THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK 

Education Research Report

Measuring the E ects of Capital Expenditures on Student and Neighborhood Outcomes

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 22h

This study o ffers new evidence on the e ffects of school facilities spending on student and neighborhood outcomes, linking data on new facility openings to administrative student and real estate records in Los Angeles Uni ed School District (LAUSD). Since 1997, LAUSD has built and renovated hundreds of schools as a part of the largest public school construction project in US history. The researc

APR 18

The presence of police officers in Connecticut schools does not appear to contribute to a safer school climate or improved academic outcomes

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

The average arrest rate of Latino students at schools with an SRO was six times greater than the average arrest rate of Latino students at schools without an SRO While the presence of police officers in Connecticut schools does not appear to contribute to a safer school climate or improved academic outcomes, it may contribute to more Latino students being arrested or referred to law enforcement.

How the Trump Administration Is Undoing College Accreditation

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

This month, on April 3, the U.S. Department of Education completed the first part of its monthslong effort to deregulate higher education in the name of “innovation.” The Education Department and a group of stakeholders reached an agreement on the new set of rules, which would rewrite how the department oversees college accreditation agencies and how these organizations are supposed to ensure col

Preschool benefits both attendees and non-attendees

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

This study examines spillover benefits from preschool. The author estimates the effects by CDEP-eligibility status of CDEP exposure (residing in a CDEP district after launch at age four) on test scores. I find that CDEP benefits its targeted population and increases the math and reading scores of exposed, CDEP-ineligible students by about 0.13 and 0.14 standard deviations , respectively. These sp

Multiple Shortcomings Mar Report Ranking Michigan High Schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

A recent report from Mackinac Center for Public Policy seeks to measure and publicize high school performance by ranking schools according to their test scores after attempting controlling for students’ “economic status.” Associate Professor John T. Yun of Michigan State University reviewed The Michigan Context and Performance Report Card: High Schools 2018 . He concluded that while the stated go

APR 17

Screen time associated with behavioral problems in preschoolers

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Organized sports and quality sleep also found to provide protection from the negative effects of screen time A new Canadian study of more than 2,400 families suggests that among preschoolers, spending two hours or more of screen time per day is linked to clinically significant behavioural problems. Compared with children who had less than 30 minutes per day of screen time, children who were expos

Strikes Driving Change in States With Lowest-Paid Teachers

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

Just one year after several high-profile teacher walkouts began across the United States, teachers in multiple cities and states are once again protesting and going on strike to demand better working conditions and fairer pay. States have not funded schools at the levels needed to support a high-quality education. Teachers are protesting this chronic disinvestment in education—and they are seeing

Black and Latina/o youth who begin college as STEM majors are more likely to depart than their White peers

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

This study considers whether STEM postsecondary fields stand apart via the disproportionate exclusion of Black and Latina/o youth. Utilizing national data from the Beginning Postsecondary Study (BPS), the authors investigate whether Black and Latina/o youth who begin college as STEM majors are more likely to depart than their White peers, either by switching fields or by leaving college without a

Fractured: The Breakdown of America's School Districts

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

The United States is crisscrossed by lines, the boundaries of roughly 13,000 school districts. But this map is hardly etched in stone; in fact, just in the last two years, more than two dozen communities have tried to redraw the lines to their advantage. Why the constant changes? In large part, because American school districts are funded substantially out of local property tax dollars. This ties

Stalled Progress in Pre-K Access, Funding

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

--> More children are attending state-funded pre-K programs across the US but state funding is failing to keep pace, resulting in low compensation for pre-K teachers that too often undermines classroom quality, according to a new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research. The State of Preschool2018 annual repor t, based on 2017-18 academic year data, finds just a third of 4-

Crime and Safety in Schools and College Campuses

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Crime in the nation’s schools and college campuses has declined overall during the past two decades, according to a report released today (April 17, 2019). The report also highlights new data on youth opioid use, perceptions of bullying, and active shooter incidents in educational settings. The new report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2018, is the 21st in a series of annual publications

APR 16

College students end up in vicious cycle of substance abuse, poor academics, stress

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

One negative behavior such as substance abuse or heavy alcohol drinking can lead college students toward a vicious cycle of poor lifestyle choices, lack of sleep, mental distress and low grades, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. "We used a robust data-mining technique to identify associations between mental distress in college students with substa

Want black women students to stay in STEM? Help them find role models who look like them

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Representation matters for Black women college students when it comes to belonging in rigorous science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs, according to a new study. Having role models who share their racial identity is vital to signaling a sense of belonging for women of color college students. "Women who feel like they belong are more likely to enter and stay in STEM, so la

Gifted Education Curriculum and Gifted Achievement Growth of Gifted Students in Three States

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

This memo presents selected findings from a larger study conducted by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education. The Center conducted an exploratory study of gifted programs in three states by collecting data from four sources: a) state data on student achievement ( n =362,254 students who were in grade 5 in 2014), b) district ( n =332) and school ( n =2,250) surveys about services the

APR 15

Diets improve when tapping adolescents' desire to rebel

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Teenage boys cut back junk food purchases by 31 percent In a bid to fight obesity, public-health researchers have been trying for decades to find a way to convince teenagers to skip junk food and eat healthily, to little avail. One of the biggest obstacles is the enormous volume of food marketing kids are exposed to every day. That marketing is designed to foster strong positive associations with

Why high-performing women dropout of pre-med

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

Women take qualifying exams and enter medical school at substantially lower levels than predicted by their interest in medical degrees at the end of high school. This study examined how science course experiences contribute to gendered attrition in premed using a multicohort data set of 8,253 undergraduates taking the traditional premed sequence of introductory science courses at a public researc

Understanding Underachievement: Mind-Set, Perfectionism, and Achievement Attitudes Among Gifted Students

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

This study compared differences between mind-set beliefs about intelligence (fixed vs. growth), dimensions of perfectionism (Concern Over Mistakes, Doubt of Action, Personal Standards, Organization), and achievement attitudes among gifted underachievers ( n = 15) and gifted achievers ( n = 169) in Grades 6 to 8 and examined the relationship between mind-set beliefs and dimensions of perfectionism

APR 13

The critically important role rest may play in learning

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 7d

In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers found that our brains may solidify the memories of new skills we just practiced a few seconds earlier by taking a short rest. The results highlight the critically important role rest may play in learning. "Everyone thinks you need to 'practice, practice, practice' when learning something new. Instead, we found that restin

APR 11

Autism rate rises 43 percent in New Jersey

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 8d

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which uses research by Rutgers University, shows a significant increase in the percentage of 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder in New Jersey. The study found the rate increased 43 percent from 2010 to 2014 in the state. The report, released April 11, found that about one in 59 children has autism. New Jersey's rate wa

Gender gap in spatial reasoning starts in elementary school

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 8d

It is well-established that, on average, men outperform women on a spatial reasoning task known as mental rotation -- imagining multi-dimensional objects from different points of view. Men are not, however, born with this advantage, suggests a major meta-analysis by psychologists at Emory University. Instead, males gain a slight advantage in mental-rotation performance during the first years of f

2019 NATIONAL REPORT Maximizing the Relationship Between Mindset and Student Success

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 9d

Complete report New findings from the Center for Community College Student Engagement(CCCSE) indicate that mindset may play an important role in student engagement. Students who have more productive mindsets are more engaged and have higher GPAs. Thus, understanding mindset—and helping students improve their academic mindsets—may open new avenues for improving student success. While there is a gr

50-State Comparison: States’ School Improvement Policies

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 9d

Using school accountability systems and other metrics, all states identify the lowest-performing schools for more intensive improvement strategies. Improvement strategies can include forms of alternative governance of the school, often referred to as turnaround strategies . States may also require low-performing schools to develop a school improvement plan, which may be based on a needs assessmen

Education Research Report