Published Articles & Media
New Study Finds State Funded Universal Kindergarten Provides Some Benefits for White Students but no Positive Impact for African American Students
Large state investments in universal early-childhood education programs do not necessarily yield clear benefits for more disadvantaged students
Voucher Supporters Achieve Political Success in Louisiana
In a decade in which many school voucher programs have been limited or rolled back in Washington, DC, Utah, Arizona, and Florida, the Louisiana legislature in 2008 passed a new voucher program for New Orleans. In 2009-10, the second year of the voucher program, 1,324 New Orleans students attended 31 private schools using vouchers with a maximum value of over $7,000.
Race to the Top Offers Last Chance to Salvage Stimulus Spending
As states catch their breath after rushing to meet the January 19 deadline for submitting applications for the first round of Race to the Top grants, education researcher Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute warns that the administration must take steps to ensure that Race to the Top funds are spent in ways that promote reform.
New Education Next Forum: Are Boys Being Shortchanged in K-12 Schooling?
After decades of concern that girls were being shortchanged in male-dominated schools, there has grown a rising chorus of voices worrying about whether boys are the ones in peril. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail, and Susan McGee Bailey, principal author of the 1992 report How Schools Shortchange Girls debate whether schools are now shortchanging boys.
Quality Counts Grades Unfair to Poor States, Researchers Argue
As Education Week magazine prepares to release its annual report card for states, Quality Counts 2010, education researcher Margaret Raymond and a team of researchers from CREDO at Stanford University warn that one set of grades on the report card is not reliable.
Fraud in School Lunch Program Not Just About Free Lunches
In a time of penny pinching inspired by tight state and local education budgets, investigative reporter David Bass warns that taxpayers are picking up the tab for a large number of ineligible students who participate in the federal school-lunch program. Even more problematic may be the effect on school funding formulas, on research, and on accountability measures.
Public School Pension Plans Penalize Teachers who Move Jobs across States with Significant Retirement Losses, Researchers Find
In examining pension plans in six states, Costrell and Podgursky find that compared to a neutral cash balance system, the type of defined benefit pension system which covers almost all public school teachers redistributes about half the pension wealth of an entering cohort of teachers to those who subsequently retire in their mid-50s from those who leave the system earlier.
“Snow Day” Effect Lowers Test Scores, Complicates Accountability, Researchers Find
Researchers Dave Marcotte and Benjamin Hansen summarize new evidence that expanding instructional time is as effective as other commonly discussed educational interventions intended to boost learning.
Fueled by Federal Stimulus Package, Education Spending Will Likely Increase over Next Decade despite Lack of Achievement Gains for Students
The nation’s public schools will likely have more money and a larger and better paid labor force than they had in 2009
Evidence Doesn’t Support Investment in School Turnaround Efforts
New school start ups and replications of high performing charter school models provide a better solution
