School accountability and student performance - discussion

Education

Integrating functional diversity, food web processes, and biogeochemical carbon fluxes into a conceptual approach for modeling the upper ocean in a high-CO2 world

Marine food webs influence climate by channeling carbon below the permanent pycnocline, where it can be sequestered. Because most of the organic matter exported from the euphotic zone is remineralized within the "upper ocean" (i.e., the water column above the depth of sequestration), the resulting CO2 would potentially return to the atmosphere on decadal timescales. Thus ocean-climate models must consider the cycling of carbon within and from the upper ocean down to the depth of sequestration, instead of only to the base of the euphotic zone. Climate-related changes in the upper ocean will influence the diversity and functioning of plankton functional types. In order to predict the interactions between the changing climate and the ocean's biology, relevant models must take into account the roles of functional biodiversity and pelagic ecosystem functioning in determining the biogeochemical fluxes of carbon. We propose the development of a class of models that consider the interactions, in the upper ocean, of functional types of plankton organisms (e.g., phytoplankton, heterotrophic bacteria, microzooplankton, large zooplankton, and microphagous macrozooplankton), food web processes that affect organic matter (e.g., synthesis, transformation, and remineralization), and biogeochemical carbon fluxes (e.g., photosynthesis, calcification, respiration, and deep transfer). Herein we develop a framework for this class of models, and we use it to make preliminary predictions for the upper ocean in a high-CO2 world, without and with iron fertilization. Finally, we suggest a general approach for implementing our proposed class of models

Constrained Job Matching: Does Teacher Job Search Harm Disadvantaged Urban Schools?

Search theory suggests that early career job changes lead to better matches that benefit both workers and firms, but this may not hold in teacher labor markets characterized by salary rigidities, barriers to entry, and substantial differences in working conditions. Of particular concern to education policy makers is the possibility that teacher turnover adversely affects the quality of instruction in schools serving predominantly disadvantaged children. Although such schools experience higher turnover on average than others, the impact on the quality of instruction depends crucially on whether it is the more productive teachers who are more likely to depart. The absence of direct measures of productivity typically hinders efforts to measure the effect of turnover on worker quality. In the case of teachers, however, the availability of matched panel data of students and teachers enables the isolation of the contributions of teachers to achievement. The empirical analysis reveals that teachers who remain in their school tend to outperform those who leave, particularly those who exit the Texas public schools entirely. Moreover, this gap appears to be larger for schools serving predominantly low income students, evidence that high turnover is not nearly as damaging as many suggest.teacher turnover

Econometric methods for research in education

This paper reviews some of the econometric methods that have been used in the economics of education. The focus is on understanding how the assumptions made to justify and implement such methods relate to the underlying economic model and the interpretation of the results. We start by considering the estimation of the returns to education both within the context of a dynamic discrete choice model inspired byWillis and Rosen (1979) and in the context of the Mincer model. We discuss the relationship between the econometric assumptions and economic behaviour. We then discuss methods that have been used in the context of assessing the impact of education quality, the teacher contribution to pupils' achievement and the effect of school quality on housing prices. In the process we also provide a summary of some of the main results in this literature.

Divergent historical experiences and inequality in academic achievement: the case of Poland

Divergent histories and changing country boundaries can lead to substantial within country variation in economic and social structures and inequality in economic and social outcomes. Given its changing borders and turbulent history, Poland provides a fertile setting for an examination of the effects of social and economic structures. In this paper we investigate regional variation in academic achievement in Poland in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of local social and economic structures on educational outcomes. The results suggest that economic dislocation following the transformation and the absence of long-lasting social institutions as a result of population relocation have had longer term adverse effects on academic achievement.school achievement; regional differences; Poland