This study adopted a quantitative methodology involving a matched sample of federated and non-federated schools and utilising multilevel modelling techniques to explore the impact of federations on student outcomes. The sample involves a total of 50 school districts and 264 schools. These are grouped into 122 federations; 264 comparator schools…

This paper estimates the impact of attending a preferred high school on mediating factors of student success, including engagement, behavior, and attendance. For example, the authors ask whether students are more engaged with their school or have higher attendance when successfully matched to their first choice versus their second (or lower)…

Policymakers aiming to close the well-documented achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students have increasingly turned their attention to issues of teacher quality. A number of studies have demonstrated that teachers are inequitably distributed across student subgroups by input measures like experience and qualifications, as well…

The relationship between components of the local school district report card, school district typology, and the outcome of public school tax levy requests were examined in this study. A correlation research design was used to measure the relationship between the independent variables (performance index, average yearly progress, value added,…

The core work of the National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools consists of four stages: identifying practices of highly effective high schools, designing interventions and transfer of practices, evaluating the intervention's implementation and effects, and evaluating implementation at scale. The purpose of this report is to describe the…

This report, the fourth in an IERC series on public school principals in Illinois, summarizes recent research on the characteristics associated with principal effectiveness and examines Illinois data on the relationship between principal characteristics, student proficiency, and teacher qualifications. In order to investigate the relationships…

Principals tend to prefer working in schools with higher-achieving students from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Principals often use schools with many poor or low-achieving students as stepping stones to what they view as more desirable assignments. District leadership can also exacerbate principal turnover by implementing policies…

The primary purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of career and technical education in Rhode Island utilizing Program Approval Process: Standards, Instruments, and Protocols. The process establishes standards for quality career and technical education. The population surveyed provided data on Standard Two: Curriculum and…

Providing remedial (also known as developmental) education is the primary way colleges cope with students who do not have the academic preparation needed to succeed in college-level courses. Remediation is widespread, with nearly one-third of entering freshman taking remedial courses at a cost of at least $1 billion per year. Despite its…

Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use two simulated instrumental variables strategies to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives from the large, non-linear changes…

Both administratively and in terms of their evaluations, Head Start and Follow Through have been treated as separate programs. Follow Through was initially conceived, however, as an effort to preserve and augment Head Start gains. In this report, achievement test data on a set of children who participated in both Head Start and Follow Through are…

Achievement tests that are maximally sensitive to effective instruction in reading and mathematics for grades 2 and 5 were developed and refined. Important considerations regarding the tests' validity were: its coverage of instructional content (opportunity to learn), and its reactivity to instruction. Student ability must be minimally related to…

Major analyses of the achievement tests used in the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study were conducted to determine test reactivity to instruction. Reading and mathematics tests were administered to second and fifth grade children. Classroom teachers' records were examined to determine the amount of opportunity students had to learn the content…

The 4th and 7th grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores for the past several years have indicated that the percentage of students meeting the new higher standards is not satisfactory, although improvement is being shown every year. There are indications, however, that while some elementary and middle/junior high schools are…

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data, which are necessary to monitor the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 59 indicators of important developments and trends…