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Full-Text Articles in Education

Differential Item Functioning Among English Language Learners On A Large-Scale Mathematics Assessment, Ruixue Liu, Kelly D. Bradley Jul 2021

Differential Item Functioning Among English Language Learners On A Large-Scale Mathematics Assessment, Ruixue Liu, Kelly D. Bradley

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

The current study research showed the nature and potential sources of the gaps in mathematics achievement between English language learners (ELLs) and non-English language learners (non-ELLs). The nature of achievement gap was examined using three DIF methodologies: including Mantel-Haenszel procedure, Rasch model, and Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM). These were conducted at the item level in contrast to total test level. Results revealed that the three DIF approaches identified 10 common items. These 10 items demonstrated in favor of non-ELLs. Findings from this study will help educational researchers, administrators, and policymakers understand the nature of the achievement gap in mathematics …


Making A Tough Choice: Teacher Target-Setting And Student Achievement In A Teacher Performance System Using Student Learning Objectives, Allison Atteberry, Sarah E. Lacour Feb 2021

Making A Tough Choice: Teacher Target-Setting And Student Achievement In A Teacher Performance System Using Student Learning Objectives, Allison Atteberry, Sarah E. Lacour

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

The use of student learning objectives (SLOs) as part of teacher performance systems has gained traction quickly in the United States, yet little is known about how teachers select specific students’ learning goals. When teachers are evaluated—and sometimes compensated—based on whether their students meet the very objectives the teachers set at the start of the year, there may be an incentive to set low targets. SLO systems rely on teachers’ willingness and ability to set appropriately ambitious SLOs. We describe teachers’ SLO target-setting behavior in one school-district. We document the accuracy/ambitiousness of targets and find that teachers regularly set targets …


A Digital Ethnography Of Teach For America: Analysis Of Counternarrative From The Truth For America Podcast, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Amber K. Kim, Miguel Sanchez Sep 2020

A Digital Ethnography Of Teach For America: Analysis Of Counternarrative From The Truth For America Podcast, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Amber K. Kim, Miguel Sanchez

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

To analyze the counternarrative in the public discourse surrounding Teach For America (TFA), this paper represents the first digital ethnography in education policy. We conduct a qualitative analysis of Truth For America, an education policy podcast. We found four overarching themes that arose from conversations with respondents: (1) problematic practice, preparation, and pedagogy; (2) concerns linked to critiquing TFA and the organization’s responses to that critique; (3) issues related to race and diversity; and (4) disconcerting funding practices and political power. We conclude by discussing the implications of how individual-level stakeholder experiences inform the public discourse about TFA.


Applying The Rasch Model To Evaluate The Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (Sdols) For Graduate Students, Hongwei Yang, Jian Su, Kelly D. Bradley Sep 2020

Applying The Rasch Model To Evaluate The Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (Sdols) For Graduate Students, Hongwei Yang, Jian Su, Kelly D. Bradley

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

With the rapid growth of online learning and the increased attention paid to student attrition in online programs, much research has been aimed at studying the effectiveness of online education to improve students’ online learning experience and student retention. Utilizing the online learning literature as a multi-faceted theoretical framework, the study developed and employed a new survey instrument. The Self-Directed Online Learning Scale (SDOLS) was used to examine graduate student perceptions of effectiveness of online learning environments as demonstrated by their ability to take charge of their own learning, and to identify key factors in instructional design for effective improvements. …


Policy Storms At The Central Office: Conflicting Narratives Of Racial Equity And Segregation At School Committee Meetings, Serena M. Wilcox Jun 2020

Policy Storms At The Central Office: Conflicting Narratives Of Racial Equity And Segregation At School Committee Meetings, Serena M. Wilcox

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This article reports findings from a multiyear critical ethnography that examined race talk dilemmas of school leaders at the central office at a small urban school district to understand why racialized educational policies and practices still persist against African American students. This study takes a structural approach to investigating the impact that race talk has on educational policymaking at the local district level. The guiding research question in this paper examines how we can understand educational reform and policy implementation and the unintended consequences of those interventions through the local from a historical context.


Choice Without Inclusion?: Comparing The Intensity Of Racial Segregation In Charters And Public Schools At The Local, State And National Levels, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Yohuru Williams Sep 2019

Choice Without Inclusion?: Comparing The Intensity Of Racial Segregation In Charters And Public Schools At The Local, State And National Levels, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Yohuru Williams

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

We conduct descriptive and inferential analyses of publicly available Common Core of Data (CCD) to examine segregation at the local, state, and national levels. Nationally, we find that higher percentages of charter students of every race attend intensely segregated schools. The highest levels of racial isolation are at the primary level for public and middle level for charters. We find that double segregation by race and class is higher in charter schools. Charters are more likely to be segregated, even when controlling for local ethnoracial demographics. A majority of states have at least half of Blacks and a third of …


A Multi-Institutional Analysis Of Instructional Beliefs And Practices In Gateway Courses To The Sciences, Joseph J. Ferrare Jun 2019

A Multi-Institutional Analysis Of Instructional Beliefs And Practices In Gateway Courses To The Sciences, Joseph J. Ferrare

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This paper builds on previous studies of instructional practice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses by reporting findings from a study of the relationship between instructors’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their observed classroom practices. Data collection took place across six institutions of higher education and included in-depth interviews with 71 instructors and more than 140 hours of classroom observations using the Teaching Dimensions Observation Protocol. Thematic coding of interviews identified 31 distinct beliefs that instructors held about the ways students best learn introductory concepts and skills in these courses. Cluster analysis of the observation data suggested that …


A Growth Curve Analysis Of Mandatory Student Athletics Fees, Willis A. Jones, Michael J. Rudolph, Michael Brown Dec 2018

A Growth Curve Analysis Of Mandatory Student Athletics Fees, Willis A. Jones, Michael J. Rudolph, Michael Brown

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This study used growth curve modeling to estimate the growth trajectory of mandatory student athletics fees at public NCAA Division I universities from 2004–2016. We specifically focused on three measures of athletics fees; total athletics fees, athletics fees per FTE, and athletics fees as a percentage of total student costs. We found that in general the growth trajectory of athletics fees was positive, but that the rate of growth has declined over the years. We also found that on average less than 5% of student costs are directly attributable to athletics fees and that the growth trajectory of athletics fees …


School Choice In Indianapolis: Effects Of Charter, Magnet, Private, And Traditional Public Schools, Mark Borends, R. Joseph Waddington Apr 2018

School Choice In Indianapolis: Effects Of Charter, Magnet, Private, And Traditional Public Schools, Mark Borends, R. Joseph Waddington

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

School choice researchers are often limited to comparing one type of choice with another (e.g., charter schools vs. traditional public schools). One area researchers have not examined is the effects of different school types within the same urban region. We fill this gap by analyzing longitudinal data for students (grades 3–8) in Indianapolis, using student fixed effects models to estimate the impacts of students switching from a traditional public school to a charter, magnet, Catholic, or other private school. We find that students experience no differences in their achievement gains after transferring from a traditional public school to a charter …


[Review Of] Pedagogues And Protesters: The Harvard College Student Diary Of Stephen Peabody, 1767-1768. Edited By Conrad Edick Wright., John R. Thelin Sep 2017

[Review Of] Pedagogues And Protesters: The Harvard College Student Diary Of Stephen Peabody, 1767-1768. Edited By Conrad Edick Wright., John R. Thelin

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Has The Elite Foundation Agenda Spread Beyond The Gates? An Organizational Network Analysis Of Nonmajor Philanthropic Giving In K-12 Education, Joseph J. Ferrare, Katherine Reynolds Oct 2016

Has The Elite Foundation Agenda Spread Beyond The Gates? An Organizational Network Analysis Of Nonmajor Philanthropic Giving In K-12 Education, Joseph J. Ferrare, Katherine Reynolds

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

Previous research focusing on major philanthropic foundations suggests that these actors have collectively converged around a set of jurisdictional challengers promoting market-based education reforms. Using correspondence analysis, network analysis, and geographic information science, this article empirically tests whether this convergence has permeated to less prominent foundations and their grantees, or if these foundations are pursuing alternative organizational strategies to shape K–12 outcomes. The analysis draws from a sample of 15 nonmajor foundations and their 1,069 grantees serving some aspect of K–12 education in 2010. We find that nonmajor foundations have adopted some elements of major foundations’ organizational strategies to influence …


Intergenerational Education Mobility Trends By Race And Gender In The United States, Joseph J. Ferrare Oct 2016

Intergenerational Education Mobility Trends By Race And Gender In The United States, Joseph J. Ferrare

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

Researchers have examined racial and gender patterns of intergenerational education mobility, but less attention has been given to the ways that race and gender interact to further shape these relationships. Based on data from the General Social Survey, this study examined the trajectories of education mobility among Blacks and Whites by gender over the past century. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression models revealed three noteworthy patterns. First, Black men and women have closed substantial gaps with their White counterparts in intergenerational education mobility. At relatively low levels of parental education, these gains have been experienced equally among Black men …


Do College Rankings Matter? Examining The Influence Of “America’S Best Black Colleges” On Hbcu Undergraduate Admissions, Willis A. Jones Feb 2016

Do College Rankings Matter? Examining The Influence Of “America’S Best Black Colleges” On Hbcu Undergraduate Admissions, Willis A. Jones

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

College rankings have become a ubiquitous part of American higher education. As the popularity of rankings has increased, so have the number of research studies attempting to better understand the impact rankings have on college/university admissions outcomes. In the past, these studies have focused almost exclusively on elite national universities and liberal arts colleges. This study broadens research in this area by examining how the introduction of U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Black Colleges” section influenced undergraduate admissions among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The findings suggest that college rankings have little correlation with admissions outcomes …