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Full-Text Articles in Education
High School Achievement In Maine: Where You Come From Matters More Than School Size And Expenditures, Fern Desjardins, Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.
High School Achievement In Maine: Where You Come From Matters More Than School Size And Expenditures, Fern Desjardins, Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.
Maine Policy Review
Fern Desjardins and Gordon Donaldson report on their research examining the relationship between academic achievement in Maine’s public high schools and school size, per-pupil operating costs, and socioeconomic status. Using aggregated Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) scores, their study confirmed previous research that socioeconomic status (using both family and community measures) is the most important factor associated with achievement, while school size is not a critical factor. Additionally, the authors found that per-pupil operating costs are higher in the state’s largest and smallest high schools. The authors suggest that the creation of larger districts and larger schools, as supported by recent …
You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger
You Don’T Always Get What You Want: Lessons To Be Learned From The Demise Of Maine’S Local Assessment System, Rebecca H. Berger
Maine Policy Review
The recent repeal of Maine’s local education assessment requirement was met with mixed reactions ranging from relief to outrage. That there were such differing responses points to the fact that “assessment” in education is understood in diverse and sometimes contradictory ways. In this article, Rebecca Berger looks retrospectively at how the problems associated with implementing Maine’s local assessment system (LAS) were caused by a lack of understanding of important aspects of assessment as it relates to standards-based reform in education. Using examples from her case study of one Maine school district, Berger notes three areas of ongoing concern: lack of …
Creating Flexibility In Teacher-Certification Policy To Ensure Quality And Equity, Flynn Ross
Creating Flexibility In Teacher-Certification Policy To Ensure Quality And Equity, Flynn Ross
Maine Policy Review
As do many states, Maine has requirements and standards aimed at having “well-qualified” teachers. While few dispute the need for such standards, Flynn Ross brings attention to one case in Portland where use of a standardized exam to certify new teachers was preventing well-qualified—but culturally and linguistically diverse—teachers from becoming certified. She chronicles the successful attempts of one group to petition the Maine State Board of Education to allow greater flexibility in the testing standards. In doing so, she points to a larger truth that well-intentioned policy goals may seek to achieve a greater good, but may at the same …
School Size Choices: Comparing Small And Large School Strengths, Janet C. Fairman
School Size Choices: Comparing Small And Large School Strengths, Janet C. Fairman
Maine Policy Review
Janet Fairman discusses the thorny issue of school quality, suggesting that small schools have certain strengths compared to larger schools. Data from her study of small high schools in Maine, as well as research literature, suggest that compared to large schools, small schools allow for greater personal attention to students, have greater flexibility in scheduling, programming and instructional decisions, and often have stronger school-community connections that support student achievement and serve important community needs. Using quantitative measures of quality, Fairman notes that school size alone explains very little of the variation in 11th grade Maine Educational Assessment (MEA) scores, while …
Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton
Barriers To Postsecondary Education In Maine: Making College The Obvious And Attainable Next Step For More Maine Students, Colleen J. Quint, Lisa Plimpton
Maine Policy Review
The question of why more high school students do not go on to college has been the focus of recent research at the Mitchell Institute. Quint and Plimpton summarize this research, which involved more than 2,500 Maine students, educators and parents. They find that financial barriers are only one piece of a complicated puzzle. Other barriers include parental attitudes, whether any family members have attended college, the high school experience (i.e., what track the student is placed in), the quality of career planning in school and at home, and the level of active planning for college (while many students say …
Educational Reform: An Interview With Commissioner J. Duke Albanese, J. Duke Albanese
Educational Reform: An Interview With Commissioner J. Duke Albanese, J. Duke Albanese
Maine Policy Review
Few issues touch the hearts, minds, and lives of Mainers more than education. Learning Results, budgetary concerns, violence in schools, and school choice are among the issues that occupy much of the public policy focus of educators, administrators, taxpayers, and lawmakers alike. In this interview, Commissioner J. Duke Albanese addresses some of these education issues, most notably Learning Results and their potential impact on education in Maine.