Education Research Report
THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT
Hispanics Pass Whites in Rate of College Enrollment
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago
[image: PHC-2013-05-college-enrollment-01] A record seven-in-ten (69%) Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012 enrolled in college that fall, two percentage points higher than the rate (67%) among their white counterparts,1 according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.2 This milestone is the result of a long-term increase in Hispanic college-going that accelerated with the onset of the recession in 2008 (Fry and Lopez, 2012). The rate among white high school graduates, by contrast, has declined slightly since 2008. The positive t... more »
ALEC ‘Report Card’ Gets ‘A’ for Ideological Fealty, Fails on Research Quality
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 day ago
The recent education “report card” on the states put out by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) claims to rely on “high quality research” but gets a failing grade in a new review. Professor Christopher Lubienski and doctoral candidate T. Jameson Brewer, both of the University of Illinois, reviewed ALEC’s 18th Report Card on American Education: Ranking State K-12 Performance, Progress, and Reformfor the Think Twice think tank review project. The review is published today by the National Education Policy Center, housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Educa... more »
Some Textbook Visuals Can Hurt Learning
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago
Adding captivating visuals to a textbook lesson to attract children’s interest may sometimes make it harder for them to learn, a new study suggests. Researchers found that 6- to 8-year-old children best learned how to read simple bar graphs when the graphs were plain and a single color. Children who were taught using graphs with images (like shoes or flowers) on the bars didn’t learn the lesson as well and sometimes tried counting the images rather than relying on the height of the bars. “Graphs with pictures may be more visually appealing and engaging to children than those witho... more »
Early Math and Reading Ability Linked to Job and Income in Adulthood
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago
Math and reading ability at age 7 may be linked with socioeconomic status several decades later, according to new research published in *Psychological Science*, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The childhood abilities predict socioeconomic status in adulthood over and above associations with intelligence, education, and socioeconomic status in childhood. In light of ongoing debates about the impact that education standards have on children’s lives, psychological scientists Stuart Ritchie and Timothy Bates of the University of Edinburgh wanted to investigate ... more »
Dyslexia is not the same in men and women, boys and girls
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago
Using MRI, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation based on sex. Their study, investigating dyslexia in both males and females, is the first to directly compare brain anatomy of females with and without dyslexia (in children and adults). Their findings were published online in the journal Brain Structure and Function. Because dyslexia is two to three times more prev... more »
The Recession's Impact on Teacher Salaries
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 2 days ago
Teacher salary growth took a hit post-recession, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality's new report The Recession's Impact on Teacher Salaries. The report finds that teacher raises for experience and market forces like inflation were one-third to one-half of what they were at the beginning of the recession. While this slow-down in teacher salary growth was on par with that of comparable professions, some districts were hit particularly hard. Eighty percent of the school districts in our 41-district sample had a total pay freeze or pay cut in at least one school year... more »
Geographic Knowledge and Values Survey: Report of Results for the United States
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 4 days ago
The American Geographical Society (AGS) conducted a nationwide survey of public attitudes toward and knowledge about geography. The survey ran online from December 12, 2011 through March 31, 2012 with volunteers constantly soliciting adult U.S. residents to participate. The AGS Geographic Knowledge and Values Survey received 4,021 valid responses from people throughout the United States. While not a true random sample, the results are indicative of a sizable segment of the U. S. population: more educated, more female, and less ethnically and racially diverse than the general popula... more »
Camaraderie of sports teams may deter bullying, violence
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 4 days ago
As schools around the country look for ways to reduce violence and bullying, they may want to consider encouraging students to participate in team sports, according to a study presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC. Researchers analyzed data from the 2011 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey to see if athletic participation was associated with violence-related behaviors, including fighting, carrying a weapon and being bullied. A representative sample of 1,820 high school students in the state completed the survey, wh... more »
Schools may help close gap to mental health services for adolescents with mental disorders
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 4 days ago
A study published in the May 2013 issue of the *Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry* found that mental health resources provided by schools are significantly associated with whether adolescents with mental disorders receive needed mental health services. In particular, adolescents with disorders attending schools that engage in early identification of emotional problems, are significantly more likely to receive mental health services. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a group of researchers led... more »
Poll of 800 Teachers Finds Strong Support for Common Core Standards and a Moratorium on Stakes for New Assessments Until Everything Is Aligned
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 4 days ago
Three-quarters of public school teachers surveyed support the Common Core State Standards, yet just 27 percent said their district has provided them with the tools and resources necessary to teach the standards, according to the results of a poll released by the American Federation of Teachers today. The AFT surveyed 800 kindergarten- through 12th-grade teachers on the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts, which 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted. At least two states—Kentucky and New York—already have given Common Core-aligned assessments ...more »
Cyberbullying rampant among high school students
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 4 days ago
* Nearly one-third of youths also report playing video/computer games for more than 3 hours a day* Step into a class of 30 high school students and look around. Five of them have been victims of electronic bullying in the past year. What's more, 10 of those students spend three or more hours on an average school day playing video games or using a computer for something other than school work, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC. "Electronic bullying of high school students threatens the self-e... more »
Preventing Youth Violence and Dropout: A Randomized Field Experiment
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago
Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth remains a top policy priority in the United States, although identifying successful interventions for adolescents - particularly males - has proven challenging. This paper reports results from a large randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged male youth grades 7-10 from high-crime Chicago neighborhoods. The intervention was delivered by two local non-profits and included regular interactions with a pro-social adult, after-school programming, and - perhaps the most novel ingredient - in-school programming d... more »
Idiosyncrasies and Discrepancies in States' Implementation of NCLB
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 5 days ago
The No Child Left Behind (NLCB) Act required states to adopt accountability systems measuring student proficiency on state administered exams. Based on student test score performance in 2002, states developed initial proficiency rate targets and future annual benchmarks designed to lead students to 100% proficiency on state exams by 2014. Any year a school fails to meet these targets, either across all students or by various subgroups of students, the school does not make Adequate Yearly Progress. While the federal government's legislation provided a framework for NCLB implementation, it...more »
Treating preschoolers with ADHD: 90 percent of pediatric specialists not following clinical guidelines
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
*Some prescribe medication too soon; others not even as a second-line treatment* A recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York examined to what extent pediatric physicians adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical guidelines regarding pharmacotherapy in treating young patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The results showed that more than 90 percent of medical specialists who diagnose and manage ADHD in preschoolers do not follow treatment guidelines recently published by the AAP. "It is unclear why so ...more »
Teaching History In Public Schools - An Analysis of State Requirements
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
American students continue to demonstrate a pattern of alarmingly poor knowledge of their nation’s history. Whether measured by the U.S. Department of Education or by private organizations, the results vary little and show no improvement over time. While this disturbing trend is indicative of a wide range of factors, it certainly calls into question the extent to which those who teach history are prepared for the task by developing adequate knowledge in the subject themselves. This report examines the requirements across all 50 states for teaching high school at the secondary le... more »
Grantmaking efforts to improve educational outcomes for ELLs: more needed
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
The demands of English language learners (ELLs) in communities around the country is increasing rapidly. Given growing numbers of ELL children and expanded interest in supporting these learners, Grantmakers for Education (GFE) recently completed an analysis of grantmaking efforts to improve educational outcomes for ELLs from birth through grade 12. The report, *Educating English Language Learners: Grantmaking Strategies for Closing America’s Other Achievement Gap*, is designed to respond to shifting demographics, the needs of ELL students, and the role grantmakers can play in stren...more »
Pre-Ordering School Lunch Encourages Better Food Choices by Children
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
This study, accepted for publication at Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, examines whether having students pre-order their entrée (main dish) improves the healthfulness of entrées selected for lunch. When students pre-ordered their entrée, 29.4% selected the healthier entrée compared to 15.3% when pre-ordering was not available. Conversely, the less-healthy entrée was chosen 70.8% of the time by students who pre-ordered, and students who ordered in the lunch line selected the less-healthy entrée 85.7% of the time. When students did not order but instead selected their ... more »
Prevention of Bullying in Schools and Colleges
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has issued a new report titled *Prevention of* *Bullying in Schools, Colleges, and Universities: Research Report and Recommendations**.* The report results from the work of a blue-ribbon AERA task force mandated to prepare and present practical short-term and long-term recommendations to address bullying of children and youth. The report’s release coincides with the association’s 94th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, where more than 15,000 education researchers are gathered to discuss research findings. The epicenter for bullying... more »
New Report Examines School Improvement and Turnaround Strategies
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
* National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education finds a lot of money, but limited data on school turnaround strategies* As states and the federal government push for more turnaround strategies for low-performing schools—and put billions of dollars into their efforts—a new report by the National School Boards Association's (NSBA) Center for Public Education (CPE) finds that while there have been some successes there's not much evidence yet that many of these strategies will work overall. The report, "Which Way Up? What research says about school turnaround strateg... more »
Children with milk allergy may be 'allergic to school'
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
* Chalk dust can contain milk protein, triggering respiratory symptoms* Many of today's school teachers opt for dustless chalk to keep hands and classrooms clean. But according to a study published in the May issue of *Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology*, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), this choice in chalk may cause allergy and asthma symptoms in students that have a milk allergy. Casein, a milk protein, is often used in low-powder chalk. When milk allergic children inhale chalk particles containing casein, life-threate...more »
Best science teachers can predict their pupils’ misconceptions, study says
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
If you had to explain what causes the change in seasons, could you? Surprisingly, studies have shown that as many as 95 percent of people — including most college graduates — hold the incorrect belief that the seasons are the result of the Earth moving closer to or further from the sun. The real answer, scientists say, is that as Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to its orbit, when on its journey it is angled inward, the sun rises higher in the sky, and that results in more direct sunlight, longer days, and warmer temperatures. Distance plays no role; we are actually closest to ... more »
As Online Elementary and Secondary Schools Expand, Academic Performance Lags
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
A national study, released today by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), offers a comprehensive review of 311 full-time virtual schools operating in the United States and finds serious and systemic problems with them. University of Colorado Boulder Professor Alex Molnar, who edited Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2013: Politics, Performance, Policy, and Research Evidence, summed it up this way: “Even a cursory review of virtual schooling in the U.S. reveals an environment much like the legendary wild west. There are outsized claims, lagging performance, intense conflicts, lots... more »
The Impact of Early Intervention on the School Readiness of Children Born to Teenage Mothers
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
This study examined the effect of participation in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program on the school readiness of children born to teenage mothers versus children born to traditional-age mothers participating in the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program. A 45-item survey was collected from the kindergarten teachers of both the children of teenage mothers in the Texas Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program and a matched control group of children of older mothers. The survey consisted of five subsections: soci... more »
Outdoor recess time can reduce the risk of nearsightedness in children
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
Two new studies add to the growing evidence that spending time outdoors may help prevent or minimize nearsightedness in children. A study conducted in Taiwan, which is the first to use an educational policy as a public vision health intervention, finds that when children are required to spend recess time outdoors, their risk of nearsightedness is reduced. A separate study in Danish children is the first to show a direct correlation between seasonal fluctuations in daylight, eye growth and the rate of nearsightedness progression. The research was published in the May issue of Ophtha... more »
Early Intervention For Autism Spectrum Found Cost Effective Through School Years
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), a comprehensive behavioral early intervention program that is appropriate for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as young as 12 months, has been found to reduce the need for ASD therapies and special education services through the school years following their early intervention. These findings were presented by David S. Mandell, Sc.D., Associate Professor, Director, Center for Mental Health Policy & Services Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, today at the Autism Speaks Toddler Treatment Network meeting hel... more »
Adderall abuse as college study aid 'trending' on East Coast
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
A growing number of college students are abusing the ADHD medication Adderall to give them an academic edge, and they’re tweeting about it. Thanks to Twitter, tracking roughly when and where Adderall use happens is now possible. So a group of BYU health science and computer science researchers did just that. Their six-month study, appearing in the current issue of the *Journal of Medical Internet Research*, produced two major revelations about Adderall: 1. It is mentioned most heavily among students in the northeast and south regions of the U.S. 2. Tweets about Adderall pea... more »
Revenues & expenditures: public elementary & secondary school districts: School Year 2009-10
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
This First Look report provides finance data for all local education agencies (LEAs) that provide free public elementary and secondary (PK-12) education in the United States for school year 2009-10. State education agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia provide the data to the National Center for Education Statistics at the Institute of Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Education. For regular school districts, the national median current expenditures per pupil was $9,989 in FY 10, an increase of 1.0 percent from FY 09. In FY 10, current expenditure... more »
KIPP Study is Useful, but It Overreaches
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
Do middle schools operated by the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) excel in promoting student achievement? A new review gives a second look at a recent study that answered that question “yes.” In a study released in February, Mathematica Policy Research concluded that, based on achievement test scores, KIPP middle school students had substantially higher test scores than comparison non-KIPP students. A review published today of the Mathematica study finds that while the original evaluation was carefully planned and executed and a positive impact is supported by the evidence, the a... more »
Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer language
Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 week ago
Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that children hear more complex language from parents when they read a storybook with only pictures compared to a picture-vocabulary book. The findings appear in the latest issue of the journal *First Language*. “Too often, parents dismiss picture storybooks, especially when they are wordless, as not real reading or just for fun,” said the study’s author, Professor Daniela O’Neill. “But these findings show that reading picture storybooks with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is really important for children to hear, esp... more »