Laying the Foundation for a Spatial Reasoning Researcher-Practitioner Partnership with CPS, SILC, and The Learning Partnership

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttal David ◽  
◽  
Katherine James ◽  
Steven McGee ◽  
Phillip Boda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Spatial Reasoning ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Reasoning Abilities ◽  
Career Achievement ◽  
Stem Outcomes

The goal of this project was to explore how explicit instruction in spatial reasoning in primary grades can contribute to reductions in variation in STEM outcomes for low-income, minority students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Our project focused on the persistent gender, racial and ethnic, and socioeconomic inequalities in STEM educational and career achievement and attainment. Our approach to addressing this problem was guided by research evidence that much of the variation in STEM outcomes for these groups can be explained by spatial reasoning abilities. Importantly, spatial reasoning skills can be improved through practice, but are rarely explicitly taught in the classroom. The spatial reasoning needs and opportunities identified by this work are relevant to CPS in that they focus on the prevalent science, math, and computer science curricula currently used in CPS K-2 instruction. As such, our findings provide specific, actionable guidance for the development of curricular supports that infuse explicit spatial reasoning instruction.

The Efficiency of Race-Neutral Alternatives to Race-Based Affirmative Action: Evidence from Chicago’s Exam Schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 943-975
Author(s):  
Glenn Ellison ◽  
Parag A. Pathak
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Minority Representation ◽  
Student Preparedness ◽  
University Systems ◽  
K 12

Several K-12 and university systems have adopted race-neutral affirmative action in place of race-based alternatives. This paper explores whether these plans are effective substitutes for racial quotas in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which now employs a race-neutral, place-based affirmative action system at its selective exam high schools. The CPS plan is ineffective compared to plans that explicitly consider race: about three-quarters of the reduction in average entrance scores at the top schools could have been avoided with the same level of racial diversity. Moreover, the CPS plan is less effective at adding low-income students than was the previous system of racial quotas. We develop a theoretical framework that motivates quantifying the inefficiency of race-neutral policies based on the distortion in student preparedness they create for a given level of diversity and use it to evaluate several alternatives. The CPS plan can be improved in several ways, but no race-neutral policy restores minority representation to prior levels without substantially greater distortions, implying significant efficiency costs from prohibitions on the explicit use of race. (JEL H75, I21, I28, J15)

scholarly journals Segregation and inequality in Chicago Public Schools, transformed and intensified under corporate education reform

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavlyn Jankov ◽  
Carol Caref
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Black Teachers ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Corporate Education ◽  
Black Schools ◽  
School Closures

During the period of 1981 to 2015, the total population of Black students in CPS plummeted from close to 240,000, 60% of all CPS students, to 156,000 or 39% of CPS. This paper documents how despite their decreasing numbers and percentage in the system, the vast majority of Black students remained isolated in predominantly low-income Black schools that also became the target of destabilizing corporate reforms and experimentation. This study examines the historic and contemporary dual segregation of Black teachers and Black students in Chicago Public Schools, and how mass school closures, privatization, and corporate school reform have both transformed and deepened segregation and resource-inequity across Chicago's schools.

scholarly journals Evaluating medical education regulation changes in Brazil: workforce impact

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Medeiros Figueiredo ◽  
Danette Waller McKinley ◽  
Adriano Massuda ◽  
George Dantas Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
Medical Undergraduate ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Shortages and inequitable distribution of physicians is an obstacle to move towards Universal Health Coverage, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. In Brazil, expansion of medical school enrollment, curricula changes and recruitment programs were established to increase the number of physicians in underserved areas. This study seeks to analyze the impact of these measures in reduce inequities in access to medical education and physicians’ distribution. Methods This is an observational study that analyzes changes in the number of undergraduate medical places and number of physicians per inhabitants in different areas in Brazil between the years 2010 and 2018. Data regarding the number of undergraduate medical places, number and the practice location of physicians were obtained in public databases. Municipalities with less than 20,000 inhabitants were considered underserved areas. Data regarding access to antenatal visits were analyzed as a proxy for impact in access to healthcare. Results From 2010 to 2018, 19,519 new medical undergraduate places were created which represents an increase of 120.2%. The increase in the number of physicians engaged in the workforce throughout the period was 113,702 physicians, 74,771 of these physicians in the Unified Health System. The greatest increase in the physicians per 1000 inhabitants ratio in the municipalities with the smallest population, the lowest Gross Domestic Product per capita and in those located in the states with the lowest concentration of physicians occurred in the 2013–2015 period. Increase in physician supply improved access to antenatal care. Conclusions There was an expansion in the number of undergraduate medical places and medical workforce in all groups of municipalities assessed in Brazil. Medical undergraduate places expansion in the federal public schools was more efficient to reduce regional inequities in access to medical education than private sector expansion. The recruitment component of More Doctors for Brazil Program demonstrated effectiveness to increase the number of physicians in underserved areas. Our results indicate the importance of public policies to face inequities in access to medical education and physician shortages and the necessity of continuous assessment during the period of implementation, especially in the context of political and economic changes.

scholarly journals Meeting the Challenges of Longitudinal Cluster-Based Trials in Schools: Lessons From the Chicago Trial of Positive Action

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra M. Lewis ◽  
David L. DuBois ◽  
Peter Ji ◽  
Joseph Day ◽  
Naida Silverthorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Study Planning ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Cluster Randomized

We describe challenges in the 6-year longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) of Positive Action (PA), a social–emotional and character development (SECD) program, conducted in 14 low-income, urban Chicago Public Schools. Challenges pertained to logistics of study planning (school recruitment, retention of schools during the trial, consent rates, assessment of student outcomes, and confidentiality), study design (randomization of a small number of schools), fidelity (implementation of PA and control condition activities), and evaluation (restricted range of outcomes, measurement invariance, statistical power, student mobility, and moderators of program effects). Strategies used to address the challenges within each of these areas are discussed. Incorporation of lessons learned from this study may help to improve future evaluations of longitudinal CRCTs, especially those that involve evaluation of school-based interventions for minority populations and urban areas.

Predicting and Preventing Shootings among At-Risk Youth

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Chandler ◽  
Steven D Levitt ◽  
John A List
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Predictive Model ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
At Risk Youth ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Mentorship Program

Each year, more than 250 students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are shot. The authors of this paper worked with the leadership of CPS to build a predictive model of shootings that helped determine which students would be included in a highly targeted and resource intensive mentorship program. This paper describes our predictive model and offers a preliminary evaluation of the mentoring intervention performed by Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP). We find little evidence that the intervention reduces school misconducts or improves educational outcomes. The scale of intervention was too small to generate meaningful findings on shootings.

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