Adolescent Suicides and Social Disparities

Suicides have been the second leading cause of deaths among adolescents in the United States in 2016. This paper aims to find qualitative and quantitative evidence of the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and adolescent suicides. The suicide risk factors among all states are identified to form the pooled dynamic panel dataset from 1990 to 2016. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to find that social inequalities are significantly related to American adolescent suicides using the state-level dynamic panel data. Changes of unemployment rates have the consistent and significantly positive impacts on changes of adolescent suicides rates. Changes of Top 10% income index are uniformly positive to changes of adolescent suicide rates. Gini indices have inconsistently positive correspondence to adolescent suicide rates. Furthermore, high school graduation rates are insignificantly and negatively associated with adolescent suicide rates in the United States.

Class Size and Teacher Work: Research Provided to the BCTF in their Struggle to Negotiate Teacher Working Conditions

This paper presents an update of a 2010-literature review on class size research completed as background in preparation of an affidavit on class size provided by the lead author in the case of British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia, argued before the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 2010, appealed ultimately to the Supreme Court of Canada and ruled on November 10, 2016. We find that smaller classes can improve teacher-student interactions and individualized instruction, decreasing time spent on discipline issues, leading to better student behaviour, attitude, and efforts. Smaller classes generally have greater advantages for younger students, and effects are more observable in class sizes of less than 20. Small classes may shrink achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, and increase high school graduation rates, and appear to enhance academic outcomes, particularly for marginalized groups. Researchers have detected class size effects many years later. Small classes have been found to boost teachers’ morale and job satisfaction. While some studies have found effects at the secondary and post-secondary level, results are generally inconclusive at this level. Finally, some researchers have argued that class size reductions are an inefficient use of funds which might be better spent elsewhere in the system. The paper concludes with a brief reflection on the process of providing this research for Supreme Court case.

Effects of double-dose algebra on college persistence and degree attainment

In 2003, Chicago Public Schools introduced double-dose algebra, requiring two periods of math—one period of algebra and one of algebra support—for incoming ninth graders with eighth-grade math scores below the national median. Using a regression discontinuity design, earlier studies showed promising results from the program: For median-skill students, double-dose algebra improved algebra test scores, pass rates, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment. This study follows the same students 12 y later. Our findings show that, for median-skill students in the 2003 cohort, double-dose significantly increased semesters of college attended and college degree attainment. These results were not replicated for the 2004 cohort. Importantly, the impact of the policy on median-skill students depended largely on how classes were organized. In 2003, the impacts on college persistence and degree attainment were large in schools that strongly adhered to the cut-score-based course assignment, but without grouping median-skill students with lower-skill peers. Few schools implemented the policy in such a way in 2004.

The Longitudinal Effects of School Improvement Grants

School Improvement Grants (SIGs) exemplify a capacity-building investment to spur sustainable changes in America’s persistently lowest-performing schools and stimulate the economy. This study examines both short- and longer-term effects of the first two cohorts of SIG schools from four locations across the country. Dynamic difference-in-differences models show that SIGs’ effects on achievement in Grades 3 to 8, as measured by state test scores in math and English language arts, gradually increased over the three reform years and were largely sustained for 3 or 4 years afterward. Evidence on high school graduation rates, though less robust, also suggests SIGs had positive effects. SIGs’ effects on students of color and low-socioeconomic-status students were similar to or significantly larger than the overall effects.

Does Online Course-Taking Increase High School Completion and Open Pathways to Postsecondary Education Opportunities?

Recent increases in high school graduation rates have been linked anecdotally to online course-taking for credit recovery. Online course-taking that supports high school completion could open opportunities for postsecondary education pursuits. Alternatively, poorer quality online instruction could diminish student learning and discourage persistence toward graduation and further education. Using quasi-experimental methods in an 8-year longitudinal study of high school online course-taking, we find positive associations between online course-taking, credits earned and high school graduation, and for those with limited online course-taking, small increases in college enrollment. However, we find significantly lower 4-year college enrollments and lower quality college enrollments for all online course-takers, leaving open the question of whether online course-taking will lead to long-term postsecondary education and labor market success.

Academic Achievement of Children in Same- and Different-Sex-Parented Families: A Population-Level Analysis of Linked Administrative Data From the Netherlands

Although numerous studies have examined how children raised in same-sex-parented families fare relative to children in different-sex-parented families, this body of work suffers from major methodological shortcomings. By leveraging linked administrative data from several population registers from the Netherlands covering the 2006–2018 period (n = 1,454,577), we overcome most methodological limitations affecting earlier research. The unique features of the data include complete population coverage, reliable identification of same-sex-parented families, a large number of children in same-sex-parented families (n = 3,006), multiple objective and verifiable educational outcomes, and detailed measures of family dynamics over children's entire life courses. The results indicate that children in same-sex-parented families outperform children in different-sex-parented families on multiple indicators of academic performance, including standardized tests scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment. Such advantages extend to both male and female children, and are more pronounced among children in female than male same-sex-parented families. These findings challenge deficit models of same-sex parenting.

Getting Tough? The Effects of Discretionary Principal Discipline on Student Outcomes

Nationwide, school principals are given wide discretion to use disciplinary tools like suspension and expulsion to create a safe learning environment. There is legitimate concern that this power can have negative consequences, particularly for the students who are excluded. This study uses linked disciplinary, education, and criminal justice records from 2008 to 2016 in North Carolina to examine the impact of principal-driven disciplinary decisions on middle school student outcomes. We find that principals who are more likely to remove students lead to reductions in reported rates of minor student misconduct. However, this deterrence comes at a high cost – these harsher principals generate more juvenile justice complaints and reduce high school graduation rates for all students in their schools. Students who committed minor disciplinary infractions in a school with a harsh principal suffer additional declines in attendance and test scores. Finally, principals exhibiting racial bias in their disciplinary decisions also widen educational gaps between White and Black students.

Improving High School Graduation Through School Climate

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of literature regarding decisions school leaders make when developing strategic plans to improve student outcomes. This study investigated whether there is a significant relationship between school climate and graduation rates for public high schools in the state of Georgia when controlling for potential covariates. Using an ordinary least squares multiple regression procedure, this study found a positive school climate increased high school graduation rates ( b = .164, p ≤ .01).

K-12 Online Student Engagement

Student engagement has been shown to be essential to improving academic achievement, increasing high school graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and in the development of research-based best practices for K-12 education. It has been defined and measured in numerous ways. This chapter explores student engagement in the K-12 online learning environment and examines how student engagement is similar to but also very different from student engagement in a traditional K-12 brick-and-mortar environment.

A Quantitative Study on Credit Recovery Curricula for Improving High School Graduation Rates

<p>A quantitative, ex post facto causal comparative study methods was used to determine the impacts of implementing credit recovery into high school curricula on graduation rates. A thematic literature review described the particular areas of the literature and research purpose. The target sample was Illinois high school districts with and without credit recovery programs implemented and for years 2007-2010 pre-implementation and years 2011-2014 post-implementation. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to test the multiple continuous dependent variables, high school graduation rates and the hypotheses regarding the effect of credit recovery programs on graduation rates. Results indicated there was no statistically significant difference between groups even when controlling for attendance. Recommendations and suggestions for future research were provided.</p>