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 Here you will find research/reports/articles that look at a wide range of educational policy issues. Posting here does not imply Georgia Partnership endorsement. Technical Methods Report: Error Rates in Measuring Teacher and School Performance Based on Student Test Score Gains This study estimates error rates in identification of upper elementary school teachers as low or high performing based on student test score gain data. (July 2010) Analysis: The State of State Standards--and the Common Core--in 2010 The K-12 academic standards in English language arts (ELA) and math produced last month by the Common Core State Standards Initiative are clearer and more rigorous than today’s ELA standards in 37 states and today’s math standards in 39 states. (July 2010) Beyond the Rhetoric - Improving College Readiness Through Coherent State Policy This brief addresses the state policy dimensions of college readiness. It identifies the key issues and problems associated with the college readiness gap, which is a major impediment to increasing the numbers of college students who complete certificates or degrees. (July 2010) Effective Student Discipline: Keeping Kids In Class This report is Phase I of an on-going process to objectively assess the state of public school student discipline in Georgia and to identify any changes that would benefit all of its students. (June 2010) Let's Do the Numbers - U.S. DOE's 'Race to the Top' Program Offers Only a Muddled Path to the Finish Line Although the competition was presented as objective and scientific, based on precise numerical scores, examination here suggests that the selection of Delaware and Tennessee as winners was subjective and arbitrary, more a matter of bias or chance than a result of these states' superior compliance with reform policies (PEN). (April 2010) State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08, Part 6: Has Progress Been Made in Raising Achievement for English Language Learners? This report examines the performance of English language learners on state reading and math tests, and discusses the issues surrounding the classification and testing of these students. (April 2010) Performance Counts: Assessment Systems that Support High Quality Learning This white paper describes what a student assessment system could look like if built from the principles and best practices found in current educational research and effective educational systems in the U.S. and high-achieving nations around the world. (February 2010) Arguing About Charters vs. 'Traditional' Schools Masks the Failure of School Improvement Policy and Practice to Enhance Equity of Opportunity As the argument over charter vs. traditional schools burgeons, it is overshadowing discussion about the ongoing failure of the majority of charters and traditional schools to substantially increase the percentage of youngsters who succeed at school over the long run. (February 2010) Mind the (Other) Gap! The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education This report is intended to provide some preliminary excellence gap data and kick start the national discussion on the importance of excellence in our national and state K-12 education systems. (February 2010) Tracking & Detracking: High Achievers in Massachusetts Middle Schools What are the implications of "tracking," or grouping students into separate classes based on their achievement? (December 2009) Study of Instructional Improvement Releases Key Findings from Large-scale Study of Comprehensive School Reform Programs This "massive" new study, undertaken over 13 years, aimed to determine why some school improvement programs have worked and some haven't (PEN). (December 2009) State Laws on Family Engagement in Education National PTA developed this publication as a tool for State PTAs and other family and child advocates to increase systemic, effective family engagement in all of our nation’s public schools. (December 2009) Tracking An Emerging Movement: A Report on Expanded-Time Schools in America The report draws from the organization's national database of schools that have broken from the conventional school calendar in order to improve educational outcomes. (December 2009) Are High Quality Schools Enough to Close the Achievement Gap? Evidence from a Social Experiment in Harlem Calling it "one of the most ambitious social experiments to alleviate poverty of our time," the report provides the first empirical test of the causal impact of the Harlem Children's Zone on educational outcomes (PEN). There is a fee for this report. (November 2009) Why Rural Matters 2009: State and Regional Challenges and Opportunities The fifth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states. (November 2009) Don’t Forget Curriculum There is a broad consensus across the political spectrum on the need for K-12 education reform. President Obama has committed himself to “reform America’s public schools.” Likewise, George W. Bush began his administration by calling for “real reform” in education. (November 2009) Mapping State Proficiency Standards Since 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has compared each state’s standard for proficient performance in reading and mathematics by placing the state standards onto the NAEP scale. (November 2009) Ending Social Promotion Without Leaving Children Behind (N.Y. Case Study) The New York City Depart. of Ed. test-based promotion and retention policy, which identifies and provides support for struggling students, has demonstrated positive effects for student achievement in fifth grade that continue into seventh grade. (October 2009) How Special Ed Vouchers Keep Kids From Being Mislabeled as Disabled In the last three decades, special-education programs in the U.S. have grown at a fast pace. Much of this growth reflects a growing incidence of students diagnosed with the mildest form of learning disability. (September 2009) Georgia At the Tipping Point: Making 20 Years of Data COUNT for Kids and Families This publication is a 20-year trends and disparities report about the state's progress in improving health, education, and economic conditions for Georgia's children, families and communities. GFCP Press Release. (July 2009) Turning Campaign Pillars Into Presidential Priorities: Strong American Schools and Education Reform Strong American Schools had a simple goal for its ED in ’08 campaign: Use International Lessons about National Standards - Policy Brief This report presents six key lessons gleaned from an in-depth study of 10 countries that are making significant improvements in mathematics and science achievement, and operate along a spectrum of national and local educational control. (June 2009) Merit Pay Has Pitfalls for Schools This study reveals significant downsides of reward-punishment systems based on quantitative outcomes whether in public or private sector. (May 2009) In Politics of School Reform, Transparency Doesn't Equal Accountability (Opinion) Transparency is powerful and President Obama has rightly made it a pillar of his administration's approach to policymaking. But transparency also offers the seductive promise of an easy way out for policymakers. (May 2009) Young Hispanic Children: Boosting Opportunities for Learning Young Hispanic children, the largest and fastest-growing racial-ethnic group in the United States, are a demographic group needing urgent attention. (May 2009) Stimulating Excellence - Unleashing the Power of Innovation in Education The United States is facing one of the worst financial crises of recent history. But we are experiencing a quiet crisis, as well—one that has been building in our nation’s classrooms and schools for decades. (May 2009) Basic Reading Skills and the Literacy of America's Least Literate Adults This study assessed the English literacy skills of a nationally representative sample of 18,500 U.S. adults (age 16 and older) residing in private households. This is the first national assessment of adult literacy since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). (May 2009) Parsing the Achievement Gap II The U.S. has made little progress over the past six years in reducing the disparities, both within and outside of schools, that keep poor and minority students from achieving at the same rates as their white and better-off peers. (May 2009) Commission to Build a Healthier America The report examines the gap in American’s health status by level of educational attainment. Here's the Georgia snapshot. (May 2009) The Four Most Important Lessons of Columbine The writer feels policy changes that have resulted from the massacre have saved lives. (April 2009) Every Student Counts: The Role of Federal Policy in Improving Graduation Rate Accountability The proportion of students who graduate from high school is an essential indicator of the public education system’s success. Today we know that performance on this indicator in schools throughout the country has been dismal. (April 2009) Building a Districtwide Small Schools Movement A six-year study by the Annenberg Institute documents how low-income communities of color have organized to improve their local schools. This is the first of seven case studies. (April 2009) Linking Ready Kids to Ready Schools - A Report on Policy Insights from the Governors' Forum Series Each year too many children start kindergarten unprepared to learn. Many will never catch up. The reasons for this are complex, but this much is clear: The multiple systems – from family to schools to government – that should be supporting young children too often are failing to do so. (April 2009) Short Sighted: How America’s Lack of Attention to International Education Studies Impedes Improvement This report says the United States should increase its participatin in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) programs. (March 2009) 2009 Georgia Education Policy Papers This consists of nine papers offering critical insight and in-depth analysis on such issues as charter schools, early childhood education, and teacher compensation. (March 2009) Relating - Georgia Partnerhip's Education Policy Primer and Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2009. Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success The U.S. has set a national goal of narrowing achievement gaps. Out-of-school factors play a powerful role in generating existing achievement gaps, and if these factors are not attended to with equal vigor, our national aspirations will be thwarted. (March 2009) Charter Schools in Eight States - Effects on Achievement, Integration, and Competition This study aims to inform the policy debate by examining four primary research questions in several geographic locations. (March 2009 - Also posted on School Choice page) Are We There Yet? What Policymakers Can Learn from Tennessee's Growth Model This new study examines Tennessee's growth model system as an alternative to the prescriptions of NCLB. It finds issues that state and federal policymakers should consider as they contemplate growth model use. (March 2009) Educational Strategies That Work This report examines three successful strategies and is a response to President Obama's declared intention to identify, support, and expand successful domestic programs and eliminate those that don't work. (March 2009) The Bureaucracy Can't Teach There is a theory that by imposing more organizational requirements -- better teacher credentials, more legal rights, detailed curricula, the pressure of tests -- schools will get better. That's the theory. (March 2009) The Atlantic Century: Benchmarking EU and U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness The U.S. doesn't rank well in innovation-based, global competitiveness accroding to this report. (March 2009) Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-class Education The report explains the urgent need for action and outlines what states and the federal government must do to ensure students receive a world-class education. (December 2008) Education Policy White Papers Project Initiative This project aims to connect policymakers in a new administration and Congress with the best available evidence on selected education policy issues. (November 2008) Measuring Skills for the 21st Century Business and higher education leaders are pleading with schools to teach "21st-century skills." Some assessments are emerging and offer promise for evaluating the broad and deep sets of skills students need now. (November 2008) Plotting School Choice: The Challenges of Crossing District Lines For people seeking ways to reduce economic and racial segregation in public education, there's growing interest in allowing students to transfer to schools beyond district lines. But, does it work? (August 2008) Policy Papers: Success by Ten: Intervening Early, Often and Effectively in the Education of Young Children and An Education Strategy to Promote Opportunity, Prosperity and Growth These papers stress wide-ranging changes aimed at improving education from the early years through college are needed to produce a workforce with skills demanded by today's increasingly global economy. (February 2007) |
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