were independently prepared and reported." Miron adds, "Together, they [the three reports] provide a comprehensive examination of online charter schools." Despite this, he is critical of one recommendation from the report: that online schools should have more flexibility in limiting which students gain access. Instead, he recommends that policymakers ensure online schools spend more on instruction, in order to provide students with more support from qualified educators. He concludes, "Overall, the detailed analyses of policy environments and the summary of problems in the online charter school sector included in this report should be useful to policymakers who are willing and able to pursue more restrictive oversight and increase accountability for online charter schools." Find the review on the GLC website: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find The Policy Framework for Online Charter Schools on the web: http://www.crpe.org/publications/policy-framework-online-charter-schools The review can also be found on the NEPC website: http://nepc.colorado.edu Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Playing to Type? Mapping the Charter School Landscape Summary This report developed a unique typology to compare charter schools types by their enrollment, demographic background of students and performance. Publication Date May 11, 2006 Research Areas Charter Schools Authors Gary Miron, Western Michigan University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I (NBER No. 19423) & II (NBER No. 19424) Summary This NBER working paper - split in two parts - studied the impact of teachers on long-term outcomes using value-added scores. The reports addressed a key question: Are teachers' impacts on students' test scores ("value added") a good measure of their quality? Economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman, & Jonah Rockoff claim in a two-part paper that higher value-added scores for teachers lead to greater economic success for their students later in life. The paper drew widespread media and politicians' attention, including the president's. Publication Date April 10, 2014 Research Areas Assessment & Accountability; Teacher Workforce Authors Raj Chetty, John N. Friedman, and Jonah E. Rockoff (both papers); Moshe Adler, Columbia University & Empire State College, SUNY Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Think Twice Review of Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I & II Review Exposes Flaws in Influential yet Controversial Reports on Teacher's Value-Added EAST LANSING, Mich. (Apr. 10, 2014) – Economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman, & Jonah Rockoff claim in a two-part paper that higher value-added scores for teachers lead to greater economic success for their students later in life. The paper drew widespread media and politicians' attention, including the president's. An academic review out today shows that the authors' methods fail in several significant ways and that the paper's claim is unjustified. Moshe Adler of the department of Urban Planning at Columbia University and the Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. Center for Labor Studies at Empire State College, SUNY reviewed the reports for the Think Twice think tank review project. The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) produced the review with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. Adler's review covers Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates and Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood . The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published both papers as working papers. In his review Adler found five problems that invalidate the paper's main claim: The paper fails to mention the existence of a crucial conflicting result that was reported in an earlier version of the same paper. The paper claims that there was insufficient data to investigate whether teacher value-added has an effect on income at any age after the age of 28. This claim is untrue. The method used to calculate the effect of teacher value-added on income at age 28 is biased and misleading The paper makes assumptions that inflate its main result, but these assumptions are contradicted by the evidence The studies that the paper cites in support of its methodology don't actually provide that support. In conclusion, Adler writes, "The two papers under review here use questionable techniques to reach conclusions that are not supported by the data. These problems rend the papers of no value in guiding educational policy." Find this Think Twice Review on the Great Lakes Center website: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find both reports on the National Bureau of Economic Research website: http://www.nber.org/papers/w19423 ; http://www.nber.org/papers/w19424 Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) , provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publication. The project is made possible with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The review can also be found on the NEPC website: http://nepc.colorado.edu The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Contact: Moshe Adler, (917) 453-4921, ma820@columbia.edu Dan Quinn, (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Charter Schools and District Enrollment Loss Do Charter Schools Cause Fiscal Distress in School Districts Do the Costs of California Charter Schools Outweigh the Benefits Summary The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), based at the University of Washington, Bothell, recently released a series of three policy briefs on the financial impact of charter schools on nearby school districts in California. The briefs are intended to inform ongoing debates over charter school financing and expansion in the state of California. Publication Date May 30, 2019 Research Areas Charter Schools; School Funding Authors Bruce D. Baker, Rutgers University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release CRPE Briefs Distort the Debates about the Fiscal Impact of California Charter Schools on School Districts An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Despite usefulness in pointing to some important issues that policymakers should consider, briefs' analyses of those issues are superficial and misleading. EAST LANSING, MI (May 30, 2019) - The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), based at the University of Washington, Bothell, recently released a series of three policy briefs on the financial impact of charter schools on nearby school districts in California. The briefs are intended to inform ongoing debates over charter school financing and expansion in the state of California. After reviewing all three, Prof. Bruce D. Baker of Rutgers University found that they failed to accurately or fully apply the relevant research and data. The resulting briefs, while raising and attempting to address important issues, erroneously minimize the likely fiscal impacts of charter growth. The first brief, Charter Schools and District Enrollment , attempts to minimize the import of the considerable role played by charters in districts' enrollment loss, offering up the non sequitur that enrollment loss can arise from other sources as well. The brief's assertion that charter enrollment growth bears little blame for district enrollment decline is not correct. It is, and has been for some time-whether in districts with declining, stable or growing overall student enrollments. The second brief, Do Charter Schools Cause Fiscal Distress in School Districts , contends that serious fiscal problems in school districts are most often caused by financial mismanagement and have no relationship with charter enrollment share. The brief relies on overly simplistic comparisons of charter enrollments and county-assigned "fiscal distress" classifications to conclude that there is no association between charter enrollments and fiscal distress. The contention here is that there can't be an illness if the patient isn't dead. In order to rely on this problematic approach, the brief erroneously dismisses a significant, more rigorous, detailed, peer-reviewed and published body of research that illustrates the fiscal impact of charter schools on host districts, and how those fiscal impacts may lead to fiscal stress. The third brief, Do the Costs of California Charter Schools Outweigh the Benefits , presents itself as an analysis of costs and benefits. But it merely touts the benefits of charter schooling as tangible while being entirely dismissive of numerous known and often measurable costs. Taken together, the briefs are useful only in pointing to some important issues that policymakers should consider; its analyses of those issues are, however, generally superficial and misleading. Find the review, by Bruce D. Baker, at: http://greatlakescenter.org/ All three briefs were authored by Robin Lake, Ashley Jochim, Paul Hill, and Sivan Tuchman and published by CRPE. Find Charter Schools and District Enrollment Loss at: https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/charter_schools_and_district_enrollment_loss_0.pdf Find Do Charter Schools Cause Fiscal Distress in School Districts at: https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/do_charter_schools_cause_fiscal_distress.pdf Find Do the Costs of California Charter Schools Outweigh the Benefits at: https://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/do_costs_of_ca_charter_schools_outweigh_benefits_0.pdf NEPC Reviews ( http://thinktankreview.org ) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/ About The Great Lakes Center The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at http://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Contact: William J. Mathis : (802) 383-0058, wmathis@sover.net Bruce D. Baker : (732) 932-7496, x8232, bruce.baker@gse.rutgers.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Transgender Students and Policy in K-12 Public Schools: Acknowledging Historical Harms and Taking Steps Toward a Promising Future, Summary Transgender and nonbinary (collectively referred to here as “trans”) students are ill-served by most school environments. They experience challenges trying to navigate institutions that, at best, are poorly designed to support them and that often work against them. Although some districts and states have developed laws and policies to improve students’ experiences, many are either ill-conceived, ineffectively implemented, or reinforce restrictive and inflexible structures regulating gender. Publication Date March 23, 2022 Research Areas Equity & Civil Rights Authors Elizabeth J. Meyer and Bethy Leonardi of the University of Colorado Boulder, and Harper B. Keenan of University of British Columbia Publication Type Policy Brief Download the Policy Brief Press Release Improving School for Transgender and Nonbinary Students Key Takeaway: Brief suggests processes and frameworks to improve school policy and practice for all youth. EAST LANSING, MI (March 24, 2022) - Transgender and nonbinary (collectively referred to here as “trans”) students are ill-served by most school environments. They experience challenges trying to navigate institutions that, at best, are poorly designed to support them and that often work against them. Although some districts and states have developed laws and policies to improve students’ experiences, many are either ill-conceived, ineffectively implemented, or reinforce restrictive and inflexible structures regulating gender. This issue is examined in depth in a new NEPC policy brief, Transgender Students and Policy in K-12 Public Schools: Acknowledging Historical Harms and Taking Steps Toward a Promising Future , authored by Elizabeth J. Meyer and Bethy Leonardi of the University of Colorado Boulder, and Harper B. Keenan of University of British Columbia. State legislation, district policies, federal regulation, and court opinions have created an inconsistent and confusing patchwork of vulnerability and protections. The Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution has been held by federal courts to provide some protection. But Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in educational institutions, has had—under different presidential administrations—radically different guidance and enforcement regarding transgender students since 2010. Meanwhile, in 2016 and again in 2021-22, a wave of anti-trans legislation surged in many states, with bills proposed to exclude transgender youth from appropriate bathroom facilities, sports participation, accessing healthcare, and updating legal documents to reflect their self-determined gender. A powerful body of research demonstrates the harms such discriminatory legislation causes and what measures can improve students’ experiences in schools. This research, if heeded, can inform more effective laws, policies, and implementation efforts for trans students to thrive in school. At the same time, the authors of this new brief explain that such useful laws and policies are insufficient to create conditions under which trans youth are likely to succeed. Meyer, Leonardi, and Keenan conclude with recommendations for policy and practice to create spaces in which trans youth can thrive in school. The recommendations are multifaceted and differ from traditional policy recommendations in that they do not focus only on law and policy as the primary drivers of system transformation. Rather, they emphasize the power of grassroots community organizing as a way of propelling change. They also offer questions for policy actors to consider as they develop and implement policies and advocate for improving conditions for trans youth. The new brief’s authors explain that they have two goals. First, to provide support for policy development and implementation, and second, to suggest processes and frameworks to improve school policy and practice for all youth. In doing so, they offer recommendations for federal, state, and local policy, and for implementation efforts at the local level. Find Transgender Students and Policy in K - 12 Public Schools: Acknowledging Historical Harms and Taking Steps Toward a Promising Future , by Elizabeth J. Meyer, Bethy Leonardi, and Harper B. Keenan, at: https://greatlakescenter.org This policy brief was made possible in part by the support of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice ( greatlakescenter.org ). The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu About The Great Lakes Center The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at https://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Contact: Michelle Renée Valladares : (720) 505-1958, michelle.valladares@colorado.edu Elizabeth J. Meyer : (303) 735-3029, elizabeth.j.meyer@colorado.edu Bethy Leonardi : (303) 492-8399, bethy.leonardi@colorado.edu Harper B. Keenan : (604) 827-3270, harper.keenan@ubc.ca Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Linking Learning to the 21st Century: Preparing All Students for College, Career, and Civic Participation Summary A strong " Linked Learning" curriculum is a way to prepare students for both college and careers while rejecting a tracking system that provides academic preparation for some students but only vocational preparation to others. This policy brief highlights the potential of this high school curriculum reform. The first half of the brief explains the key elements of an effective "Linked Learning" curriculum. The second half translates these elements into statutory language, concretely providing the details necessary to move forward with this important reform. This policy brief is an update of the policy brief "Multiple Pathways" which was released in 2008. Publication Date April 7, 2011 Research Areas Governance & Public Education; General / Needs Review; Technology & AI Authors Marisa Saunders, UCLA, Institute for Democracy, Education and Access Christopher A. Chrisman, Holland & Hart LLP Publication Type Policy Brief Download the Policy Brief Press Release EAST LANSING, Mich. (April 7, 2011) - The old methods of educating high school students fail to prepare them with the well-rounded education they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving job market, according to a policy brief and draft legislation released today. Students must be taught both strong technical skills and rigorous academic concepts - not just one or the other - if they are to have an opportunity to find well-paying jobs after high school or college, according to Dr. Marisa Saunders, a research associate at UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access, and Christopher Chrisman, an associate with the Denver office of the law firm Holland & Hart. "Students who gain both academic and career education stand the best chance of accessing the full range of post-secondary options and a solid start toward a personally and socially productive middle-class life," Saunders and Chrisman said in their policy brief, entitled "Linking Learning to the 21st Century: Preparing All Students for College, Career, and Civic Participation." The policy brief is an update of a brief entitled "Multiple Pathways," which was released in late 2008. The updated policy brief reflects a change in terminology from "Multiple Pathways" to "Linked Learning." It was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education, with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. Traditional high school programs that prepare students for either a job or college - but not both - unfairly limit students by segregating them into two categories: those who might be college-bound and those who might enter the workforce immediately after graduation. Non-college bound tracks offered by traditional vocational programs tend to house a disproportionate number of students who are minorities, are less affluent and whose parents did not attend college. Saunders and Chrisman recommend that states adopt sweeping education reforms that include a strong "Linked Learning" curriculum, which combines rigorous academics with hands-on career and technical training. According to Saunders and Chrisman, this method better prepares students for well-paying 21st century jobs while providing employers with a "skilled and nimble workforce." Linked Learning has been implemented in some school districts with great success. For example, students at San Diego's Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy receive college preparation courses that are integrated with hands-on study of engineering, construction and architecture. The result: 81 percent of that school's 2007 graduating class were accepted to college, while also receiving the skills needed to get a well-paying job. The Construction Tech Academy's successes can be replicated across the nation, Saunders and Chrisman said. To that end, the authors drafted proposed statutory language that state legislatures can use to implement Linked Learning pilot programs in their own states. To read Saunders and Chrisman's full report go to: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . The brief is also available on the National Education Policy Center website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/linking-learning --###-- The mission of the Great Lakes Center is to improve public education for all students in the Great Lakes region through the support and dissemination of high quality, academically sound research on education policy and practices. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Contact: Marisa Saunders: (310) 866-2262, saunders@gseis.ucla.edu Teri Battaglieri: (517) 203-2940, greatlakescenter@greatlakescenter.org Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Review of Addressing Teacher Shortages: Practical Ideas for the Pandemic and Beyond Summary In response to Covid-related teacher shortages, the TNTP think tank (formerly “The New Teacher Project”) released a report with recommendations for district leaders in crafting short- and long-term teacher staffing plans. Publication Date May 24, 2022 Research Areas Equity & Civil Rights; Teacher Workforce Authors Ben DeGrow; Ed Fuller, Penn State University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Teacher Staffing Report Pairs Some Potentially Useful Recommendations With a Dearth of Evidence An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Report's absence of research evidence to support its claims calls into question the reliability of some otherwise helpful recommendations. EAST LANSING, MI (May 24, 2022) - In response to Covid-related teacher shortages, the TNTP think tank (formerly “The New Teacher Project”) released a report with recommendations for district leaders in crafting short- and long-term teacher staffing plans. A new review of that report finds that it includes some positive elements but suffers from several research-related weaknesses. Ed Fuller of Penn State University reviewed Addressing Teacher Shortages: Practical Ideas for the Pandemic and Beyond , and found it to contain clearly articulated employment goals and some potentially useful recommendations. However, the review finds several weaknesses. First, Professor Fuller details, the report fails to provide peer-reviewed research to substantiate claims, so that it's unclear which, if any, recommendations are evidence-based. Second, the report assumes districts are large and metropolitan, with ample discretionary funds. Many recommendations will not be useful to smaller districts-especially rural districts-or to districts with limited funds. Third, the report ignores at least three key research-based issues: the importance of teacher-student relationships to effective teaching and learning, the importance of leaders of color in recruiting and retaining teachers of color, and the importance of principal stability in creating a stable cadre of well-qualified teachers. Accordingly, while school and district leaders may find in this report some useful ideas to consider, they should read additional research to independently determine whether recommendations of interest are evidence-based and how local context might affect implementation. Find the review, by Ed Fuller, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Addressing Teacher Shortages: Practical Ideas for the Pandemic and Beyond , written by Ben DeGrow and published by TNTP, at: https://tntp.org/assets/covid-19-toolkit-resources/TNTP-Addressing-Teacher-Shortages-2022.pdf NEPC Reviews ( http://thinktankreview.org ) provide the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. NEPC Reviews are made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: https://www.greatlakescenter.org The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/ About The Great Lakes Center The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center Web Site at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org . Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/greatlakescent . Find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCenter. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter The mission of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice is to support and disseminate high quality research and reviews of research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Visit the Great Lakes Center website at https://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Contact: Michelle Renée Valladares: (720) 505-1958, michelle.valladares@colorado.edu Ed Fuller : (814) 865-2233, ejf20@psu.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More