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This report is an initial effort to provide systematic information on teacher contracts in Massachusetts. In 1999, the Pioneer Institute solicited copies of the current contract from all districts in the state. Forty districts were selected to reflect the makeup of the Commonwealth. This study confirms that teacher compensation is determined by rigid schedules that reward solely the accumulation of college credits and experience. Teacher evaluation and discipline vary considerably among districts. Contracts vary considerably in the way they treat transfers. Few districts are required to make transfer decisions solely on the basis of seniority. When layoffs are required, most districts in the sample proceed in reverse order of seniority in the affected program areas. Contracts limit teachers' workloads by restricting class size, number and length of classes, number of preparations and subjects, length of the work year, and the number and length of after-school meetings. Two general conclusions are drawn: (1) there is considerable variation among contracts; and (2) although administrators are constrained by contracts, they do not take advantage of negotiated flexible language to serve the educational mission of their schools. The report ends with 18 tables exhibiting contract characteristics for each district selected in the study. (RT)

The University of Massachusetts McCormack Institute Poll of attitudes and opinions related to the political, economic, and social life of Massachusetts was expanded in 1998 to include a larger sample of minority respondents than in previous years. In 1998, the sample included 127 African Americans, 114 Asian Americans, 107 Latinos, and 381 Whites. The rapidly changing racial and ethnic diversity of Massachusetts was regarded as a "good thing" by a large proportion of all groups. Minority group members were less likely than Whites to think that things were getting better for minorities, and they were more likely to agree that there was a long way to go before minorities (specifically African Americans) have the same chance in life White people have. Thirty-three percent of African Americans, thirty-one percent of Latinos, and twenty-five percent of Asian Americans reported that they had a personal experience with discrimination during the last 3 months. African Americans and Latinos considered crime the most important issue, with schools/education the second most important social issue. Asian Americans thought schools were the most important issue, as did Whites. A majority of all groups indicated support for affirmative action. Respondents differed dramatically when asked whether schools should teach only in English or in some cases in a language other than English. Sixty-one percent of Whites supported English only, but eighty-one percent of Latinos favored instruction in other languages as well. Among Asian Americans, responses were split fairly evenly. There was general agreement among all groups that standardized tests for high school graduates are desirable. Almost half of all Whites expressed a great deal of confidence in the public schools, but responses of other groups were less favorable. Other questions involved the role of government, confidence in institutions, political participation and citizenship, and partisan identification and ideology. An appendix contains the poll questionnaire. (Contains 17 graphs.) (SLD)

The book "Bilingual Education in Massachusetts: The Emperor Has No Clothes" is summarized. The summary outlines the demographic situation of the limited-English-proficient (LEP) population and the status of bilingual education in the state, within the context of existing legislation. Issues in the debate over availability and type of bilingual education to be provided are examined, and current instructional approaches and techniques are noted. Differences in program provision that are linked to language group are discussed, and research concerning the effectiveness of bilingual education is reviewed briefly. Three additional issues discussed include the identification and transitioning of eligible students, costs of transitional programs, and public opinion on bilingual education. Eight recommendations are made for regulatory and legislative reform to improve educational programs for LEP students: freeing school districts from legal obligation to provide native language instruction; increasing LEP population size needed to trigger a self-contained classroom; requiring parent consent for enrollment in self-contained classroom; requiring English language fluency for LEP program teachers; changing entry/exit criteria for self-contained classrooms; eliminating specific class-size ceilings; better research; and improved program structure. (MSE)

This study examined efforts at the local level to reduce the fragmentation of services to students with and without disabilities through the consolidation or blending of federal and state categorical educational programs. Twenty-two state and local program administrators in California, Maryland, and Massachusetts were interviewed. Findings include examples of collaborative programs and of administrative mechanisms such as school improvement plans, consolidated staffing plans, and schoolwide Title I programs. Specific challenges to program consolidation are identified, including multifunded students, bilingual teacher shortages, Title I program audits, and nonsupplanting requirements. Finally, the human factor in change is addressed, noting the roles of program leadership, lack of knowledge, advocacy for students and programs, teacher attitudes and qualifications, and the "power" of special education. Findings suggest that there is a clear trend to foster greater collaboration at the school building level, with the focus on inclusion of students with disabilities having a significant influence. Additionally, changing demographics and increasing fiscal concerns are creating pressures on local school districts to use resources more efficiently and find more flexible ways to educate increasingly diverse student populations. A list of interviewees and interview questions is appended. (DB)

The main parameters of state self-employment assistance (SEA) programs for unemployed workers were tested in two experimental demonstrations authorized by the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The Washington State and Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance (UI) Self-Employment Demonstrations evaluated the ability of the employment security and economic development systems to work together and help UI recipients create their own jobs by starting businesses. The classical experimental design randomly assigned applicants to either a treatment or a control group. Design differences between the two demonstrations were a requirement in the Massachusetts authorizing legislation that eliminated those with a low predicted probability of exhausting UI benefits and eligibility of Washington participants to receive a lump-sum payment of remaining benefits. The demonstrations were initiated in six Washington and seven Massachusetts sites. Relatively few new UI claimants in both states chose to pursue self-employment when the opportunity arose. Findings from a follow-up survey approximately 31 months after assignment in Massachusetts and approximately 33 months in Washington, indicated that both demonstrations increased the likelihood of self-employment, increased the total time in employment, and reduced the length of unemployment. Both programs were cost effective from the nonparticipant and government perspectives. (Appendixes include definitions of independent variables, significant coefficients, and effects on subgroups.) (YLB)

This report presents results of a questionnaire survey intended to establish a profile of Blacks and Hispanics holding faculty positions in Massachusetts colleges and universities. The survey was sent to 86 community and two-year colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive institutions and doctoral-granting institutions (72 responded), of which 29 were public and 57 were private. Among the findings were the following: (1) Blacks and Hispanics filled 4.4 percent of the faculty positions; (2) 10 of the respondents had no Black or Hispanic faculty members; (3) representation by discipline for Blacks and Hispanics in Massachusetts did not differ radically from statistics nationwide; and (4) only 6.4 percent of all Blacks and Hispanics served in departments of education, despite the fact that a substantial fraction of minority faculty, particularly Blacks, teach in education. It was also determined that very few colleges and universities have set specific targets or goals for increasing the number of minority faculty; that many colleges and universities do not have university-wide faculty hiring policies; that lack of Black and Hispanic faculty is largely due to the paucity of doctoral graduates in these two groups; and that Massachusetts' fiscal crisis is having a direct and adverse impact on faculty recruitment, particularly for minorities in the public sector. The appendix includes the list of colleges and universities surveyed. (GLR)

This evaluation of Massachusett's Employment and Training Choices (ET) program indicates that instead of saving taxpayers money, the program has been costly and has contributed little or nothing to reduce the state's welfare caseload. ET offers welfare recipients a wide variety of employment services, including career planning and job search, training in basic skills and job skills, and child care. Program expenditures in 1988 were considerably higher than in other states offering employment and training programs. Two statistical analyses were used to examine program effects on the welfare caseload and the work and welfare participation of single mothers, the program's target population. The following key findings are included: (1) no significant reduction occurred in the caseload; (2) work participation among single mothers did not increase; and (3) possible recovery of only 13 percent of program costs. The following recommendations are made: (1) shift focus away from maximizing numbers of job placements at priority wages toward assisting inexperienced and difficult-to-place workers by modifying the reward structure for contractors and eliminating the wage floor for priority jobs; (2) make participation mandatory; and (3) shift emphasis from high-cost formal day care to more flexible and lower-cost alternatives that could be made available to a larger number of working mothers. Statistical data are appended in 28 tables and 3 graphs. A 54-item bibliography, a glossary, and 6 tables of statistical data are appended. (FMW)

We study personnel flexibility in charter schools by exploring how teacher retention varies with teacher and school quality in Massachusetts. Charters are more likely to lose their highest and lowest value-added teachers. Low performers tend to exit public education, while high performers tend to switch to traditional public schools. To rationalize these findings, we propose a model in which educators with high fixed-costs use charter schools to explore teaching careers before obtaining licenses required for higher paying public sector jobs. The model suggests charter schools create positive externalities for traditional public schools by increasing the average quality of available teachers.

This paper reports results from a resume-based field experiment designed to examine employer preferences for job applicants who attended for-profit colleges. For-profit colleges have seen sharp increases in enrollment in recent years despite alternatives such as public community colleges being much cheaper. We sent almost 9,000 fictitious resumes of young applicants who recently completed their schooling to online job postings in six occupational categories and tracked employer callback rates. We find no evidence that employers prefer applicants with resumes listing a for-profit college relative to those whose resumes list either a community college or no college at all. Appended to the paper are; (1) Supplementary Tables and (2) Experiment Details.

Teachers may be the most important element of an effective school, but does that mean that K-12 improvement must wait on the ability of schools or systems to recruit, nurture, and retain outstanding teachers? Such a strategy implies that widespread excellence hinges on the ability of publicly funded school systems to attract more than 3.3 million superstars--or more than 200,000 such hires a year. The challenge of recruiting the way to excellence is a daunting proposition. The author is skeptical that it is a feasible one. He notes that even today's successful charter schools have succeeded by creating a "No Excuses" culture reliant on their ability to attract talented and passionate recruits, but he questions whether these models are capable of working at the scale that the nation requires. Indeed, given the limited talent pool of promising hires and the exhausting demands these schools make of faculty, the author considers whether such models can ever effectively serve more than a handful of the nation's students. The author's purpose in this paper is not to question the value of these ventures but to illuminate the constraints of their current strategy and offer an alternative vision that may enable these success stories to continue to expand. Taking a close look at eight Boston-area No Excuses schools, he asks two questions: "Is the model sustainable? And can it be widely reproduced?" Given their heavy reliance on scarce human capital--particularly recent graduates of elite colleges and universities--he argues that scalability could be pursued through efforts to recruit more talent into teaching but that a more promising, overlooked strategy would provide teachers of varied abilities with comprehensive instructional systems demonstrated to produce academic results. An appendix is included. (Contains 26 tables, 1 figure, 1 footnote and 58 notes.)

Defined Benefit pension plans often generate odd time patterns of benefits. One typical pattern exhibits low accrual in early years, accelerating in mid-late years, followed by dramatic decline, or even negative returns in years that are relatively young for retirement. We consider four states for specific analysis: Arkansas, Missouri, California and Massachusetts. There are interesting variations among these states' formulas, which affect the incentive to retire early. We identify key factors in the defined benefit formulas that drive such patterns and likely consequences for employee behavior. We examine the efficiency and equity consequences of these systems and lessons that might be drawn for pension reform. (Contains 1 table, 8 figures and 18 footnotes.) [A previous version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Finance Association in Baltimore, Maryland.]

Massachusetts currently maintains several charter schools in its K-12 educational system. This paper applies the charter school idea to public institutions of higher education. Charter colleges are publicly owned institutions managed independent of most controls imposed by state bureaucracies and higher education systems. Charter schools are more able to manage their own administrative affairs, although they are still subject to local, state and federal laws. It is argued that controlled deregulation of higher education via the charter school, fosters efficiency and offers improved educational results. Massachusetts may benefit from introduction of the charter college concept within its public higher education system. Charter colleges make sense because they capitalize upon academia's desire for more autonomy, yet provide increased levels of accountability for each college in terms of results. Michigan and New Jersey serve as historical and recent case studies, respectively. The paper also draws on research which compares independent institutions with more highly regulated ones. Interviews with political and educational leaders support this argument as well. Three appendices are included. (HB)

The paper presents an overview and analysis of the selection process of public college and university trustees and regents, examining the experiences of three states--Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Kentucky which use screening committees to assist governors in the selection of regents. The discussion also covers two statewide trustee orientation and in-service programs in Oklahoma and Kentucky. The report, based on interviews and analysis of legal documents and policy papers, finds that: (1) formally established screening committees can make a positive difference in the quality and integrity of regent and trustee appointments; (2) politics can be lessened but cannot and should not be removed from the process by the screening mechanisms; (3) required time commitments and open-meetings laws can hamper the work of screening committees; (4) statewide in-service and orientation sessions make a difference in how board members perceive their roles and responsibilities, maintain collegiality, and assist members in becoming more effective advocates for higher education; and (5) a crisis in the board appointment process can lead to significant changes in the process. (Contains 26 references.) (DM)

This paper discusses the potential of individual States for encouraging voluntary desegregation at the local level. Desegregation history and State strategies in five States--California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Washington--are closely examined. In all of the States studied, State laws provide the State agency with considerable power. Generally, these laws make racial imbalance actionable, even in the absence of an intentional violation. The examination reveals successes and failures within every State. Individuals within the State agencies responsible for school desegregation appear to be committed and vigorous, but reduced resources and competition with other State priorities threaten their capacity to pursue traditional strategies. As a result, these State agencies are searching for new strategies, particularly ones that directly combine a concern for racial balance with improving student achievement. While specific ways of accomplishing the twin goals of desegregation and quality education are far from clear, those involved believe that both can be met. (Author/GC)

This paper contributes to the debate on whether day care is harmful or beneficial to infants by describing some of the realities of child care for infants in Massachusetts circa 1987. Randomly sampled were 750 Massachusetts families with children under 13. Respondents were interviewed by phone about child care arrangements and family demographics. Respondents were statistically representative of all families in the state that had at least one child under the age of 13. Interviewed families had a total of 1,281 children; of these, 252 were infants up to 2 years old. These 252 infants statistically represented the population of infants in the state in 1987. Findings concern: (1) maternal employment and child care; (2) hours of care; (3) the unmet need for infant child care; (4) patterns of infant care; and (5) variations in the use of infant child care. Data revealed that both maternal employment and regular child care were the norm for older infants in Massachusetts in 1987, and were a common occurrence for infants up to 12 months of age. Almost half of infants' mothers were employed in the first year of the infant's life; over half were employed in the second year. Families with employed parents used several techniques to manage employment and child care. Married women were as likely as single mothers to use child care. Social class differences were found in the types of child care used. (RH)

The Walsh and Carballo evaluation of the effectiveness of transitional bilingual education programs in five Massachusetts communities, has the following flaws: (1) the sample of school districts studied suffered from "self-selection bias"; (2) the sample does not include a single large, urban school district; (3) the student samples analyzed are much too small to allow for any conclusions; (4) there is no statistical analysis of the data nor control for pre-existing differences between groups; and (5) the wrong comparison is conducted. In elaborating on those flaws, the report first describes five models of how to instruct children who do not speak English. It then summarizes the requirements of a methodological sound study and maintains that the studies cited by Walsh and Carballo do not follow those rules. Finally, the above five flaws are discussed in detail. A bibliography is included. (PS)

A study was conducted jointly by Women in the Building Trades (WIBT), and the Wellesley Center for Research on Women to learn about the experiences of women in the building trades. A questionnaire was distributed at a state conference and mailed to the mailing list of WIBT. All told, 431 questionnaires were distributed, and 131 (30%) were completed and returned, representing about 10% of women in the trades in Massachusetts. All of the women had a high school diploma or equivalent; one in four had some college or business school training; 29% had completed trade school or an apprenticeship, and about as many had a 4-year college degree or more. These women come from all walks of life and are interested in the trades for the same reasons as men--better pay, challenging work, and an opportunity to learn a skill. Almost half came from families whose men were employed in the trades. Many received their training through apprenticeship and on the job. Respondents identified the importance of getting the first job as an important step in entering the trades. Many indicated that their trade meant more independence, financial security, and a greater sense of self-esteem and competence. However, many said that they must continually prove themselves competent and were more likely to experience hostility and harassment. (NLL)

Studies in several relatively low-population, rural states in the 1970s show few differences in the types of state legislative races in which men and women are nominated and how well they do at the ballot box. This study increases knowledge of the role of gender in state legislative campaigns, geographically and over time, by exploring the comparative electoral experience of male and female candidates for state legislative office in a more urban setting in the 1980s. It expands the range of subject matter by considering women candidates' presence, primary campaign experiences, and fundraising. The data show that few women have run for office in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 1980s, but those who have run have done so strategically and with a comparable rate of success with male candidates. A gender gap does exist in campaign contributions to male candidates' advantage, but this has not kept women candidates from achieving equality at the ballot box. (Author)

Childhood exposure to even low levels of lead can adversely affect neurodevelopment, behavior, and cognitive performance. This paper investigates the link between lead exposure and student achievement in Massachusetts. Panel data analysis is conducted at the school-cohort level for children born between 1991 and 2000 and attending 3rd and 4th grades between 2000 and 2009 at more than 1,000 public elementary schools in the state. Massachusetts is well-suited for this analysis both because it has been a leader in the reduction of childhood lead levels and also because it has mandated standardized achievement tests in public elementary schools for almost two decades. The paper finds that elevated levels of blood lead in early childhood adversely impact standardized test performance, even when controlling for community and school characteristics. The results imply that public health policy that reduced childhood lead levels in the 1990s was responsible for modest but statistically significant improvements in test performance in the 2000s, lowering the share of children scoring unsatisfactory on standardized tests by 1 to 2 percentage points. Public health policy targeting lead thus has clear potential to improve academic performance, with particular promise for children in low income communities.

In this paper we utilize data on the head-to-head loss rate for students accepted at Williams College, but who opt to enroll elsewhere. For example, we employ data that measure the fraction of students admitted to Williams and to Amherst (or Harvard or Yale, etc.) but who opt to attend Amherst (or Harvard or Yale, etc.) instead of Williams. We then model this head-to-head loss rate using data from a variety of sources. A better understanding of the head-to-head loss rate can assist an institution in the competition for high quality students. Importantly, it can also shed light on the degree to which some part of the loss rate might be due to "intangible" differences between the schools being compared. These intangibles (positive or negative) might grant a school greater success (or failure) in the market for students than an objective accounting of its characteristics might suggest. Such an advantage (or disadvantage) is closely aligned with the business concept of "goodwill." We present preliminary evidence on how a quantitative measure of educational goodwill can be computed.

The college choice process can be reduced to three questions: (1) Where does a student apply?; (2) Which schools accept the students?; and (3) Which offer of admission does the student accept? This paper addresses question three. Specifically, we offer an econometric analysis of the matriculation decisions made by students accepted to Williams College, one of the nation's most highly selective colleges and universities. We use data for the Williams classes of 2008 through 2012 to estimate a yield model. We find that--conditional on the student applying to and being accepted by Williams--applicant quality as measured by standardized tests, high school GPA and the like, the net price a particular student faces (the sticker price minus institutional financial aid), the applicant's race and geographic origin, plus the student's artistic, athletic and academic interests, are strong predictors of whether or not the student will matriculate.

Charter schools are publicly funded but operate outside the regulatory framework and collective bargaining agreements characteristic of traditional public schools. In return for this freedom, charter schools are subject to heightened accountability. This paper estimates the impact of charter school attendance on student achievement using data from Boston, where charter schools enroll a growing share of students. We also evaluate an alternative to the charter model, Boston's pilot schools. These schools have some of the independence of charter schools, but operate within the school district, face little risk of closure, and are covered by many of same collective bargaining provisions as traditional public schools. Estimates using student assignment lotteries show large and significant test score gains for charter lottery winners in middle and high school. In contrast, lottery-based estimates for pilot schools are small and mostly insignificant. The large positive lottery-based estimates for charter schools are similar to estimates constructed using statistical controls in the same sample, but larger than those using statistical controls in a wider sample of schools. The latter are still substantial, however. The estimates for pilot schools are smaller and more variable than those for charters, with some significant negative effects.

The Boston Teacher Residency is an innovative practice-based preparation program in which candidates work alongside a mentor teacher for a year before becoming a teacher of record in Boston Public Schools. We find that BTR graduates are more racially diverse than other BPS novices, more likely to teach math and science, and more likely to remain teaching in the district through year five. Initially, BTR graduates for whom value-added performance data are available are no more effective at raising student test scores than other novice teachers in English language arts and less effective in math. The effectiveness of BTR graduates in math improves rapidly over time, however, such that by their fourth and fifth years they out-perform veteran teachers. Simulations of the program's overall impact through retention and effectiveness suggest that it is likely to improve student achievement in the district only modestly over the long run.

Estimates using admissions lotteries suggest that urban charter schools boost student achievement, while charter schools in other settings do not. We explore student-level and school-level explanations for these differences using a large sample of Massachusetts charter schools. Our results show that urban charter schools boost achievement well beyond ambient non-charter levels (that is, the average achievement level for urban non-charter students), and beyond non-urban achievement in math. Student demographics explain some of these gains since urban charters are most effective for non-whites and low-baseline achievers. At the same time, non-urban charter schools are uniformly ineffective. Our estimates also reveal important school-level heterogeneity in the urban charter sample. A non-lottery analysis suggests that urban schools with binding, well-documented admissions lotteries generate larger score gains than under-subscribed urban charter schools with poor lottery records. We link the magnitude of charter impacts to distinctive pedagogical features of urban charters such as the length of the school day and school philosophy. The relative effectiveness of urban lottery-sample charters is accounted for by over-subscribed urban schools' embrace of the No Excuses approach to education.

Talented students compete fiercely for seats at Boston and New York exam schools. These schools are characterized by high levels of peer achievement and a demanding curriculum tailored to each district's highest achievers. While exam school students clearly do very well in school, the question of whether an exam school education adds value relative to a regular public education remains open. We estimate the causal effect of exam school attendance using a regression-discontinuity design, reporting both parametric and non-parametric estimates. We also develop a procedure that addresses the potential for confounding in regression-discontinuity designs with multiple, closely-spaced admissions cutoffs. The outcomes studied here include scores on state standardized achievement tests, PSAT and SAT participation and scores, and AP scores. Our estimates show little effect of exam school offers on most students' achievement in most grades. We use two-stage least squares to convert reduced form estimates of the effects of exam school offers into estimates of peer and tracking effects, arguing that these appear to be unimportant in this context. On the other hand, a Boston exam school education seems to have a modest effect on high school English scores for minority applicants. A small group of 9th grade applicants also appears to do better on SAT Reasoning. These localized gains notwithstanding, the intense competition for exam school seats does not appear to be justified by improved learning for a broad set of students.

The growing prominence of high-stakes exit examinations has made questions about their effects on student outcomes increasingly important. We take advantage of a natural experiment to evaluate the causal effects of failing a high-stakes test on high school completion for the cohort scheduled to graduate from Massachusetts high schools in 2006. With these exit examinations, states divide a continuous performance measure into dichotomous categories, so students with essentially identical performance may have different outcomes. We find that, for low-income urban students on the margin of passing, failing the 10th grade mathematics examination reduces the probability of on-time graduation by eight percentage points. The large majority (89%) of students who fail the 10th grade mathematics examination retake it. However, although we find that low-income urban students are just as likely to retake the test as apparently equally skilled suburban students, they are much less likely to pass this retest. Furthermore, failing the 8th grade mathematics examination reduces by three percentage points the probability that low-income urban students stay in school through 10th grade. We find no effects for suburban students or wealthier urban students.

The deferred acceptance algorithm proposed by Gale and Shapley (1962) has had a profound influence on market design, both directly, by being adapted into practical matching mechanisms, and, indirectly, by raising new theoretical questions. Deferred acceptance algorithms are at the basis of a number of labor market clearinghouses around the world, and have recently been implemented in school choice systems in Boston and New York City. In addition, the study of markets that have failed in ways that can be fixed with centralized mechanisms has led to a deeper understanding of some of the tasks a marketplace needs to accomplish to perform well. In particular, marketplaces work well when they provide thickness to the market, help it deal with the congestion that thickness can bring, and make it safe for participants to act effectively on their preferences. Centralized clearinghouses organized around the deferred acceptance algorithm can have these properties, and this has sometimes allowed failed markets to be reorganized.