Is Kindergarten Ability Group Placement Biased? New Data, New Methods, New Answers

2021 ◽  
pp. 000283122110614
Author(s):  
Paul T. von Hippel ◽  
Ana P. Cañedo
Keyword(s):  
Asian American ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Black Children ◽  
National Data ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Lower Ability ◽  
Group Placement

Half of kindergarten teachers split children into higher and lower ability groups for reading or math. In national data, we predicted kindergarten ability group placement using linear and ordinal logistic regression with classroom fixed effects. In fall, test scores were the best predictors of group placement, but there was bias favoring girls, high-SES (socioeconomic status) children, and Asian Americans, who received higher placements than their scores alone would predict. Net of SES, there was no bias against placing black children in higher groups. By spring, one third of kindergartners moved groups, and high-SES children moved up more than their score gains alone would predict. Teacher-reported behaviors (e.g., attentiveness, approaches to learning) helped explain girls’ higher placements, but did little to explain the higher placements of Asian American and high-SES children.

Does the Organization of Instruction Differ in Charter Schools? Ability Grouping and Students’ Mathematics Gains

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Mark Berends ◽  
Kristi Donaldson
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Mathematics Achievement ◽  
Ability Grouping ◽  
Market Theory ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Achievement Gains ◽  
Traditional Public Schools ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Group Placement

Background Although we have learned a good deal from lottery-based and quasi-experimental studies of charter schools, much of what goes on inside of charter schools remains a “black box” to be unpacked. Grounding our work in neoclassical market theory and institutional theory, we examine differences in the social organization of schools and classrooms to enrich our understanding of school choice, school organizational and instructional conditions, and student learning. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Our study examines differences in students’ mathematics achievement gains between charter and traditional public schools, focusing on the distribution and organization of students into ability groups. In short, we ask: (1) How does the distribution of ability grouping differ between charter and traditional public schools? And (2) What are the relationships between ability group placement and students’ mathematics achievement gains in charter and traditional public schools? Research Design With a matched sample of charter and traditional public schools in six states (Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio), we use regression analyses to estimate the relationship between student achievement gains and school sector. We analyze how ability grouping mediates this main effect, controlling for various student, classroom, and school characteristics. Findings We find significant differences in the distribution of students across ability groups, with a more even distribution in charter compared to traditional public schools, which appear to have more selective placements for high groups. Consistent with prior research on tracking, we also find low-grouped students to be at a significant disadvantage when compared with high- and mixed-group peers in both sectors. Conclusions Although we find some significant differences between ability group placement and student achievement gains in mathematics, these relationships do not differ as much by sector as market theory (with its emphasis on innovation and autonomy) would predict. Consistent with institutional theory, both sectors still group students by ability and have similar relationships between gains and grouping.

Student–Teacher Ethno-Racial Matching and Reading Ability Group Placement in Early Grades

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neena Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Student Teacher ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Racial Matching ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Group Placement ◽  
Minority Teacher

This article investigates the relationship between student–teacher ethno-racial matching and students’ placement in reading ability groups in kindergarten and first grades in the United States. Multilevel regression analysis of a nationally representative sample of students shows that Latino/a first graders are more likely to be placed in higher ability groups when assigned to Latino/a teachers. Furthermore, teachers’ perception of students’ learning behavior, a variable that has been linked to teacher–student racial congruence in the literature, has a strong positive effect on ability group placement in kindergarten and first grades. These findings have implications for minority teacher recruitment policies in school districts.

scholarly journals Sorting into Contests: Evidence from Production Contracts

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Wang ◽  
Tomislav Vukina
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Random Utility Model ◽  
Random Utility ◽  
Utility Model ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Production Contracts ◽  
Contract Choice ◽  
Lower Ability ◽  
Profit Maximizing

Abstract In this paper, we investigate sorting patterns among chicken producers who are offered a menu of contracts to choose from. We show that the sorting equilibrium reveals a positive sorting where higher ability producers self-select themselves into contracts to grow larger chickens and lower ability types self-select themselves into contracts to grow smaller birds. We also show that eliciting this type of sorting behavior is profit maximizing for the principal. In the empirical part of the paper, we first estimate growers’ abilities using a two-way fixed effects model and subsequently use these estimated abilities to estimate a random utility model of contract choice. Our empirical results are supportive of the developed theory.

Disparities in the Enrollment and Timing of Special Education for Asian American and Pacific Islander Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
North Cooc
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Background Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Student Background ◽  
Ethnic Subgroups

School districts in the United States are required to monitor the overrepresentation of students of color in special education, yet recent studies have challenged these trends and suggest students of color may be underrepresented for services guaranteed under federal law. Missing in many of these discussions on disproportionality are the needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), a group consistently underrepresented in special education. Previous studies, however, do not examine the vast heterogeneity in experiences among AAPIs and how special education trends may differ across AAPI ethnic subgroups. Using longitudinal data on 10 cohorts of 42,807 total kindergartners from a school district over a 10-year period, this study probes deeper into underrepresentation by disaggregating participation trends and the timing of services for 11 AAPI ethnic subgroups. Results indicate that most AAPI student groups are underrepresented in special education and first receive services later than White peers. These patterns remain even after accounting for student background, level of acculturation, and school fixed effects.

Examining Gender Differences in Ability Group Placement at the Onset of Schooling: The Role of Skills, Behaviors, and Teacher Evaluations

2012 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Catsambis ◽  
Lynn M. Mulkey ◽  
Anthony Buttaro ◽  
Lala Carr Steelman ◽  
Pamela Ray Koch
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Teacher Evaluations ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Group Placement

Construct Validity and Psychometric Properties of the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (Level Z): A Contrasted Groups Analysis

1992 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig L. Frisby
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Construct Validity ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Internal Consistency Reliability ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Total N ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Test Level

Total scores and section scores (both corrected and uncorrected for guessing) on the Cornell Critical Thinking Test—Level Z were analyzed for evidence of construct validity. The test performance of three ability groupings of college students and a “no-booklet” (guessers) group (Total N = 527) was examined. Statistically significant differences were found among the corrected total score means for all four groups. Differences among the means of the three ability groups were statistically significant on one corrected and one uncorrected section of the test. In addition, the formula which corrects for guessing substantially improved the estimate of internal consistency reliability for the low-ability group only. Support for the heterogeneity of the thinking skills measured by Form Z was mixed and inconclusive. Implications for the use or modification of the test are discussed.

Ability Grouping in the Early Grades: Long-Term Consequences for Educational Equity in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-50
Author(s):  
Anthony Buttaro ◽  
Sophia Catsambis
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Ability Grouping ◽  
Educational Equity ◽  
Eighth Grade ◽  
High Ability ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Early Grades ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Educational Paths

Background Ability grouping has resurged in U.S. schools despite long-standing debates over its consequences for educational equity. Proponents argue that it is the best response to variation in academic skills because it allows teachers to customize the content and pace of instruction to students’ diverse needs. Critics answer that this practice places students in divergent educational paths that reproduce educational and social inequalities. Despite the contested nature of ability grouping, research has yet to produce reliable longitudinal evidence to evaluate critics’ claims. Objective We examine the degree to which exposure to within-class grouping for reading instruction from kindergarten to third grade is predictive of students’ reading test scores and English coursework in the middle grades. Research Design We use multilevel achievement growth models predicting average reading achievement from kindergarten to eighth grade as a function of years of exposure in low, average, or high ability groups in kindergarten through third grade and control variables relevant to each grade. We evaluate the achievement differences between students who are grouped in these ability groups for one or more years and those who were never ability grouped. We use multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the degree to which number of years in each ability group in K–3 grades predicts placements in eighth-grade English classes (below grade or honors, as opposed to regular English classes). Data We use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS–K), a national panel study of the 1998 U.S. kindergarten cohort sponsored by National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Our sample consists of 7,800 students with data for fall of kindergarten, and spring of kindergarten and first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. Findings Compared with similar students who were ungrouped in the early grades, those in high-ability reading groups have higher test scores, whereas those in low-ability groups have lower test scores in every grade from kindergarten to the eighth grade. In addition, compared with their ungrouped counterparts, students in low-ability groups in the early grades are more likely to enroll in eighth grade English classes that are below grade level, whereas those in high-ability groups in these grades are more likely to enroll in honors eighth-grade English classes. Achievement gaps between previously grouped and ungrouped students increase with every additional year of exposure to ability grouping. Conclusions Students’ ability group placements in the early grades evolve into divergent educational paths that grow further apart with multiple years of grouping. These findings provide the first longitudinal evidence linking ability grouping to the reproduction of educational inequalities.

scholarly journals Colorectal cancer screening prevalence and predictors among Asian American subgroups using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey National Data

Cancer ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 1543-1551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela U. Sy ◽  
Eunjung Lim ◽  
Lana Sue Ka’opua ◽  
Merle Kataoka-Yahiro ◽  
Yumiko Kinoshita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Cancer Screening ◽  
Colorectal Cancer Screening ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey ◽  
Medical Expenditure ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
National Data

scholarly journals Teachers’ Use of Within-Class Ability Groups in the Primary Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study of Social Comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Louise Webb-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Ability Group ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Grouping Strategies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

It is common practice within primary classrooms for teachers to spilt children into different ability groups so that children of similar level are taught together. Whilst this practice is used across the globe, research is mixed on the benefits of such grouping strategy. This paper presents data collected from mixed methods research which investigated teachers use of grouping strategies and social comparison, the act of comparing oneself with others. It focuses on when, why and with whom children from different ability groups compare themselves and the impact this has on their self-perceptions. Drawing upon data from children aged between 10 and 11 years from 12 primary schools, social comparison was found to play a significant role in daily classroom life for some children. The study identified different strands of the social comparison process including acknowledgment, topic, target, and direction, and it revealed positive and negative effects of social comparison. A difference by ability group was identified. Children within the low ability group were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of social comparison and found to engage in more frequent and intentional social comparisons which were heavily relied upon for self-evaluation and performance evaluation. The paper discusses the educational implications of social comparison regarding pupil ability grouping strategies, motivation, engagement, and academic performance. Implications for teacher education and professional development is discussed.

Stop AAPI Hate National Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Jeung ◽  
Aggie Yellow Horse ◽  
Tara Popovic ◽  
Richard Lim
Keyword(s):  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
National Data ◽  
National Report

This report offers aggregated national data and some selected personal testimonials about Asian American experiences with anti-Asian violence. The data is presented by types of discrimination and violence experienced, the ethnic breakdown of those being targeted, and the locations where Asian Americans were targeted.

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