A avaliação do “Report Card” da Comissão de Educação Superior do Tennessee sobre as estimativas de valor agregado dos programas de preparação de professores

Evaluations of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) based in part on the performance of program completers have emerged as an education reform strategy in several states and have become central features of the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant competition. The objective of this policy review is to examine how the state of Tennessee measured and reported the extent to which teacher preparation programs (TPPs) explain the variation of the test score gains for public school students taught by program graduates. This review breaks down the findings by institution and certification pathway, comparing statistically significant outcomes at the state level produced by teachers from each TPP. An analysis of Tennessee's report card reveals considerable variation in the value-added estimates of beginning teachers, depending on the institution where they were trained.  These results, however, should be interpreted with caution. This review offers several technical considerations associated with the interpretation of Tennessee's report card on the effectiveness of TPPs and explains how these considerations may affect the interpretation of the findings.Las evaluaciones de los programas de preparación de profesores basadas en parte en el desempeño de finales de programas surgieron como una estrategia de reforma educativa en varios estados y se convirtieron en características centrales de la competencia de concesión Race to the Top (RTTT). El objetivo de esta revisión de política es examinar cómo el estado de Tennessee midió y reportó hasta qué punto los programas de preparación de profesores explican la variación de las ganancias de puntuación de prueba para estudiantes de escuelas públicas impartidas por los graduados del programa. Esta revisión rompe los descubrimientos por institución y camino de certificación, comparando resultados estadísticamente significativos a nivel estatal producidos por profesores de cada TPP. Un análisis del informe de Tennessee revela una variación considerable en las estimaciones de valor agregado de los profesores principiantes, dependiendo de la institución donde fueron entrenados. Estos resultados, sin embargo, deben interpretarse con cautela. Esta revisión ofrece varias consideraciones técnicas asociadas a la interpretación del “Report Card” de Tennessee sobre la eficacia de las TPPs y explica cómo estas consideraciones pueden afectar la interpretación de los hallazgos.As avaliações dos programas de preparação de professores baseadas em parte no desempenho de finais de programas surgiram como uma estratégia de reforma educacional em vários estados e se tornaram características centrais da competição de concessão Race to the Top (RTTT). O objetivo desta revisão de política é examinar como o estado do Tennessee mediu e relatou até que ponto os programas de preparação de professores explicam a variação dos ganhos de pontuação de teste para estudantes de escolas públicas ministradas pelos graduados do programa. Esta revisão quebra as descobertas por instituição e caminho de certificação, comparando resultados estatisticamente significativos ao nível estadual produzidos por professores de cada TPP. Uma análise do relatório do Tennessee revela uma variação considerável nas estimativas de valor agregado dos professores principiantes, dependendo da instituição onde foram treinados. Estes resultados, no entanto, devem ser interpretados com cautela. Esta revisão oferece várias considerações técnicas associadas à interpretação do “Report Card” do Tennessee sobre a eficácia das TPPs e explica como essas considerações podem afetar a interpretação dos achados

Review of Charter School Autonomy: A Half-Broken Promise

In her review, Gulosino finds that the report assumes the positive impact of autonomy, but provides no empirical evidence to support this. She indicates that the report is of very little value to anyone concerned with charter schools including policy makers, school leaders, parents and charter supporters

NEPC Review: Charter School Autonomy: A Half-Broken Promise

This report concludes that autonomy is a prerequisite for innovative and effective charter schools to emerge. Especially important is freedom from external bureaucratic control. Yet there is nothing in this report that addresses levels of autonomy in relationship to financial performance, resource allocation practices, academic results, and other key school characteristics and outcomes. Beyond anecdotal evidence, the authors fail to empirically demonstrate whether and how authorizers&rsquo; constraints have had an adverse impact upon any of the examined four key areas of school autonomy: staffing, instructional programming, governance, and culture.</p

Respostas estratégicas da Escola à concorrência em áreas urbanas segregados: Padrões na localização das escolas na Região Metropolitana de Detroit

School choice is intended to generate competition between schools largely to leverage new and better educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. Yet we know very little about how competition impacts whole populations of schools, or different types of schools, in distributing different educational options across segregated social landscapes. This analysis maps new educational options for families, as different types of charter schools respond to market competition within a highly competitive and segregated environment examining school and organizational strategies in positioning themselves within metropolitan Detroit in order to measure the overall impact of these strategies on alternatives for disadvantaged students. Dynamic mapping illuminates the kinds of charter schools that have opened, relocated, and closed relative to socioeconomic and demographic distributions in neighborhoods, providing a comprehensive picture of supply-side responses to competition since the emergence of choice policies. We offer a brief outline of the policy context, considering the primary equity impetus for choice, and the policy implications as they are expected to reverberate through the organizational behavior of schools. Then we present a more complex theoretical framework for understanding likely strategic responses from organizations in competitive education markets. In doing this, we draw on theories from the literatures on industrial organizations and locational theories as they apply to what we are calling local education markets. We then describe the geo-spatial analyses, providing graphic maps to represent the patterns evident in this case. The concluding discussion offers a brief overview of the equity implications for employing the profit motive to expand educational access.La libre eleccin de escuelas tiene la intencionalidad de aprovechar la competencia entre las escuelas para obtener mejores oportunidades educativas para estudiantes con desventajas. Sin embargo, sabemos muy poco acerca de cmo la competencia impacta poblaciones enteras de escuelas de diferentes tipos en la distribucin de opciones educativas en espacios sociales segregados. Basandonos en las teoras sobre medio ambiente institucional, comportamiento organizacional, y estrategias de posicionamiento investigamos cmo los diferentes tipos de escuelas (pblicas, privadas y charter) responden a la competencia de mercado en el entorno altamente competitivo y segregado del rea Metropolitana de Detroit. El mapeamiento ilustra los patrones de tipos de escuelas que abrieron, se mudaron, y cerraron en relacin a los contextos socioeconmicos y demogrficos barriales. Nuestro anlisis explora la nocin de incentivo de tasas elevadas de vacancia como una aproximacin a la existencia de los espacios adecuados para nuevas escuelas. Los resultados sugieren que los incentivos competitivos tienen efectos similares en los diferentes tipos de organizaciones.A escolha escolar tem como inteno a concorrncia entre as escolas para gerar melhores oportunidades educacionais para alunos desfavorecidos. No entanto, sabemos muito pouco sobre como a competio impacta populaes inteiras de escolas de diferentes tipos na distribuio de opes educacionais em contextos segregao social. Baseados nas teorias da literatura sobre o ambiente institucional, comportamento organizacional e estratgias de posicionamento para investigar como os diferentes tipos de escolas (pblicas, privadas e charter) respondem concorrncia no mercado dentro da area Metropolitana de Detroit que um ambiente altamente competitivo e segregado. O mapeamento ilustra os padres de tipos de escolas que abriram, mudaram, e fecharam em relao ao bairro contextos socioeconmicos e demogrficos. Nossa anlise explora o incentivo da localizao de taxas altas de vacncia de espaos como proxy sobre espaos acessvel adequados para novas escolas. Os resultados sugerem que os incentivos competitividade tm efeitos similares em diferentes tipos de organizaes

Círculos de influência: Uma análise da localização e do padrão racial da escola charter em diferentes escalas geográficas

This paper uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and dynamic mapping to examine student enrollments in New Jersey charter schools. Consistent with previous research, we find evidence of increased racial segregation. Greater percentages of African-Americans attend charter schools than reside in surrounding areas. We add to the existing charter school literature by more fully considering the importance of charter school supply and examining student enrollments across three geographic scales: school districts, census tracts and block groups. We demonstrate that racial segregation is most severe within charter schools immediate neighborhoods (i.e. block groups), suggesting that analyses comparing charter schools to larger school districts or nearby public schools may misrepresent student sorting. This finding appears to result from the tendency of charter schools in New Jersey to cluster just outside predominately African-American neighborhoods, encircling the residential locations of the students they are most likely to enroll.Este trabajo utiliza los Sistemas de Informacin Geogrfica (SIG), cartografa y anlisis de dinmicas de matriculacin de estudiantes en las escuelas "charter" en Nueva Jersey. Como en investigaciones anteriores, encontramos evidencia de que la segregacin racial se ha incrementado. Mayores porcentajes de estudiantes Afro-americanos asisten a las escuelas charter que residentes en reas cercanas a esas escuelas. Aadimos a la literatura existente sobre las escuelas charter considerando principalmente la importancia de la oferta de las escuelas charter y examinando los estudiantes inscritos en tres escalas geogrficas: los distritos escolares, censales y grupos de barrios. Hemos demostrado que la segregacin racial es ms grave en los barrios cercanos a las escuelas charter (es decir, grupos de barrios), lo que sugiere que las pruebas de comparacin de las escuelas a los distritos escolares ms grandes escuelas "charter" o pblica de vecinos puede alterar la clasificacin de estudiante. Este hallazgo parece ser el resultado de la tendencia de escuelas charter en Nueva Jersey, justo fuera del clster de los barrios predominantemente afroamericana, con la participacin la zona residencial de los estudiantes ms probable ms la DEA para inscribirse en una escuela charter.Este trabalho utiliza Sistemas de Informao Geogrfica (SIG) e mapeamento dinmico para analisar matrculas de alunos em escolas charter de Nova Jersey. Como em pesquisas anteriores, encontramos evidncias de que a segregao racial aumentou. Maiores percentagens de Afro-Americanos frequentam as escolas charter do que os residentes em reas prximas. Ns adicionamos a literatura existente sobre escolas charter considerando principalmente a importncia do abastecimento das escolas charter e o exame de alunos matriculados em trs escalas geogrficas : os distritos escolares, setores censitrios e grupos de quarteires. Ns demonstramos que a segregao racial mais grave em bairros prximos s escolas charter (ou seja, bloco grupos), sugerindo que anlises comparando as escolas charter aos maiores distritos escolares a ou s escolas pblicas vizinhas podem adulterar a classificao do estudante. Este achado parece resultado da tendncia de escolas charter em New Jersey de agrupar apenas de fora dos bairros predominantemente Afro-Americanos, envolvendo as reas residenciais dos alunos que mais provavelmente mais se matriculariam em uma escola charter

The Influence of Balance Within the Competing Values Framework and School Academic Success on Teacher Retention

The primary aim of this study is to use the survey items from the TELL Tennessee Survey (2013) using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to determine whether teachers\u27 observations about a set of topically organized school climate dimensions and school performance levels are associated with their immediate professional plans. Using a three-by-two-level Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), we find that the effect of CVF “balance” and school performance level explain much of the variation in the percent of teachers who intend to stay at their current school, independent of the school’s student demographic characteristics. Specifically, the effect of having a balanced as opposed to an unbalanced CVF school profile on the mean percentage of teachers staying at the school slightly exceeded a full standard deviation, while the effect on “staying” in a high-achieving “Performance” school environment is found to be more than one and one-half standard deviations compared to being in a school environment representing state “norms” and in excess of two full standard deviations compared to being in a low-achieving “Priority” environment. Our results suggest that a balanced CVF profile is associated with teacher retention by helping to create school environments that are conducive to learning

Virtual Schools Report 2016: Directory and Performance Review

The fourth edition of the National Education Policy Center’s annual report on online and blended learning schools provides a detailed overview and inventory of full-time virtual schools and blended learning schools, also called hybrid schools. Little rigorous research has examined their inner workings, but evidence indicates that students differ from those in traditional public schools, and that school outcomes are consistently below traditional public schools. Nevertheless, enrollment growth has continued, assisted by vigorous advertising campaigns, corporate lobbying, and favorable legislation. This report includes student demographics, state-specific school performance ratings, and a comparison of virtual school outcomes with state norms, and provides suggestions for policymakers going forward

NEPC Review: The Way of the Future: Education Savings Accounts for Every American Family

The Friedman Foundation recently published a report promoting Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Like conventional vouchers, ESAs provide parents with public funds to purchase approved educational services, including private schools, online education, private tutors and higher education. The report presents ESAs as the optimal vehicle to bring Milton Friedman’s school voucher idea into the 21st century. While calling ESAs “the way of the future,” it lacks fundamental information to guide policymakers on their design, implementation, financing, and sustainability. These details ultimately determine the equity, efficiency and cost effectiveness of this proposal. For example, ESAs raise serious equity concerns: affluent parents could, if the policy allows, supplement their vouchers to purchase high quality educational services inaccessible to low-income families. This is indeed allowed in Arizona’s ESA program, the only existing ESA policy in the United States. Open to legal challenge, the report’s plan advocates using ESAs to sidestep prohibitions in state constitutions against supporting religious organizations with public funds. Unaddressed but relevant peer-reviewed evidence on school choice policies suggest that the claimed academic and economic benefits of ESAs are speculative and overstated. The absence of details and evidence in the report suggests it is ideological rhetoric rather than a workable policy proposal

NEPC Review: Autonomous Schools Can Help Solve the Problem Behind the Teacher Shortage Problem (Progressive Policy Institute, October 2022)

The Progressive Policy Institute published a report highlighting the emergence of widespread teacher staffing shortages. It describes contemporary &ldquo;autonomous&rdquo; school initiatives, which all fall under the umbrella of positioning teachers with greater decision-making responsibilities and authority. It then suggests that such initiatives are effective strategies to remedy shortages because increased autonomy produces greater job satisfaction for teachers. However, supporting evidence for the claims in the report is thin and relies primarily not on empirical literature, but on popular contemporary readings and descriptive surveys. Policymakers and other readers should be aware that what is ignored in this report is far more important to informed policy than what it contains.</p

Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Fourteenth Edition – 2011-2012

The 2011-2012 school year marked another year of growth in both the for-profit and nonprofit education management sectors. In the previous three years we saw some signs of slowing growth in the for-profit sector, but the changes between 2010-2011 and 2011-12, demonstrate that there is still room for growth. The nonprofit management sector’s growth has been steadily growing faster than their for-profit counterparts, both in terms of new nonprofit EMOs and new managed schools. Student enrollments in all managed schools continue to grow at a rapid pace