scholarly journals A Policy Analysis of the Federal Growth Model Pilot Program's Measures of School Performance: The Florida Case

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Weiss ◽  
Henry May

As test-based educational accountability has moved to the forefront of national and state education policy, so has the desire for better measures of school performance. No Child Left Behind's (NCLB) status and safe harbor measures have been criticized for being unfair and unreliable, respectively. In response to such criticism, in 2005 the federal government announced the Growth Model Pilot Program, which permits states to use projection models (a type of growth model) in their accountability systems. This article uses historical longitudinal data from a large school district to empirically show the inaccuracy of one state's projection model, to demonstrate how projection models are very similar to NCLB's original status measure, and to contrast projection models with value-added models. As policy makers debate the reauthorization of NCLB, this research can provide guidance on ways to improve the current measurement of school performance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Julia Everitt

Despite the move to state education, policy-makers since the early 1900s have encouraged the community, external agencies, private companies, employers and voluntary organisations to become involved in schools. The rationales for these collaborations are to address issues (e.g., delinquency, neglect, underachievement and low family support), which will be tackled through activities (e.g., extra-curricular clubs and one-to-one support) and to focus on the social aspects of schooling of wider audiences (e.g., adults). These activities are deemed as beneficial through implementation which is perceived to be issue free. Research is lacking with regard to how these policy responses are played out in practice and the perceptions of those involved. This paper reveals the individuals involved in four case study schools using an audit pro-forma, documentary analysis and interviews with school staff and external agencies. The findings highlight that several individuals were expected to deliver former statutory provision for free, but quality was a concern. Individuals may perceive that their activities contribute to the national curriculum, but staff had different perceptions. This paper reveals how policies are directing the individuals involved and their activities. There are questions over whose interests are intended to be served and the implications for pupils, parents, schools, communities and politicians.


Author(s):  
K. E. Stupak ◽  

The article deals with analyzing the main streams of the education policy in Finland, which reflect the relationship between a person and society in modern socio–economic conditions. Such policy directs the system of education to change the person and his mind himself. Finland using its education system, has long before been concerned about preparing people for the future by reforming approaches to teaching in schools and higher education institutions. As a result, it has achieved world–wide recognition and top positions in various ratings have resulted. Therefore, today there is a great interest of scientists in certain issues of education functioning in Finland. Thus, G. Androshchuk, V. Butova. I. Zhernokleeva, T. Pushkareva and others study in their works the purpose and decisive role of Finland's education policy in the development of the education system. S. Grinyuk and V. Zagvozdkin pay attention to the practical the steps of reforming the Finnish system of education. T. Drobyshevsk investigates the system of providing educational services in Finland as a sector of knowledge production. L. Volynets, P. Kukharchuk consider the principles of the state education policy of Finland. L. Smolskaya examines the role of the state policy in implementing the "Finnish phenomenon"; P. Basyliuk and Yu. Kulykova, focus attention on the study of the evolution of the system of higher education in Finland; O. Scherbak reveals peculiarities of vocational education and training.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-66
Author(s):  
Łukasz Bryl

AbstractObjective: The aim of this paper is to present the long-term development of the chosen human capital indices that uncovers and compares the outcome of the national efforts performed by the two culturally distant countries (China and Poland) over the decade. Additionally, paper indicates the areas of further HC progress in both nations.Methodology: The study was based on measuring human capital with the help of deliberately chosen set of macroeconomic indices (28 items) referring to the nations’ capability to create innovations. Analysis was performed for the 2007–2017 years.Findings: Positive phenomena in the case of human capital development outperform the negative ones in both countries, however, the extent is more remarkable in the case of China. China managed to: improve greatly the pupil-teacher ratio (both in primary and secondary schools), increase secondary and tertiary education enrolment rate along with the rise of the no. of students from abroad. In Poland, the greatest increase was observed in the case of the number of researchers what consequently contributed to the improvement of number of scientific and technical articles and citable documents (h-index).Value Added: To the best Author’s knowledge this is the first paper that compares national human capital development in Poland and China with a set of indices focused on capability to create innovations and adopts longitudinal approach.Recommendations: Policy-makers in the case of Poland should concentrate on: fostering university/industry research collaboration, improving rank in worldwide QS classification and performing more efforts to attract and retain talents. Moreover, the negative trends should be reversed with regard to: PISA scores and general quality of education system. In turn, Chinese authorities should facilitate better PISA scores and increase the presence of scientific and technical articles.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Chetty ◽  
John Friedman ◽  
Jonah Rockoff

2013 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberlee Callister Everson ◽  
Erika Feinauer ◽  
Richard Sudweeks

In this article, the authors provide a methodological critique of the current standard of value-added modeling forwarded in educational policy contexts as a means of measuring teacher effectiveness. Conventional value-added estimates of teacher quality are attempts to determine to what degree a teacher would theoretically contribute, on average, to the test score gains of any student in the accountability population (i.e., district or state). Everson, Feinauer, and Sudweeks suggest an alternative statistical methodology, propensity score matching, which allows estimation of how well a teacher performs relative to teachers assigned comparable classes of students. This approach more closely fits the appropriate role of an accountability system: to estimate how well employees perform in the job to which they are actually assigned. It also has the benefit of requiring fewer statistical assumptions—assumptions that are frequently violated in value-added modeling. The authors conclude that this alternative method allows for more appropriate and policy-relevant inferences about the performance of teachers.


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