503 research outputs found
School accountability, american style: dilemmas of high-stakes testing
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a new federal law in the U.S. that requires states (if they wish to receive federal education funds) to set standards for student learning, design assessments to measure progress towards standards, and to hold districts and schools accountable for results. Accountability through high-stakes standardized testing is the latest development in a long move towards standards-based reform in U.S. education, a reform process that has enjoyed bipartisan support. It occurs in the context of what has been a «loosely coupled» system with little formal supervision and no national testing. NCLB confronts four dilemmas that any system of testing and accountability must address: It sets high standards; uses absolute targets to assess progress; accepts the narrowness of standardized tests in only two subjects as the price to be paid for clear and specific standards; and attempts (perhaps with limited success) to identify mechanisms to ensure equal opportunity to meet the standards. As a result of this approach, NCLB has galvanized the attention of educators and motivated teachers and students to improve; but it also leads to disproportionate sanctions for schools serving disadvantaged populations, mixes up effective and ineffective schools, and poses an unrealistic time frame for success. (DIPF/Orig.)No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ist ein neues Bundesgesetz in den U.S.A., das von den Staaten, die Bundesmittel im Bildungsbereich beantragen wollen, verlangt, die Standards auf dem Gebiet der Schulkompetenzen festzulegen; die Bewertungen zu definieren, um die in Bezug auf die Standards gemachten Fortschritte zu messen, sowie Bezirke und Schulen in Bezug auf die Ergebnisse zur Verantwortung zu ziehen. Das Wecken des Verantwortungsbewusstseins (Accountability) durch strenge standardisierte Tests stellt die letzte Phase der Entwicklung eines langen Weges in Richtung einer auf Standards basierenden Reform der amerikanischen Bildungspolitik dar. Ein Reformprozess, der sowohl auf die UnterstĂŒtzung der Mehrheits- als auch der Oppositionsparteien rechnen konnte. Er nimmt feste Form in einem Kontext an, wo frĂŒher das System nur sehr lose verknĂŒpft war, wo es nur lĂŒckenhafte Kontrollen durch die Behörden gab und keine landeseinheitliche Bewertung vorgesehen war. NCLB muĂ sich mit vier verschiedenen Problemen auseinandersetzen, die jedes Bewertungs- und PrĂŒfungssystem anpacken muĂ. Das heiĂt, hohe Standards festlegen; genaue Ziele fĂŒr die Bewertung des Fortschritts vorgeben; die BeschrĂ€nkung der Standardtests auf nur zwei FĂ€cher akzeptieren als Preis fĂŒr die Sicherung von spezifischen Standards; ferner versucht es (wenn auch mit wenig Erfolg) die Mechanismen zu identifizieren, welche Chancengleichheit gewĂ€hrleisten sollen, die geforderten Standards zu erreichen. Dank diesem Vorgehen war es dem NCLB Gesetz möglich, die Aufmerksamkeit der Erziehungsverantwortlichen zu gewinnen, aber auch die Lehrer und die Studenten anzuspornen, sich zu verbessern. Jedoch fĂŒhrt dieses Gesetz auch zu unverhĂ€ltnismĂ€Ăigen Sanktionen fĂŒr diejenigen Schulen, die bereits eine benachteiligte Bevölkerung haben; es trifft keine Differenzierung zwischen effizienten und nichteffizienten Schulen und legt einen unrealistischen Zeitrahmen fest, um zum Erfolg zu gelangen. (DIPF/Orig.
The Munich Visiting Program, 1960-1972
In 1960, during a resurgence of anti-Semitism, the Munich government initiated a program to invite Jewish former residents of Munich (who left during the 1930s and early 1940s due to the Nazis) back to their hometown for two-week visits. This program offered the participants a chance to reminisce about their childhoods, reconnect with their heritage, and visit their former communities. For the government, this program provided a crucial connection between the old prewar Munich and the new Munich of the 1960s, between Munich as the birthplace of National Socialism and Munich as a newly rebuilt city, ready to move forward from the Holocaust. This thesis relies primarily on correspondence between program participants and the Munich government from the Munich City Archive, oral interviews with individuals involved with the program, and secondary sources about postwar Munich and historical memory
Effects of Nonmaternal Child Care on Inequality in Cognitive Skills
As a result of changing welfare policies, large numbers of children of poor, uneducated mothersare likely to receive care from others as their mothers enter the workforce. How will this change affect inequality in cognitive skills among young children? One view suggests that inequality will expand because children from economically advantaged families have access to better child care, and families with well-educated parents are more likely to reinforce the cognitive benefits of care. Another view argues that inequality will diminish because even though child care may be unequal, it may be less unequal than the home environments that are supplanted by nonmaternal care. A third view suggests that because the effects of care are inconsistent, there will be little overall change in inequality. Analysis of the children of mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth provides tentative evidence in support of the first view, that nonmaternal care tends to magnify inequality. Although ordinary least squares regressions reveal no effects of child care, fixed-effects models that control for differences between families indicate that children of high-income, well-educated mothers benefit from center-based care, but children of low-income, poorly educated mothers suffer a cognitive disadvantage from attending day care centers. Home-based care, however, is not associated with cognitive performance. Results from nonparametric analyses are consistent with the findings from fixed-effects models. The key results rely mainly on a relatively small sample of about 700 children in 300 families that sent their children to different types of care, and they do not pertain to families with only one child, so caution is warranted in generalizing the findings.
The Class Size Controversy
[Excerpt] When we ask whether class size matters for achievement, it is essential to ask also, how class size matters. This is important for three reasons. First, if we can observe not only achievement differences, but also the mechanisms through which the differences are produced, this will increase our confidence that the differences are real, and not an artifact of some unmeasured or inadequately controlled condition. Second, the effects of class size may vary in different circumstances, and identifying how class size affects achievement will help us to understand why the effects of class size are variable. Third, the potential benefits of class size reduction may be greater than what we observe. For example, suppose class size reductions aid achievement, but only when teachers modify instructional practices to take advantage of the smaller classes. If a few teachers make such modifications, but most do not, then understanding how class size affects achievement in some cases will help reveal its potential effects, even if the potential is generally unrealized
Academic achievement in American cities: Comparsion of public compregensive, public magnet, Catholic, and non-religious private high schools
Problems with our public urban high schools are intensifying, and many see magnet schools and private schools as the answer. But are those schools really better at increasing the academic skills of students? Using the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, the author estimates the effect of attending a magnet school, Catholic School, or secular private school on the achievement of urban students in math, reading, science, and social studies; he compares these estimates to the achievement of students who attend comprehensive public high schools. He finds that magnet schools are more effective than regular schools at raising the proficiency of students in science, reading, and social studies; Catholic schools have a positive impact on math skills, while secular private schools do not offer any advantage, net of preexisting differences among students. Further analyses test the sensitivity of the results to assumptions about independence and selectivity; these show support for the magnet school advantages in reading and social studies, but raise doubts about the Catholic school effects in math and the magnet school effects in science.
FĂŒnf evidenzbasierte Heuristiken fĂŒr den Einsatz von Video in der universitĂ€ren Lehrerausbildung
This article provides a research synthesis on the use of video in pre-service teacher education. Common ideas and evidences concerning the use of video in pre-service teacher education are reviewed. Based on the state-of-the-art in using video, five research-based heuristics are derived. Research findings of a number of studies are further used to illustrate the specification of heuristics. Specifically, a set of rules of thumb about when, how, and why to use video is presented to clarify the strengths and limitations of video as a medium to support pre-service teacher learning. (DIPF/Orig.)Der Beitrag liefert eine Forschungssynthese zur Nutzung von Video in der universitĂ€ren Lehrerausbildung. Die Forschung wird dahingehend zusammengefasst, welche Ideen derzeit verfolgt werden und welche Evidenzen zur Nutzung von Video vorliegen. Basierend auf dem Forschungsstand leiten die Autoren fĂŒnf forschungsbasierte Heuristiken zum Einsatz von Video ab. Die Forschungsergebnisse einer Reihe ausgewĂ€hlter Studien werden genutzt, um die Heuristiken weiter zu spezifizieren. Es werden Erfahrungsregeln vorgestellt, wann, wie und warum Video in der universitĂ€ren Lehrerbildung eingesetzt werden kann. Die Erfahrungsregeln sollen helfen, StĂ€rken und SchwĂ€chen von Video als ein Medium zur UnterstĂŒtzung des Lernens von Lehramtsstudierenden zu klĂ€ren. (DIPF/Orig.
Religious Participation as Cultural Capital Development: Sector Differences in Chicagoâs Jewish Schools
This paper uses the case of Jewish schools in Chicago to explore the role of religious schools in the development of cultural capital among youth. The author focus on three sectors of Jewish Schools (Orthodox day schools, non-Orthodox day schools, and non-Orthodox supplementary schools) as contexts for learning and expressing Jewish practices, affiliations, and beliefs, which are understood to be markers of cultural capital for the Jewish community. Survey results from 834 students in grades 7-12 revealed that family and school environments are independently associated with cultural capital development. Generally, the contributions of families are more prominent than the impact of schools, but both school type and learning opportunities also contribute to cultural outcomes
Bilan et devenir de la loi No Child Left Behind aux Ătats-Unis
Au dĂ©but du xxie siĂšcle, les efforts pour rĂ©duire les inĂ©galitĂ©s en Ă©ducation aux Ătats-Unis ont portĂ© sur lâĂ©lĂ©vation des « standards » et la responsabilisation de la communautĂ© Ă©ducative face Ă la rĂ©alisation des objectifs de performance fixĂ©s aux Ă©lĂšves. Les rĂ©sultats des tests effectuĂ©s au cours de cette pĂ©riode indiquent une lĂ©gĂšre rĂ©duction des inĂ©galitĂ©s et une lĂ©gĂšre amĂ©lioration de la rĂ©ussite des Ă©lĂšves. Cependant, dans la mesure oĂč le niveau de performance attendu augmente beaucoup plus vite que les rĂ©sultats mesurĂ©s par les tests, tous les Ă©tablissements scolaires seront virtuellement en Ă©chec si le systĂšme de responsabilisation ne change pas. Les nouveaux programmes fĂ©dĂ©raux lancĂ©s par lâadministration Obama sâappuient sur le systĂšme en place pour proposer dâautres pistes afin dâamĂ©liorer le fonctionnement du systĂšme Ă©ducatif. Parmi ces pistes figurent des mesures plus reprĂ©sentatives de la performance des Ă©lĂšves telle que la focalisation sur les progrĂšs rĂ©alisĂ©s plutĂŽt que sur les rĂ©sultats bruts aux tests Ă un instant t, et un systĂšme dâincitation pour Ă©valuer, rĂ©compenser et sanctionner les enseignants Ă Â partir des progrĂšs accomplis par leurs Ă©lĂšves. Une approche plus radicale cherche aussi Ă Â renverser la tendance dans les Ă©coles en difficultĂ©. Dans quelle mesure ces initiatives contribueront-elles Ă rĂ©duire les Ă©carts de rĂ©ussite ? Cet article analyse les objectifs, les rĂ©ussites et les limites des politiques fĂ©dĂ©rales antĂ©rieures et tire un certain nombre de conclusions des Ă©tudes empiriques rĂ©centes sur les inflexions apportĂ©es par la nouvelle politique Ă©ducative du gouvernement fĂ©dĂ©ral et les rĂ©sultats escomptĂ©s.During the first decade of the 21st century, efforts to reduce educational inequality in the US focused on raising standards and holding educators accountable for whether students met their achievement targets. Test score trends over this period reveal modest improvements, both in raising achievement overall and in reducing inequality. Because standards are raising much faster than test scores, however, virtually all schools will soon be judged as failures unless the accountability system changes. New federal programs under the Obama administration are building on the existing accountability system but with different strategies for improvement. These strategies include more meaningful measures of student performance, an emphasis on growth in performance rather than judging success based on test results from a single point in time, and new incentive systems to evaluate, reward, and sanction teachers based on student achievement growth. Other strategies include radical approaches to turning around the performance of low-achieving schools. How far will these new efforts go towards meeting the challenge of reducing achievement gaps? This paper examines the aims, accomplishments, and limitations of past federal policy, and draws inferences from recent empirical studies about what we may expect to see as a result of recent and anticipated changes in federal policy.Al principio del siglo XXI, los esfuerzos para reducir las desigualdades educativas en los Estados Unidos se destinaron a la elevaciĂłn de los «estĂĄndares» y a la responsabilizaciĂłn de la comunidad educativa frente a la realizaciĂłn de los objetivos de excelentes resultados fijados a los alumnos. Los resultados de los test realizados durante ese periodo indican una leve reducciĂłn de las desigualdades y una leve mejora del triunfo de los alumnos. Sin embargo en la medida en que el nivel de los excelentes resultados esperados aumenta mucho mĂĄs rĂĄpido que los resultados medidos por los test, todos los centros escolares se encontrarĂĄn virtualmente en situaciĂłn de fracaso si el sistema de responsabilizaciĂłn no cambia. Los nuevos programas federales lanzados por la administraciĂłn Obama se apoyan en el sistema vigente para proponer otras pistas con el fin de mejorar el funcionamiento del sistema educativo. Entre esas pistas se encuentran medidas mĂĄs representativas de los excelentes resultados de los alumnos tal como la focalizaciĂłn en los progresos realizados mĂĄs que en los resultados brutos a los test en un instante t, y un sistema de incitaciĂłn para evaluar, recompensar y sancionar a los docentes a partir de los progresos realizados por sus alumnos. Un enfoque mĂĄs radical intenta tambiĂ©n invertir la tendencia en las escuelas con dificultades. ÂżEn quĂ© medida dichas iniciativas van a contribuir a reducir las diferencias en el triunfo? Este artĂculo analiza los objetivos, los Ă©xitos y los lĂmites de las polĂticas federales anteriores y saca unas cuantas conclusiones de los recientes estudios empĂricos sobre las inflexiones aportadas por la nueva polĂtica educativa del gobierno federal y los resultados esperados.Am Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts haben die Bestrebungen zur Verminderung der Erziehungsungleichheiten in den USA die Erhebung der âStandardsâ und die Verantwortlichkeit der Erziehungsgemeinschaft gegenĂŒber der Verwirklichung der Leistungsziele bei den SchĂŒlern betroffen. Die Ergebnisse der in dieser Periode durchgefĂŒhrten Tests deuten auf eine leichte Verminderung der Ungleichheiten und eine leichte Verbesserung des SchĂŒlererfolgs auf. In so fern als das erwartete Leistungsniveau viel schneller wĂ€chst als die von den Tests gemessen Ergebnisse, so werden jedoch alle Schulen virtuell scheitern, wenn das Verantwortlichkeitssystem nicht verĂ€ndert wird. Die neuen föderalen LehrplĂ€ne der Obama-Verwaltung stĂŒtzen sich auf das neu eingefĂŒhrte System, um andere DenkanstöĂe zur Verbesserung des Schulsystems anzubieten. Unter diesen DenkanstöĂen findet man MaĂnahmen, die der SchĂŒlerleistung gerechter sind, so wie die Fokalisierung auf die Fortschritte eher als auf die nackten Ergebnisse bei einem beliebigen Test und ein Ansporn zur Bewertung, Belohnung oder Bestrafung der Lehrer auf Grund der Fortschritte ihrer SchĂŒler. Eine radikalere Herangehensweise versucht auch, die Situation in den problembelasteten Schulen ins Positive zu verkehren. In wie fern werden diese Initiativen zur Verminderung der Erfolgsdiskrepanz beitragen? Dieser Artikel analysiert die Ziele, die Erfolge und die Grenzen der bisherigen föderalen Politik und zieht einige Schlussbemerkungen aus den neueren empirischen Studien ĂŒber den Wechsel infolge der neuen Erziehungspolitik der föderalen Regierung und die erwarteten Ergebnisse
Upgrading High School Math: A Look at Three Transition Courses
This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs focuses on the nature of instruction in transition math courses, the consequences of student placement in the new transition courses, and the linkages among course type, course content, and student achievement. The findings presented here are based on both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from seven high school across four districts in two states.
We studied transition math courses in seven high schools in San Diego and San Francisco in California and in Buffalo and Rochester in New York. We chose schools that had high percentages of minority and low-income students, because the problem of dead-end classes for low-achieving students is most sever in such schools. The transition math courses were initiated as early as 10 years ago in Rochester, New York schools, and 3 to 5 years ago in California schools
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