This Week's Education Research Report 4-20-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION: ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 21 hours ago

Schools seeking to boost parental involvement will need to tailor their approaches to match parents' differing views and concerns, according to a new report from Public Agenda. The report, "Ready, Willing and Able? Kansas City Parents Talk About How to Improve Schools and What They Can Do to Help," indicates that parental involvement means very different things to different parents, with some drawn to advocacy and school reform while others are more comfortable participating in time-honored tasks like helping with school clubs, sports and bake sales. While the research, underwritt... more »

The “Teacher Quality Gap” and Seniority Provisions in Collective Bargaining Agreements

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago

For at least two decades, studies have demonstrated that the least experienced and credentialed teachers are concentrated in poor, minority, and low-performing schools. Some blame provisions in collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between teachers unions and school districts that favor senior teachers. Seniority preference rules, they say, exacerbate the “teacher quality gap” by allowing experienced teachers to transfer. Using data from Florida, the authors of this study analyze whether and how CBAs influence the distribution of teacher quality within school districts, paying ... more »

“Academic Redshirting” in Kindergarten

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago

This study uses two nationally representative data sets to estimate the prevalence of kindergarten “redshirting”—the decision to delay a child’s school entry. We find that between 4% and 5.5% of children delay kindergarten, a lower number than typically reported in popular and academic accounts. Male, White, and high-SES children are most likely to delay kindergarten, and schools serving larger proportions of White and high-income children have far higher rates of delayed entry. Thher is no evidence that children with lower cognitive or social abilities at age 4 are more likely t... more »

Learning disabilities affect up to 10 percent of children

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago

Up to 10 per cent of the population are affected by specific learning disabilities (SLDs), such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and autism, translating to 2 or 3 pupils in every classroom according to a new study. The study – by academics at UCL and Goldsmiths - also indicates that children are frequently affected by more than one learning disability. The research, published today in Science, helps to clarify the underlying causes of learning disabilities and the best way to tailor individual teaching and learning for affected individuals and education professionals. Specific learning di... more »

Child's counting comprehension may depend on objects counted

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago

Concrete objects — such as toys, tiles and blocks — that students can touch and move around, called manipulatives, have been used to teach basic math skills since the 1980s. Use of manipulatives is based on the long-held belief that young children's thinking is strictly concrete in nature, so concrete objects are assumed to help them learn math concepts. However, new research from the University of Notre Dame suggests that not all manipulatives are equal. The types of manipulatives may make a difference in how effectively a child learns basic counting and other basic math concepts... more »

Early Investment in Families Helps Children Succeed in School

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

An innovative program that supports parents and teachers of public school pre-kindergarten students improves early academic achievement, according to a new study published in the April 15 online edition of Pediatrics. In a five-year study of 1,050 minority pre-kindergarten students from disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City, NYU Langone researchers found that ParentCorps, a family-focused, school-based program, led to better achievement test scores and overall school performance. Children from low-income families are ten times as likely as children from middle-class familie... more »

Teens’ Brains Are More Sensitive to Rewarding Feedback From Peers

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

Teenagers are risk-takers — they’re more likely than children or adults to experiment with illicit substances, have unprotected sex, and drive recklessly. But research shows that teenagers have the knowledge and ability to make competent decisions about risk, just like adults. So what explains their risky behavior? In a new report, psychological scientists Laurence Steinberg and Jason Chein of Temple University and Dustin Albert of Duke University argue that some teens’ risky behavior reflects the unique effect of peer influence on the still-developing teenage brain. Their report ... more »

Making fruit easier to eat increases sales and consumption in school cafeterias

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

Previous studies and surveys have shown that kids love to eat fruit in ready-to-eat bite-sized pieces, yet in most school settings, the fruit is served whole, which could be the cause that children are taking fruits but not eating them. Most people believe that children avoid fruit because of the taste and allure of alternative packaged snacks. A study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab researchers Brian Wansink, David Just, Andrew Hanks, and Laura Smith decided to get to the bottom of why children were avoiding their fruit. Could, perhaps, increasing the convenience of fr... more »

Teachers’ Online Use of Student Performance Data

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

Testing of students and computer systems to store, manage, analyze, and report the resulting test data have grown hand-in-hand. Extant research on teacher use of electronically stored data are largely qualitative and focused on the conditions necessary (but not sufficient) for effective teacher data use. Absent from the research is objective information on how much and in what ways teachers use computer-based student test data, even when supposed precursors of usage are in place. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing the online activities of teachers in one mid-siz... more »

Advertising/Corporate Sponsorships in Public Schools Threaten Students’ Health

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago

The financial squeeze caused by “The Great Recession,” and the economic doldrums that followed, placed significant pressure on school districts across the country. Schools and school districts, for years encouraged to engage in “school-business partnerships,” are pressed more and more to work with advertisers and corporate sponsors to replace lost revenue. In their quest for additional funding, many schools and school districts have allowed corporations to promote the consumption of sweetened beverages and foods of little or no nutritional value in school and in conjunction with sc... more »

Texting, social networking and other media use linked to poor academic performance

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

The widespread use of media among college students – from texting to chatting on cell phones to posting status updates on Facebook – may be taking an academic toll, say researchers with The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to a new study, freshmen women spend nearly half their day – 12 hours – engaged in some form of media use, particularly texting, music, the Internet and social networking. Researchers found media use, in general, was associated with lower grade point averages (GPAs) and other negative academic outcomes. However, there we... more »

Students enrolled in lower-level math courses are less likely to have teachers with qualifications that are associated with teacher effectiveness

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This study explores variation in 9th grade mathematics students’ access to qualified teachers seven years after the implementation of NCLB. Key Findings - Students enrolled in lower-level math courses are less likely to have teachers with qualifications that are associated with teacher effectiveness. This relationship holds even after controlling for students’ math achievement. - Higher-achieving students have greater access to qualified teachers than their lower-achieving peers in the same school. - This positive matching (pairing of high-achieving students to more qualified t... more »

One Factor That Can Help Determine Black Men’s College Success

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Beyond good test scores and high school grades, a new study finds one key factor that helps predict if a young black man will succeed at a predominantly white university. That factor is “grit” – a dedication to pursuing and achieving a goal, whatever the obstacles and failures along the way. Grit is so important that it was found to affect college grades for black men almost as much as high school GPA and ACT scores, said Terrell Strayhorn, author of the study and associate professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University. “For many black men, talent and high school ... more »

Federal student loan debt burden of students who do not complete a postsecondary credential

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

The cumulative federal student debt burden among students who did not complete a degree or certificate within 6 years of enrolling amounted to 35 percent of their annual income for students who first enrolled in 2003-04. Federal Student Loan Debt Burden of Noncompleters, a Statistics in Brief, focuses on the federal student debt burden accrued by students who do not complete a postsecondary credential within 6 years of enrolling. It is based on data from the two most recent longitudinal studies of beginning postsecondary students conducted by the National Center for Education Sta... more »

Review Explains Weaknesses in Teach for America Evaluation

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

The controversial organization Teach for America, which places recent college graduates as teachers in low-income communities, recently funded a study by Edvance Research to assess the effects of TFA teachers and alumni on student test scores in Texas. While the report found some significant improvements in the scores of middle school students taught by TFA alumni (those who continued teaching after their obligatory 2-year TFA contract ended) and even novice TFA teachers, a new review urges caution in reading those findings. The report, Evaluation of Teach for America in Texas Scho...more »

Strict school meal standards associated with improved weight status among students

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

A study suggests that states with stricter school meal nutrition standards were associated with better weight status among students who received free or reduced-price lunches compared with students who did not eat school lunches, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was started in 1946 to improve student nutrition by providing school lunches according to standards sets by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, the program has faced criticism that the lunches did not meet U... more »

Shocking Racial Disparities in the Overuse of Suspensions

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

* In first of their kind reports, researchers provide national and district-level data highlighting the disparities in use of school suspensions and the related cost to society* Today, the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project is releasing two first-of-their-kind reports that shed light on the growing use of punitive disciplinary measures and provides research-based alternatives. The reports were presented at a Congressional briefing by researchers with responses from the legislative staffers and civil and disability rights advocates on Capitol Hill ear... more »

Who Stays and Who Leaves? Findings from a Three-Part Study of Teacher Turnover in NYC Middle Schools

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This paper synthesizes findings from the Research Alliance’s investigation of teacher turnover in New York City’s public middle schools. These years are widely recognized as a critical turning point for students, and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) is pursuing a range of middle school improvement initiatives. The stability of the middle school teaching force has the potential to facilitate or complicate these efforts, yet there have been few studies of the rates and patterns of teacher turnover in the City’s middle schools. This study provides the most current, comprehensive... more »

The Condition of NYC High Schools: Examining Trends and Looking Toward the Future

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

Until the turn of the 21st century, high school graduation rates in New York City hovered at or below 50 percent, much lower than state and national averages. There was widespread agreement about the need to reform the City’s high schools and produce better results for students. This paper presents an independent analysis of how the high school landscape changed in New York City between 1999 and 2011 and, importantly, the extent to which key student outcomes improved during that time. The paper describes dramatic shifts in the supply of high schools, most notably a trend toward sm... more »

Academic Performance and College Dropout

Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago

This paper estimates a dynamic learning model of the college dropout decision, taking advantage of unique expectations data to greatly reduce our reliance on assumptions that would otherwise be necessary for identification. Forty-five percent of the dropout that occurs in the first two years of college can be attributed to what students learn about their about academic performance, but that this type of learning becomes a less important determinant of dropout after the midpoint of college We use our model to quantify the importance of the possible avenues through which poor grade... more »