Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, May 15, 2021

THIS WEEK Education Research Report

 Education Research Report


THIS WEEK 
Education Research Report




US loses $956 billion every year due to inequality in education
A new report, The Cost of Economic and Racial Injustice in Postsecondary Education , finds that inequality in postsecondary attainment causes the United States to miss out on $956 billion in public monetary benefits annually, in addition to numerous nonmonetary benefits to society. The share of adults with an associate’s degree or higher would have to increase by 18 percentage points to equalize
Impact of Career and Technical Education on Postsecondary Outcomes
A new report from REL Central describes the impact of being a career and technical education (CTE) concentrator in high school on rates of on-time graduation and postsecondary education enrollment and completion within two and five years of expected high school graduation. CTE concentrators are students who complete a sequence of CTE courses aligned to specific career fields such as manufacturing
Research on three interventions designed to improve student outcomes in science and math.
Science Teachers Learning through Lesson Analysis (STeLLA ® ) is a professional development program for elementary teachers that aims to improve science achievement. The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) is a core curriculum designed to teach middle school students mathematics concepts, applications, and skills. Math Expressions is a core curriculum designed to teach elemen
Effective prematriculation program for community college students assessed as having significant remedial needs
Most community college students are referred to developmental education courses to build basic skills. These students often struggle in these courses and college more broadly. CUNY Start is a prematriculation program for students assessed as having significant remedial needs. CUNY Start students delay matriculation for one semester and receive time-intensive instruction in math, reading, and writ
Positive effects of preschool program on children's achievement, grade retention, and special education through tenth grade
Relatively few studies provide rigorous estimates of the long-term effects of large-scale public preschool programs, and their findings vary greatly. This study investigates the effects in third through tenth grade of New Jersey's Abbott preschool program which has many of the features and contexts hypothesized to mitigate fadeout. The program was designed and implemented in the context of a Cour
Top educational apps for children might not be as beneficial as promised
Log on to any app store, and parents will find hundreds of options for children that claim to be educational. But new research suggests these apps might not be as beneficial to children as they seem. A new study analyzed some of the most downloaded educational apps for kids using a set of four criteria designed to evaluate whether an app provides a high-quality educational experience for children
Even when they include them, gifted programs aren't serving Black or low-income kids
"The potential benefits aren't equally distributed," said lead author and University of Florida College of Education professor Christopher Redding, Ph.D., who evaluated data from gifted programs in elementary schools nationwide. "The conversation up to this point has been about access, with less emphasis on how students perform once in gifted programs."After years of criticism for their lack of d
Exposure to Lead of Some Affects Everyone in the Classroom
Children exposed to pollutants like lead are more disruptive and have lower achievement. However, little is known about whether lead-exposed children affect the long-run outcomes of their peers. This study estimates these spillover effects using new data on preschool blood lead levels (BLLs) matched to education data for all students in North Carolina public schools. The study compares siblings w
The Role of Universities in Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Immigrant founders of venture capital-backed companies have been critical to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study documents the channels through which immigrant founders find their way to the United States and how those channels have changed over time. Immigrants have been an important source of founders for venture capital-backed startups accounting for roughly 20% of all founders over the
School reopenings alongside high community spread and at near capacity
This paper examines the effect of fall 2020 school reopenings in Texas on county-level COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Previous evidence suggests that schools can be reopened safely if community spread is low and public health guidelines are followed. However, in Texas, reopenings often occurred alongside high community spread and at near capacity, making it difficult to meet social distancing rec
The Long-Term Effects of Universal Preschool
This study uses admissions lotteries to estimate the effects of large-scale public preschool in Boston on college-going, college preparation, standardized test scores, and behavioral outcomes. Preschool enrollment boosts college attendance, as well as SAT test-taking and high school graduation. Preschool also decreases several disciplinary measures including juvenile incarceration, but has no det
Virtual Schools in the U.S. 2021
* provides vital scholarly analyses of virtual schools at a time of increased enthusiasm for moving schooling online, nationally and internationally. The report examines the characteristics and performance of full-time, publicly funded K-12 virtual schools. It also reviews the relevant available research

 Education Research Report