15 results on '"Stiefel, Leanna"'
Search Results
2. The Effects of Special Education on the Academic Performance of Students with Learning Disabilities.
- Author
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Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Hopkins, Bryant Gregory, and Stiefel, Leanna
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CHILDREN with learning disabilities ,LEARNING disabilities ,STUDENTS with disabilities ,SPECIAL education ,PEOPLE with disabilities ,EDUCATION students - Abstract
In the 40‐plus years since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special education has grown in the number of students and amount spent on services. Despite this growth, academic performance of students with disabilities remains troublingly low compared to general education students. To some extent, these differences reflect persistent underlying disabilities, but they also may reflect ineffective services. Does special education improve academic outcomes for students with disabilities? There is surprisingly little evidence to guide policy and answer this question. This paper provides an answer for the largest disability group, students with specific learning disabilities (LDs), using rich New York City public school data. Because the majority of LDs are classified after school entry, we observe outcomes before and after classification, allowing us to estimate impacts using within‐student pre/post comparisons (student fixed effects) and an intent‐to‐treat specification. We find that academic outcomes improve for LDs following classification into special education and impacts are largest for those entering special education in earlier grades. Attendance, however, shows little change after classification. Results are robust to alternative specifications and falsification tests bolster confidence in a causal interpretation. Differences in impacts by gender, race/ethnicity, grade of classification, and settings illuminate possible mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Showing Up: Disparities in Chronic Absenteeism Between Students With and Without Disabilities in Traditional Public Schools.
- Author
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GOTTFRIED, MICHAEL A., STIEFEL, LEANNA, SCHWARTZ, AMY ELLEN, and HOPKINS, BRYANT
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STUDENTS with disabilities , *CLASSROOMS , *SCHOOL absenteeism , *SPECIAL education , *PUBLIC schools , *IDENTIFICATION cards , *LEARNING disabilities - Abstract
Background: While chronic absenteeism hurts all students, one particularly vulnerable group, students with disabilities (SWDs), has received little attention in research or policy. Particularly troubling is the dearth of research into the patterns of absences for SWDs and GENs who attend school together in urban school systems, given relatively higher absenteeism when compared to suburban and rural districts. Research Questions: First, how do rates of chronic absenteeism compare between SWDs and students without disabilities (GENs) attending the same schools (hereafter traditional schools)? Second, are there differences between SWDs who are educated in "GEN-majority" classrooms and those educated in "SWD-majority" classrooms? Finally, do these patterns differ for students with different disabilities? Subjects: Our study consists of GENs and SWDs in grades 1-6 who attended a traditional NYC public school between 2006 and 2012. Our sample includes 653,736 students across 37,867 classrooms, and 1,148 public elementary schools. Measures include race/ethnicity, gender, age, foreign-born status, limited English proficiency, free/reduced price lunch eligibility, grade level, classroom ID, school ID, the number of days each student was absent, and the total number of school days each student was registered in the district. For SWDs, the data include indicators for the thirteen disability classifications defined under IDEA and a primary assigned special education setting. Research Design: We begin with a baseline model, where being chronically absent (i.e., missing 10% or more of the school year) is regressed on an indicator for being a SWD, controlling for grade and year. We build on this model by first including demographic control variables, then school fixed effects, and finally classroom fixed effects. We then explore this model for differences by type of classroom setting as well as by type of disability. Findings: Chronic absenteeism is considerably higher for SWDs than GENs in traditional schools, and there is important heterogeneity by disability classifications. Specifically, students with emotional disturbances exhibit extremely high rates of chronic absenteeism and the largest group of SWDs, students with learning disabilities, have quite high rates as well. Further, SWDs in GEN-majority classrooms are less likely to be chronically absent than those in SWDmajority classrooms, again with variation by disability. Conclusions: As the nationwide trend of providing SWDs with more education in GENmajority classrooms continues to press forward, our study shows that increasingly GENmajority settings are associated with fewer absences for SWDs. And while school attendance, among other non-achievement outcomes, are not the primary focus of IDEA, our findings point to how some school settings might be beneficial to some but put others at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
4. Are all schools created equal? Learning environments in small and large public high schools in New York City.
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Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Stiefel, Leanna, and Wiswall, Matthew
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CLASSROOM environment , *HIGH schools , *STUDENTS , *SCHOOL environment , *ACADEMIC achievement - Abstract
Over the past two decades, high school reform has been characterized by a belief that “smaller is better.” Much of the expected academic benefit from attending small schools has been credited to their better learning environments. There is little empirical support for this claim, however, and the existing research fails to provide causal evidence. Moreover, recent studies in New York City have shown that students attending newly created small schools do better academically relative to students attending both large and older established small schools. Are these differences in academic outcomes also mirrored by differences in learning environments? In this paper, we address this question by exploring the impact of attending large compared to small high schools on students’ learning environments, considering the differences between small high schools formed in two different eras with different missions and resources. We use a unique data set of school and student-level data from New York City public high school students entering 9th grade in 2008–09 and 2009–10 to examine students’ attitudes about school learning environments along three dimensions: interpersonal relationships, academic expectations and support, and social behavior and safety. While OLS results show that students attending small schools (new and old) perceive better learning environments, instrumenting for selection into these schools challenges those results. In general, it is not clear that small schools provide better learning environments than large schools. Our results challenge the conventional wisdom that the higher academic performance of students in small schools is driven by a better learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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5. Is neighbourhood destiny? Exploring the link between neighbourhood mobility and student outcomes.
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Cordes, Sarah A., Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Stiefel, Leanna, and Zabel, Jeffrey
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NEIGHBORHOODS & society ,EDUCATIONAL quality ,EDUCATION ,EDUCATIONAL outcomes ,EDUCATIONAL mobility ,STUDENT mobility ,POVERTY in the United States - Abstract
The notion that children from ‘good’ neighbourhoods are destined for success while those from ‘bad’ neighbourhoods are destined for failure has considerable popular appeal. Residential location is strongly linked to school quality, access to educated adults, exposure to violence, etc. There is, however, surprisingly little evidence on the link between the neighbourhood in which a child begins school and later schooling outcomes. Understanding early neighbourhood experiences is important for determining whether students are ‘stuck’ in neighbourhoods of disadvantage. It is also critical for determining the extent to which students who begin their schooling careers in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are destined for poor schooling outcomes, and conversely, whether changing neighbourhood context improves student performance. In this study, therefore, we document how students’ early neighbourhood and schooling experiences are related to later success in school, and explore how changing neighbourhood and school contexts explain differences in academic outcomes. Using data from New York City (NYC), we construct a panel containing all students enrolled as first graders in NYC public schools in 1996–1997, following them through academic years 2007–2008, which would be their 12th grade year if they made standard academic progress (annual one-grade promotion). Far from supporting the simplistic story of ‘dead-end’ neighbourhoods, our analyses describe a situation where students from poor neighbourhoods actually move more often than their peers in less disadvantaged neighbourhoods and are more likely to experience changes in neighbourhood and school quality, with 45.7% of neighbourhood moves from the poorest neighbourhoods being made to significantly higher quality neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
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6. Does attending a STEM high school improve student performance? Evidence from New York City.
- Author
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Wiswall, Matthew, Stiefel, Leanna, Schwartz, Amy Ellen, and Boccardo, Jessica
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HIGH schools , *PERFORMANCE evaluation , *EDUCATION , *MATHEMATICS education (Higher) , *SCIENCE education (Higher) - Abstract
Highlights: [•] We investigate whether STEM high schools in New York City promote performance in science and mathematics. [•] Comparisons of means indicate an advantage to attending a STEM school, but more thorough analysis reduces or eliminates this advantage. [•] Females and males in STEMs do better than their counterparts in Non-STEMs, but the gender gap is larger in these schools. [•] Black-white and Hispanic-white gaps are smaller in STEM relative to Non-STEM schools, but the Asian-white gap is larger in STEMs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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- 2014
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7. The Effect of Immigrant Communities on Foreign-Born Student Achievement.
- Author
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Conger, Dylan, Schwartz, Amy E., and Stiefel, Leanna
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IMMIGRANT students ,ACADEMIC achievement ,COLLEGE graduates ,NATIVE language & education ,HUMAN capital ,MATHEMATICS education ,ETHNICITY ,EDUCATION - Abstract
This paper explores the effect of the human capital characteristics of co-ethnic immigrant communities on foreign-born students' math achievement. We use data on New York City public school foreign-born students from 39 countries merged with census data on the characteristics of the immigrant household heads in the city from each nation of origin and estimate regressions of student achievement on co-ethnic immigrant community characteristics, controlling for student and school attributes. We find that the income and size of the co-ethnic immigrant community has no effect on immigrant student achievement, while the percent of college graduates may have a small positive effect. In addition, children in highly English proficient immigrant communities test slightly lower than children from less proficient communities. The results suggest that there may be some protective factors associated with immigrant community members' education levels and use of native languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
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8. Does City-Subsidized Owner-Occupied Housing Improve School Quality?
- Author
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Chellman, ColinC., Ellen, IngridGould, McCabe, BrianJ., Schwartz, AmyEllen, and Stiefel, Leanna
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EDUCATION policy ,HOUSING policy ,HOUSING subsidies ,URBAN planning ,PUBLIC schools - Abstract
Problem: Policymakers and community development practitioners view increasing subsidized owner-occupied housing as a mechanism to improve urban neighborhoods, but little research studies the impact of such investments on community amenities. Purpose: We examine the impact of subsidized owner-occupied housing on the quality of local schools and compare them to the impacts of city investments in rental units. Methods: Using data from the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), we estimate three main sets of regressions, exploring student characteristics, school resources, and school outcomes. Results and conclusions: The completion of subsidized owner-occupied housing is associated with a decrease in schools' percentage of free-lunch eligible students, an increase in schools' percentage of White students, and, controlling for these compositional changes, an increase in scores on standardized reading and math exams. By contrast, our results suggest that investments in rental housing have little, if any, effect. Takeaway for practice: Policies promoting the construction of subsidized owner-occupied housing have solidified in local governments around the country. Our research provides reassurance to policymakers and planners who are concerned about the spillover effects of subsidized, citywide investments beyond the households being directly served. It suggests that benefits from investments in owner occupancy may extend beyond the individual level, with an increase in subsidized owner-occupancy bringing about improvements in neighborhood school quality. Research support: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
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9. Small Schools, Large Districts: Small-School Reform and New York City's Students.
- Author
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SCHWARTZ, AMY ELLEN, STIEFEL, LEANNA, and CHELLMAN, COLIN C.
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SMALL schools , *EDUCATIONAL change , *EDUCATION & demography , *AT-risk students - Abstract
Background/Context: High school reform is currently at the top of the education policy making agenda after years of stagnant achievement and persistent racial and income test score gaps. Although a number of reforms offer some promise of improving U.S. high schools, small schools have emerged as the favored reform model, especially in urban areas, garnering substantial financial investments from both the private and public sectors. In the decade following 1993, the number of high schools in New York City nearly doubled, as new "small" schools opened and large high schools were reorganized into smaller learning communities. The promise of small schools to improve academic engagement, school culture, and, ultimately, student performance has drawn many supporters. However educators, policy makers, and researchers have raised concerns about the unintended consequences of these new small schools and the possibility that students "left behind" in large, established high schools are incurring negative impacts. Research Design: Using 10 years (1993-2003) of data on New York City high schools, we examine the potential systemic effects of small schools that have been identified by critics and researchers. We describe whether small schools, as compared with larger schools, serve an easier-to-educate student body, receive more resources, use those resources differently, and have better outcomes. Further we examine whether there have been changes in segregation and resource equity across the decade contemporaneous with small-school reform efforts. Findings/Results: We find that, although small schools do have higher per-pupil expenditures, lower pupil-teacher ratios, and a smaller share of special education students than larger schools, their students are disproportionately limited English proficient and poor, and their incoming students have lower test scores. Thus, the evidence is mixed with respect to claims that small schools serve an easier-to-educate student body. Systemwide, we find that segregation is relatively stable, and although there have been some changes in the distribution of resources, they are relatively modest. Conclusions/Recommendations: If small schools do eventually promote higher achievement (considering their student mix and other factors that differentiate them from larger schools), many more will be needed to house the 91.5% of the students still attending large schools. Otherwise, strategies that work for the vast majority of students who do not attend small schools will need to be identified and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
10. Immigrant and Native-Born Differences in School Stability and Special Education: Evidence from New York City.
- Author
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Conger, Dylan, Schwartz, Amy Ellen, and Stiefel, Leanna
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IMMIGRANT students ,CHILDREN of immigrants ,SOCIOCULTURAL factors ,SOCIOECONOMIC factors ,SPECIAL education ,SCHOOL attendance ,ACADEMIC achievement ,ELEMENTARY education - Abstract
Using the literature on achievement differences as a framework and motivation, along with data on New York City students, we examine nativity differences in students’ rates of attendance, school mobility, school system exit, and special education participation. The results indicate that, holding demographic and school characteristics constant, foreign-born have higher attendance rates and lower rates of participation in special education than native-born. Among first graders, immigrants are also more likely to transfer schools and exit the school system between years than native-born, yet the patterns are different among older students. We also identify large variation according to birth region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
- Full Text
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11. School Efficiency and Student Subgroups: Is a Good School Good for Everyone?
- Author
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Yeop Kim, Dae, Zabel, Jeffrey E., Stiefel, Leanna, and Schwartz, Amy Ellen
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EDUCATIONAL accountability ,DEMOGRAPHIC surveys ,EDUCATION policy ,EDUCATIONAL law & legislation ,MINORITY students ,ELEMENTARY schools - Abstract
State and federal accountability reforms are putting considerable pressure on schools to increase the achievement of historically low-performing groups of students and to close test score gaps. In this article, we exploit the differences among the large number of elementary schools in New York City to examine how much schools vary in the efficiency of the education they provide to subgroups. In addition, we examine the extent to which observable school characteristics can account for the variation that exists. We find that New York City elementary schools vary in how well they educate poor students compared to nonpoor students and Asian and White students compared to Black and Hispanic students. The disparities in school efficiency measures between boys and girls are lower than for the other subgroups. There is no conclusive evidence about which school resources and characteristics are associated with more or less efficient education across all subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
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12. Immigrants and the Distribution of Resources Within an Urban School District.
- Author
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Schwartz, Amy Ellen and Stiefel, Leanna
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SCHOOL children ,IMMIGRANTS ,STUDENTS ,EDUCATION - Abstract
In New York City, where almost 14% of elementary school pupils are foreign-born and roughly half of these are "recent immigrants," the impact of immigrant students on school resources may be important. While immigrant advocates worry about inequitable treatment of immigrant students, others worry that immigrants drain resources from native-born students. In this article, we explore the variation in school resources and the relationship to the representation of immigrant students. To what extent are variations in school resources explained by the presence of immigrants per se rather than by differences in student educational needs, such as poverty or language skills, or differences in other characteristics, such as race? Our results indicate that, while schools resources decrease with the representation of immigrants, this relationship largely reflects differences in the educational needs of immigrant students. Although analyses that link resources to the representation of foreign-born students in 12 geographic regions of origin find some disparities, these are again largely driven by differences in educational need. Finally, we find that some resources increase over time when there are large increases in the percentage of immigrants in a school, but these results are less precisely estimated. Thus, elementary schools appear not to be biased either against or for immigrants per se, although differences in the needs of particular groups of immigrant students may lead to more (or fewer) school resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2004
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13. High School Size: Effects on Budgets and Performance in New York City.
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Stiefel, Leanna, Berne, Robert, Iatarola, Patrice, and Fruchter, Norm
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URBAN schools ,HIGH schools ,SCHOOL size ,SCHOOL administration ,SCHOOL enrollment ,SCHOOL budgets ,GRADUATES - Abstract
Given the large numbers of competing proposals for improving urban schools so that students perform better policymakers need to know budget as well as performance implications of proposed reforms. One n!form group with a large constituency suggests that high schools should enroll small numbers of students, but some policymakers worry that the costs of small schools are excessive. This paper contributes to the school size policy debate by using methods and data that combine budget and performance information, with the school as the unit of analysis. With data on budgets, graduates, and characteristics of students in New York City public high schools, we estimate 4-year budgets per graduate. We find that small academic and large high schools are similar in terms of budgets per graduate and that some vocational and "transfer" high schools have the highest budgets per graduate. Because the literature on school size indicates that small high schools are more effective for minority and poor students, the similarity in outcomes that small and large high schools produce suggests that policymakers might do well to support the creation of more small high schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2000
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14. Cutback Budgeting: The Long-Term Consequences.
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Berne, Robert and Stiefel, Leanna
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MUNICIPAL budgets ,FORECASTING ,ECONOMIC history - Abstract
Analyzes whether short-term cutbacks made during a fiscal crisis become permanent once fiscal conditions improve. Economic and fiscal history of New York City from the 1970s through the 1980s; Framework for studying the long-term effects of budgetary cutbacks; Methodology for studying the long-term effects of 1976 and 1977 budgetary cutbacks; Effects on dollars, services, teacher characteristics and capital constructions.
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- 1993
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15. Subgroup Reporting and School Segregation.
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Schwartz, Amy Ellen, Stiefel, Leanna, and Chellman, Colin
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EDUCATION policy , *STUDENTS , *EDUCATIONAL programs , *PUBLIC institutions - Abstract
This article asserts that one of the more prominent features of the federal No Child Left Behind Act is the requirement that schools and districts track the performance of subgroups of students. While the law identifies several subgroups, including low-income and English-language learners, the low performance of black and Hispanic students should be of particular concern. More than 40 percent of New York state schools with 4th grades served only white students in 2001-02, and over 20 percent served only nonwhite students, meaning that less than 35 percent of the state's schools served both white and nonwhite students.
- Published
- 2005
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