scholarly journals The Variation in Student Achievement and Behavior Within a Portfolio Management Model

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. McEachin ◽  
Richard Osbourne Welsh ◽  
Dominic James Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Portfolio Management ◽  
English Language ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
School Type ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Language Arts Achievement ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Governance Reforms

A growing number of states experimented with alternative governance structures in response to pressure to raise student achievement. Post-Katrina experimentation in New Orleans was widely regarded as a model example of new governance reforms and provided a unique opportunity to learn about the variation in student achievement and behavior within and between school sectors and school types. Our results indicated many of the sector and school type combinations that produced higher math and English Language Arts achievement also positively impacted students’ behavior, suggesting that the achievement results were not merely driven by teaching to the test. Finally, our results suggested in a low-performing district, schools may benefit from the collaborative opportunities of belonging to a local school district or network of schools.

Suspensions and Achievement: Varying Links by Type, Frequency, and Subgroup

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 363-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
NaYoung Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
English Language ◽  
Elevated Risk ◽  
Time Points ◽  
Suggestive Evidence ◽  
Language Arts Achievement ◽  
Type Frequency ◽  
Unique Dataset

Researchers have shown that receiving suspensions is associated with negative educational outcomes. However, existing studies fail to control for unobservable differences between those students who received suspensions and those who did not. In this study, I compare achievement for a given student across school quarters with varying types and levels of suspensions by taking advantage of a unique dataset that measures student achievement at 12 time points across 3 academic years. Results show that multiple suspensions are associated with lower math and English language arts achievement even after controlling for differences between students. Furthermore, I find suggestive evidence that these associations are stronger for students who have an elevated risk of suspensions.

scholarly journals Immigration Enforcement and Student Achievement in the Wake of Secure Communities

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841988489
Author(s):  
Laura Bellows
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Immigration Enforcement ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Secure Communities

Over the past decade, U.S. immigration enforcement policies have increasingly targeted unauthorized immigrants residing in the U.S. interior, many of whom are the parents of U.S.-citizen children. Heightened immigration enforcement may affect student achievement through stress, income effects, or student mobility. I use one immigration enforcement policy, Secure Communities, to examine this relationship. I use the staggered activation of Secure Communities across counties to measure its relationship with average achievement for Hispanic students, as well as non-Hispanic Black and White students. I find that the activation of Secure Communities was associated with decreases in average achievement for Hispanic students in English Language Arts as well as Black students in English Language Arts and math. Similarly, I find that increases in removals are associated with decreases in achievement for Hispanic and Black students. I note that the timing of rollout is potentially correlated with other county trends affecting results.

Differences in Intellectual Challenge of Writing Tasks among Higher and Lower Value-Added English Language Arts Teachers

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Chandra L. Alston ◽  
Michelle T. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Intellectual Quality ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
Intellectual Challenge

Background Writing is an essential literacy skill; however, public school students often receive inadequate writing instruction, particularly as they move into middle and high school. However, research has shown that the nature of writing tasks assigned can impact writing development and student achievement measured by standardized assessments. With the need to assess teacher efficacy, districts are increasingly using some form of value-added modeling, although researchers warn of relying solely on value-added scores to distinguish between more and less effective teachers. Purpose This study investigated the intellectual challenge of typical writing tasks and the intellectual quality of student work in classrooms of higher and lower value-added middle school English language arts teachers to understand what value-added modeling might capture in terms of writing instruction. In particular, this article investigates how higher and lower value-added teachers differ in terms of (1) the intellectual challenge of typical tasks assigned, (2) the quality of supports surrounding the tasks, and (3) the quality of student work produced. Research Design Data for this study were collected as part of a larger study that identified pairs of middle school ELA teachers within the same school who were in their third through fifth years of teaching. Within each school, we identified at least one teacher in the fourth (top) quartile and one in the second (lower) quartile based on their measures of value-added to student achievement. We analyzed the typical and challenging writing tasks and corresponding student work for the intellectual quality, looking within and across the two groups of teachers to document patterns of instructional practices. Conclusions We found differences in the consistency of challenge and scaffolds between the two groups, with higher value-added teachers more consistently providing challenging and supportive tasks. Teachers whose typical writing tasks maintain a high degree of challenge are associated with higher student performance, as defined by a measure of teacher value-added. This implies the importance of educating teachers regarding the importance and nature of challenging assignments.

Two Decades of Generalizable Evidence on U.S. Instruction from National Surveys

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Camburn ◽  
Seong Won Han
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Social Studies ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Nationally Representative

Background Students’ instructional experiences—that is, their experiences working with subject matter during classroom instruction—are a major determinant of how they learn. Given the importance of classroom instruction, valid, generalizable evidence is needed by policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. Over the past two decades, a wealth of generalizable evidence on instruction has been generated by large-scale surveys administered to nationally-representative probability samples. But this vast body of research has not been systematically summarized. Purpose of the Study This article attempts to fill a gap in the research by describing evidence on instruction from all surveys conducted between 1987 and 2005 that measured instruction using nationally-representative samples. Our goal is to generate a portrait of the evidence from these surveys that identifies strengths and gaps in the literature and that summarizes what this research base says about the relationship between classroom instruction and student outcomes. Research Design Evidence on instruction was compiled and summarized in four steps: (1) all surveys conducted between 1987 and 2005 that measured instruction and were administered to nationally representative probability samples were identified, (2) manuscripts using data from these surveys were selected for review, (3) the dimensions of instruction addressed by each manuscript and other manuscript characteristics were coded, and (4) the methodology and findings of each manuscript were summarized. Findings More than half the studies used data more than a decade old; few studies examined instruction during important transition years such as sixth and ninth grade; and subject area emphasis was lopsided, with mathematics and science instruction receiving much greater attention than English/language arts and social studies. The summary also revealed a repeated finding of low-SES students receiving diminished learning opportunities than more affluent peers. We also found repeated evidence of a positive association with student achievement for six dimensions of instruction, and repeated evidence of a negative or null association with achievement for five dimensions of instruction. Conclusions More research is needed on disparities in the instructional experiences of low-and high-income students. More research is also needed on instruction at key transition points and on instruction in English/language arts and social studies. This review also suggests a need for studies that more rigorously test research questions about instruction using measures that more authentically reflect the complexities of instruction and that examine student achievement growth over longer periods of time.

scholarly journals How Changes in Entry Requirements Alter the Teacher Workforce and Affect Student Achievement

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Boyd ◽  
Pamela Grossman ◽  
Hamilton Lankford ◽  
Susanna Loeb ◽  
James Wyckoff
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Entry Requirements ◽  
Teacher Workforce ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Improving Student Achievement

We are in the midst of what amounts to a national experiment in how best to attract, prepare, and retain teachers, particularly for high-poverty urban schools. Using data on students and teachers in grades 3–8, this study assesses the effects of pathways into teaching in New York City on the teacher workforce and on student achievement. We ask whether teachers who enter through new routes, with reduced coursework prior to teaching, are more or less effective at improving student achievement. When compared to teachers who completed a university-based teacher education program, teachers with reduced coursework prior to entry often provide smaller initial gains in both mathematics and English language arts. Most differences disappear as the cohort matures, and many of the differences are not large in magnitude, typically 2 to 5 percent of a standard deviation. The variation in effectiveness within pathways is far greater than the average differences between pathways.

scholarly journals The Impact of Organizational Health on Student Achievement in a High Needs District

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Roberto Zamora ◽  
Rosalinda Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Organizational Health ◽  
Academic Readiness ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This study establishes the relationship between organizational health and student achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-11.  The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between student achievement as measured by student performance in the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness and organizational health.  The Spearman Rho correlation coefficient was computed to determine the strength of the relationships between student achievement and the ten dimensions of organizational health.  The findings indicated there was a positive relationship between student performance and the dimensions of organizational health with morale and goal focus exhibiting the greatest strengths.Key words:  organizational health, dimensions, accountability, school culture, organizational culture 

scholarly journals Using Large-Scale Assessments to Evaluate the Effectiveness of School Library Programs in California

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Tarr Jr. ◽  
Stacy L. Sinclair-Tarr
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Language Arts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
School Library ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Relationship

This California study examined the relationship between the presence of school libraries, as defined by credentialed staffing, and student achievement, as measured by both criterionreferenced and norm-referenced assessments in both English-language arts and mathematics. Using the California School Characteristics Index to compare 4,022 schools with similar demographics at Grades 4, 7, and 10, both positive and negative statistically significant relationships were found between the presence of a school library and student achievement at Grades 4 and 7. There were no statistically significant positive relationships found at Grade 10. These findings do not support previous studies that used different methods of comparing schools with similar demographics. Also unlike previous studies, the overall effect sizes of the positive relationships were small, the average being an increase in student achievement of 2%. Factors within the school library at Grades 4 and 7 were also examined, and both positive and negative statistically significant relationships to student achievement were found.

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