NEPC Review: Think Again: Do Charter Schools Drain Resources From Traditional Public Schools? (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, March 2023)

A Fordham report examines whether charter schools impact traditional public schools' finances and efficiency. The report finds mixed impacts on district finances, but suggests that traditional public schools improve efficiency over time when faced with charter competition. However, the report's claims and policy recommendations are untested empirically and unwarranted based on research. It fails to consider other possible explanations for higher expenditures in a charter environment, and downplays the negative impact of public school closures resulting from competition. While the report identifies relevant studies, its unsupported claims and recommendations limit its usefulness to policymakers.</p

O que é diverso o suficiente? Como escolas charter “intencionalmente diversas” recrutam e retêm alunos

School choice has the potential to be a tool for desegregation, but research suggests that choice more often exacerbates segregation than remedies it. In the past several years, hundreds of ‘intentionally diverse’ charter schools have opened across the country, potentially countering the link between charter schools and segregation. Yet, these schools raise important questions about choice, segregation, and equity. For instance: how do leaders of diverse charter schools prioritize diversity in decisions about location, marketing, and recruitment? What are the implications of these diversity efforts for equity, especially within competitive and marketized educational contexts? We explore the concrete recruiting and marketing strategies schools used to build and retain their diverse communities, drawing on qualitative data from New Orleans, LA, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. We identify key strategies used by school leaders, but also note that many strategies were ad-hoc and experimental. Furthermore, we noted that school goals around “how much” diversity was sufficient were often unarticulated, making schools susceptible to external pressures that might refocus attention away from equity and diversity, or allow groups with more power to shape agendas within the school. Finally, we find that contexts of gentrification and widening economic inequities threatened schools’ efforts to recruit and maintain a diverse student body. We discuss implications for leaders of diverse charter schools and other leaders seeking to diversify their student bodies, as well as policymakers and charter authorizers.La elección de la escuela tiene el potencial de ser una herramienta para desagregación, pero la investigación sugiere que la elección más frecuentemente exacerba la segregación que la remediación. En los últimos años, cientos de escuelas charter "intencionalmente diversas" se han abierto en todo el país, potencialmente contrarrestando el vínculo entre las escuelas charter y la segregación. Sin embargo, estas escuelas plantean cuestiones importantes sobre la elección, la segregación y la equidad. Por ejemplo: ¿cómo los líderes de diversas escuelas charter priorizan la diversidad en las decisiones sobre localización, marketing y reclutamiento? ¿Cuáles son las implicaciones de estos esfuerzos de diversidad para la equidad, especialmente dentro de contextos educativos competitivos y comercializados? Exploramos las estrategias concretas de reclutamiento y marketing utilizadas por las escuelas para construir y mantener sus diversas comunidades, sobre la base de datos cualitativos de Nueva Orleans, LA, y Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Identificamos las principales estrategias utilizadas por los líderes de las escuelas, pero también notamos que muchas estrategias fueron ad hoc y experimentales. Además, observamos que las metas escolares en torno a "cuánto" diversidad eran suficientes, a menudo se desarticulan, haciendo que las escuelas susceptibles a presiones externas que podrían redirigir la atención lejos de la equidad y la diversidad o permitir que grupos con más poder formen agendas dentro de la escuela. Finalmente, descubrimos que los contextos de gentrificación y el aumento de las desigualdades económicas amenazaban los esfuerzos de las escuelas para reclutar y mantener un alumnado diversificado. Discutimos las implicaciones para los líderes de diversas escuelas charter y otros líderes que buscan diversificar sus cuerpos estudiantiles, así como los formuladores de políticas y los coordinadores de charter.A escolha da escola tem o potencial de ser uma ferramenta para desagregação, mas a pesquisa sugere que a escolha mais frequentemente exacerba a segregação do que a remediação. Nos últimos anos, centenas de escolas charter "intencionalmente diversas" foram abertas em todo o país, potencialmente contrabalançando o vínculo entre as escolas charter e a segregação. No entanto, essas escolas levantam questões importantes sobre escolha, segregação e equidade. Por exemplo: como os líderes de diversas escolas charter priorizam a diversidade nas decisões sobre localização, marketing e recrutamento? Quais são as implicações desses esforços de diversidade para a equidade, especialmente dentro de contextos educacionais competitivos e comercializados? Exploramos as estratégias concretas de recrutamento e marketing utilizadas pelas escolas para construir e manter suas diversas comunidades, com base em dados qualitativos de New Orleans, LA, e Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Identificamos as principais estratégias utilizadas pelos líderes das escolas, mas também notamos que muitas estratégias foram ad hoc e experimentais. Além disso, notamos que as metas escolares em torno de “quanto” diversidade eram suficientes eram muitas vezes desarticuladas, tornando as escolas suscetíveis a pressões externas que poderiam redirecionar a atenção para longe da equidade e da diversidade ou permitir que grupos com mais poder formassem agendas dentro da escola. Finalmente, descobrimos que os contextos de gentrificação e o aumento das desigualdades econômicas ameaçavam os esforços das escolas para recrutar e manter um corpo discente diversificado. Discutimos as implicações para os líderes de diversas escolas charter e outros líderes que buscam diversificar seus corpos estudantis, bem como os formuladores de políticas e os coordenadores de charter

New Measures of Teacher Turnover Can Reveal Underlying Chronic Staffing Problems in Schools

Teacher quality is one of the most important measures that predicts students’ educational and professional outcomes. But student success can be undermined by teacher turnover. This brief, by PRC faculty research associate Huriya Jabbar and colleagues, describes a typology of teacher turnover measures, including both measures currently in use as well as new measures developed by the authors. These measures illuminate different ways in which staff instability can negatively affect schools.Population Research Cente

Coligações para o uso de evidências e advocacia: organizações intermediárias e filantrópicas em Denver, Colorado

The increasing involvement of philanthropists in education policy has contributed to the emergence of a dynamic sector of intermediary organizations (IOs), entities that serve a number of functions in school reform, including advocacy, consultation, policy design, alternative teacher and leadership preparation, and research. In recent years, many IOs have converged into coalitions that are pushing for incentivist educational policies like “parent trigger” laws, charter schools, vouchers, and teacher merit pay or sanctions often tied to value added metrics of teacher performance. This article draws on data from a mixed-methods, multiyear study of research use and dissemination. In this article, we examine the role of foundations in a broader advocacy coalition in Denver, Colorado, a key site for various incentivist reforms, including teacher pay-for-performance and charter schools. We find that IOs and their affiliated networks broker the production and use of research evidence, often targeting government and education policymakers, journalists, and increasingly, influential bloggers and social media communities. This brokering function positions foundations as the “hub” of research production, promotion, and utilization. La creciente participación de filántropos en el área de política educativa ha contribuido a la aparición de un sector dinámico de organizaciones intermediarias (OI), entidades que tienen un número de funciones en reformas escolares, incluyendo la promoción, consulta, diseño de políticas, formación docente alternativa y preparación de lideres y de investigación. En los últimos años, muchas organizaciones intermediarias han convergido en coaliciones que estimulan políticas educativas de incentivos como las leyes "gatillo", escuelas charter, vales educativos, y el pago por mérito docente o sanciones a menudo ligadas a métricas de valor añadido de desempeño de docentes. Este artículo se basa en datos recogidos durante varios años sobre el uso y difusión de la investigación de usando métodos mixtos. Este artículo, examina el papel de las fundaciones en una coalición de acción política en Denver, Colorado, un sitio clave para diversas reformas por incentivos, incluyendo el pago por rendimiento a los maestros y escuelas chárter. Encontramos que las OI y sus redes afiliadas intermediaban la producción y el uso de investigaciones, a menudo para orientar el gobierno y grupos de políticos, periodistas, y cada vez más, bloggers influyentes y las comunidades de redes sociales. Esta función de intermediación posiciona fundaciones como el “centro" de la producción, promoción y utilización de investigación.O crescente o envolvimento de filantropos na política educativa tem contribuído para o surgimento de um setor dinâmico de organizações intermediárias (OIs), entidades que servem um número de funções na reforma da escola, incluindo advocacia, consultadoria, formulação de política, professor alternativo e preparação de liderança e pesquisa. Nos últimos anos, muitas das OIs têm convergido em coligações que estão empurrando por incentivistas das políticas educacionais como leis de “gatilho dos pais”, escolas ‘charter’, vouchers, e pagamento de mérito ou sanções aos professores muitas vezes vinculadas a métricas de valor acrescido do desempenho dos professores. Este artigo foi baseia-se em dados de métodos mistos, estudo em vários anos sobre o uso e disseminação da pesquisa, neste artigo, examinamos o papel das fundações numa coligação de advocacia mais ampla em Denver, Colorado, um sítio-chave para várias reformas de incentivistas, incluindo remuneração pelo desempenho dos professores e escolas ‘charters’. Descobrimos que as OIs e as suas redes afiliadas fazem a intermediação na produção e uso da pesquisa baseada em evidências, frequentemente focando o  governo e decisores políticos em educação, jornalistas, e crescentemente, bloggers influentes e comunidades dos media sociais. Esta função intermediadora posicionam as fundações como o “centro” da produção, promoção, e utilização da pesquisa

The Rising Tide: School Choice and Competition in Post-Katrina New Orleans

During the past several decades, policymakers have introduced market mechanisms of choice and competition into the education sector. In districts with school choice, school leaders are expected to respond to market pressures that arise through either declining enrollments or the presence of nearby schools by working to improve efficiency and the effectiveness of instruction. Choice is intended to be a "tide that lifts all boats," benefiting not only the students who chose their schools, but also all the other students in the district, through the mechanism of competition. Yet there remain significant gaps in our knowledge about how market pressures actually shape socially and politically embedded education markets. In particular, we do not understand whether and how school leaders identify competitors or how they experience competition within different regulatory environments. This study examines how the expansion of school choice informs school-level actions. I investigate the claim that school choice is a "rising tide" that generates system-wide school improvement. I draw on theoretical tools from sociology and politics to deepen our knowledge of how neoclassical ideas of competition from economics operate in education markets. I use concepts in economic sociology and political economy, which treat economic worlds as social and political worlds, to examine how competition occurs. Unlike previous studies that have examined the overall effects of competition, which has been measured using geographic distance, density, or student transfers between schools, this study measures competition using school leaders' perceptions: the schools they actually name as competitors rather than those with whom we would simply expect them to compete. In doing so, this study contributes to our understanding of the process and mechanisms by which competition influences school leaders' behaviors. By focusing on New Orleans, the school system that most resembles a true market in the U.S., I study market processes in education under nearly ideal conditions. Using multiple methods, including qualitative case study, network analysis, and statistical analysis of network data, I explore: (a) the perceptions and behaviors of school leaders in a competitive environment, and (b) the regulatory frameworks that shape this market environment. I draw on survey data from 89 school leaders (a 91% response rate) in New Orleans, case studies of 30 of these schools, and administrative data. The first findings chapter reveals the factors that predict the formation of competitive ties between schools using social-selection models suited to the statistical analysis of network data, which must contend with the non-independence of observations. While factors that economists believe to be important for competition, including geography and student transfers, mattered for whom school leaders identify as competitors, these factors did not fully explain how school leaders in New Orleans perceived competition. Other factors, such as charter brand, school similarity, demographics, and the characteristics of school leaders, also influenced competition. The second and third findings chapters explore how a school's position in a district-wide social network of competitors, and its status in the market hierarchy, mediated its experiences and responses to competition. School leaders in New Orleans have experienced especially strong market pressures, yet their responses to such pressures sometimes reinforced inequities in an already tiered marketplace, with particularly harmful consequences for the most under-served students. The last findings chapter examines how schools' political contexts, including regulations and tensions at the community level, affected school leaders' capacities to respond to competitive pressures, both alleviating and exacerbating educational inequities. This analysis implies several directions for education policy and future research

Supplemental Materials for "Navigating Transfer Through Networks: How Community College Students Seek Support From Social Ties Throughout the Transfer Process"

Supplemental materials for Yucel, Jabbar, & Schudde (2021)Educatio

To Improve Community College Transfer in Texas, Students Need Better Information

Community college students in Texas lack essential information about state transfer policies. With better resources, students could take courses more efficiently at community college and position themselves to complete their bachelor’s degree after transfer. To improve the state’s investment in higher education, policymakers and other stakeholders should clarify existing transfer policies and increase the quality of student-facing information about transfer. Improving transfer in Texas will advance equity and reduce students’ costs and the time it takes them to complete a four-year degree.Population Research Cente

Complex Pathways to Transfer: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Transition From Community College to 4-Year University

Many community college students express a desire to transfer to a 4-year institution, but few achieve that goal. In this article, we examine what conditions lead to successful student transfer and which serve as barriers. Drawing on data from a longitudinal qualitative study of 61 transfer-intending students in Texas and using qualitative comparative analysis, we investigate the student-level conditions and experiences that contribute to successful or unsuccessful transfer to a 4-year institution. We find that there is no single condition that can predict success. Instead, we describe how factors such as social capital, students’ family background, and advising supports interact with one another to determine student success or failure in the transfer process. We identify specific pathways to transfer, with implications for policies and programs that can help bolster students in the face of potential barriers. We provide suggestions for policy, practice, and future research

Coding Guide for "Bridges or Barriers? How Interactions Between Individuals and Institutions Condition Community College Transfer"

Supplemental coding guideEducatio