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Eric.ed.gov – IDRA Newsletter. Volume 35, No. 7

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Teaching Quality and includes: (1) The “Fourth-Grade Slump” and Math Achievement: Addressing the Challenge with Student Engagement (Kristin Grayson and Veronica Betancourt); and (2) Transformations: They’re not just for Functions! (Kathryn A. Brown). Additional features include: Tools for Action; Effective Parent Outreach; Highlights of Recent IDRA Activities; Immigrant Students Rights; and Classnotes Podcast Episodes. (Individual articles contain references.) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Teaching Effectiveness and the Conditions that Matter Most in High-Needs Schools: A Policy Brief

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Over the last decade, policy and business leaders have come to know what parents have always known: teachers make the greatest difference to student achievement. With new statistical and analytical methods used by a wide range of researchers, evidence has been mounting that teacher quality can account for a large share of variance in student test scores. The evidence on the distribution of qualified and effective teachers is also clear–and the findings are not good. Teachers who have met the demanding standards of National Board Certification and those who have generated higher “value-added” student achievement gains are far less likely to teach economically disadvantaged and minority students. As a result, high-poverty schools are more likely to be beset with teaching vacancies in math and special education, and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Where Teacher Education Students Agree: Beliefs Widely Shared before Teacher Education.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A survey of prospective teachers’ beliefs about teaching mathematics and writing to diverse learners was conducted for the purpose of improving teacher education programs. Respondents were 319 elementary education students, 71 prospective secondary math teachers, 52 prospective teachers of secondary English, 23 noneducation math majors, and 19 noneducation English majors. Although there is much diversity between and among the subjects, there were some areas of consensus. In answering questions about student diversity, the respondents did not endorse stereotypes about gender differences or differences in content appropriate for students from different family backgrounds. In responding to questions about what would be helpful in learning to teach, they gave the expected endorsement of experience, as well as high ratings for classes of questions about generic and subject-specific teaching methods.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – 12th Annual Comparative Analysis of the Racine Unified School District: Demographics, Attendance, Finances, Student Engagement, and Achievement

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with enrollments most similar to the enrollment in Racine. In addition to enrollment trends, the findings pertain to three RUSD quality objective measures: operational efficiency, student engagement, and student achievement. Operational efficiency includes finance data, student engagement includes attendance and disciplinary data, while student achievement includes test scores and graduation rates. Major findings include: (1) RUSD enrollment declined for the second year in a row; (2) RUSD jumped up in the peer rankings,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Beyond the Basics: Achieving a Liberal Education for All Children

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Citing Aristotle, Franklin and Einstein as proponents of a broad, liberal-arts education, Finn and Ravitch promote the need for liberal learning as preparatory to the civic life needed for a well-functioning democracy. Drawing together the work of a number of educators, the editors have organized this volume in two sections. Part I, Liberal Learning: Its Value and Future, includes three papers that advocate both for liberal learning, and for a common curriculum. Part II, Restoring Liberal Art to the K-12 Curriculum, features eleven explorations of how to expand liberal learning by improving accountability systems, teacher training and education delivery. Maintaining that their support of liberal learning is well-documented, the editors conclude the volume by noting four opposing trends: (1) Gradual extinction of liberal learning in higher education;… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Predicting High School Students’ Interest in Majoring in a STEM Field: Insight into High School Students’ Postsecondary Plans

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examined how various individual, family, and school level contextual factors impact the likelihood of planning to major in one of the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields for high school students. A binary logistic regression model was developed to determine the extent to which each of the covariates helped to predict such academic interest. High school course taking in science and performance on science and math standardized tests were significantly and positively related to an increased interest in STEM. College aspirations were significant, and those with loftier educational goals were generally more likely to plan to major in a STEM field. Other individual-level factors also played a significant role, as male high school students were significantly more likely to have an early interest in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Resources and Student Achievement in High-Need Schools. Research Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: With the growing federal, state, and local policy emphasis on teacher quality and student achievement, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) investigated teacher resources and their relationship to student achievement in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The purpose of this study was to provide policymakers with information about the relationship between teacher salary, experience, and education, and the relationship between these teacher resources and student achievement, particularly in high-need schools. SEDL used state databases in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas to examine the extent to which districts paid teachers based on years of experience and degree level, and whether teacher resources, defined as salary, education, and experience, were distributed differently across schools depending upon their level of need. SEDL also investigated whether within and across the three study states… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – “All of a Sudden They Got It”: Understanding Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of What It Means To Know (in) Math.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In a recent study at the University of Regina, preservice teachers were asked questions about their internship experiences of teaching mathematics. One question in the study focused on asking preservice teachers to recall their most meaningful experiences in the mathematics classroom during their internship, to which many responded with stories of how their students all of a sudden just “got” a concept and how this could even be visually detected. It is interesting to note the comparisons between their responses to this question about meaningful experiences and their responses to other questions concerning their images of math as a subject, their attitudes toward math, and their perceptions of what it means to know (in) math. Factors other than ability influence students’ approaches to challenges, their persistence (or… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Causal Factors Attributed to Student Success on the California High School Exit Examination

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: American students are failing to demonstrate expected competency on basic skills taught in schools. The educational system needs a major overhaul to address declines in scholarly engagement. The State Board of Education (SBE) designed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to give some merit to the high school diploma. Minorities and economically disadvantaged students fail to attain minimal proficiency levels on standardized tests and to achieve gains comparable to those attained by students from affluent school districts, even when the most rudimentary skills are being tested. The purpose of this study is to compare existing differences in student achievement by viewing existing data and to gauge faculty perspectives on why some students fare better than others on the CAHSEE. Appended are: (1) Letter of Informed Consent;… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Teacher Quality Primer. For Michigan School Officials, State Policymakers, Media and Residents

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: While Michigan students learn a variety of skills in their time at school, perhaps the most important charge of public schools, beyond providing a safe and healthy environment, is to ensure that students are learning their three fundamental skills: reading, writing and arithmetic. Unfortunately, the achievement levels of Michigan public school students raise doubts about the quality of public education in the state. This volume has been written to assist policymakers at the state and local levels who want to initiate and support teacher quality reforms to improve K-12 public education in the state. The author describes shortcomings in public education in the state and discusses the research consensus that good teachers matter, investigating whether certification, experience, graduate degrees, academic ability and high licensure exam scores make… Continue Reading