Showing papers in "Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis in 1989"

Toward a Conceptual Framework for Mixed-Method Evaluation Designs

Abstract: In recent years evaluators of educational and social programs have expanded their methodological repertoire with designs that include the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. Such prac...

Geographic Mobility and Student Achievement in an Urban Setting.

Abstract: Geographic mobility has long been suspected to have a negative impact on student achievement and adjustment. Urban schools, in particular, are subject to highly mobile subpopulations whose contribution to overall district performance can be a source of serious policy concerns. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of geographic instability on student achievement among elementary, middle, and secondary school students in an urban setting. Academic achievement of four groups of mobile children were compared to achievement levels of a stable student population. The results of the analyses show a nearly uniformly negative impact of geographic mobility on student achievement; the most negative effects of geographic mobility were found at earlier grade levels. At the same time, the size of the mobile population diminished as the students grew older.

Using Reform: Conceptualizing District Initiative:

Abstract: This paper explores the phenomenon of district use of state reform. Past research suggests that local districts will comply minimally with mandates and respond to inducements with varying degrees o...

What Educational Indicators? The Case for Assessing the School Context

Abstract: A number of current federal and state efforts are attempting to create education indicator systems in the hope that these systems will improve the monitoring of the condition of education, inform policy decisions, and provide better accountability mechanisms. This article argues that the valid and useful indicator systems will include assessments of school context as well as of student outcomes. Context indicators can be used to monitor schooling resources and processes; they may help forestall educators’ tendency to narrow their programs in order to “look good” on limited outcome measures; and they can provide information about the context in which particular outcomes are achieved. A review of the schooling literature suggests three general constructs that can serve as grounding for developing school context indicators: access to knowledge, press for achievement, and professional teaching conditions.

The Education Production Function: Its Evolving Role in Policy Analysis

Abstract: Production research in education has been dominated by attempts to estimate the structural parameters of what has been called the education production function. These estimation attempts are viewed in this article as only one way the production function concept can be drawn upon to inform debates over education policy. After exploring what it means to posit the existence of the education production function, the article critically reviews past estimation efforts and gives examples of how the production function can be used as a source of insight to guide policy-relevant inquiries into education productivity.

School Dropout Rates, Academic Performance, Size, and Poverty: Correlates of Educational Reform:

Abstract: Educational policy makers have questioned the effects of school reforms on at-risk students. Are higher academic standards associated with greater numbers of dropouts? This study examines school average dropout rates for 2 consecutive years in conjunction with percentage covered by Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC), total enrollment, achievement, and academic course enrollments for all of California’s regular public high schools. Both AFDC percentage and total enrollment were associated with higher dropout rates. Higher achievement was associated with lower dropout rates even after statistically controlling AFDC percentage and total enrollment. The year-to-year stability of school dropout rates and their correlations with the other study variables were assessed. The findings suggest that school effectiveness measures that result in higher student achievement may also enhance the effectiveness of dropout treatment programs.

District Policy Choices and Teachers' Professional Development Opportunities

Abstract: A comprehensive inventory of formal staff development activity and costs in 30 California districts yields a portrait of locally organized opportunities for teachers and reveals the policy stance taken by districts toward teachers and their professional development. Present patterns of resource allocation consolidate the district's role as the dominant provider of teachers' professional development; other sources, including the university or the larger professional community of teachers, are less visible. Expenditures reflect a conception of professional development based almost exclusively in skill acquisition, furthered by a ready marketplace of programs with predetermined content and format; other routes to professional maturation are less evident. Over the last two decades, professional development has become a growth industry. Local and state policy makers have been persuaded that preservice teacher education cannot fully satisfy the requirements for a well-prepared work force, and have found public support for professional development activities to be consistent with public interest. States have responded to pressures from the field to bolster reform legislation with support in the form of training. In the period

Alternative Teacher Certification: Its Policy Implications for Classroom and Personnel Practice

Abstract: Alternative certification (AC) of teachers is an issue of interest and discussion within the 1980s education reform movement. Little empirical evaluation is available for formulating policy, however. This research describes an alternative certification program in the Dallas Independent School District. Recruitment programs resulted in 4,000 inquiries and over 1,300 applicants, 691 of whom took the entrance test, 557 who passed, and 110 who were admitted to the program. This research addresses eight topics: (a) characteristics of the program, (b) characteristics of the interns, (c) intern attitudes, (d) comparison of interns and traditionally certified teachers, (e) teaching performance of interns, (f) predictors of AC success, (g) reaction to the program, and (h) consideration of whether AC programs can contribute to the need for teachers. Policy recommendations, based on the above, are formulated.

External Standards and Good Teaching: The Pros and Cons of Telling Teachers What to Do:

Abstract: Telling teachers what to do through state and district standard setting policies is seen as antithetical to empowering teachers and strengthening the teaching profession. Policies for empowering teachers are less well articulated; teacher autonomy is often thought to be the automatic product of an absence of external constraints and guidelines. An analysis is provided of whether good teaching of worthwhile content to all students is better served by standard setting initiatives or through leaving teachers alone. There are other alternatives, of course, and they may ultimately prove to be more attractive. The analysis sheds light on that possibility, too.

The changing idea of a teachers' union

Abstract: It is conventional wisdom among those who study collective bargaining and unionism that labor practices are diverse. From the early studies of private sector unionism to recent studies in education, researchers have found that the character of labor-management interactions, the content of contracts, and the effects of unionism vary widely. To be sure, there are discernible patterns that emerge across sites, but particular practices are so influenced by personalities, history, local values, customs, and financial exigencies, that the outcomes are as different as they are similar. I have argued that this is good news to those who work in and worry about schools, because it suggests that the presence of unionism does not predetermine a particular set of outcomes. Actors still are capable of acting in deliberate and meaningful ways. In their new, provocative book, The Changing Idea of a Teachers' Union, Kerchner and Mitchell reject the diversity theory of unionism and contend that educational labor practices do, in fact, follow predictable patterns. Based on questionnaire data gathered in 73 California and Illinois school districts and subsequent ethnographic studies in four districts from each of the two states, the authors advance a generational theory of unionism. Their analysis of local experiences leads them to conclude that teacher unionism can be expected to move through the same series of stages, no matter what the district. First, during the meet-and-confer generation, teachers advance their collective interests, but defer to administrators and school board members when the parties disagree about the district's purposes and priorities. Second, during the good faith bargaining generation, management comes to accept the teachers' right to represent their own interests and to bargain about economic and procedural matters. Attention centers on conflict management as the parties increasingly routinize their practices. Third, during the negotiated policy generation, the parties stop trying to manage around collective bargaining and, instead, begin to shape school district policy through the contract and the union. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis of survey and interview data, the authors conclude that intense, ideological conflicts about the appropriate role of the union erupt toward the end of each generation and these ideological conflicts propel labor relations into subsequent generations. The first conflict results when unions are perceived to be relatively unsuccessful in representing their members' interests, and school boards are viewed to be closed to external influence and insufficiently attentive to important labor relations issues. The second conflict emerges when teacher organizations are seen to be successful in tending to the interests of their members but irresponsible in meeting the needs

Enhancing Girls' Learning through Single-Sex Education: Evidence and a Policy Conundrum.

Abstract: A key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of single-sex education in predominantly coeducational school systems is relative benefit for male and female students This paper analyzes the relative performance of single-sex education and coeducation in Thailand in enhancing eighth-grade male and female student scores on standardized mathematics tests, holding constant student background, peer, and school characteristics Its main conclusions are that (a) single-sex schooling is more effective for female students and coeducational schooling is more effective for male students in improving student performance in mathematics and (b) these differentials are largely due to peer effects rather than to specific characteristics of single-sex and coeducational classrooms or schools

Financing the Education of At-Risk Students.

Abstract: Students who are considered to be at risk of educational failure because of their social and economic origins represent about one third of all elementary and secondary enrollments. This article explores the financial requirements for bringing these students into the educational mainstream so that they are academically able. First, it provides an elaboration on the rising demography of at-risk students and the deleterious consequences to the economy and society of failing to meet their educational needs. Second, it summarizes the evidence on the payoffs to educational investments in at-risk students and finds that benefits are well in excess of costs. Third, it evaluates criteria for determining the financial requirements for addressing educational needs of at-risk students and suggests that additional spending of about $21 billion a year (about 10% of present elementary and secondary expenditures) may be appropriate. Finally, it reviews the roles of federal, state, and local governments and the private se...

Benefits and Costs of Dropout Prevention in a High School Program Combining Academic and Vocational Education: Third-Year Results from Replications of the California Peninsula Academies:

Abstract: This paper reports 1987–88 results from an evaluation of 11 academy programs in California high schools. Academies are schools within schools, combining academic and vocational courses in a program...

An Economic Analysis of Student Loan Default

Abstract: An existing model of student loan default uses discriminant function analysis to identify the characteristics of borrowers who repay their loans and those who default. This paper uses data on National Direct Student Loan borrowers at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to confirm the results of a previous paper’s discriminant function analysis and to present an alternative method of analysis, the Tobit technique. An advantage of Tobit is that it uses information not only from the categorical default/no default decision but also from the magnitude of the default.

Nontraditional Recruits to Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Abstract: This paper focuses on nontraditional training programs that train recruits for mathematics and science teaching. These recruits include recent college graduates with degrees in mathematics or scien...

Educational Reform in the 1980s: Explaining Some Surprising Success:

Abstract: In this article, issues of success and failure of Wave 1 reform initiatives are explored. The paper begins with a review of the financial, political, and organizational factors that are often used ...

Race, Gender, and Opportunity: Supply and Demand for New Teachers in North Carolina, 1975–1985:

Abstract: This paper examines two related questions. First, what changes took place between 1975 and 1985 in the number and characteristics of college graduates who obtained teacher certification? Second, do demographic characteristics, subject specialties, and scores on National Teacher Examinations (NTE) predict which certificants became teachers in North Carolina and which did not (40% of certificants never taught in the state). We find not only that the number of new certificants was sensitive to the demand for classroom teachers but also that certificants’ choices of subject field were sensitive to demand. We also find an important difference between Black and White certificants in the relationship between NTE scores and the probability of entry into teaching in North Carolina.

A Theoretical Framework for Local Responses to State Policy: Implementing Utah’s Career Ladder Program

Abstract: In 1983, the Utah State Legislature enacted a career ladder program for teachers as the centerpiece of the state’s school reform effort. This paper assesses local implementation responses to the career ladder program. Specifically, this paper addresses the question, Under what circumstances and conditions do schools implement the career ladder program in a manner that is consistent with state policy intent? Additionally, the author argues that local implementations of the program can be classified into four types of implementation response.

How Standardized Is School Testing? An Exploratory Observational Study of Standardized Group Testing in Kindergarten:

Abstract: A qualitative observational study of standardized group testing in 10 kindergartens revealed many variations in testing conditions, numerous discrepancies from standardized administration procedures, and children’s behavior that contributed to difficulties in maintaining a uniform testing process. Testing practices in a number of kindergartens were so nonstandardized as to render their scores incomparable and quite possibly unreliable as well. Because one school district used the scores to place children in pre-first-grade transitional classrooms, the possible detrimental consequences to the children raises serious ethical concerns. Two teachers who were under considerable pressure to increase test scores exhibited a pattern of nonstandard testing procedures suggestive of “tester effects.” The results call into question the age appropriateness of high-stakes group testing in kindergarten.

Fund Distribution Issues in School Finance: Priorities for the Next Round of Research.

Abstract: During the 1980s, school finance research in general, and research on fund distribution and equity issues in particular, has been in a depressed state, with little progress being made on either the substantive or the methodological fronts. There is a backlog of old issues requiring attention, and certain new finance issues are emerging, mainly in connection with current education reform efforts. The priority tasks to be undertaken in the next round of research would seem to include (a) upgrading the methods used to address the traditional core topic in school finance research, equity in the distribution of funds among school districts; (b) extending the research on fund distribution issues to deal with hitherto-neglected dimensions offinance, including allocations offunds by type of resource, by level of education and type of pupil, and by curricular area or program, and (c) initiating new research into the relationships between education finance and efforts to improve the schools. The research on the finance-reform relationship should deal not only with the financial implications of particular reforms but also with the broader question of how school finance systems can be used to facilitate reforms and stimulate better performance. Issues of fund distribution have long held center stage in school finance research. These include how money for the schools is or ought to be distributed; whether state funding systems are equitable and how they might be improved; how spending patterns are determined and how they are influenced by state and federal policies; and-somewhat less traditionally-how distributions of funds relate to educational resources, services, and outcomes. The purposes of this paper are to characterize the state of the art

A Study of School Board Minutes: Records of Reform.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which the Illinois Educational Reform Act of 1985 was being implemented at the local school district level as measured by the number of reform-related board motions, discussions and reports documented in local school board minutes the year preceding passage of the reform act and the 2 years following its passage. The study provides evidence of the amount and nature of local policy-making directly responding to legislated reform. Further, it indicates that school boards are responding to some areas of the reform bill more than to others, and that some school boards are responding to reform provisions more than to others. Finally, the study raises serious policy questions about why local school boards have been neglected in the eighties reform movement and about the role of these boards in the future of educational governance.

Educational policy in Australia and America : comparative perspectives

Abstract: "No worries!" is an Australian colloquialism of such broad usage that it has no real counterpart in American English, not even "O.K." It covers everything from the literal-"There is no problem here"-to such conventional niceties as "Don't apologize," "Don't mention it, "I understand"-to those grand social lies: "The check is in the mail" and "Of course I'll respect you in the morning." Moreover, it has been said that, whereas the American lives to work, Aussies work to live. So "No worries!" also means, "This is good enough" and "I'll fix it in my own good time," expressing a deeper cultural trait: that make-do, "she'll be right" casualness and distractability that passes for the work ethic and craftsmanship among homo australis cottidianus. (This is the country, after all, where 93% of the coffee sold is instant!) Despite its drumming insistence, taken literally, "No worries!" is no more an appropriate policy for Australia than for the United States-a fact that politicians, industrialists, educators, and would-be reformers periodically throw on the barbie along with the prawns. Despite the practiced insouci

Courts Continue to Address the Wealth Disparity Issue

Abstract: Lawsuits in nearly three dozen states have challenged the constitutionality of state school finance provisions on equal protection or educational adequacy grounds. Presently, the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal appellate court, and 10 state supreme courts have upheld state provisions, and 7 state supreme courts have held school financing provisions unconstitutional. Although wealth-related school finance litigation began in 1968 and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue in 1973, the judicial caldron continues to boil. Protracted rounds of litigation over the years in several states and a rash of recent suits reveal this issue to remain lively and contentious.

The Struggle for Control of Teacher Education: A Case Study

Abstract: This study examines a governance conflict between the University of Wisconsin—Madison and the state education agency for control of the teacher education program. Using in-depth and focused interviews, document analysis, and participant observation, data were collected and analyzed for this case study. Factors identified as significant included internal institutional variables (the role of the organizational saga, the isolation and insularity of the University, the pluralistic nature of the School of Education, and the effect of decentralization on University response), external environmental forces (the prevailing general public mood, the formation of a successful coalition of external interest groups, and the role of the State Superintendent), and political processes. Conclusions of the data analysis are discussed in terms of their implications for governance of higher education.

Evaluating College Programs Using Measures of Student Achievement and Growth.

Abstract: Within the context of the national debate on improving the quality of college general education programs, this paper provides a brief review of the validity and reliability of some measures of general education outcomes of college attendance. It reports on research to improve the accuracy of concordance estimates of mean gains based on analysis of 22, 4-year, longitudinal studies, using instruments from the College Outcome Measures Program (COMP). It examines sensitivity to treatment effects of mean gains across all levels of entering ability. It presents evidence that institutions can collect and use outcome data in ways that may lead to changes that increase student performance.

School Finance and the Economics of Education: An Essay Review of Major Works

Abstract: This essay reviews major publications from the field of school finance. It also covers prominent studies from aspects of the economics of education that are closely related to the field of education finance. The paper includes reviews of articles, research studies, and textbooks, focusing primarily on work published in the 1980s. Issues discussed include the theoretical concepts that undergird the field of school finance, practical alternatives for raising and distributing education funds, and allocation of resources to enhance equity and efficiency in education. Specific topics covered include teacher compensation, measuring equity, inputs and outputs in education, cost of education indices, municipal overburden, education decision making, the importance of time in learning, and school productivity. The essay closes by noting the increasing sophistication of both education policy makers and researchers. The author argues that more penetrating questions by policy makers are stimulating more enlightened an...

Observations on Building Public Confidence in Education

Abstract: Public confidence in education has eroded. The authors discuss conceptual bases for school/community relations and, using data from a national study, describe how administrators of 181 “high-confidence” schools get and hold the public’s confidence in their schools. These administrators do nearly the opposite of what selected literature and studies suggest.

State Guidelines Promoting Teaching for Understanding and Thinking in Elementary Schools: A 50-State Survey.

Abstract: This survey assessed state policymakers’ efforts to promote teaching for understanding and thinking in elementary schools. Data were provided by two rounds of interviews of curriculum specialists in state departments of education nationwide and a review of curriculum-related documents cited during the interviews. Results indicate that state guidelines promoting teaching for understanding and thinking are typically communicated through inservice programs, goals and objectives statements, and/or guidelines for local curriculum planners. These initiatives rarely include statewide tests. The report summarizes similarities and differences in policy initiatives across all 50 states, with closer attention to seven states that are especially active in promoting curriculum reforms (e.g., California). The report also discusses implications for state-level policymakers and others who are eager to reshape the elementary school curriculum.