Educational Leadership Commons^™

Does Choice Matter For School Choice? An Instrumental Variables Analysis Of The Effect Of Choice On Parental Satisfaction In Charter Schools, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

I employ ordered probit regression, and a new instrumental variable, to compare the fall 2015 parental satisfaction survey results of open-enrollment charters to district-conversion charters. The results indicate that choice status in Arkansas charter schools is significantly beneficial to parental-satisfaction. In particular, after controlling for student and parent-level characteristics, parents with children in open-enrollment charters had between a 17-percentage point and 32-percentage point higher likelihood of grading their current school as an A or responding as Highly Satisfied in six of the quality categories: Overall, Teacher, Discipline, Learning, Safety and Parental-Involvement. Four of the relationships remain large and statistically-significant in …

More Graduates, Less Criminals? The Economic Impacts Of The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, Will Flanders, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Although an abundance of research indicates that private schooling can benefit individual children through higher test scores, the effects on society are less clear. We monetize and forecast the social impacts of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in the United States. We use existing literature on the impacts of the MPCP on criminal activity and graduation rates. Between 2016 and 2035, students who use a voucher in the MPCP will generate additional economic benefits of $473 million associated with higher graduation rates, and $26 million associated with fewer felonies and misdemeanors, relative to their traditional public school peers.

State And District Fiscal Effects Of A Universal Education Savings Account Program In Arkansas, Julie R. Trivitt, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Legislators in Arkansas have proposed a bill to increase educational choice through an Education Savings Account (ESA) program available to every child across the state. While many studies on the financial impact of existing ESA, voucher, and scholarship programs in the United States have found overall benefits to the state and individual districts, it may not be the case for a universally-accessible ESA since most existing programs are targeted to students based on need. A universal ESA would make ESAs available to all K-12 students in the state, so the fiscal impact is expected to be less beneficial than a …

Who Is More Free? A Comparison Of The Decision-Making Of Private And Public School Principals, M. Danish Shakeel, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

While an abundance of school choice literature focuses on student achievement outcomes, little has been done to determine the mechanisms involved in producing such outcomes. We present a comparative analysis of private and public school principals using data from the School and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-2012. We add to the literature by examining the differences in private and public school principals’ abilities to influence important decisions at their schools. We conclude that private schooling may have a systematic advantage over public schooling since private school leadership exhibits more autonomy in influencing relevant decisions.

Private Schooling Promotes Political And Economic Freedom? An International Fixed Effects Instrumental Variables Analysis, Corey A. Deangelis, M. Danish Shakeel

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Additional private schooling within a nation-state may increase citizens’ political and economic freedom through increased educational quality, balanced power relationships, and increased civic engagement. We employ a two-stage-least-squares time and country-level fixed-effects analytical technique to examine how private schooling could affect political rights, civil liberties and economic freedom indices. We also use a new instrumental variable, short-run fluctuations in the demand for schooling, to predict private schooling. We examine 174 different nations across the globe from 1999 to 2014, and find significant evidence to suggest that private schooling leads to enhanced political and economic freedom. In particular, our preferred model …

Management Skills For The Contemporary College President: A Critical Review, David V. Tolliver Iii, Jahn W. Murry Jr.

Journal of Research on the College President

This review of the literature related to the contemporary college president attempted to describe changes to the presidential role during the past 30 years. In addition to describing changes to the role, the review explores the personal, organizational, interpersonal, and leadership skills required for leading a contemporary university. The findings particularly note that with the changing demands for accountability in higher education, presidents are being forced to spend more of their time and be more focused on issues of finance, law, and public interactions. These issues tend to collide in discussions of public policy and within the framework of state …

Editor's Remarks, G. David Gearhart

Journal of Research on the College President

Welcome to the first issue of the Journal of Research on the College President, an outlet for the National Lab for the Study of the College President. The Lab is a new research unit within the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas, and has been created to conduct research and provide leadership on the study of the American College President. Through policy briefings, publications, workshops, grant writing, and hosting speakers, the NLSCP provides national direction for research on college leaders.

Power Of The Faculty: Consequences Of No Confidence Votes For College Presidents, Daniel Nadler, Mei-Yan Lu Ph.D., Michael T. Miller

Journal of Research on the College President

The roles of college faculty members have changed, often in relation to increased specialization of their functions as either teachers or researchers. Similarly, the college presidency has changed, relying less on faculty interactions and increasing reliance and interaction on external stakeholders. The result is a less faculty-centric college presidency. The faculty, however, still have significant expectations for involvement with the college president and have the use of a noconfidence vote to express their opinions about the performance of the individual in the presidential position. Drawing upon a sample of faculty senate leaders, the current study found that few of these …

Can Parents’ Growth Mindset And Role Modelling Address Stem Gender Gaps?, Albert Cheng, Katherine Kopotic, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Despite widespread interest and value in introducing and better-preparing students to enter the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, a gender gap persists as women are underrepresented among STEM jobs and degree completion. Although some work has evaluated whether interventions and certain pedagogical practices improve growth mindset, little is known about the mediating role of parents and whether those effects are more pronounced for females. In this study, we explore the extent to which the mindsets of a student’s parents regarding math ability influence the student’s mindset in math ability and longer-term STEM-related outcomes. We pay particular attention to …

Helping Hand Or A Hurdle Too High? An Evaluation Of Developmental Coursework At Arkansas's Flagship University, Evan Rhinesmith

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

High school graduation serves as an important gateway to increased professional opportunities. Not only does a high school graduate improve the national economy, a high school diploma is the key to opening the door to college. However, obtaining a high school degree does not necessarily ensure college readiness. In fact, many high school graduates are not prepared for college coursework, but still apply to and attend college in our college for all system. The class of 2013 saw only 38 percent of students test at a level considered prepared for college on the reading portion of the NAEP, but the …

Promises Fulfilled? A Systematic Review Of The Impacts Of Promise Programs, Elise Swanson, Angela Watson, Gary W. Ritter, Malachi Nichols

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This review examines the existing evidence on the impacts of Promise Programs on community development, K-12 academic achievement, and student postsecondary outcomes. Promise Programs are place-based, guaranteed college scholarships offered to all students who graduate from a certain school or district while meeting the minimum thresholds of the program. We delineate Promise Programs by their design - whether the scholarships are available to all students, are awarded based on merit, or are awarded based on need. We also note the applicability of Promise Programs - whether the funds be used at a wide range of postsecondary institutions, or if they …

Whether To Approve An Education Savings Account Program In Texas: Preventing Crime Does Pay, Corey A. Deangelis, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Decision-makers in Texas have proposed an Education Savings Account (ESA) that would allow all families to take a fraction of their public education financing to a school of their choice. If the ESA funding amount exceeds the school tuition level, families would be able to use these funds for other educational expenses such as tutoring, textbooks, educational therapy, online learning, and college costs. While this is may be viewed as obvious benefits to individual children and their families, the impacts on society overall are less clear. We estimate the impact of the proposed ESA on criminality from 2016 to 2035. …

Increasing Superintendent Longevity In Kansas, Cory Lee Gibson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to illuminate the factors that may impact a superintendent’s longevity in the same district. Specifically, this study is motivated by four research questions: (1) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute to remaining in the same position greater than six years? (2) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute as the causes for leaving a district? (3) What is the current level of satisfaction of Kansas school superintendents within their current roles? and (4) What are some changes in policy or practice that may increase superintendent longevity in Kansas?

According to Dale Dennis, Kansas Deputy Commissioner of …

Cross-Subsidization Of Teacher Pension Normal Cost: The Case Of Calstrs, Robert M. Costrell, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Under traditional defined benefit pension plans, annual contributions are set at a uniform percentage of pay to fund accruing benefits. That normal cost rate masks wide variation in the cost of individual benefits, generating an extensive and non-transparent pattern of cross-subsidization. We provide a comprehensive analysis of cross-subsidies in employer contributions across all entry and exit ages. The gains and losses of winners and losers must add up to zero, and we explain why they do not in some previous work, which claims that nearly all teachers are winners in the California Teachers Retirement System. To the contrary, we find …

Boosting Graduation Rates In Texas Through Education Savings Accounts, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Graduating from high school is a crucial outcome for young people. Unfortunately, 12 percent of Texas students fail to earn the vital credential of a high school diploma. Private school choice has a proven track record of increasing graduation rates. In this study I draw upon prior research, Texas demographics, and conservative assumptions to forecast that the launch of a universal private school choice program in the form of Education Savings Accounts in the fall of 2017 would generate 11,809 additional high school graduates in the Lone Star State by 2022. In other words, of those students attending high school …

Kids Vs. Adults: Using Observations And Student Surveys To Evaluate The Arkansas Teacher Corps, Elise Swanson, Gary W. Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This study is an evaluation of the Arkansas Teacher Corps, an alternative teacher certification program that places teachers in high needs schools in rural, southern Arkansas. This evaluation focuses on an intermediate goal of the organization — effective teaching practices — and uses a matching strategy to determine the effectiveness of Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellows. Data comes from third party observations and student surveys. ATC teachers are rated significantly higher on constructs of content knowledge, teacher-student relationships in class, and teacher-student relationships out of class by students. There are no significant differences between ATC and non-ATC teachers noted by observers …

When Students Don't Care: Reexamining International Differences In Achievement And Non-Cognitive Skills, Gema Zamarro, Collin Hitt, Ildefonso Mendez

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Policy debates in education are often framed by using international test scores, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The obvious presumption is that observed differences in test scores within and across countries reflect differences in cognitive skills and general content knowledge, the things which achievement tests are designed to measure. We challenge this presumption, by studying how much of the within-country and between-country variation in PISA test scores is associated with student effort, rather than true academic content knowledge. Drawing heavily on recent literature, we posit that our measures of student effort are actually proxy measures of …

Personality As A Predictor Of Unit Nonresponse In Panel Data: An Analysis Of An Internet-Based Survey, Albert Cheng, Gema Zamarro, Bart Orriens

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Unit nonresponse or attrition in panel data sets is often a source of nonrandom measurement error. Why certain individuals attrite from longitudinal studies and how to minimize this phenomenon have been examined by researchers. However, this research has typically focused on data sets collected via telephone, postal mail, or face-to-face interviews. Moreover, this research usually focuses on using demographic characteristics such as educational attainment or income to explain variation in the incidence of unit nonresponse. We make two contributions to the existing literature. First, we examine the incidence of unit nonresponse in an internet panel, a relatively new, and hence …

Comparing Performance Of Methods To Deal With Differential Attrition In Lottery Based Evaluations, Gema Zamarro, Kaitlin Anderson, Jennifer L. Steele, Trey Miller

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In randomized controlled trials, it is common for attrition rates to differ by lottery status, jeopardizing the identification of causal effects. Inverse probability weighting methods (Hirano et al, 2003; Busso et al., 2014) and estimation of informative bounds for the treatment effects (e.g. Lee, 2009; Angrist et al., 2006) have been used frequently to deal with differential attrition bias. This paper studies the performance of various methods by comparing the results using two datasets: a district-sourced dataset subject to considerable differential attrition, and an expanded state-sourced dataset with much less attrition, differential and overall. We compared the performance of different …

School Choice: The Personal And The Political, James V. Shuls

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Enrollment in school choice programs is growing, so is overall support for school choice. Many have analyzed what demographic characteristics impact attitudes towards school choice. This paper adds to the literature by exploring the interaction between personal decisions regarding school choice and broader support for school choice programs. Focus groups were conducted in St. Louis and Kansas City with 35 parents of school age children. Participant responses indicate that school choice programs illicit mixed emotions from parents. Most participants personally support school choice and exercise choice themselves by sending their children to magnet, charter, or private schools. At the same …

You Can Often Get What You Want: Assessing The Match Between Parent Preferences And Private Schools Of Choice, Evan Rhinesmith, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Providing parents choices in education has become an increasingly popular instrument for reforming education in the United States. While existing research on parent satisfaction in private school choice programs shows that parents are satisfied with the schools they have chosen, there is not much to explain their satisfaction. Previous research using parent surveys asks parents to rate and/or grade their school of choice, while comparing their response to their thoughts on their previous public school. This paper reports new empirical evidence that looks to offer a possible explanation for parents’ satisfaction. Using data from the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, we …

Factors Influencing Participation In Professional Development To Promote Online Course Excellence And The Impact On Faculty Confidence And Teaching, Elizabeth Ann Mascher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing participation in professional development designed to safeguard online course excellence and the impact on confidence and teaching. This purpose was achieved through a convergent mixed-methods investigation of faculty viewpoints of online course delivery and professional development offerings at a Midwestern state university. To support continued academic success in an increasing online market, the university implemented Quality Matters professional development to promote excellence in online course design. Analysis of data collected from a survey, in-depth interviews, and a focus group revealed faculty perspectives regarding the effectiveness of online course delivery, benefits …

Teachers And The Development Of Student Noncognitive Skills, Albert Cheng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of education policy are increasingly aware of the independent role that noncognitive skills (e.g., self-regulation, Social skills, and other personality or character traits) play in long- and short-run student well-being. However, little is known about how these skills are effectively developed. One theory is that noncognitive skills are developed through role modeling by teachers. A student, by virtue of observing and sharing a Social connection with his or her schoolteachers, begins to emulate noncognitive skills that they exhibit. In this dissertation, I test this theory. I focus specifically on noncognitive skills related to conscientiousness and measure them using new …

Sticking With It: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Factors That Motivate Instructors To Teach The Filipino Martial Arts, John Roderick Malmo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the motivational factors that influence instructors to teach Filipino martial arts. The study was designed to address teaching from the perspective of the instructors’ experiences, and allowed them to tell their story in their own words. The following research question guided this study:

1. What factors motivate Filipino martial arts instructors to teach the Filipino martial arts?

Eight instructors were selected to participate in this qualitative study. The instructors were interviewed via telephone and Skype. Each instructor was also observed teaching. Additionally, documents pertaining to each instructor and the Filipino martial arts were collected and analyzed. …

Disparate Use Of Exclusionary Discipline: Evidence On Inequities In School Discipline From A U.S. State, Kaitlin Anderson, Gary W. Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

There is much discussion in the United States about exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions) in schools. According to a 2014 report from the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Black students represent 15% of students, but 44% of students suspended more than once, and 36% of expelled students. This analysis uses seven years of individual infraction-level data from public schools in Arkansas. We examine whether disproportionalities exist within schools, or are instead, a function of the type of school attended. We find that marginalized students are more likely to receive exclusionary discipline, even after controlling for the nature …

The Participant Effects Of Private School Vouchers Across The Globe: A Meta-Analytic And Systematic Review, M. Danish Shakeel, Kaitlin Anderson, Patrick J. Wolf

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

School voucher programs (a.k.a. opportunity scholarships) are scholarship programs - frequently government funded - that pay for students to attend private schools of their choice. Many private school vouchers programs have been initiated around the world with the goal of increasing the academic performance of students. Voucher programs are often viewed as a way to increase achievement and satisfaction for individual students and families, while at the same time creating competitive pressures that encourage other schools in the area to improve. Countries like Chile and India have developed extensive school voucher programs. While many studies have been conducted on school …

Comparing And Validating Measures Of Character Skills: Findings From A Nationally Representative Sample, Gema Zamarro, Albert Cheng, M. Danish Shakeel, Collin Hitt

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Though researchers now are aware of the potential importance of character skills, such as conscientiousness, grit, self-control, and a growth mindset, researchers struggle to find reliable measures of these skills. In this paper, we use data collected from the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative internet panel to study the validity of innovative measures of character skills based on measures of survey effort. We believe surveys themselves can be seen as a behavioral tasks and that respondents provide meaningful information about their character skills by way of the effort they put forward on surveys. In particular, we compare measures of …

Measuring Teacher Conscientiousness And Its Impact On Students: Insight From The Measures Of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database, Albert Cheng, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Although research has been unable to find strong links between observable teacher characteristics and a teacher’s ability to improve student achievement, it has generally not considered the role that teacher non-cognitive skills play in affecting student outcomes. In this article, we validate several novel performance-task measures of teacher conscientiousness based upon the effort that teachers exert completing a survey and use these measures to examine the role that teacher conscientiousness plays in affecting both student test scores and student non-cognitive skills. We conduct our analysis using the Measure of Effective Teaching Longitudinal Database where teachers were randomly assigned to their …

The Fiscal Effects Of Eliminating The Louisiana Scholarship Program On State Education Expenditures, Julie R. Trivitt, Corey A. Deangelis

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Eliminating the Louisiana Scholarship Program has been proposed as a way to reduce state education expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. Drawing upon Louisiana’s education funding formulas, we determine that the overall effect of removing the program will increase state education expenditures. It is true that the state would avoid $41.6 million of spending if the voucher program is eliminated. However, each current voucher student who returns to a public school increases the local district’s necessary education expenditures without increasing the local tax revenue for schools, obligating the state to provide increased funding to the district. While our results depend …

The 80 Percent Pension Funding Target, High Assumed Returns, And Generational Inequity, Robert M. Costrell

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Generational inequity in pension funding is highly sensitive to the lax policies of 80- percent funding targets and high assumed returns to investment. I develop a simple, powerful relationship between steady-state (SS) inequity in contributions – the percent of extra contributions to fund prior cohorts – and the SS unfunded ratio. I then show how the SS unfunded ratio is governed by x-percent funding targets and the gap between assumed and true returns. The SS degree of inequity is over 60 percent under an 80 percent funding target and over 50 percent with a one point gap between assumed and …