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The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study monitors historical and developmental changes in substance use prevalence among key subgroups of the general U.S. adolescent and adult population. The current study first devised and evaluated a cohort-specific pooled analysis weighing procedure for the MTF panel study that weighted back to the initial 12th grade samples. Following this, the cohort-specific weights were updated to age-specific weights in order to provide increased flexibility for a wide range of model specifications and to avoid the need to re-calculate a first half-sample respondent's final weight at a particular wave after the full cohort had completed that wave. The cohort-specific pooled analysis weights appear to result in an overall improvement in the degree to which the sociodemographic distributions of the initial 12th grade samples are retained, as well as likely producing slightly improved substance use estimates due to accounting for historical variation in panel sample selection and attrition over time. The updated age-specific pooled analysis weights continued to provide the benefits associated with the cohort-specific weights, but also brought increased flexibility for modeling both cohort- and age-specific research questions, and allowed all respondents' weights at each specific age to remain fixed across time.

We provide the first causal evidence of the returns to maternal educational curricula on offspring's health at birth. Educational programs that aim to deliver more general knowledge may potentially improve women's earning potential and maternal prenatal investment by increasing the portability of skills across occupations and improving women's ability to make informed decisions about fertility options and health behavior. We study the impacts of a comprehensive educational reform that postponed students' curriculum choices and integrated more general education into the high school system on infant health outcomes. Using a dose-response difference-in-differences (DiD) model research design applied to linked population registries, we find that the reform led to a significant reduction in the incidence of very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams) and very preterm birth (less than 33 gestation weeks). Overall, the reform's positive effects on infant health at birth seem to be driven by increased mothers' labor market opportunities and better family planning, rather than increased ability to avoid risky behaviours or increased women's earnings via different occupational choices or assortative mating. [This report received additional funding from Fundación Ramón Areces and the Spanish National Research Plan 2017-2020.]

We provide evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of a novel, 100-percent online math tutoring program, targeted at secondary school students from highly disadvantaged neighborhoods. The intensive, eight-week-long program was delivered by qualified math teachers in groups of two students during after-school hours. The intervention significantly increased standardized test scores (+0.26 SD) and end-of-year math grades (+0.48 SD), while reducing the probability of repeating the school year. The intervention also raised aspirations, as well as self-reported effort at school.

Anti-scientific attitudes can impose substantial costs on societies. Can schools be an important agent in mitigating the propagation of such attitudes? This paper investigates the effect of the content of science education on anti-scientific attitudes, knowledge, and choices. The analysis exploits staggered reforms that reduce or expand the coverage of evolution theory in US state science education standards. I compare adjacent cohorts in models with state and cohort fixed effects and conduct fine-grained placebo tests to rule out scientific, religious and political confounders. There are three main results. First, expanded evolution coverage increases students' knowledge about evolution. Second, the reforms translate into greater evolution belief in adulthood, but do not crowd out religiosity or affect political attitudes. Third, the reforms affect high-stakes life decisions, namely the probability of working in life sciences.

In this paper, we use NWEA MAP test data to examine variation in students' achievement and growth during the pandemic across multiple dimensions. Consistent with prior evidence, we find that students' test scores in fall 2021, on average, were substantially below historic averages. Moreover, the average scores of students of color, students attending high poverty schools, and students in elementary school were more negatively impacted, and more so in math than reading. We present novel evidence on the distributions of test scores and growth in fall 2021 relative to pre-pandemic distributions, finding disproportionately larger declines for students with lower previous achievement levels across districts. However, between districts, there was considerable variation in the extent to which their fall 2021 achievement and growth distributions shifted from their historical distributions by subject, student subgroups, and baseline achievement levels. Therefore, accurately targeting students and choosing interventions for pandemic-related recovery will require careful assessment by districts of their students' achievement and growth in the 2021-22 school year (and into the future): assuming that students in a district reflect the national trends of achievement will often lead to incorrect conclusions about the degree to which they suffered pandemic-related learning losses and the amount of support they will need to recover. [This research received funding from the Kenneth C. Griffin Foundation.]

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2021 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The 2020 subgroup data presented here accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2021: Overview, Key Findings on Adolescent Drug Use" (see ED618240) and the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2021, forthcoming: Volume I, Secondary School Students." The trends offered here in tabular and graphic forms cover demographic subgroups based on: (1) Gender; (2) College plans; (3) Region of the country; (4) Population density; (5) Education level of the parents (a proxy for socioeconomic level); and (6) Racial/ethnic identification. Detailed descriptions of the demographic categories are provided in the section starting on page 469 of this paper. The graphs and tables in this occasional paper present trend data for 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade respondents separately. Data for 12th grade begins with 1975, the first year in which a nationally representative sample of high school seniors was surveyed. Data for 8th and 10th grades begin with 1991, when the study's nationally representative annual surveys were expanded to include surveys of those lower grade levels.

This analysis uses the case of the Better Math Teaching Network (BMTN) to explore whether individuals participating in a networked improvement community (NIC) experienced common developmental trajectories on known dimensions of engagement. The analysis included quantitative data from annual network member surveys and qualitative data from annual member interviews. Evidence suggests potential developmental trajectories on three key dimensions of network participation: (1) learning how to engage in a network; (2) learning to use the tools of improvement science; and (3) learning to take up the theory of improvement. Additional findings show preliminary variations based on participant characteristics such as teaching tenure, whether they participated in the network with a colleague they knew prior to joining the network or with a school-based colleague, the context of their school, and how student centered they were at the outset of their participation.

This occasional paper presents subgroup findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study on levels of, and trends in, the use of a number of substances for nationally representative samples of high school graduates ages 19-30, "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018. Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-60" (see ED599071). The data have been gathered in a series of follow-up surveys of representative subsamples of high school seniors who were first surveyed in 12th grade as part of the MTF study. Data were first available for the 19-22 age group in 1980 and for the older age groups in subsequent years as the early cohorts progressed in age, as the tables and figures in this occasional paper indicate. The subgroup trends shown in the current occasional paper complement the last section of Chapter 5 (Trends in Drug Use in Early and Middle Adulthood) of that monograph by presenting the trend data for young adult subgroups in both graphic and tabular form. The results are described and discussed in Chapter 5, but the extensive set of tables and figures is provided here for the reader who wishes to view the figures and the underlying numerical values in tabular form. Three demographic dimensions are differentiated: gender, region of the country, and population density. Gender includes trends for males and females; region describes trends for each of the four major regions defined by the U.S. Census; and population density differentiates trends for five levels of community size. The Table of Contents and List of Figures in this occasional paper contain links to the content and figures. Following each figure is a table giving the numerical values associated with each trend line in that figure. [For the 1988-2019 Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper, see ED608244.]

Education has faced unprecedented disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic; evidence about the subsequent effect on children is of crucial importance. We use data from an oral reading fluency (ORF) assessment--a rapid assessment taking only a few minutes that measures a fundamental reading skill--to examine COVID's effects on children's reading ability during the pandemic in more than 100 U.S. school districts. Effects were pronounced, especially for Grades 2-3, but distinct across spring and fall 2020. While many students were not assessed in spring 2020, those who were seemed to have experienced relatively limited or no growth in ORF relative to gains observed in other years. In fall 2020, a far more representative set of students was observed. For those students, growth was more pronounced and seemed to approach levels observed in previous years. Worryingly, there were also signs of stratification such that students in lower-achieving districts may be falling further behind. However, at the level of individual students, those who were struggling with reading prior to the pandemic were not disproportionately impacted in terms of ORF growth. This data offers an important window onto how a foundational skill is being affected by COVID-19 and this approach can be used in the future to examine how student abilities recover as education enters a post-COVID paradigm. [For the policy brief, see ED612594.]

A growing body of evidence suggests that vocationally focused programs of study substantially improve high-school completion and longer-run economic success. However, the corresponding recommendations to expand vocational programs may have unintended, negative consequences for low-income, academically successful students (i.e., the "missing one offs") who have the capacity and motivation to attend highly selective universities. This study contributes to our understanding of these issues by examining an innovative, college-preparatory program targeted to academically successful Chilean students attending vocational high schools serving lower-income communities. This program (Escuela Desarrollo de Talentos or EDT) provides academic and social-emotional supports aligned with admission to selective universities. We examine the educational effects of EDT participation using a fuzzy regression-discontinuity design based on its eligibility rules. We find that the EDT program did not increase the probability of graduating from high school but did increase performance in math courses. We also find corresponding evidence suggesting that EDT participation increased math performance on college entrance exams and shifted students away from further postsecondary vocational training and towards matriculation at elite universities.

Using discontinuities within the Swedish SAT [scholastic aptitude test] system, we show that additional admission opportunities causally affect college choices. Students with high-educated parents change timing, colleges, and fields in ways that appear consistent with basic economic theory. In contrast, very talented students with low-educated parents react to higher scores by increasing overall enrolment and graduation rates. Remarkably, most of this effect arises from increased participation in college programs and institutions that they could have attended even with a lower score. This suggests that students with low-educated parents face behavioral barriers even in a setting where colleges are tuition-free, student grants are universal and application systems are simple.

Disrupted schooling can heavily impact the amount of education pupils receive. Starting in early June of 2011 a huge social outburst of pupil protests, walk-outs, riots and school occupations called the Chilean Winter caused more than 8 million of lost school days. Within a matter of days, riots reached the national level with hundreds of thousands of pupils occupying schools, marching on the streets and demanding better education. Exploiting a police report on occupied schools in Santiago, I assess the effect of reduced school attendance in the context of schools occupations on pupils' cognitive achievement. This paper investigates whether or not there is a causal relationship between the protests and school occupations and the standardised test performance of those pupils whose schools were occupied.

England currently faces a shortage of teachers, in part due to declining retention. Research suggests that one important influence on teachers' decisions about whether to leave teaching is the quality of working conditions in their school. Understanding which specific aspects of working conditions have the strongest relationship with retention could therefore help improve the supply of teachers. This report uses data collected from a large sample of teachers in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, linked to data from the School Workforce Census (SWC), to investigate how the quality of working conditions varies and how it influences both job satisfaction and whether teachers subsequently leave their school or the teaching profession overall. Prior analysis using the TALIS 2013 data investigated the relationships between school working conditions and teacher job satisfaction and desire to move school. The present research updates and extends that analysis. In particular, the new data affords the opportunity to compare working conditions across primary and secondary phases, model the relationship between working conditions and whether teachers are observed to actually leave their school or the profession, investigate the importance of school discipline, and compare changes in working conditions for lower secondary teachers over time. [For the 2013 report, "TALIS 2013: Working Conditions, Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention. Statistical Working Paper," see ED604491.]

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult student, as defined in section (s.)1004.02(5), Florida Statutes (F.S.), to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements in adult high school programs are designed in accordance with core content standards per s. 1003.41, F.S. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall be based on the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) adult education curriculum frameworks found in the 2019-2020 Adult General Education Curriculum Frameworks. Instructional methodologies may include, but are not limited to, traditional lecture instruction, competency- and performance-based adult education, distance learning and computer-assisted instruction. Provided is information for adult high schools regarding the following topics: (1) enrollment criteria; (2) criteria for entering into an AHS co-enrollment program; (3) tuition; (4) assessing students for the National Reporting System (NRS); (5) accountability and reporting; (6) graduation requirements; (7) granting high school credits and diplomas to adults; (8) statewide assessments; (9) assessment requirements for students with disabilities; (10) transfer of credit guidelines; (11) diploma/completion options; (12) course code directory; and (13) adult education instructor certification requirements. [For the "2018-2019 Florida Adult High School Technical Assistance Paper," see ED600584.]

While the importance of social-emotional learning for student success is well established, educators and researchers have less knowledge and agreement about which social-emotional skills are most important for students and how these skills distribute across student subgroups. Using a rich longitudinal dataset of 221,840 fourth through seventh grade students in California districts, this paper describes growth mindset gaps across student groups, and confirms, at a large scale, the predictive power of growth mindset for achievement gains, even with unusually rich controls for students' background, previous achievement, and measures of other social-emotional skills. Average annual growth in English language arts and math corresponding to differences between students with fixed and growth mindset in a same school and grade level is 0.07 and 0.05 standard deviations respectively, after adjusting for students' characteristics and previous achievement. This estimate is equivalent to 48 and 35 additional days of learning.

Testing students and using test information to hold schools and, in some cases, teachers accountable for student achievement has arguably been the primary national strategy for school improvement over the past decade and a half. Tests are also intended to be used as a diagnostic tool to identify individual student needs, so that students can be set on a trajectory for long-term academic success. We use panel data from three states -- North Carolina, Massachusetts and Washington State -- to investigate how accurate early measures of achievement are in predicting later high school outcomes. We contribute to the literature in three distinct ways. First, the long panels we employ allow us to quantify the accuracy of models predicting how early (3rd and 4th grade) measures of student background and achievement predict several later schooling outcomes: 8th grade test achievement, high school course-taking, and high school graduation. Second, we test the extent to which predictions based on distinct segments of student data (e.g. grades 3 to 8, then 8 to 12) sacrifice forecast accuracy; this is of particular policy relevance for states or localities that do not yet have long administrative data panels. Finally, we test the degree to which the use of parameter estimates from models predicting schooling outcomes derived from one state diminish the accuracy of predicting outcomes in other states.

Family and social networks are widely believed to influence important life decisions but identifying their causal effects is notoriously difficult. Using admissions thresholds that directly affect older but not younger siblings' college options, we present evidence from the United States, Chile, Sweden and Croatia that older siblings' college and major choices can significantly influence their younger siblings' college and major choices. On the extensive margin, an older sibling's enrollment in a better college increases a younger sibling's probability of enrolling in college at all, especially for families with low predicted probabilities of enrollment. On the intensive margin, an older sibling's choice of college or major increases the probability that a younger sibling applies to and enrolls in that same college or major. Spillovers in major choice are stronger when older siblings enroll and succeed in more selective and higher-earning majors. The observed spillovers are not well-explained by price, income, proximity or legacy effects, but are most consistent with older siblings transmitting otherwise unavailable information about the college experience and its potential returns. The importance of such personally salient information may partly explain persistent differences in college-going rates by geography, income, and other determinants of social networks.

Using detailed administrative data for public schools, we document racial and ethnic segregation at the classroom level in North Carolina, a state that has experienced a sharp increase in Hispanic enrollment. We decompose classroom-level segregation in counties into within-school and between-school components. We find that the within-school component accounted for a sizable share of total segregation in middle schools and high schools. Recognizing its importance could temper the praise for school assignment policies that reduce racial disparities between schools but allow large disparities within them. More generally, we observe between the two components a complementary relationship, with one component tending to be large when the other one is small. Comparing the degree of segregation for the state's two largest racial/ethnic minority groups, we find that White/Hispanic segregation was more severe than White/Black segregation, particularly within schools. Analyzed as separate administrative units, schools with large shares of Black students tended to have more White/Black segregation across classrooms than schools with smaller shares. Finally, we examine enrollment patterns by course and show that school segregation brings with it differences by race and ethnicity in the courses that students take, with White students more likely to be enrolled in advanced classes.

This study finds that, breaking with decades of slow improvement, U.S. reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other assessments have seen historic declines since most states implemented national Common Core English and math curriculum standards six years ago. This descriptive analysis is designed to be understood by a general, non-technical readership. It primarily compares student achievement gains on the NAEP after implementation of Common Core to student achievement gains in the years preceding implementation of Common Core. Since test score results, by their nature, tend to "bounce" somewhat from one year to the next and gains are rarely perfectly smooth, a significant part of the analysis determines the average annual gain since implementation of Common Core and compares that to the average annual gain before implementation of Common Core. This report also includes a section addressing defenses by Common Core advocates denying responsibility for the poor results. The following state samples are included: (1) California; (2) Florida; (3) Georgia; (4) Illinois; (5) Kentucky; (6) Massachusetts; and (7) New York.

Rising inequality in the United States has raised concerns about potentially widening gaps in educational achievement by socio-economic status (SES). Using assessments from LTT-NAEP [Long-Term Trend assessment administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress], Main-NAEP, TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study], and PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment] that are psychometrically linked over time, we trace trends in achievement for U.S. student cohorts born between 1954 and 2001. Achievement gaps between the top and bottom quartiles of the SES distribution have been large and remarkably constant for a near half century. These unwavering gaps have not been offset by improved achievement levels, which have risen at age 14 but have remained unchanged at age 17 for the past quarter century.

The European qualifications framework (EQF), with its eight levels, serves as a translation grid between qualifications acquired in different European countries. Part of Cedefop's work to make qualifications easier to understand and compare, this study takes a closer look at those acquired through initial VET and assigned to EQF levels 3 and 4 via national classifications and frameworks. It explores what they have in common and in what way they differ. It looks at their purpose and value on the labour market or for further learning, and how they are assigned to the national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) and EQF levels. It also sheds light on the different weighting of occupational and transversal skills and competences and levels of complexity, and between qualifications at both levels within the same occupational area; these issues are not that often examined. While it confirms that describing the intended outcomes of learning improves understanding and eases comparison of vocational qualifications, the study highlights other aspects that are equally important, such as their currency and value on the labour market and in further learning.

Tiebout theorizes that local public services are provided more efficiently if costs are paid out of local revenues rather than by inter-governmental grants. But if local politics is not as pluralistic as Dahl has argued, citizens of higher socio-economic status will exercise greater influence, resulting in higher inequalities in service provision. We use administrative data to estimate the impacts of local revenue shares on individual performance of a nationally representative sample of over 140,000 U.S. eighth graders in math and reading. Causal effects are estimated with geographic discontinuity models and 2SLS models that use change in housing prices as an instrument. For every 10 percent increase in local revenue share, students perform about 0.05 standard deviations higher. Gains from local funding are less for disadvantaged students. Local financing affords better education for all but widens achievement gaps.

The OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 (E2030) project's overall goal is that of looking to the future in terms of how school curricula should evolve given the technological advances and other changes that societies are now facing. Towards that end, the E2030 project centres on the idea that education needs to equip students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to become active, responsible and engaged citizens. Mathematics is considered a highly relevant subject for achieving the above stated goals, as such it requires further and more detailed analysis. As a result, it has been chosen as one of the E2030 project's subject-specific analyses. The project has been named the Mathematics Curriculum Document Analysis (MCDA) study as per the request of participating countries. This working paper presents the findings of the MCDA study, which involves participants from 19 countries and jurisdictions.

An increasing emphasis on principals as key to school improvement has contributed to efforts to elevate principal effectiveness that have taken various forms across the US. The primacy of the state as the focal point of educational reform elevates the value of understanding commonalities and differences among states in characteristics of principals, the distribution of principals among schools and ultimately the policies associated with more effective school leadership, particularly for disadvantaged children. This paper describes major state policies, the distribution of elementary school principals among schools along a several dimensions, and pathways to the principalship to illustrate similarities and differences among six states in the tenure and experience distributions and how these vary by student demographic characteristics and district size. Measurement of principal effectiveness and its relationship with principal characteristics and state policies would be ideal, but complications introduced by the dynamics of principal influences and confounding effects of other factors inhibit this effort. Nonetheless, school value added to achievement provides information on differences in principal effectiveness, and we report within-school variation value added across principal regimes and the associations between value added and principal characteristics. The analysis reveals many similarities and some differences among the states, some of which are related to differences in governance structures. Perhaps the most striking differences relate to the pathways to the principalship including the fraction of principals with experiences as assistant principals and teachers.

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult student, as defined in section (s.)1004.02(5), Florida Statutes (F.S.), to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements in adult high school programs are designed in accordance with core content standards per s. 1003.41, F.S. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall be based on the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) adult education curriculum frameworks found in the 2018-2019 Adult General Education Curriculum Frameworks. Instructional methodologies may include, but are not limited to, traditional lecture instruction, competency- and performance-based adult education, distance learning and computer-assisted instruction. Provided is information for adult high schools regarding the following topics: (1) enrollment criteria; (2) criteria for entering into an AHS co-enrollment program; (3) tuition; (4) assessing students for the National Reporting System (NRS); (5) accountability and reporting; (6) graduation requirements; (7) granting high school credits and diplomas to adults; (8) statewide assessments; (9) assessment requirements for students with disabilities; (10) transfer of credit guidelines; (11) diploma/completion options; (12) course code directory; and (13) adult education instructor certification requirements. [For the "2017-2018 Florida Adult High School Technical Assistance Paper," see ED591367.]

Traditionally, teacher salaries have been determined solely by experience and educational attainment. This has led to chronic shortages of teachers in particular subject areas, such as math, science and special education. We study the first long-running statewide program to differentiate teacher pay based on subject area, Georgia's bonus system for math and science teachers. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we find the bonuses reduce teacher attrition by 18 to 28 percent. However, we find no evidence the program increases the probability that education majors become secondary math or science teachers upon graduation or alters specific major choices within the education field.

Concerns about the breadth of the U.S. income distribution and limited intergenerational mobility have led to a focus on educational achievement gaps by socio-economic status (SES). Using intertemporally linked assessments from NAEP [National Assessment of Educational Progress], TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey], and PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment], we trace the achievement of U.S. student cohorts born between 1954 and 2001. Achievement gaps between the top and bottom deciles and the top and bottom quartiles of the SES distribution have been large and remarkably constant for a near half century. These unwavering gaps have not been offset by overall improvements in achievement levels, which have risen at age 14 but remained unchanged at age 17 for the most recent quarter century. The long-term failure of major educational policies to alter SES gaps suggests a need to reconsider standard approaches to mitigating disparities.

Novice teachers' professional contexts may have important implications for their effectiveness, development, and retention. However, descriptions of these contexts suffer from data limitations, resulting in unidimensional or vague characterizations. Using 10 years of administrative data from the Los Angeles Unified School District, we describe patterns of new teacher sorting using 27 context measures organized along three distinct dimensions -- intensity of instructional responsibilities, homophily, and colleague qualifications -- and use school-level survey data to measure a fourth dimension (professional culture). Relative to more experienced teachers, novice teachers have placements that are more challenging along the first three dimensions, and composite measures are differentially predictive of teachers' outcomes. This suggests that policymakers should consider placements to better retain and develop novice teachers.

California Assembly Bill (AB) 705 authored by Irwin and passed on October 13, 2017, requires colleges to "maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within a one-year timeframe" and use high school background data in placement processes. To implement this new law and develop guidelines based on the best available evidence, the California Community College Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) created the AB 705 Implementation Committee (Committee). One key request from the Committee was to focus on students historically placed into below transfer-level courses and compare transfer-level success rate estimates if they were placed directly into transfer-level coursework to the estimates for those who started one level below transfer-level using data from the Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP). Compared to students who were placed directly into transfer level courses, students with similar high school backgrounds but who had not historically been placed in transfer-level coursework may have had lower placement test scores or high school performance, so theoretically might not perform as well if placed there directly. A series of regressions using high school grade point average (HSGPA) and ACCUPLACER scores were used to adjust direct transfer-level placement success rates for three gatekeeper classes: transfer-level English, statistics, and pre-calculus. These estimated success rates were then compared to estimated "throughput" rates (the percentage of students completing transfer-level English or math in a given time frame) of students placed one level below to determine if such remediation would result in higher transfer-level completion or throughput than direct placement into transfer-level coursework. The regression-adjusted success rates were indeed lower than the original success rates of students who had been placed directly into a transfer-level course in the MMAP decision rules data. However, for all HSGPA performance levels in all three gatekeeper courses, the adjusted success rates for students placed directly into transfer-level courses exceeded adjusted throughput rates for students placed one level below transfer. This result suggests that even without any additional supports or course redesigns, the lowest performing high school students would have been more likely to complete transfer-level English, statistics, or pre-calculus if placed directly into these courses as compared to taking below transfer-level remediation. We were unable to identify any group of students who complete the transfer-level English, statistics, or pre-calculus course at a lower rate when placed directly there as opposed to being first placed in courses that are below transfer-level. It is recommended that each college conduct its own analysis to compare throughput rates below transfer-level to success rates at transfer-level at each level of high school achievement. These analyses should also be disaggregated by gender and ethnicity, both with and without specialized support, such as co-requisites, to ensure that local data align with the statewide findings. Further, colleges are encouraged to evaluate and assess their placement processes, curricular design, concurrent supports, and non-curricular supports, as well as determine and address disproportionate outcomes for historically underrepresented populations. These findings were used to inform guidance memos from the AB 705 Implementation Committee. This document provides details on how these adjustments were made, including the analytical code to transparently document methods and support local replication. [This report was co-written with Educational Results Partnership (ERP).]

We use longitudinal data on high school students in Washington State to assess the relationships between English Language Arts (ELA) teacher value added and other qualifications and the high school and postsecondary outcomes of their students. We also investigate whether these relationships differ for students with and without disabilities. We find that students assigned to 10th grade ELA teachers with higher value added have better test scores, are more likely to graduate on-time, and are more likely to attend and graduate from a four-year college than observably similar students assigned to 10th grade ELA teachers with lower value added. We also find that many of these relationships vary for students with and without disabilities, as 10th grade ELA teacher value added is more positively predictive of on-time graduation and four-year college attendance for students without disabilities, but more positively predictive of two-year college attendance and employment within two years of graduation for students with disabilities. In contrast to value added, other teacher characteristics like experience, degree level, endorsement area, and licensure test scores do not consistently predict better outcomes for students with or without disabilities.

This paper studies whether pupil performance gains achieved by autonomous schools--specifically academy schools in England--can be attributed to the strategic exclusion of poorly performing pupils. In England there have been two phases of academy school introduction, the first in the 2000s being a school improvement programme for schools serving disadvantaged pupil populations, the second a mass academisation programme in the 2010s which by contrast enabled better performing schools to become academies. Overall, on average across both programmes, exclusion rates are higher in academy schools. When the two programmes are considered separately, the earlier programme featured a much higher increase in the incidence of permanent exclusion. However, a number of simulated counterfactual experiments based on the statistical estimates show that rather than being used as a strategic means of manipulation to boost measured school performance, the higher rate of exclusion is instead a feature of the rigorously enforced discipline procedures that the pre-2010 academies adopted. [This paper was produced as part of the Centre for Economic Performance's Education and Skills Programme.]

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult student, to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements in adult high school programs are designed in accordance with core content standards. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall be based on the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) adult education curriculum frameworks. Instructional methodologies may include, but are not limited to, traditional lecture instruction, competency- and performance-based adult education, distance learning and computer-assisted instruction. Adult general education programs are authorized by s. 1004.93, F.S., and defined as comprehensive instructional programs designed to improve the employability of the state's workforce through adult basic education, adult secondary education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), applied academics for adult education instruction, and instruction for adults with disabilities in s. 1004.02(3), F.S. The AHS curriculum framework is correlated to the Florida Standards, and courses offered are the same as those offered in the K-12 school system. The FDOE AHS curriculum frameworks provide a minimum set of standards to be used by all facilitators delivering AHS education programs. AHS education includes both adult high school diploma programs and co-enrollment courses of study. Students in the AHS program must meet all state and local graduation requirements for a standard high school diploma, unless otherwise noted in this guide. Provided is information for adult high schools regarding the following topics: (1) enrollment criteria; (2) tuition and out-of-state fees; (3) assessing students for National Reporting System (NRS) reporting; (4) accountability and reporting; (5) graduation requirements; (6) statewide assessments; (7) assessment requirements for students with disabilities; (8) transfer of credit guidelines; (9) diploma/completion options; (10) course code directory; and (11) adult education instructor certification requirements. [For the 2016-2017 version of this paper, see ED579163.]

High teacher turnover in schools is associated with reduced pupil attainment. High turnover also has an effect on equity, since it tends to be concentrated in schools with deprived intakes. A good deal of research has attributed higher levels of teacher turnover in such schools to the challenges involved in teaching disadvantaged pupils. However, a recent review of the literature suggests that working conditions in schools may be a more important reason for high turnover. This research provides new evidence on this point by using the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) to test for and quantify the relationships between different aspects of working conditions in schools, and both teachers' job satisfaction and desire to move to another school. The research shows that job satisfaction among teachers in England is below that of comparable TALIS nations. Using data on over 50,000 teachers from 34 different countries, and controlling for the effects of teacher age, gender, qualifications and experience, the research shows that more cooperation between teachers and more effective professional development is associated with increased teacher job satisfaction. The findings of this report highlight the importance of the more interpersonal aspects of working conditions, such as school leadership and teacher cooperation, for helping to reduce turnover. [For the 2018 report, "TALIS 2018: Teacher Working Conditions, Turnover and Attrition. Statistical Working Paper", see ED604489.]

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult no longer enrolled in public high school to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements are in accordance with standards established by the state. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall be based on the State of Florida adult education frameworks and the Florida Standards. Instructional methodologies may include, but are not limited to, traditional lecture instruction, competency and performance-based adult education, distance learning, and computer-assisted instruction. This guide provides information for adult high schools regarding the following topics: (1) enrollment criteria; (2) tuition and out-of-state fees; (3) assessing students for National Reporting System (NRS) reporting; (4) accountability and reporting; (5) graduation requirements; (6) statewide assessments; (7) assessment requirements for students with disabilities; (8) transfer of credit guidelines; (9) diploma/completion options; (10) course code directory; and (11) adult education instructor certification requirements. [For the 2015-2016 version of this paper, see ED579159.]

As pushes for increased accountability in higher education continue, postsecondary institutions are interested in identifying early on students who are at risk of leaving their institution. With this in mind, this study sought to identify incoming first-year student information (such as that available on the ACT student record) that postsecondary institutions might use for determining students who are at-risk of leaving their institution in year two. Specifically, student characteristics were examined in relation to two types of attrition for the institution--students dropping out of college and students transferring to another institution--in comparison to students returning in year two. Data were available for more than 630,000 ACT-tested 2014 high school graduates who enrolled in college in fall 2014 at nearly 1,150 two- and four-year institutions. Initial and subsequent enrollment was tracked using National Student Clearinghouse data. Data on student-level characteristics evaluated included academic preparation and achievement measures; college intentions about living on campus, enrolling full-time, and working while in college; educational goals; the number of college preferences met by the initial institutions; the distance between home and initial institution attended; and demographic characteristics. Student's college intentions, college preference matches, and distance from home were included in the study as possible proxies for barriers to social and academic integration at the initial institution attended. Hierarchical multinomial regression models accounting for institution attended were used to estimate retention and attrition rates. Results were examined by type of institution. Study findings suggest that multiple academic and non-academic factors are useful for predicting student attrition. First, at both two- and four-year institutions, students who were less academically prepared for college were more likely than those who better prepared to drop out of college. Academic readiness was also negatively related to transfer at four-year institutions but was somewhat positively related to transfer at two-year intuitions. College intentions also played a role in identifying who was likely to leave their initial institution. For example, students who indicated that they planned to work more hours while in college were more likely to drop out of college than those intending to work fewer hours. Additionally, the fewer the number of college preferences met by the initial institution attended the more likely a student was to drop out or transfer to another institution. Attending an institution farther away from home was also associated with higher transfer rates. Unfortunately, even after statistically controlling for academic measures and other student characteristics, students from certain underserved demographic groups (e.g., first-generation students and economically disadvantaged students) continued to be somewhat more likely than their peers to drop out. In secondary analyses, retention and attrition rates were found to vary across college majors and by institutional characteristics. Study findings illustrate how institutions can use incoming student information from the ACT record to help identify students who are at-risk of leaving their institution, allowing for the opportunity to intervene early with these students. The ACT student record contains additional data elements beyond those examined in this study that can help institutions build multidimensional models of student success in order to better identify students who might benefit from additional academic and student support services upon entering college.

This paper is the first in Pioneer Institute's UMass at a Crossroads series. In the opening study, the authors focus on UMass' significant growth in two areas, academic competitiveness and student enrollment, compared to other New England state universities, MA private universities, national private universities and national public universities. UMass has expanded enrollment more rapidly than other comparable university systems in the last ten years. As this paper will illustrate, UMass' enrollment expansion has continued against the backdrop of a projected decline in high school graduates in Massachusetts. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) forecasts that the number of high school graduates will decline by 11.4 percent from 2015-16 to 2027-28. In spite of these projections, the school has continued to grow its enrollment and expand its capital facilities to historic levels. Through the past decade of enormous growth in enrollment, the university has significantly elevated its academic profile. This is evidenced by its rise in rankings--in just five years UMass Amherst, UMass' flagship campus, rose more than 20 in rank in the top 100 of U.S. News and World Report's 2014 rankings of national universities. UMass' rising academic rank and its growing national profile have led to increasingly competitive admissions, which has made it considerably more difficult for Massachusetts students to be admitted. One of the most significant contributing factors to this trend has been the university's admittance of a growing percentage of out-of-state and international students in recent years. While UMass has been accepting significantly higher volumes of out-of-state students relative to in-state enrollees, the school's enormous growth is also reflective of its growing popularity as a higher education option for in-state students. Pioneer raises the question of whether the continued expansion of UMass, based largely on increased enrollment of out-of-state students, is in the best interest of the commonwealth. With a comprehensive examination of trends in enrollment, Pioneer's aim is to illustrate the degree to which UMass' changing priorities in recruitment present a number of a grave concerns for in-state students and Massachusetts residents at-large. UMass is fundamentally changing, and this evaluation of the trends of the last ten years is part of a larger discussion about how the university can best serve the commonwealth while maintaining a sustainable fiscal course. [For "UMass at a Crossroads Part 2: Is UMass' Expansion Fiscally Sustainable? White Paper No. 146," see ED598659. For "UMass at a Crossroads Part 3: UMass' Growing Dependency on Tuition and Fees and Strategic Recruitment of Out-of-State Students. White Paper No. 147," see ED598661.]

This paper analyzes the relation between public, education-related infrastructure and the quality of education in schools. The analysis uses a case study of the establishment of two large, high-quality public libraries in low-income areas in Bogotá, Colombia. It assesses the impact of these libraries on the quality of education by comparing national test scores (SABER 11) for schools close to and far from the libraries before (2000-02) and after (2003-08) the libraries were opened. The paper introduces a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition on difference-in-differences estimates to assess whether variation of traditional determinants of mathematics, verbal, and science test scores explains the estimates. The analysis finds differences that are not statistically different from zero that could be attributed to the establishment of the libraries. These results are robust to alternative specifications, a synthetic control approach, and an alternative measure of distance. Appended are: (1) Tables; (2) Figures; and (3) Oaxaca-Blinder and DiD. [This paper is a product of the Poverty Global Practice Group and was produced by the Research Support Team.]

The Great Recession was one of the sharpest economic downturns of the past century, with significant impacts across the U.S. labor market. Over past decades, one key feature of the U.S. labor market has been the high and stable returns to education. In this paper I estimate the returns to education for large samples of young workers in Arkansas over the period before, during, and after the Great Recession. I use linked education and Unemployment Insurance earnings data on almost 1 million individuals within the state. From both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis, I find very modest effects of the Great Recession on the earnings gaps of workers with different levels of education. Over the period 2001 to 2012, there were large and stable returns to postsecondary education relative to high school completion, and these gaps were largely unaffected by the Great Recession. I do find employment shocks that differ by education level: for persons without a college education, employment shocks were stronger and they persisted beyond the end of the recession. Adjusting for these employment shocks, earnings gaps by education level increased over the period after 2007. I also find evidence that those who graduated from college during the Great Recession gained less than those who graduated before 2007. As with earlier recessions, postsecondary education served as an effective buffer against labor market shocks. The following are appended: (1) Tables; and (2) Figures.