Describing the variation in test scores between and within school districts is critical for: (1) for policy-related and descriptive work that investigates the sorting of students among districts and the differential effectiveness of those districts; and (2) for methodological work planning future experiments or interventions. Intraclass…

This paper examines the "ecological validity" of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in 42 high schools to measure the impact of a content literacy program. This study of comparable schools implementing the same program in different contexts highlights characteristics that are often not attended to in rigorous effectiveness…

The purpose of this study is to study the performance of different methods (inverse probability weighting and estimation of informative bounds) to control for differential attrition by comparing the results of different methods using two datasets: an original dataset from Portland Public Schools (PPS) subject to high rates of differential…

Postsecondary education is a fundamental tool for achieving upward mobility and economic growth. Students with an associate's or bachelor's degree earn substantially more in a lifetime and experience better working conditions and job benefits than students with only a high school diploma. This study examines differences in public college…

The criteria for determining the student outcomes that define a school as having "turned around" are not well defined, and the definition of turnaround performance varies across studies. Although current policy initiatives offer guidelines for identifying CLP schools, there is no standard definition or methodology in common usage. This…

Teachers are generally recognized as the schooling factor accounting for the highest proportion of student learning outcomes (Aaronson et al., 2007; Hanushek, 1986). This implies the quick and dramatic improvement in school performance observed in turnaround (TA) schools was associated with a major change in the performance of its teachers. This…

The TALPS study aims to build on the existing research base to develop promising methodologies to identify chronically low-performing and turnaround schools, as well as to identify promising strategies for turning around chronically low-performing schools. By looking specifically at schools identified as turnaround, in comparison to nonturnaround…

The proposed paper and presentation will detail the results of a full-day kindergarten (FDK)impact study in a Midwestern state. The evaluation explores the impact of FDK as compared to half-day kindergarten (HDK) by utilizing data from natural experiments occurring in districts across the state. The state in question passed legislation which…