THIS WEEK Education Research Report

Education Research Report

THIS WEEK 

Education Research Report

State pre-K provision for 3-year-olds lags far behind

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

April 26, 2019 Infants and toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary-aged children encompass the field of early childhood education, giving the impression that all children from birth through age 8, fit neatly into one of three categories. But state policies suggest something quite different for 3-year-old children as they often are neglected when state preschool programs are designed and fund

Special Ed: Varied State Criteria May Contribute to Differences in Percentages of Children Served

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

About 13 percent of children aged 3 through 21 enrolled in public schools received special education services in school year 2015-16, and about 3 percent of children from birth through age 2 received special education services.The percentage of the population served under IDEA varies across states. For example, in fall 2016, the percentages of the population aged 6 through 21 served in individual

APR 25

Severe Teacher Shortage Shows States Should Better Fund Schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d

The country’s severe shortage of qualified public elementary and secondary school teachers, which a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report details, demonstrates states’ need to raise adequate revenue not only to boost teacher pay but also to provide the resources that high-quality schools require. While teacher protests over the last year helped encourage states to boost teacher pay, some sta

English Learners, One Study, and the Dangers of Translating Research into Practice

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

It hit the news with a bang : Immigrants learned English in half the time when they were held back in third grade, proclaimed one headline about the National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by David Figlio of Northwestern University and Umut Özek of the American Institutes for Research. Repeating 3rd Grade Could Help Struggling English-Learners, blared another. The findings , while clea

50-State Comparison: Postsecondary Campus Safety

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

When it comes to safety and students, a lot of public interest and media attention centers on K-12 schools. But college campuses face safety concerns, too, and state policies play an important role in setting standards and guidance for postsecondary institutions. This new 50-State Comparison captures state policies — pertaining to (1) guns on campus and (2) sexual assault involving students on or

Large negative effects of voucher usage after four years, especially in math.

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d

The Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) offers publicly-funded vouchers to students in low-performing schools with family income no greater than 250 percent of the poverty line, allowing them to enroll in participating private schools. Established in 2008 as a pilot program in New Orleans, the LSP was expanded statewide in 2012. This study estimates the achievement impacts of ever using an LSP vo

APR 23

Most Teachers Don't Teach Climate Change; 4 In 5 Parents Wish They Did

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Angela Hsieh/NPR Complete report More than 80% of parents in the U.S. support the teaching of climate change. And that support crosses political divides, according to the results of an exclusive new NPR/Ipsos poll: Whether they have children or not, two-thirds of Republicans and 9 in 10 Democrats agree that the subject needs to be taught in school. A separate poll of teachers found that they are

Funding is one of the primary barriers for massive adoption of AR/VR solutions within educational systems

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 3d

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are powerful educational tools that can significantly enhance the learning journey and outcome by providing interactive and engaging content, immersive storytelling experiences, and flexibility and independence to students. AR and VR educational content will continue to expand in the coming years covering numerous topics and addressing the learning

APR 22

Permanent daylight savings may cancel out changes to school start times

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

IMAGE: This figure shows the alignment of sleep timing, clock time, and solar time. view more Credit: Skeldon and Dijk/ Current Biology Moving the clock forward and then back each spring and fall usually draws plenty of complaints and questions about why such a change is necessary. As a result, several states in the U.S., including California, Washington, Florida, and North Carolina, are now cons

Preschool health program successful in instilling heart healthy habits

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

Preschoolers in an underserved community who took part in a health promotion educational program aimed at establishing health behaviors showed a 2.2-fold increase in knowledge, attitudes and habits compared to their classmates who did not take part in the program, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology . Earlier research suggests preschool-based

Pervasiveness of sexual harassment and its effect on female physics students

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 4d

A survey of 471 undergraduate women who attended the 2017 American Physical Society's Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) revealed that sexual harassment in physics is insidious and experienced at a significantly higher rate than is generally acknowledged. Nearly three-quarters of respondents had experienced sexual harassment in their physics programs in the last two years. The

Teachers reluctant to change approaches to grading

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

Despite the ubiquity and complexity of grading, there is limited contemporary research on grading students in schools. There is, however, an outpouring of publications and consultants promoting new approaches. Many eliminate effort and behavior scores, remove the zero, adopt a four-point system, advocate rubrics, or promote their own software packages. This study on changes in grading collected d

Girls, Boys, and High Achievers

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 5d

This pape r studies the effect of exposure to female and male “high-achievers” in high school on the long-run educational outcomes of their peers. Using data from a recent cohort of students in the United States, we identify a causal effect by exploiting quasi-random variation in the exposure of students to peers with highly educated parents across cohorts within a school. Greater exposure to “hi

APR 19

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

by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 7d

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 / 8d

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 / 9d

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 / 9d

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 / 9d

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 

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