< Back Our Immense Achievement Gap: Embracing Proven Remedies While Avoiding a Race-Based Recipe for Disaster Summary This report claims that desegregation has failed and criticizes efforts to reduce concentrated poverty and achieve racial and socioeconomic integration in schools and housing in Minnesota. Publication Date March 29, 2012 Research Areas Assessment & Accountability Authors Susan Eaton, Harvard University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Review Debunks Desegregation Claims Center for the American Experiment report ignores contradictory research EAST LANSING, Mich (March 29, 2012) – A recent report from the Center for the American Experiment in Minneapolis claims school desegregation has failed. A new review of the report found that it misrepresented proposals criticized and ignored an extensive body of research literature whose findings did not support the report's conclusions. The report, Our Immense Achievement Gap: Embracing Proven Remedies While Avoiding a Race-Based Recipe for Disaster, written by Katherine Kersten , was reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project by Susan Eaton, Research Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard University. The review was produced by the National Education Policy Center with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. Eaton, in her review, found that the report misrepresented and then criticized recommendations from the Minnesota Department of Education, a think tank and two independent study groups, each of which recently encouraged particular voluntary efforts to reduce concentrated poverty and achieve racial and socioeconomic integration in schools and housing in Minnesota. In building its case against the recommendations of these bodies, Eaton writes, the report sets up and attacks two straw men— "busing" and "lawsuits" – neither of which was recommended by the organizations. The author relies heavily on selected research literature to make its arguments but ignores dozens of the most important peer-reviewed research studies that suggest strong relationships between racial, ethnic, economic diversity/desegregation and academic gains, Eaton finds. The report also relies heavily on anecdotes about desegregation policies and funding-equalization efforts in several states. While endorsing accountability-based reforms of the sort implemented in Florida, the report fails to fully explore what is actually known about the results of such policies. Investigations into the programs in Florida strongly suggest that claims of success about the state's accountability measures and teacher-accreditation practices are often unsubstantiated or exaggerated. In attacking the wrong targets, Eaton concludes, the report distracts rather than focuses the attention of policymakers seeking to close the achievement gap. Find Susan Eaton's review on the Great Lakes Center website at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Our Immense Achievement Gap: Embracing Proven Remedies While Avoiding a Race-Based Recipe for Disaster , by Katherine Kersten, on the web at: http://www.amexp.org/sites/default/files/article_pdf/Our%20Immense%20Achievement%20Gap%20WEB.pdf Think Twice, 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 from funding from 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-immense-achievement-gap --###-- 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 . Contact: Susan Eaton, (617) 216-6388, seaton@law.harvard.edu Teri Battaglieri, (517) 203-2940, tbattaglieri@greatlakescenter.org Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back The Effect of Milwaukee's Parental Choice Program on Student Achievement in Milwaukee Public Schools Summary The report contends that competition from Milwaukee's private school voucher program has benefited Milwaukee public schools. Publication Date January 1, 1970 Research Areas General / Needs Review Authors Gregory Camilli, Rutgers University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Review concludes that positive tests-score effects of voucher competition on Milwaukee public schools are very small at best EAST LANSING, MI (May 18, 2009)—A recent report contends that competition from Milwaukee’s private school voucher program for low-income families has benefited Milwaukee public schools. A Think Twice review of that report raises a number of questions about its statistical methods and concludes that any positive effect of competition is very small, if it exists at all. The report, The Effect of Milwaukee’s Parental Choice Program on Student Achievement in Milwaukee Public Schools , was written for the School Choice Demonstration Project at the University of Arkansas. It was reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project by Gregory Camilli of Rutgers University, an expert in the use of statistics and measurement in social science research. Camilli points out that the largest competition benefit emphasized in the report was obtained with no controls, but also that these benefits were small from a practical perspective. Moreover, when statistical controls are used, no statistically or practically significant competition benefits were found. Those controls essentially account for whether there is in fact private school competition for a public school student (that is, the effects of grade and year are distinguished from the effect of competition). Despite the questions Camilli raises about the report, he commends it for clearly and thoroughly presenting its findings and for presenting its methods and statistical models clearly. Camilli concludes, “Before the results of this study can effectively inform the decision of whether to expand or reduce the size of the voucher program in Milwaukee, a number of issues need resolution. Most importantly, the use of uncontrolled estimates requires justification.” Find Gregory Camilli’s review on the web at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org . About The Think Twice Project The Think Twice project provides the public, policy makers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected think tank publications. It is a collaboration of the Education Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University and the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. ### 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: Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking—Preschool Education Summary Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes research findings on the effects of high-quality preschool programs. This three-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking, a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research. Publication Date November 13, 2012 Research Areas Early Childhood Authors William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder Publication Type Policy Brief Download the Policy Brief Press Release New Brief Summarizes Academic and Fiscal Benefits of Universal Preschool EAST LANSING, Mich. (Nov. 13, 2012) — Universal preschool education has become an increasingly supported topic by the American public. Sound research evidence supports the expansion of high-quality preschool opportunities, according to the third in a series of two- and three-page briefs summarizing key findings in education policy research. According to Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, "There is near-universal agreement that high-quality preschool programs more than pay for themselves in economic and social benefits." Mathis also notes, "In terms of academic effects, preschool programs show large and immediate pay-offs." This three-page brief is part of Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking , a multipart brief that takes up a number of important policy issues and identifies policies supported by research. Each section focuses on a different issue, and its recommendations to policymakers are based on the latest scholarship. Indeed, high-quality preschool for at least two years has been found to close as much as half the achievement gap. Such preschool participation is also associated with a wide range of more positive adult outcomes, including less drug use, less welfare dependency, higher graduation rates, higher college attendance, and higher employment. The brief explains the key elements of a quality pre-school program. It also discusses research findings concerning basic issues such as the entrance age for preschool, comparisons of center-based and home-based programs, and whether preschool should be universal or targeted by socioeconomic group. This three-page brief is part of the multipart brief Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking . Find the brief on the GLC website at: http://greatlakescenter.org/research_based_options.php This report is published by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. This brief is also found on the NEPC website at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/options 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 . Contact: William J. Mathis, (802) 383-0058, wmathis@sover.net 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 Review of Youth Engagement in Collective Impact Initiatives: Lessons from Promise Neighborhoods Summary When youth engage in collective-impact strategies, they have the potential to strengthen the design, implementation, and outcomes of school decision-making. A recent Urban Institute report takes up this important topic, examining what youth engagement initiatives look like within a broader reform structure. It presents a continuum of youth involvement-focused on issues of support, input, and leadership. Publication Date January 1, 1970 Research Areas General / Needs Review Authors Jessica Shakesprere, Mica O’Brien, and Eona Harison; Dana Mitra, Penn State University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report Offers Only a Clouded Understanding of Youth Engagement An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: The report draws attention to a range of ways that young people can be included in decision-making process, but its framework is applied in a way that creates confusion. EAST LANSING, MI (March 30, 2021) - When youth engage in collective-impact strategies, they have the potential to strengthen the design, implementation, and outcomes of school decision-making. A recent Urban Institute report takes up this important topic, examining what youth engagement initiatives look like within a broader reform structure. It presents a continuum of youth involvement-focused on issues of support, input, and leadership. Professor Dana Mitra of Penn State University reviewed Youth Engagement in Collective Impact Initiatives: Lessons from Promise Neighborhoods . She found examples of this continuum and some description of strengths and weaknesses. But ultimately she found that the continuum created more confusion than clarity, because key examples did not fit where they were placed within the framework. The report considers the challenges involved in creating youth empowerment initiatives, providing examples of three of the federal Promise Neighborhood initiative sites. Yet while the report defines youth engagement as "the intentional, meaningful and sustained involvement of young people in actions to create positive social change," the descriptions in the first phase of the continuum-mentoring, case management, service learning-are not examples of youth engaged in actions to create change. Professor Mitra found this mismatch to occur because the examples given in the report were drawn from a convenience sample without an explanation of why they illuminate the framework. Though the strengths and challenges presented do align with previous research regarding the contexts that enable and constrain youth engagement, the report fails to make these connections explicit. Overall, Professor Mitra concludes, though the report champions youth engagement, it misses an opportunity to influence future policy and practice. Find the review, by Dana L. Mitra, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org/ Find Youth Engagement in Collective Impact Initiatives: Lessons from Promise Neighborhoods , written by Jessica Shakesprere, Mica O’Brien, and Eona Harison and published by the Urban Institute, at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/103408/youth-engagement-in-collective-impact-initiatives_1.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 research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Contact: Michelle Renée Valladares : (720) 505-1958, michelle.valladares@colorado.edu Dana L. Mitra: (814) 441-2633, dana@psu.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back The Louisiana Recovery School District: Lessons for the Buckeye State Summary This report claims that the charter school-driven Recovery School District in New Orleans can be replicated in other urban centers. Publication Date March 20, 2012 Research Areas Governance & Public Education Authors Kristen Buras, Georgia State University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Review: Recovery district model doesn't produce the student turnaround promised Fordham Institute report ignores the facts on charter school experience EAST LANSING, Mich. (March 20, 2012) – A recent report claiming that the charter school-driven Recovery School District in New Orleans can be replicated in other urban centers ignores the fact that charter schools have not produced significant gains in student achievement and have been criticized by large segments of the African American community due to concerns over access, equity, performance, and accountability, according to an academic review released today. The report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, The Louisiana Recovery School District: Lessons for the Buckeye State does not cite empirical evidence when it asserts locally elected school boards and teachers unions are to blame for failing schools. Kristen Buras of Georgia State University's Department of Educational Policy Studies reviewed the report and found it lacks any consideration of the chronic under-funding and racial history of New Orleans public schools before Hurricane Katrina. No evidence is provided that a conversion to charter schools would remedy these problems. The review was produced by the National Education Policy Center with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. "Since the report critiques the lack of accountability exhibited by New Orleans public schools before 2005, one would expect the report to offer detailed analysis of data demonstrating how charter schools in the RSD [Recovery School District] have improved their financial management and produced better test results. Instead, the success of such reforms is simply asserted rather than established," Buras wrote in her review. The Fordham report focuses on school performance, yet it fails to address contradictory evidence. Time and again, Louisiana lawmakers have shifted the definition of what constitutes a "failing" school. After Hurricane Katrina, they changed the standard so 107 of 128 schools in New Orleans could be defined as failing, placed in the RSD, and then converted into charter schools. Since this time, the standard for defining failure has been lowered, thereby generating the "successful" pattern of school performance that reformers attribute to charter school management. There have also been accounts of the unwillingness of charter schools to enroll low-income and special education students, contradicting the portrayal of charter schools as open access. "This has inspired substantial criticism of charter schools in New Orleans, where not all students are provided with the 'new opportunities' alluded to in the report," Buras said. Find Buras' review on the Great Lakes Center website at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Louisiana Recovery School District: Lessons for the Buckeye State? on the web at: http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/the-louisiana-recovery-school-district.html Think Twice, 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 funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. The review is also available on the National Education Policy Center at: http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-louisiana-recovery-buckeye . --###-- 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 . Contact: Kristen Buras: (404) 413-8030, kburas@gsu.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 Fix the City Schools: Moving All Schools to Charter-Like Autonomy Summary This report argues for the decentralization of urban school districts and cites increased student achievement in post-Katrina New Orleans as support for city schools moving toward a "portfolio" of schools model. Publication Date April 15, 2010 Research Areas Charter Schools; School Funding; Governance & Public Education Authors Katrina E. Bulkley, Montclair State University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report citing New Orleans as a model for changing urban education ignores key facts and makes faulty arguments, reviewer finds EAST LANSING, Mi., (April 15, 2010) – A recent Reason Foundation report points to the post-Katrina school system in New Orleans as evidence to support massive decentralizing of urban school systems. But a Think Twice review of the report concludes that it lacks evidence for its claims and ignores key facts about the New Orleans situation that would undermine its case. The Reason Foundation report, Fix the City Schools: Moving All Schools to Charter-Like Autonomy, was reviewed by Katrina Bulkley, an education professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Under the plan advocated in Fix the City Schools , schools in urban districts would operate with autonomy and accountability similar to charter schools. School districts would manage a "portfolio" of these autonomous schools, and they would receive funding based on enrollment. The report draws heavily on the author's claims that the post-Katrina New Orleans schools, a highly decentralized system in which 60 percent of students attend charter schools and the traditional public schools have much greater autonomy, have experienced remarkably improved student achievement. Bulkley's review of this report identifies a number of flaws. She notes that it relies primarily on advocacy articles and anecdotal media reports; the report is unable to provide readers with any valid, generalizable research supporting the claims of beneficial outcomes. At times, Bulkley notes, the report "addresses issues that have been assessed in high-quality research, but neglects to include that research or its findings." For instance, while Fix the City Schools asserts that closing schools can lift achievement, Bulkley points to research that undermines those assertions. Similarly, the report ignores large-scale studies that show charter schools do not, on average, improve student achievement. Additionally, in making the New Orleans story the centerpiece of its evidence for the "portfolio management" approach, the report ignores several key facts: (a) the New Orleans district was already showing steady improvement before the post-Katrina reforms; (b) other districts in the state not devastated by the hurricane have continued to improve in the post-Katrina era as well; (c) Katrina led to a disproportionate exodus of poor families from the district, where enrollment is less than two-thirds of pre-Katrina levels; and (d) post-Katrina resources for the city's public schools have been significantly greater than before the hurricane. Bulkley does not disparage the New Orleans schools' possible improvement, but she cautions that without much more study, it cannot be used as a blueprint for school reforms elsewhere. "This report offers no strong evidence in support of the proposals it advocates," Bulkley concludes. While it might offer advocates of its approach a useful guide to implementing the reforms it proposes, the absence of meaningful research to support its conclusions "limits the use of this piece for policymakers or others trying to determine the best research-based strategies for improving urban schools." Find Katrina Bulkley's review and a link to Fix the City Schools on the web at: www.greatlakescenter.org About The Think Twice Project The Think Twice project provides the public, policy makers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected think tank publications. It is a collaboration of the Education Policy Studies Laboratory at Arizona State University and the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. ### 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: Katrina Bulkley (973) 655-5189; bulkleyk@mail.montclair.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Review of Fiscal Factbook: 2025 Edition Summary As enrollment in school privatization programs grows, right-wing ideological think tanks such as EdChoice have continued to argue that school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) strengthen public school finances. Its Fiscal Factbook purports to find that voucher programs do not harm public school finances. The data presented in the report, however, fail to support its assertion. Publication Date September 4, 2025 Research Areas School Choice & Vouchers; School Funding Authors Mark Weber, Rutgers University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report Misrepresents the Impact of Vouchers and ESAs on Public School Finances An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Relying on weak data and useless analyses, the EdChoice 2025 Fiscal Factbook fails to support its claims about the fiscal impact of vouchers and education savings accounts. GRAND RAPIDS, MI (SEPTEMBER 4, 2025) - In his review of Fis cal Factbook: 2025 Edition, authored by the Fiscal Research and Education Center of EdChoice, Rutgers University lecturer Mark Weber highlights several ways the report falls short of providing credible support for its conclusions. As enrollment in school privatization programs grows, right-wing ideological think tanks such as EdChoice have continued to argue that school vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) strengthen public school finances. Its Fiscal Factbook purports to find that voucher programs do not harm public school finances. The data presented in the report, however, fail to support its assertion. Specifically, Weber shows that the report relies on weak data and flawed analyses to support its central arguments: that vouchers and ESAs save taxpayers money; that public schools benefit financially when they lose students to such programs, and; that per-pupil public school funding has increased substantially during the expansion of voucher programs. Weber finds that the report uses an inappropriate inflation adjuster and then calculates meaningless correlations between nationwide spending levels and voucher program expansion. He points out that it is wide variation among states, along with many other factors, that drives education costs. Weber concludes that the report's reliance on meaningless comparisons between voucher program expenditures and public school spending, and its omission of differences in student demographics and academic outcomes, result in meaningless cost analyses. These shortcomings make the EdChoice Fiscal Factbook useless as a basis for sound school funding policymaking. (Note: The report is published by the Fiscal Research and Education Center (FERC) of EdChoice, but it does not list specific authors. The FERC website lists only one staffer: “Martin Lueken, Director of Fiscal Research & Education Center.”) Find the review, by Mark Weber, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Fiscal Factbook: 2025 Edition, published by EdChoice, at: https://www.edchoice.org/research/2025-fiscal-factbook/ 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 Mark Weber (908) 358-5828 mark.weber@rutgers.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation: An Update Summary A recent report from Urban Institute has been widely trumpeted as documenting college attainment benefits for students receiving a neovoucher through the Florida Tax Credit scholarship program. Publication Date March 28, 2019 Research Areas General / Needs Review; School Funding Authors Matthew Chingos, Tomas Monarrez, and Daniel Kuehn; Jaekyung Lee, of the University at Buffalo, SUNY Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release What's the College Impact of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship Program? Key Takeaway: Urban Institute report raises more questions than answers about voucher policy impact due to its shortcomings. EAST LANSING, MI (March 28, 2019) - A recent report from Urban Institute has been widely trumpeted as documenting college attainment benefits for students receiving a neovoucher through the Florida Tax Credit scholarship program. But a new review raises concerns and cautions that proper use of the study begins with an understanding of its limitations. Jaekyung Lee, of the University at Buffalo, SUNY, reviewed The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation: An Update . Professor Lee found that the report, while making timely and relevant contribution to the research base, provides little guidance for policy and practice. The report finds neovoucher students were 6-10 percentage points more likely to enroll in some type of college and were one to two percentage points more likely to earn a bachelor's degree. The study uses expanded data tracking and appropriate research methods that attempt to match neovoucher students to non-neovoucher students with similar baseline characteristics. However, Professor Lee raises three critical questions about methods, findings and conclusions. First is the problem of selection bias. The study's attempt to match students resulted in the comparison group having two to three times more students receiving reduced-price lunch. This is on top of the problem of possible unmeasured differences, which the report's authors briefly acknowledge. Professor Lee notes that choosers tend to be more advantaged in unmeasured aspects than nonchoosers, which tends to result in an upward bias (positive effects on achievement). Second, the study skips over the question of whether neovoucher students have any measured achievement benefits, at a time when research has raised serious questions about whether students do less well academically when they receive vouchers. Without real achievement benefits, the estimated impact of Florida neovouchers on college enrollment may reflect college matching effects rather than true program effects on students' college readiness. Third, the neovoucher program's reporting of much greater apparent effects on college enrollment than on graduation suggests that the conditional neovoucher effect on college completion (i.e., conditional on college entry) could be null or even negative. Even while many more neovoucher students are heading to college, their likelihood of doing well once they get there is much lower. These concerns call into question the use and misuse of this study by voucher advocates. The study was used by Florida Governor DeSantis in his State of the State address to advocate for vouchers, and it was dutifully covered by The 74 and The National Review , and even as part of voucher debates in Kentucky ( The Courier-Journal ) and Nebraska ( The Omaha World-Herald ). Proper use of the study begins with an understanding of its limitations and sees the need for confirmatory research and future exploration of potential mechanisms driving any increased college attainment. Find the review, by Jaekyung Lee, at: http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Think_Twice/TT-Lee-Florida-Tax-Credit.pdf Find The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation: An Update , written by Matthew Chingos, Tomas Monarrez, and Daniel Kuehn, and published by Urban Institute, at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99728/the_effects_of_the_florida_tax_credit_scholarship_program_on_college_enrollment_and_graduation_2.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 Jaekyung Lee: (716) 645-1132, JL224@buffalo.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Review of Pennsylvania's Education Tax Credit Scholarships: How EITC Serves Children and Families in the Commonwealth Summary A recent Commonwealth Foundation report praises Pennsylvania's tax credit scholarship programs, which create private-school vouchers funded through tax-credited donations. The report argues in favor of the programs' expansion, but it has at least three major shortcomings. Publication Date November 12, 2024 Research Areas School Choice & Vouchers; School Funding; Assessment & Accountability Authors Rachel Langan; Bruce Baker, University of Miami Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Report Reiterates False Claims Overstating Voucher Benefits An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Commonwealth Foundation report uses invalid findings and conclusions to claim that expanding private school voucher programs will improve student outcomes and economic gains. GRAND RAPIDS, MI (November 12, 2024) - A recent Commonwealth Foundation report praises Pennsylvania's tax credit scholarship programs, which create private-school vouchers funded through tax-credited donations. The report argues in favor of the programs' expansion, but it has at least three major shortcomings. Bruce Baker of the University of Miami reviewed Pennsylvania's Education Tax Credit Scholarships: How EITC Serves Children and Families in the Commonwealth , and found that these shortcomings render the report of little use for policymakers. The first weakness Professor Baker points out is that the report trivializes the amount of spending on the tax credit scholarship programs, asserting that the $630 million (FY24-25) dollar program is a small fraction-about 1.7%-of the $37 billion spent from all sources (including local and federal) on K-12 public education in the state. But when compared with just the state's $8.16 billion contribution, that fraction jumps to 7.7%. One of every $13 spent by the state on education goes to this voucher program. This would amount to nearly $4,000 per pupil if distributed to public school district students in Philadelphia, Allentown, York, and Reading-which are among the state's least well-funded public school districts. Secondly, the report relies on five cherry-picked "case studies" with limited descriptive information. These case studies cannot therefore support a key causal inference underpinning the report: the assertion that private schools provide better services at bargain prices. The case studies do not adequately report either the resources available (in the private schools or public districts) or the differences in students served. Finally, the argument that voucher programs yield substantial long-run economic benefits lacks a credible foundation. In sum, Baker concludes, the report is of little use to policymakers. It essentially pushes them to ask the wrong questions and ignore the right ones when allocating significant sums of taxpayer dollars. The report's finding that the existing $630 million spending cap on tax credit scholarships should be increased fails to consider better, more equitable, efficient and accountable alternatives for allocating similar amounts of funding. Find the review, by Bruce D. Baker, at: https://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Pennsylvania's Education Tax Credit Scholarships: How EITC Serves Children and Families in the Commonwealth , written by Rachel Langan and published by the Commonwealth Foundation, at: https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/research/pennsylvania-education-tax-credit-scholarships-eitc/ 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 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 GreatLakesCenter.org Contacts Michelle Renee Valladares Bruce D. Baker Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Rethinking 'Innovation Schools': Strengths and Limitations of AutonomyBased School Improvement Plans in Contexts of Widening Racial Inequality Summary School districts around the country have launched new reform strategies that are designed to expand autonomy for public schools. Often called "Innovation Schools," these state- and local-level plans create more autonomous schools, granting school leaders greater amounts of authority over school operations such as curriculum, budgeting, and hiring, while districts continue to manage services related to teacher payroll and benefits. Publication Date October 27, 2020 Research Areas Governance & Public Education; Equity & Civil Rights Authors Terrenda White and Anna Noble, University of Colorado Boulder Publication Type Policy Brief Download the Policy Brief Press Release Contacts: William J. Mathis : (802) 383-0058, wmathis@sover.net Terrenda White : (303) 492-0819, Terrenda.White@colorado.edu Is It Time to Rethink "Innovation Schools"? A NEPC Policy Brief Funded By the GLC Key Takeaway: Policy brief explores how autonomy-based reforms might more effectively address systemic inequity in schools. EAST LANSING, Mich. (October 27, 2020) - School districts around the country have launched new reform strategies that are designed to expand autonomy for public schools. Often called "Innovation Schools," these state- and local-level plans create more autonomous schools, granting school leaders greater amounts of authority over school operations such as curriculum, budgeting, and hiring, while districts continue to manage services related to teacher payroll and benefits. Compared to traditional district schools, these autonomous schools operate in ways similar to charter schools that function outside district systems. Important differences exist, however, because autonomous schools are organized within districts, an arrangement that can ideally improve educational quality via autonomy without abandoning structures for democratic participation. Yet this type of autonomy-based school improvement plan still has limitations, as it shifts a host of responsibilities (and often blame) for the education of children from districts to individual schools and school leaders. NEPC released a policy brief today, Rethinking "Innovation Schools": Strengths and Limitations of Autonomy-Based School Improvement Plans in Contexts of Widening Racial Inequality , authored by Terrenda White and Anna Noble of the University of Colorado Boulder. The authors consider two questions about these reforms. First, as systemic inequities persist in the form of deepening poverty, racism, segregation, and unequal funding in schools and in society, what supports and conditions should districts provide to ensure that school leaders and educators are empowered, rather than beleaguered, in their efforts to improve the quality of education for their students? Further, what role should districts play to ensure that decentralized management and decision-making leads to greater democratic participation and community engagement on the part of local stakeholders? Using an equity framework informed by critical theories of race and education policy and the role of districts as institutional actors in advancing achievement and equity in public education, the brief highlights examples of state and district initiatives that rely on school-level autonomy as a primary improvement strategy, focusing on in-district models. The authors summarize the various designs of in-district autonomous schools in different states and districts, their impact on student performance and equity compared to each other and compared to non-district and traditional models, and the challenges they face in light of widening racial inequality and the need for community input and support. Based on its analysis of these reforms, the brief provides seven recommendations for leaders of schools and their districts, designed to further autonomy and democratic participation while ensuring that the responsibility for addressing equity is shared at the district and the school levels. Find Rethinking "Innovation Schools:" Strengths and Limitations of Autonomy-Based School Improvement Plans in Contexts of Widening Racial Inequality, by Terrenda White and Anna Noble, at: https://www.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 research for the purpose of informing education policy and to develop research-based resources for use by those who advocate for education reform. Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More

< Back Hard Work and Soft Skills: The Attitudes, Abilities, and Character of Students in Career and Technical Education Summary A new report from the American Enterprise Institute shows that students in Career and Technical Education programs demonstrate better outcomes than students with similar test scores in academic programs. Publication Date June 14, 2018 Research Areas Technology & AI Authors Albert Cheng and Collin Hitt; James Rosenbaum Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Review: Hard Work and Soft Skills: The Attitudes, Abilities, and Character of Students in Career and Technical Education EAST LANSING, Mich. (June 14, 2018) — Research has shown that, after controlling for the lower test scores on average of students who take Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses, high school CTE programs are associated with higher high school graduation rates, and overall educational attainment and earnings than students in academic programs whose previous test scores were similar. But the reasons for this relationship are not clear. A new report from the American Enterprise Institute hypothesizes that noncognitive skills, such as work habits and effort, affect this relationship, and the report provides a sound test of this hypothesis. The report suggests that CTE may improve attainments by improving noncognitive skills. The key implication is that, instead of a narrow focus on academic skills, schools need to consider how to improve students' other skills to improve attainment and job outcomes. While the reviewer agrees that this implication is reasonably drawn from the report, he cautions that educators need a clearer interpretation of these "noncognitive skills" and whether they are persistent attributes or highly changeable behaviors. Professor James Rosenbaum of Northwestern University reviewed Work and Soft Skills: The Attitudes, Abilities, and Character of Students in Career and Technical Education , and found it to be a strong, careful, and thoughtful empirical analysis of a strong dataset. The report is part of Think Twice Review, a project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) , funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice . Rosenbaum's key finding is that the report presents a strong empirical analysis illuminating how students in CTE programs demonstrate better outcomes than students with similar test scores in traditional academic programs. The review notes that the most remarkable feature of this report is the broad array of indicators it compiles, including how much effort students exhibit on a routine task (e.g., a long and boring survey in school), and teacher reports of student effort. Professor Rosenbaum concludes that, despite a few limitations, the report has constructed "innovative and impressive new indicators of noncognitive behaviors." More clarity is needed, however, in defining the differences between "noncognitive skills" and "noncognitive behaviors." Is "effort," for example, a function of human behavior, or is it a learned skill? In conclusion , the reviewer holds that this report was successful in constructing "innovative and impressive new indicators of noncognitive behaviors," which should inform policy decisions about how nonacademic skills can help overall student achievement. Find the Think Twice Review on the web: http://www.greatlakescenter.org Find Hard Work and Soft Skills: The Attitudes, Abilities, and Character of Students in Career and Technical Education , written by Albert Cheng and Collin Hitt and published by American Enterprise Institute, at: http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Hard-Work-and-Soft-Skills.pdf 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 publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. You can also find the review 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 Student Achievement in Florida's Charter Schools: A Comparison of the Performance of Charter School Students with Traditional Public School Students Summary The Florida Department of Education recently published a report consisting almost entirely of simple graphs comparing achievement levels, achievement gaps, and achievement gains on statewide tests among charter school students to those among traditional public school students. The Department's press release touted the report as showing that the state's "charter school students consistently outperform their peers in traditional public schools." Publication Date June 18, 2019 Research Areas Charter Schools Authors Robert Bifulco, Syracuse University Publication Type Think Twice Download the Policy Brief Press Release Florida Report Offers Meager Insight into Charter School Performance An NEPC Review funded by the Great Lakes Center Key Takeaway: Simple comparisons reveal very little about the relative effectiveness of charter schools. EAST LANSING, MI (June 18, 2019) - The Florida Department of Education recently published a report consisting almost entirely of simple graphs comparing achievement levels, achievement gaps, and achievement gains on statewide tests among charter school students to those among traditional public school students. The Department's press release touted the report as showing that the state's "charter school students consistently outperform their peers in traditional public schools." The release also quotes Florida's Education Commissioner, asserting that the "report provides further evidence that [school choice policies] are right for Florida" and that there's "no denying that choice works." The press release's spin was then echoed in pieces published/broadcast by several television stations , newspapers , and online outlets . Yet simple comparisons such as those in this report reveal very little about the relative effectiveness of charter schools. Robert Bifulco of Syracuse University, reviewed Student Achievement in Florida's Charter Schools: A Comparison of the Performance of Charter School Students with Traditional Public School Students , and found it to be of extremely limited use. Beyond the odd exercise of counting the number of comparisons that appear favorable to charter schools, the report offers no discussion. The comparisons are not even explained. The fact that the report merely presents comparisons required by law without putting any policy "spin" on them might be considered a virtue. But the danger is that such reports can (and do) encourage erroneous conclusions. At the very least, Professor Bifulco believes, the report should have clarified the purposes of its comparisons and cautioned the reader against drawing unwarranted and potentially harmful conclusions. Find the review, by Robert Bifulco, at: http://greatlakescenter.org/ Find Student Achievement in Florida's Charter Schools: A Comparison of the Performance of Charter School Students with Traditional Public School Students , published by the Florida Department of Education, at: http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7778/urlt/SAR1819.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 Robert Bifulco: (315) 443-4000, rbifulco@syr.edu Previous Next sign up for emails Get the latest K-12 education policy research delivered straight to your inbox! Read More