Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA)
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A Escola e a Diversidade Cultural: Algumas Notas sobre a Educação multicultural em Portugal
José Carlos Pina Almeida
Multiculturalism, as a political project, has captured much attention in the recent decades. Multicultural education, in particular, has been often viewed as the ideal way to facilitate interactions between cultures and society. But it has also been involved in much controversy. We start this article by reviewing some of the debates around the multicultural paradigm. We will then turn out attention to the Portuguese case. In particular we will explore the way the view of the Portuguese history and culture as a humanist, universalist and non-racist one, has influenced the way the education system deals with the growing cultural diversity in the Portuguese society.
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Examining Instruction, Achievement, and Equity with NAEP Mathematics Data
Sara Theule Lubienski
The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, it reports on a study of the distribution of reform-oriented instructional practices among Black, white and Hispanic students, and the relationship between those practices and student achievement. The study identified many similarities in instruction across student groups, but there were some differences, such as Black and Hispanic students being assessed with multiple-choice tests significantly more often than were white students. Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study identified several significant positive - and no negative - relationships between reform-oriented practices and 4th-grade student achievement. Specifically, teacher emphasis on non-number mathematics strands, collaborative problem solving, and teacher knowledge of the NCTM Standards were positive predictors of achievement. An analysis of interaction effects indicated that the relationships between various instructional practices and achievement were roughly similar for white, Black and Hispanic students.
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The Impact of Language and High-Stakes Testing Policies on Elementary School English Language Learners in Arizona
Wayne E. Wright and Daniel Choi
This article reports the results of a survey of third-grade teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Arizona regarding school language and accountability policies—Proposition 203, which restricts bilingual education and mandates sheltered English Immersion; the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB); and Arizona LEARNS, the state’s high-stakes testing and accountability program. The instrument, consisting of 126 survey questions plus open-ended interview question, was designed to obtain teacher’s views, to ascertain the impact of these polices, and to explore their effectiveness in improving the education of ELL students. The survey was administered via telephone to 40 teacher participants from different urban, rural and reservation schools across the state. Each participant represents the elementary school in their respective school district which has the largest population of ELL students. Analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data reveal that these policies have mostly resulted in confusion in schools throughout the state over what is and is not allowed, and what constitutes quality instruction for ELLs, that there is little evidence that such policies have led to improvements in the education of ELL students, and that these policies may be causing more harm than good.
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Gathering Evidence on an After-School Supplemental Instruction Program: Design Challenges and Early Findings in Light of NCLB
Madhabi Chatterji, Young Ae Kwon, and Clarice Sng
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires that public schools adopt research-supported programs and practices, with a strong recommendation for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the "gold standard" for scientific rigor in empirical research. Within that policy framework, this paper compares the relative utility of federally-recommended RCT versus the demonstrated extended term mixed-method (ETMM) designs as options for monitoring effects of novel programs in real-time field settings. Guided by the program's theory of action, a year-long, two-phase study was conducted to monitor the context, processes and early outcomes of an after-school supplemental program in a New York elementary school.
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Los Contratos-Programa en las Universidades: Lecciones de la Comparación Internacional
Ana M. García de Fanelli
In 2005, the Ministry of Education of Argentina launched a new policy to allocate public funds to national universities: the contractualization policy. Its purpose is to allocate funds to improve teaching quality based on an institutional plan defined by each university. It is expected that this plan addresses the main weaknesses detected during the external assessment coordinated by the National Committee of University Assessment and Accrediting (CONEAU). This paper presents the main findings of a research project carried out to help in the design of this contractualization policy. The two most important antecedents, the French and the Catalonian cases, are examined through the study of official documents, on-site observation of the French negotiation processes, and interviews with government and university key officials. The study concludes with the main lessons learned from these experiences and shows that this mechanism has clear advantages when aligning the strategic objectives that the government and universities have, in order to improve university quality.
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Small Schools and the Pressure to Consolidate
Aimee Howley and Craig Howley
Positioned in relationship to reform literature calling for small schools “by design” and interpreting data from a case study of a high performing but low-SES district in a Midwestern state, this paper provides a basis for making sense of the apparent divergence in policies governing schooling structures in rural and urban places. Its interpretation examines the way educational reformers work to valorize a multidimensional set of practices constituting “small school reform.”
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La liberalización educativa en el marco del AGCS/GATS: Analizando el estado actual de las negociaciones
Antonio Verger Planells
The aim of this article is to analyze the factors that influence the commercial liberalization of educational services in the General Agreement of Trade in Services (GATS) framework. First at all, we examine closely the negotiation methodology of the Agreement, as well as we check the commitments of the WTO members in the educational sector. On the other hand we analyze the provisional results of the last round of services (GATS2000) which is still being negotiated. The primary data sources are interviews to different delegations of the countries members of the WTO, documents of position of some delegations and documents of analysis of the “Council of Trade in Services” of the WTO.
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The Black-White Achievement Gap: Do State Policies Matter?
Henry I. Braun, Aubrey Wang, Frank Jenkins, and Elliot Weinbaum
A longstanding issue in American education is the gap in academic achievement between majority and minority students. The goal of this study is to accumulate and evaluate evidence on the relationship between state education policies and changes in the Black-White achievement gap, while addressing some of the methodological issues that have led to differences in interpretations of earlier findings. To that end, we consider the experiences of ten states that together enroll more than forty percent of the nation's Black students. We estimate the trajectories of Black student and White student achievement on the NAEP 8th grade mathematics assessment over the period 1992 to 2000, and examine the achievement gap at three levels of aggregation: the state as a whole, groups of schools (strata) within a state defined by the SES level of the student population, and within schools within a stratum within a state.
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Effects of a State Mandated Policy (Site-Based Councils) and of Potential Role Incumbents on Teacher Screening Decisions in High and Low Performing Schools
I. Phillip Young and Kimberly Miller-Smith
Some states have viewed teacher selection as a means of improving student performance and have mandated the use of site-based teacher councils. To assess the utility of this legislative action, an experimental study was conducted. This study uses a 2X3X2 factorial design that varies state legislation, role of the decision maker, and academic performance of the school site. Credentials of hypothetical teacher candidates were evaluated as if screening for a vacant position, and evaluations were submitted to a MANOVA. Results indicate that legislated alterations in the teacher-selection process failed to have any substantial effects on outcomes in the screening of teacher candidates for elementary school positions. Although screening decisions were found to be the same for participants affiliated with both low- and high-performing school districts, teachers were more appreciative of candidate’s credentials than either principals or parents.
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Abstract of "La Democratización de las Desigualdades Educativas en Francia y el Reino Unido: Una Mirada Global, una Lectura Local"
Antonio Luzón and Mónica Torres
Abstract only of article
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National Board Certification as Professional Development: What are Teachers Learning?
David Lustick and Gary Sykes
This study investigated the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ (NBPTS) assessment process in order to identify, quantify, and substantiate learning outcomes from the participants. One hundred and twenty candidates for the Adolescent and Young Adult Science (AYA Science) Certificate were studied over a two-year period using the recurrent institutional cycle research design. This quasi-experimental methodology allowed for the collection of both cross-sectional and longitudinal data insuring a good measure of internal validity regarding observed changes between individual and across group means. Transcripts of structured interviews with each teacher were scored by multiple assessors according to the 13 standards of NBPTS’ framework for accomplished science teaching. These scores provided the quantitative evidence of teacher learning in this study. Significant pre-intervention to post-intervention changes to these individual and group means are reported as learning outcomes from the assessment process.
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The Legends of the Large MCAS Gains of 2000-2001
Gregory Camilli and Sadako Vargas
Issues related to student, teacher, and school accountability have been at the forefront of current educational policy initiatives. Recently, the state of Massachusetts has become a focal point in debate regarding the efficacy of high-stakes accountability models based on an ostensibly large gain at 10th grade. This paper uses an IRT method for evaluating the validity of 10th grade performance gains from 2000 to 2001 on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. We conclude that a moderate gain was obtained in ELA and a small gain in mathematics.
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La Convivencia Escolar Como Innovación: Un Análisis sobre el Caso Andaluz Utilizando el ”Concerns-Based Adoption Model”
José Gijón Puerta
The development of an educational norm (Charter of Students' Rights and Obligations) in secondary schools in Andalusia is analyzed from the point of view of teachers and educators. To complement the analysis of the documents that regulate secondary schools in the region, a questionnaire with 41 questions was administered to 184 teachers in 24 Andalusian schools. The results, calculated using the CBAM (Concerns-Based Adoption Model), LoU (Level of Use) scale, were then subjected to a descriptive statistical study using measures of central tendency and variability.
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Successive Student Cohorts and Longitudinal Growth Models: An Investigation of Elementary School Mathematics Performance
Keith Zvoch and Joseph J. Stevens
Mathematics achievement data from three longitudinally matched student cohorts were analyzed with multilevel growth models to investigate the viability of using status and growth-based indices of student achievement to examine the multi-year performance of schools. Elementary schools in a large southwestern school district were evaluated in terms of the mean achievement status and growth of students across cohorts as well as changes in the achievement status and growth of students between student cohorts. Results indicated that the cross and between-cohort performance of schools differed depending on whether the mean achievement status or growth of students was considered. Results also indicated that the cross-cohort indicators of school performance were more reliably estimated than their between-cohort counterparts.
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High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Does Accountability Pressure Increase Student Learning?
Sharon L. Nichols, Gene V. Glass, and David C. Berliner
This study examined the relationship between high-stakes testing pressure and student achievement across 25 states. …
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State-Level High School Completion Rates: Concepts, Measures, and Trends
John Robert Warren
Since the mid 1970s the national rate at which incoming 9th graders have completed high school has fallen slowly but steadily; this is also true in 41 states. In 2002, about three in every four students who might have completed high school actually did so; in some states this figure is substantially lower. In this paper I review state-level measures of high school completion rates and describe and validate a new measure that reports these rates for 1975 through 2002. ...
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Charter School Type Matters When Examining Funding and Facilities: Evidence from California
Cathy Krop and Ron Zimmer
Currently, charter schools represent one of the fastest growing movements of educational reform. The first charter school opened in 1992 and there are now over 3,400 charter schools nationwide. Despite this growth, we are only beginning to learn about the performance and operation of these schools. This article adds to our knowledge of charter schools both by examining the finances of charter schools in California, which has more charter students than any other state, and by highlighting their fiscal challenges. ...
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La Cultura Profesional de los Docentes en Enseñanza Secundaria: Un Estudio Biográfico
José Ignacio Rivas Flores, Maria Del Pilar Sepúlveda Ruíz, and Pilar Rodrigo Muñoz
This work discusses the "voices" of teachers working "at the chalk face". We are interested in learning what teachers think and behave. Therefore, we conducted our research about their working conditions. We also developed teachers’ professional biographies to learn how these educators construct concepts and practices related to their profession and what constitutes their "professional culture". We understand that the professional culture characterizes teachers’ professional frameworks and choices; therefore, any attempt to successfully promote an educational reform, must understand and pay attention to the “professional culture”
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Corrective Action in Low Performing Schools: Lessons for NCLB Implementation from First-Generation Accountability Systems
Heinrich Mintrop and Tina Trujillo
This paper explores what lessons we can learn from the experiences of states that instituted NCLB-like accountability systems prior to 2001 (here called first-generation accountability systems). We looked at the experiences of three smaller states (Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina), four larger ones (California, Florida, New York, Texas), and two large districts (Chicago and Philadelphia). We analyzed evaluative reports and policy documents as well as interviews with state officials and researchers. We condensed the material into eight lessons ...
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Exploring State Policy Regarding Teachers Removing License Endorsements: Short Term and Long Term Policy Implications
Penelope Earley and S. David Brazer
This study explores and begins baseline documentation of state policies governing teachers’ voluntary removal of endorsement areas from their licenses. Through a survey of state licensure officers we find that most states allow teachers to remove endorsements, though the specifics of how this can be done vary from state to state. ...
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Políticas Educativas de Reforma e Identidades Profesionales: El Caso de la Educación Secundaria en España
Antonio Bolívar, María Jesús Gallego, María José León, and Purificación Pérez
The article analyses the effects of the large scale educational reform policies on teachers' professional identities, based on a review of the literature and data from a study we carried out. Professional identity crisis is placed within the broader framework of the modernity crisis. The story of this crisis (influences and causes) includes a description of the education reform of the 1990’s (LOGSE, Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo), the role played by teacher training in aggravating the problem, and the reasons secondary teachers have resisted educational change. ...
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Achievement Gaps and Correlates of Early Mathematics Achievement: Evidence from the ECLS K-First Grade Sample
Madhabi Chatterji
In light of the NCLB Act of 2001, this study estimated mathematics achievement gaps in different subgroups of kindergartners and first graders, and identified child- and school-level correlates and moderators of early mathematics achievement. ...
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Sujetos Flexibles: Racionalidades Neoliberales y Políticas Educativas
Lucía Gómez Sánchez, Almudena Navas Saurin, and Joan Carles Bernad García
This article aims to examine training and employment programmes for the young (more specifically, the Spanish Social Guarantee Schemes - Programas de Garantía Social) in relation to neoliberal political rationalities. …
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Limiting the Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing
Stuart S. Yeh
Interviews with 61 teachers and administrators in 4 Minnesota school districts suggest that, in their judgment, Minnesota’s state-mandated tests were well-aligned with curricular priorities and teachers’ instructional goals, emphasizing critical thinking as well as competencies needed to pass the Basic Standards exit exam, and avoiding the type of recall item that would require drill and memorization. This result, in combination with a survey showing that 85 percent of Minnesota teachers support the exit exam, suggests that Minnesota has been unusually successful in designing a high stakes testing system that has garnered teacher support. ...
