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Eric.ed.gov – Race to the Top. Georgia. State-Reported APR: Year One

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper describe Georgia’s progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, it highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction, great teachers and leaders, and turning around lowest-achieving schools. Race to the Top focuses on improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for Georgia students. The plan includes providing professional development for math and science teachers, strengthening the pipeline of science and math teachers from institutes of higher education, and expanding STEM related virtual courses. As a result, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Tech received funding through the Race to the Top program to expand… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – One Instructor’s Quest for a Collaborative Professional Culture

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: With a B.S. in math but no prior math education training, the author’s first job as a math teacher was at an alternative charter school with a holistic mission. The author struggled tremendously and no doubt left numerous opponents to math reform in his wake. Fortunately, he attributed his ineffectiveness to his lack of experience and skill as a facilitator and curriculum writer, not to a flaw in the vision. Though he has no way of knowing, he has since wondered what percentage of new educators in similar situations would draw a different conclusion, something like, “Math is different from other subjects. It can’t be learned collaboratively. You just have to memorize.” This experience motivated him to understand why and how math teachers can become effective in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Charter schools are largely viewed as a major innovation in the public school landscape, as they receive more independence from state laws and regulations than do traditional public schools, and are therefore more able to experiment with alternative curricula, pedagogical methods, and different ways of hiring and training teachers. Unlike traditional public schools, charters may be shut down by their authorizers for poor performance. But how is charter school performance measured? What are the effects of charter schools on student achievement? Assessing literature that uses either experimental (lottery) or student-level growth-based methods, this analysis infers the causal impact of attending a charter school on student performance. Focusing on math and reading scores, the authors find compelling evidence that charters under-perform traditional public schools in some locations, grades,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Qualifications and Classroom Performance of Teachers Moving to Charter Schools. Working Paper 27

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Do charter schools draw good teachers from traditional, mainstream public schools? Using a panel dataset of all North Carolina public school teachers from 1997-2007, this research paper finds nuanced patterns of teacher quality flowing into charter schools. High rates of inexperienced and uncertified teachers moved to charter schools, but among certified teachers changing schools, the on-paper qualifications of charter movers were better or no different than the qualifications of teachers moving to comparable mainstream schools. Estimated measures of classroom performance for a subset of grade 3-5 teachers show that charter movers were more effective in math and reading instruction, relative to other mobile teachers. Charter movers compared less favorably, however, to non-mobile teachers and colleagues within their sending schools. The distribution of classroom performance among future charter… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Do Poor Kids Deserve Lower-Quality Education than Rich Kids? Evaluating School Privatization Proposals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. EPI Briefing Paper #375

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: During the past year, Wisconsin state legislators debated a series of bills aimed at closing low-performing public schools and replacing them with privately run charter schools. These proposals were particularly targeted at Milwaukee, the state’s largest and poorest school district. Ultimately, the only legislation enacted was a bill that modestly increases school reporting requirements, without stipulating consequences for low performance. Nevertheless, the more ambitious proposals will likely remain at the core of Wisconsin’s debates over education policy, and legislative leaders have made clear their desire to revisit them in next year’s session. To help inform these deliberations, this report addresses the most comprehensive set of reforms put forward in the 2013-2014 legislative session. Backers of these reforms are particularly enamored of a new type of charter school… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Charter School Competition, Organization, and Achievement in Traditional Public Schools

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Market models of education reform predict that the growth of charter schools will infuse competition into the public school sector, forcing traditional public schools to improve the practices they engage in to educate students. Some scholars have criticized these models, arguing that competition from charter schools is unlikely to produce significant change among public schools. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class, I attempt to identify potential mechanisms linking charter competition to achievement in traditional public schools. The results provide little support for the market model. Competition from charter schools is not associated with reading or math scores, and is only associated with three of ten organizational measures. There is some support for an indirect relationship between math achievement and competition through reductions in teacher… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Implementing Cross-Sector Collaboration through the District-Charter Collaborative: A Case Study of Promising Practices

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: District-Charter Partnerships (DCP) is an initiative that is part of the Equity and Excellence for All agenda established by Mayor De Blasio. Its goal is to support meaningful collaboration between the district and charter sector in order to increase educator capacity and student learning in all New York City public schools. The District-Charter Collaborative (DCC) is one of the principal programs under the DCP umbrella. Spearheaded by the NYC Department of Education’s (DOE) Office of School Design and Charter Partnerships and Office of Leadership, the program brings quads of schools (2 district and 2 charter) together to engage in structured collaboration through the creation of professional learning communities (PLCs). These PLCs aim to improve practice in one of the following Learning Focus Areas (LFAs): math instruction, supporting… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Learning from Charter School Management Organizations: Strategies for Student Behavior and Teacher Coaching

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The National Study of Charter Management Organization (CMO) Effectiveness is a four-year study designed to assess the impact of CMOs on student achievement and to identify effective structures and practices. An earlier report from this study documented the substantial variation in CMO student achievement impacts as well as variation in CMOs’ use of particular educational strategies and practices. That report noted that the most effective CMOs emphasize two practices in particular: schoolwide behavior strategies and intensive teacher coaching and monitoring. This report is designed to provide an in-depth description of the student behavior and teacher coaching practices of five high-performing CMOs that rely on these practices. Focusing on five high-performing CMOs, the report seeks to help educators learn more about these promising practices. To identify practices associated… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Pathway to Success: Citizens Leadership Academy Develops Strong Citizens and Scholars

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Citizens Leadership Academy (CLA) in Ohio is preparing its middle schoolers for success in high school, college, and life. CLA is second among all public schools in the city on student growth. The school’s eighth graders reach and surpass proficiency at a rate that is more than three times that of their peers across the city. Reading and math proficiency rates at CLA are more than double those of Cleveland’s. The school’s model–as captured in its name, “Citizens Leadership” Academy–prioritizes and cultivates broader attributes and mindsets necessary for long-term success. As demonstrated in this profile about one student, Keith Lazare Jr., CLA asks students to consider what it means to be active, engaged citizens and community members. Students are asked to grapple not only with tough math… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Meta-Analysis of the Literature on the Effect of Charter Schools on Student Achievement

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Charter schools represent an increasingly important form of school choice in the United States. Charter schools are public schools, with a difference. Compared to traditional public schools, they are exempted from some of the state laws and regulations that govern traditional public schools. In this way, parents come to have a greater number of choices among schools, and, due to deregulation, it is expected that the charter schools are distinct from traditional public schools. The intent is that charter schools can provide students with alternative curricula, teaching methods, and teachers who may differ in educational background and training from teachers in traditional public schools. This study, after reviewing research from across the United States, asks whether charter schools are producing higher achievement for students compared to traditional… Continue Reading