Urban Institute: Education

Bringing Promise to Washington, DC : The DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

The U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhood Initiative is one of the Obama administration's major antipoverty initiatives and a core strategy of the White House's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. It is intended to improve educational outcomes by creating a continuum of school readiness, academic services, and family and community support for children from early childhood through college. The DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) received one of the U.S. Department of Education's 21 Promise Neighborhood planning grants in October 2010. This policy brief summarizes DCPNI's planning year and how DCPNI intends to improve the educational outcomes of youth in the years to come.

DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative: Needs Assessment and Segmentation Analysis

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

In October 2010, the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) became one of 21 recipients of a US Department of Education Promise Neighborhood planning grant. The Urban Institute partnered with DCPNI to act as the data analyst and local evaluator of this ambitious initiative. The Needs Assessment and Segmentation Analysis are intended to provide a timely understanding of the needs of the community and to inform the continuum of strategies developed by DCPNI and their workgroups.

Implementation and Early Training Outcomes of the High Growth Job Training Initiative: Final Report

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

The High Growth Job Training Initiative (HGJTI) was a national grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Between 2001 and 2007, more than 160 grants were awarded to establish industry-focused job training and related projects designed to meet the industrys workforce challenges. This report is the third and final in a series from the national evaluation of the HGJTI conducted by the Urban Institute, the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Capital Research Corporation. This report documents the national initiative, describes the structure and implementation of projects by selected grantees, and provides nonexperimental analysis of the early impacts of job training in selected HGJTI-funded programs. The analysis relies on a review of grant applications and quarterly reports; visits to nine selected grantee sites; data collected from grantee training programs; quarterly earnings data from state unemployment insurance wage records; and administrative data from state and local public workforce system agencies.

Evaluation Design for the Next Phase Evaluation of the Assets for Independence Program, Final Literature Review

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 EST

Based on our review and synthesis of the individual development account (IDA) literature, findings in this report include that IDA accounts (in the short-term, five years after program entry) help low-income families become homeowners, start or expand a business, or pursue secondary education. Studies to date have found no relationship between IDA program participation and net worth. The report reviews empirical evidence on the effect of IDA program participation and project design features on outcomes and highlights remaining gaps in the literature.

Opportunity-Rich Schools and Sustainable Communities : Seven Steps to Align High-Quality Education with Innovations in City and Metropolitan Planning and Development

paffairs@urban.org ( Deborah McKoy, Jeffrey M. Vincent, Ariel H. Bierbaum ) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST

Policies and strategies at all levels of government are increasingly associating educational outcomes with community planning and housing. Challenges remain for local officials and practitioners trying to align these policy areas, including persistent spatial inequity and rigid institutional silos. This report develops seven steps to link education and planning policy at the local level. The authors draw from a national scan of model activities, interviews with key experts and agency staff members, and the authors' experience working with local governing bodies. The report identifies practical solutions that encompass assessing the current educational environment, engaging the community, strategic planning and implementation of investment, and institutionalizing successful innovations.

Where Kids Go: The Foreclosure Crisis and Mobility In Washington, D.C.

paffairs@urban.org ( Jennifer Comey, Michel Grosz ) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EST

The ripple effects of the foreclosure crisis have created increased instability for children and families. In this brief we focus on two such sources of instability in the lives of public school students in Washington, D.C.: moving homes and switching schools. We find high rates of residential and school mobility for students in general, and even higher rates associated with students who lived in buildings that entered the foreclosure process. These mobile students tended to stay in the same neighborhood or move to areas that were similarly poor and high-crime. In this policy brief, we make a series of low-cost recommendations to school districts and nonprofit housing counseling agencies in order to minimize the harm of additional instability on children.

Public School Choice in the District of Columbia: A Descriptive Analysis

paffairs@urban.org ( Umut Ozek ) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

Increasing parental choice has been a leading theme of recent education policy intended to enhance the academic achievement of low-performing students in the United States. These policies aim to "level the playing field" in access to high-quality education for disadvantaged students who cannot otherwise afford higher-quality schooling options. Public school choice programs in D.C. are successful; disadvantaged students are able to attend higher-performing schools than their neighborhood public schools, even with prolonged commutes. Overall, the findings provide evidence that the relatively advantaged students are taking advantage of public school choice programs. However, choice exacerbates student quality disparities between low- and high-poverty schools, casting some doubt on the benefits of such programs.

Young Children of Immigrants and the Path to Educational Success : Key Themes from an Urban Institute Roundtable

paffairs@urban.org ( Olivia Golden, Karina Fortuny ) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

The growing presence of young children of immigrants is changing the demographic makeup of classrooms, yet debates about early education and school reform often do not mention them. As high-quality education for all becomes a prominent policy and political goal, key questions remain unanswered about whether schools and early childhood programs are addressing their needs. This paper summarizes the Urban Institute's 2010 roundtable "Young Children of Immigrants and the Path to Educational Success" discussion, which focused on the specific needs of young children of immigrants.

Power Play? Teacher Characteristics and Class Assignments

paffairs@urban.org ( Demetra Kalogrides, Susanna Loeb, Tara Beteille ) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

While prior research has documented differences in the distribution of teacher characteristics across schools serving different student populations, few studies have examined how teacher sorting occurs within schools. Comparing teachers who teach in the same grade and school in a given year, we find less experienced, minority, and female teachers are assigned students with lower average prior achievement, more prior behavioral problems, and lower prior attendance rates than their more experienced, white and male colleagues. Though more effective (higher value-added ) teachers and those with advanced degrees are also assigned less difficult classes, controlling for these factors does not eliminate the association between experience, race, gender, and assignments. These patterns have negative implications for teacher retention given the importance of working conditions for teachers' career decisions.

Stepping Stones: Principal Career Paths and School Outcomes

paffairs@urban.org ( Tara Beteille, Demetra Kalogrides, Susanna Loeb ) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST

Principals tend to prefer working in schools with higher-achieving students from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Principals often use schools with many poor or low-achieving students as stepping stones to what they view as more desirable assignments. District leadership can also exacerbate principal turnover by implementing policies aimed at improving low-performing schools such as rotating school leaders. Using longitudinal data from one large urban school district we find principal turnover is detrimental to school performance. Frequent turnover results in lower teacher retention and lower student achievement gains, which are particularly detrimental to students in high-poverty and failing schools.

Students and Teachers Fare Better Under Effectiveness-Based Teacher Layoffs, Studies Find

paffairs@urban.org ( CALDER Center ) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Faced with budget shortfalls, states and localities are considering cuts to K-12 education, including reductions in teaching staff.Consequently, governors, lawmakers, and school officials are taking a second look at seniority provisions in their collective bargaining agreements and weighing the costs and benefits of the prevailing system under which the last hired is typically the first fired.

Institutional Capacity-Building to Enhance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education and Research: The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP)

paffairs@urban.org ( Beatriz Chu Clewell, Clemencia Cosentino de Cohen ) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

This brief provides an overview of the evaluation of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), focusing on the main conclusions and recommendations arising from the evaluation.

Capacity Building to Diversify STEM: Realizing Potential among HBCUs

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

This report presents findings from the process and summative (quasi-experimental) evaluation of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) of the National Science Foundation (NSF). HBCU-UP seeks to enhance the quality of undergraduate education and research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at HBCUs as a means to broaden participation in the nations STEM workforce. Findings suggest that the HBCU-UP program yielded an intervention model characterized by a core set of capacity-building strategies associated with successful student educational and employment outcomes. HBCU-UP graduates (mostly African Americans) outperform a national comparison sample in graduate degree completion and are more likely to be employed in STEM than African American graduates nationally. The report includes recommendations for future funding and dissemination.

Institutions in National Science Foundation's HBCU-UP Program Are Leading Gateways to Science and Engineering Degrees

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

African American students at historically black colleges are twice as likely as African American students nationally to complete graduate degrees in science and engineering if their colleges received a capacity-building grant from the National Science Foundation, an evaluation of the HBCU-UP program found.

The Economic Value of Higher Teacher Quality

paffairs@urban.org ( Eric A. Hanushek ) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Most analyses of teacher quality end without any assessment of the economic value of altered teacher quality. This paper begins with an overview of what is known about the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement. Alternative valuation methods are based on the impact of increased achievement on individual earnings and on the impact of low teacher effectiveness on economic growth through aggregate achievement. A teacher one standard deviation above the mean effectiveness annually generates marginal gains of over $400,000 in present value of student future earnings with a class size of 20 and proportionately higher with larger class sizes. Replacing the bottom 5-8 percent of teachers with average teachers could move the U.S. near the top of international math and science rankings with a present value of $100 trillion.

Value-Added Models and the Measurement of Teacher Productivity

paffairs@urban.org ( Douglas Harris, Tim Sass, Anastasia Semykina ) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Research on teacher productivity, and recently developed accountability systems for teachers, rely on value-added models to estimate the impact of teachers on student performance. The authors test many of the central assumptions required to derive value-added models from an underlying structural cumulative achievement model and reject nearly all of them. Moreover, they find that teacher value added and other key parameter estimates are highly sensitive to model specification. While estimates from commonly employed value-added models cannot be interpreted as causal teacher effects, employing richer models that impose fewer restrictions may reduce the bias in estimates of teacher productivity.

Public School Choice and Student Achievement in the District of Columbia

paffairs@urban.org ( Austin Nichols, Umut Ozek ) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

This study examines the multi-faceted public school choice environment in the District of Columbia and the effects of alternative public schools on the achievement levels of students who exercise this type of school choice. The results indicate that students who attend out-of-boundary public schools and charter schools significantly outperform similar students who attend in-boundary public schools in both reading and math tests. We rely on instrumental variables framework to disentangle the underlying reasons behind this achievement gap and find that the observed differences are likely due to the positive effects of alternative public schools.

Teacher Quality and Teacher Mobility

paffairs@urban.org ( Li Feng, Tim Sass ) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

This paper assesses the determinants of teacher job change and the impact of such mobility on the distribution of teacher quality. High and low-quality teachers are more likely to leave than those in the middle of the distribution. In contrast, the relationship between teacher productivity and inter-school mobility is relatively weak. Teachers who rank above their faculty colleagues are more likely to transfer to a new school within a district and exit teaching. As the share of peer teachers with more experience, advanced degrees or professional certification increase, the likelihood of moving within district decreases. There is also evidence of assortative matching among teachers. The most effective teachers who transfer tend to go to schools whose faculties are in the top quartile of teacher quality. Teacher mobility exacerbates differences in teacher quality across schools.

Assessing the Determinants and Implications of Teacher Layoffs

paffairs@urban.org ( Dan Goldhaber, Roddy Theobald ) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

Over 2000 teachers in Washington state received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in the past two years. Linking data on these RIF notices to a unique dataset of student, teacher, school, and district variables the authors determine factors that predict the likelihood of a teacher receiving a RIF notice. A teacher's seniority is the greatest predictor, but (all else equal) master's degree teachers and credentialed teachers in the "high-needs areas" of math, science, and special education were less likely to receive a RIF notice. For a subset of the teachers there is no observed relationship between effectiveness and the likelihood of receiving a RIF notice. Results suggest a different group of teachers would be targeted for layoffs under an effectiveness-based vs. seniority-driven layoff system.

Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: 17th Annual Fact Book 2010

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

The 17th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. It tracks the progression of child well-being over time, as well as differences in child well-being across wards and races/ethnicities. It is organized to reflect the six citywide goals for children and youth in DC: children are ready for school; children and youth succeed in school; children and youth are healthy and practice healthy behaviors; children and youth engage in meaningful activities; children and youth live in healthy, stable, and supportive families; and all youth make a successful transition to adulthood.

Value Added of Teachers in High-Poverty Schools and Lower-Poverty Schools

paffairs@urban.org ( Tim Sass, Jane Hannaway, Zeyu Xu, David Figlio, Li Feng ) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

Differences in teacher quality would appear to be the most likely reason for disparities in the quality of high-poverty and lower-poverty schools. However, the linkages between teacher quality and socio-economic-based disparities in student achievement are quite complex. Using data from North Carolina and Florida, this paper examines whether teachers in high-poverty schools are as effective as teachers in schools with more advantaged students. Bottom teachers in high-poverty schools are less effective than bottom teachers in lower-poverty schools. The best teachers, by comparison, are equally effective across school poverty settings. The gap in teacher quality appears to arise from the lower payoff to teacher qualifications in high-poverty schools.In particular, the experience-productivity relationship is weaker in high-poverty schools and is not related to teacher mobility patterns. Recruiting teachers with good credentials into high-poverty schools may be insufficient to narrow the teacher quality gap. Policies that promote the long-term productivity of teachers in challenging high-poverty schools appear key.

A New Vision to Increase the Academic Achievement for English Language Learners and Immigrant Students

paffairs@urban.org ( Kathleen Leos, Lisa Saavedra ) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper analyzes the challenges and opportunities posed by today's education reform debate for the early education and language learning of immigrant, limited English proficient, and English language learner students 3 to 8 years old. Because of the close connections between the preschool and early elementary years, the paper addresses children who attend early childhood and kindergarten-through-3rd-grade education programs throughout the United States. The analysis focuses on provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001), and other relevant legislation and Supreme Court decisions.

Education and Achievement A Focus on Latino "Immigrant" Children

paffairs@urban.org ( Eugene Garcia ) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

The high number of English language learners (ELLs) has brought a change in the demographics of public schools and a need to account for the educational experiences of these students, both linguistically and academically. A comprehensive English language development program that facilitates English language acquisition has never been comprehensively articulated and evaluated. This paper argues that robust and rigorous research could be highly useful for policy and education practice modifications. The expanded utilization of dual-language programs is a hopeful sign of that possibility as they offer an alternative with solid empirical evidence for success in selected populations and specific conditions.

Building the Nation's Scientific Capacity: Evidence from the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program

paffairs@urban.org ( Clemencia Cosentino de Cohen, Urban Institute ) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EST

Minorities have been traditionally underrepresented in scientific fields. For over 10 years, they have been the target of a National Science Foundation (NSF) effort to retain students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)—namely, the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program. This brief condenses key findings from the Urban Institutes four-year evaluation of LSAMP, focusing on the progression of LSAMP participants through the STEM education pipeline and comparing their outcomes with those of representative samples of minority and nonminority students.

The Impact of Teacher Experience

paffairs@urban.org ( Jennifer King Rice ) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Many occupations recognize employees years of experience as a relevant factor in human resource policies. In education, teacher experience is a cornerstone of traditional single-salary schedules; it drives teacher transfer policies that prioritize seniority; and it is commonly considered a major source of inequity across schools and, therefore, a target for redistribution. The underlying assumption is that experience promotes effectiveness. But is this really the case? Do students attain higher levels of achievement when taught by more experienced teachers? Over 40 years of teacher productivity research suggests that the simple assumption that more is better requires greater nuance; experience effects are complex and depend on a number of factors. Recent evidence from CALDER studies provides new insight into the effects of teacher experience.

D.C. Out-of-School Time Programs Tackle Outcome Measures

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Funders and nonprofit leaders are increasingly looking for information that demonstrates the achievements of community-based programs. In this results-oriented environment, the Urban Institute, The Center for What Works, and the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation worked together to create a pilot program that developed and tested a series of outcome measures for out-of-school time (OST) programs. This brief describes the process followed and the results achieved. The pilot demonstrated that OST providers are eager to learn how to better manage their programs, keep young people engaged, and demonstrate their accomplishments. The challenge is to expand this work to all OST programs in the District and beyond.

The Black-White Jobless Gap

paffairs@urban.org ( Margaret Simms, Marla McDaniel ) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

In this Philadelphia Inquirer commentary, two researchers from the Urban Institutes Low-Income Working Families project explain the black-white employment divide after high school and whats needed to close the gap.

Young Children of Immigrants: The Leading Edge of America's Future

paffairs@urban.org ( Karina Fortuny, Donald J. Hernandez, Ajay Chaudry ) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Children of immigrants have nearly doubled as a share of pre-K to 3rd grade students since 1990. The share of children under age 8 with immigrant parents stood at 24 percent in 2008, up from 13 percent in 1990. Young children of immigrants account for more than 30 percent of children in seven states, with California leading the nation at 50 percent. The majority (93 percent) of children of immigrants are U.S. citizens. This fact sheet also includes state-by-state data on the number of children of immigrants and the number of children whose parents come from more than 130 countries.

Two-Generation Strategies and Involving Immigrant Parents in Children's Education

paffairs@urban.org ( Robert Crosnoe ) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Intervening in the parent generation can improve current and future prospects in the child generation. Such two-generation strategies target either parents life circumstances or parenting behaviors. Because many immigrants do not have the English capabilities, inside knowledge about schools, or social standing, engaging them more fully in the educational process in the home, school, and community could bring academic returns for children. This paper describes two-generation approaches to the education of young children from immigrant families that center on parental involvement in education. It focuses on Latin American and Asian immigrants, who make up the bulk of the immigrant population.

Early Education Programs and Children of Immigrants: Learning Each Other's Language

paffairs@urban.org ( Hannah Matthews, Danielle Ewen ) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Children from immigrant families are the fastest growing group of children in the United States. High-quality child care and early education opportunities will be critical to these childrens success in school and in life. Yet, the early experiences of children in immigrant families are as diverse and varied as immigrant families themselves. While many immigrant families face numerous barriers to accessing high-quality child care and early education for their young children, these barriers are not insurmountable. The paper discusses state and local solutions to improving access for immigrant families and specific strategies and collaborations among providers, policymakers, and immigrant-serving organizations.

1 in 4 Young Students Has an Immigrant Parent

paffairs@urban.org ( Urban Institute ) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

"Young Children of Immigrants: The Leading Edge of America's Future" shows that 24 percent (8.7 million) of children under age 8 have at least one immigrant parent, double 1990's 4.3 million. The study includes data on the number of children of immigrants in each state, as well as on the number of children whose parents come from a list of more than 130 countries.

Violence Prevention in Schools: A Case Study of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This report is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008-2009 school year. Based on an assessment of the school's violence prevention approach using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, field observations, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty, this report includes: a logic model of the school's violence prevention approach; detailed information on each of the violence prevention activities within the violence prevention approach and how they compare to national best practices; student and faculty perceptions of the school climate and the violence prevention approach; and recommendations to the school administrators on how to strengthen their violence prevention approach based on the assessment findings. The report concludes with brief remarks on next steps in school violence prevention research.

Violence Prevention at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This summary brief is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008-2009 school year. Researchers from the Justice Policy Center conducted an assessment of the school's violence prevention activities using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty. This brief provides an overview of Thurgood Marshall Academy's violence prevention approach; a more detailed report on the full assessment will follow in Summer 2010.

Scaling the Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology and Student Achievement

paffairs@urban.org ( Jacob Vigdor, Helen Ladd ) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Does differential access to computer technology at home compound the educational disparities between the rich and the poor? Authors examine the arrival of broadband service in North Carolina between 2000 and 2005, using data on the state's public school students and earlier surveys documenting broad racial and socioeconomic gaps in home computer access and use. The introduction of home computer technology is associated with modest but statistically significant and persistent negative impacts on student math and reading test scores, thus broadening math and reading achievement gaps. They conclude that home computer technology is put to more productive use in households with more effective parental monitoring.

What Makes Special-Education Teachers Special? : Teacher Training and Achievement of Students with Disabilities

paffairs@urban.org ( Li Feng, Tim Sass ) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper examines the impact of pre-service preparation and in-service formal and informal training on the ability of teachers to promote academic achievement among students with disabilities. Using student-level longitudinal data from Florida over a five-year span the authors estimate "value-added" models of student achievement. There is little support for the efficacy of in-service professional development courses focusing on special education. However, teachers with advanced degrees are more effective in boosting the math achievement of students with disabilities than are those with only a baccalaureate degree. Also pre-service preparation in special education has statistically significant and quantitatively substantial effects on the ability of teachers of special education courses to promote gains in achievement for students with disabilities, especially in reading.

Teacher Attitudes about Compensation Reform : Implications for Reform Implementation

paffairs@urban.org ( Dan Goldhaber, Michael DeArmond, Scott DeBurgomaster ) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Reform advocates and policymakers concerned about the quality and distribution of teachers among schools support proposals of alternative compensation for teachers in hard-to-staff schools and subject-areas. But the successful implementation of such proposals depends on teacher attitudes. Results from a 2006 survey of teachers in Washington State linked to school and district data confirm that teacher opinion about pay reform is not uniform, and illustrate teacher preferences for different pay structures vary substantially by individual and workplace characteristics. Policymakers interested in implementing new pay systems should carefully assess teacher opinion in determining where (and how) they invest in them.

Scrambling the Nest Egg: How Well Do Teachers Understand Their Pensions, and What Do They Think about Alternative Pension Structures?

paffairs@urban.org ( Michael DeArmond, Dan Goldhaber ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper addresses two questions: How well do teachers understand their current pension plans? And, what do they think about alternative plan structures? The data come from administrative records and a 2006 survey of teachers in Washington State. The results suggest Washington's teachers are fairly knowledgeable about their pensions, though new entrants and mid-career teachers appear to be less knowledgeable than veteran teachers. As for teachers' preferences for plan structure, the survey suggests that when it comes to investing additional retirement savings, a plurality of teachers favor defined contribution plans which offer more portability and choice, but more risk than traditional defined benefit plans. All else equal, teachers newer to the profession are more likely than veteran teachers to favor a defined contribution structure.

Measure for Measure: The Relationship between Measures of Instructional Practice in Middle School English Language Arts and Teachers' Value-Added Scores

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

In this study, the authors ask what classroom practices, if any, differentiate teachers with high impact on student achievement in middle school English Language Arts from those with lower impact. The study further explores the extent to which value-added measures signal differences in instructional quality. Even with the small sample used in the analysis, there is evidence that high value-added teachers have a different profile of instructional practices than do low value-added teachers. Teachers in the top quartile as measured by value-added scores score higher than second-quartile teachers on all 16 elements of instruction that were measured. The differences are statistically significant for a subset of practices including explicit strategy instruction.

School Principals and School Performance

paffairs@urban.org ( Damon Clark, Paco Martorell, Jonah Rockoff ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper uses data from New York City to estimate how the characteristics of school principals relate to school performance, as measured by students' standardized exam scores and other outcomes. There is little evidence of any relationship between school performance and principal education and pre-principal work experience, but some evidence that experience as an assistant principal at the principal's current school is associated with higher performance among inexperienced principals. There is mixed evidence on the relationship between formal principal training and professional development programs and school performance, with the caveat that the selection and assignment of New York City principals participating in these programs make it hard to isolate their effects. The positive returns to principal experience suggest that policies which cause principals to leave their posts early (e.g., via early retirement or a move into district administration) will be costly, and the tendency for less-advantaged schools to be run by less experienced principals could exacerbate educational inequality.

Effective Schools: Managing the Recruitment, Development, and Retention of High-Quality Teachers

paffairs@urban.org ( Tara Beteille, Demetra Kalogrides, Susanna Loeb ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Teachers are systematically sorted across schools. Often, schools serving the lowest-achieving students staffed by the least-skilled teachers. While teachers' school preferences account for some of the sorting, school practices are also likely to be a key factor. The authors examine the relationship between a school's effectiveness during a given principal's tenure and the retention, recruitment and development of its teachers. Three key findings emerge about principal effectiveness. More effective principals: (1) are able to retain higher-quality teachers and remove less-effective teachers; (2) are able to attract and hire higher-quality teachers to fill vacancies; (3) have teachers who improve at a greater pace than those in schools with less effective leadership (there is some evidence for this, albeit weak). These findings drive home the importance of personnel practices for effective school leadership.

Teacher Mobility, School Segregation, and Pay-Based Policies to Level the Playing Field

paffairs@urban.org ( Charles Clotfelter, Helen Ladd, Jacob Vigdor ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Research has consistently shown that teacher quality is distributed very unevenly among schools to the clear disadvantage of minority students and those from low-income families. Using information on teaching spells in North Carolina, the authors examine the potential for using salary differentials to overcome this pattern. They conclude that salary differentials are a far less effective tool for retaining teachers with strong pre-service qualifications than for retaining other teachers in schools with high proportions of minority students. Consequently, large salary differences would be needed to level the playing field when schools are segregated.

Before or After the Bell? : School Context and Neighborhood Effects on Student Achievement

paffairs@urban.org ( Paul A. Jargowsky, Mohamed El Komi ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper explores the relative effects of school and neighborhood characteristics on student achievement in Texas. School variables are more robust and explain a greater degree of the variance in test scores than neighborhood characteristics. Neighborhood level variables, as a group, are statistically significant even in the presence of school variables. The particular pattern of effects varies by the manner in which the school context was controlled, by poverty status, move status, and location in the conditional achievement distribution. But neighborhood always mattered. Even if neighborhood conditions are less robust than school context effects, concern about neighborhood conditions is still justified.

What Makes for a Good Teacher and Who Can Tell?

paffairs@urban.org ( Douglas Harris, Tim Sass ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Are there important determinants of teacher productivity that are not captured by teacher credentials but that can be measured by subjective assessments? And would evaluating teachers based on a combination of subjective assessments and student outcomes more accurately gauge teacher performance than student test scores alone? Using data from a midsize Florida school district, this paper explores both questions by calculating teachers' "value added" and comparing those outcomes with subjective ratings of teachers by school principals. Teacher value-added and principals' subjective ratings are positively correlated and principals' evaluations are better predictors of a teacher's value added than traditional approaches to teacher compensation focused on experience and formal education. Also, teachers' subject knowledge, teaching skill, and intelligence are most closely associated with both the overall subjective teacher ratings and the teacher value added.

Teacher Career Paths, Teacher Quality, and Persistence in the Classroom : Are Schools Keeping Their Best?

paffairs@urban.org ( Dan Goldhaber, Betheny Gross, Daniel Player ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Most studies that have fueled alarm over the attrition and mobility rates of teachers have relied on proxy indicators of teacher quality, even though these proxies correlate only weakly with student performance. This paper examines the attrition and mobility of early-career teachers of varying quality using value-added measures of teacher performance. Unlike previous studies, this paper focuses on the variation in these effects across the effectiveness distribution. On average, more effective teachers tend to stay in their initial schools and in teaching. But the lowest performing teachers, who are generally the most likely to transfer between schools, appear to "churn" within the system, and teacher mobility appears significantly affected by student demographics and achievement levels.

Teachers' Perceptions of Their Working Conditions: How Predictive of Policy-Relevant Outcomes?

paffairs@urban.org ( Helen Ladd ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This study uses data from North Carolina to examine the extent to which survey based perceptions of working conditions are predictive of policy-relevant outcomes, independent of other school characteristics such as the demographic mix of the school's students. Working conditions emerge as highly predictive of teachers' stated intentions to remain in or leave their schools, with leadership emerging as the most salient dimension. Teachers' perceptions of their working conditions are also predictive of one-year actual departure rates and student achievement, but the predictive power is far lower. These weaker findings for actual outcome measures help to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of using teacher survey data for understanding outcomes of policy interest.

Principal Time-Use and School Effectiveness

paffairs@urban.org ( Susanna Loeb, Additional Authors ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

To better understand the work lives of principals, this study uses observational time-use data for all high school principals in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Authors examine the relationship between the time principals spent on different types of activities and school outcomes including student achievement, teacher and parent assessments of the school, and teacher satisfaction. Time spent on Organization Management activities is associated with positive school outcomes, such as student test score gains and positive teacher and parent assessments of the instructional climate, whereas Day-to-Day Instruction activities are marginally or not at all related to improvements in student performance and often have a negative relationship with teacher and parent assessments. A single-minded focus on principals as instructional leaders operationalized through direct contact with teachers may be detrimental if it forsakes the important role of principals as organizational leaders.

Principal Preferences and the Unequal Distribution of Principals across Schools

paffairs@urban.org ( Eileen Horng, Demetra Kalogrides, Susanna Loeb ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This study uses longitudinal data from one large school district - Miami-Dade County Public Schools, to investigate the distribution of principals across schools. Schools serving many low-income, non-white, and low-achieving students have principals with less experience, less education, and who attended less selective colleges. This distribution of principals is partially driven by the initial match of first-time principals to schools at the beginning of their careers and is exacerbated by systematic attrition and transfer away from these schools. Supplementing the data with surveys of principals, the authors find principals' stated preferences for school characteristics mirror observed distribution and transfer patterns. Principals prefer to work in easier to serve schools with favorable working conditions which also tend to be schools with fewer poor, minority and/or low-achieving students.

Triangulating Principal Effectiveness: How Perspectives of Parents, Teachers, and Assistant Principals Identify the Central Importance of Managerial Skills

paffairs@urban.org ( Jason Grissom, Susanna Loeb ) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

While the importance of effective principals is undisputed, few studies have addressed what specific skills principals need to promote school success. This study draws on unique data combining survey responses from principals, assistant principals, teachers and parents with rich administrative data to identify which principal skills matter most for school outcomes. Factor analysis of a 42-item task inventory distinguishes five skill categories, yet only one of them, the principals' organization management skills, consistently predicts student achievement growth and other success measures. Analysis of evaluations of principals by assistant principals confirms this central result. The analysis argues for a broad view of instructional leadership that includes general organizational management skills as a key complement to the work of supporting curriculum and instruction.

Estimating Principal Effectiveness

paffairs@urban.org ( Steven Rivkin, Gregory F. Branch, Eric A. Hanushek ) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

This paper presents preliminary estimates of key elements of the market for school principals, employing rich panel data on principals from Texas State. The consideration of teacher movements across schools suggests that principals follow patterns quite similar to those of teachers - preferring schools that have less demands as indicated by higher income students, higher achieving students, and fewer minority students. Looking at the impact of principals on student achievement, there are some small but significant effects of the tenure of a principal in a school. Moreover, the variation in principal effectiveness tends to be largest in high-poverty schools, consistent with hypothesis that principal ability is most important in schools serving the most disadvantaged students. Principals who stay in a school tend to be more effective than those who move to other schools.

If We Put Students First, Bad Teachers Are First to Go

paffairs@urban.org ( Jane Hannaway ) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

With state and local budgets under the gun and teacher layoffs on the table, old ways of making personnel decisions should give way to procedures based on a truer understanding of what actually happens in today's classrooms, says Jane Hannaway in a USA Today commentary.