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We used survey and administrative data from Washington State to assess the degree to which special education teacher preparation, district literacy instructional practices, and the alignment between preparation and practice were associated with the reading test score gains of students with high-incidence disabilities taught by early-career special education teachers in Grades 4 to 8. These students tended to have larger reading gains when their districts used evidence-based literacy decoding practices (e.g., phonological awareness, phonics, and reading fluency) and when their special education teacher graduated from a teacher education program that also emphasized these practices. Students with high-incidence disabilities in districts that used balanced literacy practices tended to have lower reading gains. Finally, students with high-incidence disabilities taught by early-career special education teachers tended to have larger reading gains when their teacher's student teaching placement was supervised by a more experienced cooperating teacher. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED618761.]

We used data on the student teaching placements, degrees, teaching credentials, and workforce outcomes of more than 1,300 graduates of special education teacher education programs in Washington to provide a descriptive portrait of specific measures of special education teacher preparation and their relationships with workforce entry and early-career retention. Although rates of workforce entry and retention for these special education candidates were high, we documented considerably lower rates of entry into and retention in special education teaching positions for candidates who hold a dual endorsement in special education and another subject. These patterns have potential implications for the state's new dual-endorsement requirement and for dual-licensure programs more broadly. Student teaching with a cooperating teacher who is endorsed in special education was also associated with a higher likelihood of becoming a special education teacher, even when controlling for whether the placement was in a special or general education setting.

We used longitudinal data on high school students in Washington State to assess the relationships between English Language Arts (ELA) teacher qualifications and the high school and postsecondary outcomes of their students, and whether these relationships differed for students with and without disabilities. We found that students assigned to 10th-grade ELA teachers with higher value added had better test scores, were more likely to graduate on-time, and were more likely to attend and graduate from a 4-year college than observably similar students assigned to 10th-grade ELA teachers with lower value added. We also found that many of these relationships varied for students with and without disabilities, as 10th grade ELA teacher value added was more positively predictive of on-time graduation and 4-year college attendance for students without disabilities, but more positively predictive of 2-year college attendance and employment within 2 years of graduation for students with disabilities.

We used longitudinal data from Washington State to investigate the relationships among career and technical education (CTE) enrollment, inclusion in general education, and high school and postsecondary outcomes for students with learning disabilities. We replicated earlier findings that students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in a "concentration" of CTE courses had higher rates of employment after graduation than observably similar students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in fewer CTE courses. We also found that students with learning disabilities who spent more time in general education classrooms in high school had higher rates of on-time graduation, college attendance, and employment than observably similar students with learning disabilities who spent less time in general education classrooms in these grades.

This article reports on findings based on analyses of a unique dataset collected by ACT that includes information on student achievement in a variety of subjects at the high-school level. The authors examine the relationship between teacher effect estimates derived from value-added model (VAM) specifications employing different student learning assumptions. Specifically, they compare teacher effectiveness estimates derived from a traditional lagged score VAM using pretests and posttests in a single subject area to those derived from VAM specifications employing a cross-subject student fixed-effects approach. The latter approach offers advantages for teacher evaluation systems due to significantly reduced data requirements; however, there is evidence that both the estimated effect size of teacher quality as well as estimates of individual teacher performance vary depending on the VAM methodology. In particular, teacher effects identified based on within-student cross-subject variation results in significantly smaller effect size estimates than do those generated from a more traditional lagged score model. The correlation across model specification ranges from 0.25 to 0.96 depending on the subject area. (Contains 35 notes and 5 tables.)

In their best seller, "Freakonomics", University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and "New York Times" writer Stephen Dubner show in an amusing and often provocative manner how an economic way of thinking can be useful in explaining all sorts of real-world phenomena. Their central insight is very simple: incentives are the cornerstone of modern life. As economists, it's no surprise that they take this proposition as the starting point in their effort to understand the educational research enterprise in the United States. By some measures, the enterprise is quite healthy. In terms of the "quantity" of completed research, it's booming, and barely a week goes by without a major national media outlet reporting on the latest finding of educational research. Unfortunately, the bulk of educational research neither is outcomes-oriented nor uses methods that support strong inferences about causality. Despite an emphasis on randomized research designs (for example, by the U.S. Department of Education) and on the use of sophisticated quasi-experimental methods (particularly those using comprehensive student-level longitudinal data), the proportion of the entire educational research enterprise that would pass muster for scientific rigor in other fields is shockingly small. Consequently, for policy makers striving to craft effective policies, the research base remains thin. In this article, the authors explore some of the reasons for this. Here, they examine the "market" for educational research using a supply and demand framework. In this case, the consumers are the policy makers, educators, and parents who "demand" research evidence to help them make critical choices about how to allocate resources, how to teach kids, how to choose schools, and so on. The suppliers of educational research are the individuals and organizations that produce the studies, reports, and findings. (Contains 6 endnotes.)

Grade retention is a common practice used when students fail to meet required benchmarks. Therefore, it is important that we understand the relative benefits and costs associated with students repeating a grade. In this article we analyze the costs and benefits of grade retention. In our examination of retention, we obtain our calculations of the costs and benefits under a variety of assumptions and detail a broad spectrum of estimates. An assortment of potential economic and psychological consequences are linked with holding a student back. Here we focus exclusively on the economic consequences of retention, building a framework for analyzing the societal implications of retention. Using this framework, we present broad estimates of what the benefits of grade retention would have to be in order to make it a cost-effective practice. (Contains 12 footnotes.)

Numerous researchers have speculated on and attempted to quantify the impact of policies designed to increase school choice and competition between schools, and they have reached widely differing conclusions. In this article, we provide an overview of the research that focuses on the potential achievement effects of greater private sector competition on K-12 schooling. In particular, we explore the various methodologies that have been used to assess the relative effectiveness of public and private schools. We discuss the strengths and shortcomings of different approaches, and based on this, we ponder what is known and not known about the impact of increased choice and competition. In conclusion, we maintain that although many of the methodologies used to assess the effects of particular interventions, such as educational vouchers, are sound, they likely fail to capture the general equilibrium consequences of enhanced choice. As a result, many of the questions we would want answered to inform policymaking remain unknown. (Contains 20 notes.)

Used data for 3,786 students in mathematics and 2,524 in science to explore the relationship between student performance and the type of certification teachers held. Found evidence in mathematics that teachers with subject-specific training outperform those without subject matter preparation but found no poorer performance for students whose teachers had emergency certification. Discusses implications for teacher certification policies. (SLD)

Estimates a model allowing researchers to determine how much achievement on a 10th-grade standardized test can be explained by observable schooling resources and unobservable school, teacher, and class effects. Although few observable variables are significant test-score determinants, unobservable effects seem important in explaining student achievement. (MLH)

Discusses the impact of school choice on educational outcomes, examining: whether there is any evidence that the various alternatives to traditional public schools are delivering education in a fundamentally different and more efficient form; what the equity consequences and demographic implications are for enhanced school choice; and how enhanced choice might affect support for traditional public schools. (SM)

Examines Milwaukee Parental Choice Program data to determine whether students with unobserved characteristics correlated with achievement are more likely to apply to the voucher program. Nonapplicants have higher math and reading tests scores. However, applicants have no unmeasured characteristics (like motivation) that differ significantly from nonapplicants. (22 references) (MLH)

Proponents of public/private school choice assume that private schools are more efficient and that parents can distinguish between schools of differing quality and select schools that perform well. A study based on the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study data shows that private schools are no more efficient in using educational resources than public schools. Upper income families will benefit from voucher programs. (15 references) (MLH)

We used longitudinal data from Washington State to investigate the relationships among career and technical education (CTE) enrollment, inclusion in general education, and high school and postsecondary outcomes for students with learning disabilities. We replicated earlier findings that students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in a "concentration" of CTE courses had higher rates of employment after graduation than observably similar students with learning disabilities who were enrolled in fewer CTE courses. We also found that students with learning disabilities who spent more time in general education classrooms in high school had higher rates of on-time graduation, college attendance, and employment than observably similar students with learning disabilities who spent less time in general education classrooms in these grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of school choice on inner city minority students. The authors argue little evidence exists to demonstrate that school choice reforms are having a positive or negative impact on the academic achievement of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

Although most public-school teachers have undergraduate degrees, only 68% to 76% possess at least a bachelor's degree in their area. Do advanced degrees enhance teacher productivity? A recent study of 8th- and 10th-graders' math and science achievement suggest that only advanced degrees specific to the subjects taught should be rewarded. (12 references) (MLH)

ABSTRACT Previous research on educational productivity has decomposed the variance in student test scores into school and class effects. In this paper, we extend this work to include differences attributable to teachers as well as to schools and classes. Using data drawn from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, we find that unobservable school, teacher, and classroom characteristics are important factors in explaining 10th-grade mathematics achievement, and account for the majority of the variation that is explained by educational variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]