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Measures of student disadvantage--or risk--are critical components of equity-focused education policies. However, the risk measures used in contemporary policies have significant limitations, and despite continued advances in data infrastructure and analytic capacity, there has been little innovation in these measures for decades. We develop a new measure of student risk for use in education policies, which we call Predicted Academic Performance (PAP). PAP is a flexible, data-rich indicator that identifies students at risk of poor academic outcomes. It blends concepts from emerging "early warning" systems with principles of incentive design to balance the competing priorities of accurate risk measurement and suitability for policy use. PAP is more effective than common alternatives at identifying students who are at risk of poor academic outcomes and can be used to target resources toward these students--and students who belong to several other associated risk categories--more efficiently.

Although policymakers generally appreciate the value of crafting policies that are responsive to teacher and principal voice, doing so in a systematic way is challenging. Educator voices in the room when policies are made are often those of teachers and principals closest to policymakers. In 2019, to broaden the range of educator voices available to policymakers in Wisconsin, we asked more than 2,200 teachers and 700 principals in public schools in Wisconsin how "they" would change policy to improve the academic success of economically disadvantaged students. In total, 1,559 teachers and 601 principals offered suggestions for changing policy across four categories: school level--academic, student level, school level--non-academic, and community level. Though we saw variation in responses based on percent of student body eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch, grade levels served (elementary, middle, high school) and community type (city, suburb, town, rural), many responses appear with similar frequency among practitioners across contexts--indicating promise for making broader changes that impact all schools.

Education researchers use surveys widely. Yet, critics question respondents' ability to provide high-quality responses. As schools increasingly use student surveys to drive policymaking, respondents' (lack of) motivation to provide quality responses may threaten the wisdom of using surveys for data-based decision-making. To better understand student satisficing (suboptimal responding on surveys) and its impact on data quality, we examined the pervasiveness and impact of this practice on a large-scale social-emotional learning survey administered to 409,721 students in grades 2-12. Findings indicated that despite the prevalence of satisficing in our sample, its impact on data quality appeared more modest than anticipated. We conclude by providing an accessible approach for defining and calculating satisficing for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working with large-scale datasets.

Recent trends in higher education have increased interest in improving accountability in U.S. higher education beyond current accreditation practices. Many proposed solutions include using quantitative-performance measures like graduation and default rates to assess performance, but questions remain about how such a system could fit-in with existing accreditation efforts. Using a unique dataset of accreditation actions, we examine the relationship between outcomes of the current accreditation system with those of a hypothetical quantitative evaluation system. We find that schools facing accreditation sanctions are, on average, low-performing on the quantitative outcomes. However, using prior accreditation actions to set quantitative-performance benchmarks results in a substantial portion of the higher education sector being implicated. These results suggest that quantitative-performance systems and qualitative accreditation efforts assess distinct, complementary types of institutional quality. We conclude with a consideration of how the two might be used together and a discussion of concerns about data and equity. [Paper will be published in the "Journal of Higher Education."]

In districts across the country, school practitioners rely on early warning indicator systems (EWI) to identify students in need of support to graduate high school and be prepared for college. By organizing pieces of data on student performance into indicators, practitioners can develop and test school strategies to improve students' educational attainment with data that are readily available, making indicator systems a potentially powerful tool for supporting student outcomes. While the use of indicators for reaching school and district goals around students' educational attainment has been widely embraced, it is not always clear how to do so in ways that will lead to better educational attainment for students. Questions about how to use indicator systems effectively generally focus on: (1) "How" are indicators used to improve high school and college graduation rates, and (2) "Which" indicators should be the focus of an early warning or college readiness indicator system? These questions are intertwined. Decisions about which indicators are the best indicators to use depend on how they are being used, and questions about how to use indicators depend on the choice of indicators. This paper provides a brief overview of the current state of the use of indicators for improving students' educational attainment, considerations about which indicators to use when developing an indicator system, and some of the questions that have arisen as schools, districts, and states engage in these efforts. It is intended for people who are positioned between the research and practice spheres, such as district and state institutional researchers, or researchers at universities and research organizations who work closely with schools and districts. It may also be of interest to school and district administrators with a strong interest in developing and refining high school graduation and college readiness indicator systems, and an interest in the data and research behind such systems.

High-stakes decisions are often made for English learners in the K-12 context based on their performance on English language proficiency assessments. Although states and districts provide guidelines for making such decisions, little is known regarding how educators actually make decisions at the district and school levels. Understanding these decisions is important as they often have significant consequences. In addition, evidence regarding the decisions is necessary to support validity claims made regarding the use of the assessments. This study examines how K-12 educators identify and place English learners in language instruction educational programs. These educators serve ELs in different capacities, including district coordinators, instructional coaches, administrators, teachers, and counselors. Participants were sampled from 35 U.S. states, using stratified random sampling. A total of 476 educators (207 district-level and 269 school-level educators) completed an online survey on EL identification and placement. Findings reveal information regarding (1) educators who make decisions about English learner identification and placement, (2) instruments and information sources used for decision making, and (3) educators' perceived appropriateness of the decisions. Results provide practical implications for improving the English learner identification and placement decision at the district and school levels.

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.

The present paper, which is intended for a diverse audience of evaluation researchers, applied social scientists, and research funders, provides a broad overview of the conceptual and statistical issues involved in using multisite randomized trials to learn "about" and "from" variation in program effects across "individuals," across policy-relevant and theoretically relevant "subgroups" of individuals, and across program sites. Learning about variation in program effects involves detecting and quantifying this variation. Learning from variation in program effects involves studying the factors which predict or explain it. The paper is divided into four sections, plus a brief final discussion. The first section introduces the concepts and issues involved. Section 2 focuses on detecting and quantifying variation in effects of program "assignment," which are often referred to as effects of intent to treat (ITT). Section 3 extends the discussion to variation in effects of program "participation," which are often referred to as a complier average causal effect (CACE) or a local average treatment effect (LATE). Section 4 considers "moderators" of program effects (individual-level or site-level factors that influence the sign and magnitude of these effects) and "mediators" of program effects (individual-level or site-level "mechanisms" by which these effects are produced). Appendices include: (1) Characterizing the Impact of an Intervention on the Mean and Variance of Outcomes and Program Impacts for a Population of Individuals; (2) Derivation of the HLM [hierarchical linear model] Estimator of the Cross-Site Mean and Variance of Program Impacts.

Amid growing recognition that strong academic skills alone are not enough for young people to become successful adults, this comprehensive report offers wide-ranging evidence to show what young people need to develop from preschool to young adulthood to succeed in college and career, have healthy relationships, be engaged citizens, and make wise choices. It concludes that rich experiences combining action and reflection help children develop a set of critical skills, attitudes, and behaviors. And it suggests that policies should aim to ensure that all children have consistent, supportive relationships and an abundance of these developmental experiences through activities inside and outside of school. The Wallace Foundation awarded a competitive grant to UChicago CCSR in 2013 to undertake the project, which included a review of relevant literature spanning decades as well as interviews with national experts in research, policy and practice, and young people and the adults who work with them in schools, programs and agencies throughout Chicago. The report offers evidence to show how, where, and when the "key factors" to success develop from early childhood through young adulthood, emphasizing the kinds of experiences and supportive relationships that guide the positive development of these factors. Recognizing that there are no silver bullets to promoting social-emotional learning, the report emphasizes a range of factors that build on one another over time. It also emphasizes factors that are particularly malleable, as well as the age at which each of the key factors comes into prominence, offering adults the most promising window for positive intervention. A key problem the report identifies is that disadvantaged youth often face extra challenges. For example, they often have fewer in-school and out-of-school opportunities for consistent, positive developmental experiences and relationships and face significant opportunity gaps to developing the essential skills to become productive adults. An appendix provides a list of experts who provided input and feedback throughout this project. [This report was written with David W. Johnson, Sarah Dickson, Ashley Cureton Turner, Ashley Mayo, and Kathleen Hayes.]

In 2012, five foundations launched the Credit When Its Due (CWID) initiative that was "designed to encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's degree" (Lumina Foundation, 2012, n.p.), also known as "reverse transfer." Initially, 12 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon) were funded to develop and implement these reverse transfer programs and policies, and the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was chosen as the research partner. In late 2013, three states (Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas) were added to bring the total number of states to 15. At least six additional states have legislation, pending legislation, or statewide initiatives related to reverse transfer. This thought paper describes changes that are occurring at the state, system, and institution levels with implementation of reverse transfer in the 12 original states. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected from the CWID Implementation Study, the authors describe efforts related to the optimization of reverse transfer in these 12 states. The authors define optimization as policy and program change at any level--state, system, or institution--that yields the largest number of students who are eligible for and able to benefit from reverse transfer. The initial results suggest that some states are piloting reverse transfer with a limited set of public community college and university partnerships, and others are striving for system-level reforms that eventually may impact all forms of transfer. Understanding what optimization means and how it works is possible because of this variation in implementation approaches among states, and this thought paper explores how states are implementing and optimizing reverse transfer.

Informal science education institutions have been identified as critical participants in helping students succeed in science by working in collaboration with school systems across the country. The results of one such collaboration, the Urban Advantage (UA) program found that participation in UA improved student achievement, on average, by 0.6 standard deviations on the 8th grade New York State Intermediate Level Science exam. However, while some UA schools performed exceedingly well, others performed well below expectations. In the current study, we explore the heterogeneity in the results and look deeper into what may be the cause of this variation, focusing closely on the school-level factors that may help or hinder success. After identifying a set of high and low-performing UA schools, we use qualitative research methods to uncover the ways in which successful schools are implementing UA, as well as other school-level factors that may influence the degree to which the school is able to benefit from the UA program. Identifying these best practices across different school contexts may help UA program staff develop strategies to support UA schools having more limited success. Additionally, findings from this study may aid UA staff in the school selection process, for example choosing schools they previously may not have based on their school-level characteristics. The following is appended: Teacher Interview Protocol.

This paper reviews international research in the field of dropout from upper secondary education and training in OECD countries in order to present possible solutions to policymakers faced with the completion challenge. The paper begins by presenting existing definitions of dropout and upper secondary completion and states that dropout must be understood as the final step in a process of disengagement that begins early. Causes that lead to dropout in OECD countries are then studied, and the paper illustrates that causes of dropout are highly complex and intertwined. Finally, to address these causes or risk factors, the paper reviews research that had been carried out on piloted or implemented measures across OECD countries. It finds that successful measures address several risk factors and involve action both within school, outside school and at systemic level simultaneously. The paper concludes by presenting a set of solutions according to educational level and emphasizes that preventive measures to reduce dropout should start early. Early identification enables broader, less costly measures to be set up earlier and leaves the more costly one-on-one measures for later stages of education to the remaining at risk students that have not yet been picked up. Overcoming the completion challenge requires a close cooperation between educational authorities and many other parts of government such as social and labour services, health services and justice system in some countries. A bibliography is included. (Contains 9 figures.)

This paper builds on earlier reviews by the author of the changing roles and identities of contemporary professional staff in UK higher education (Whitchurch, 2004; 2006a; 2006b), and describes an empirical study that was undertaken between 2004 and 2007. It progresses the argument that the generic terms "administration" and "management" no longer do justice to the activities of these staff, and uses the concept of identity to develop four categories of "bounded," "cross-boundary," "unbounded" and "blended professionals." Via these categories it is shown how individuals are not only interpreting their given roles more actively, but are also moving laterally across boundaries to create new professional spaces, knowledges and relationships. The paper goes on to introduce the concept of "third space" as an emergent territory between academic and professional domains, in which "unbounded" and "blended professionals," particularly, are likely to work. It considers the implications of these developments for both institutions and individuals, and makes some comparisons with parallel groups of staff in Australia and the United States. Finally, it proposes that "third space" working is suggestive of future trends in professional identities, which may increasingly coalesce with those of academic colleagues who undertake project- and management oriented roles. (Contains 3 figures.) [An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Conference of the Society for Research into Higher Education (Brighton, UK, December 11-13, 2007). The study it describes was supported by a grant from the UK Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.]

Enrollment is rising across the nation's community colleges, but completion rates remain untenably low. Reformers are focusing on the importance of using comprehensive, high-quality data on student progress and completion to bring about change. A core tenet of Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count has been to embed a culture of data-informed decision making on campuses and in state capitals. To move this work forward, a group of data experts from Achieving the Dream's state policy teams came together in 2005 to design and test a valuable set of intermediate measures that demonstrate how community college students progress--or, as is too often the case, fail to progress--toward a credential or further education. Most important, this Cross-State Data Work Group showed the predictive power of interim indicators for identifying students in great need of intervention early enough to help boost their chances of staying in and finishing college. "On the Road to Success" presents the next step taken by the Cross-State Data Work Group: a comparative analysis of a comprehensive set of intermediate milestones and final measures of success that practitioners and policymakers can use to rethink and remake their approaches to increasing student achievement. Any institution in the country can use these "Benchmarks of Student Success"--a set of key indicators of community college student progression and completion--to frame strategic planning. This is one of the first times such comparative data are being reported publicly. The state-level data in this brief represent only part of what the members of the Data Work Group have collected and reported, and their cross-state conversations will continue. Perhaps an even more powerful impact will be derived as states turn this analytic approach inward and examine the comparative effectiveness of colleges within a single state. Benchmarks for Student Success are appended. (Contains 11 figures, 1 table, and 10 endnotes.) [For "On the Road to Success: How States Collaborate and Use Data to Improve Student Outcomes. Executive Summary," see ED537263.]

In response to interest from the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders (NPDC-ASD), National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) queried state Part C and Section 619 coordinators regarding screening measures, diagnostic instruments and procedures, and trends in identifying young children with ASD under the age of five years. NECTAC collaborated with the NPDC-ASD to develop and refine a series of questions and then to conduct an on-line survey during a two week period in November 2008. Responses were received from a total of 40 respondents in 30 states/jurisdictions scattered throughout the United States and the Pacific jurisdictions. The results of this brief query suggest that the participating states are attuned to the need for early identification and diagnosis of ASD. Currently, two primary screening tools and three diagnostic measures were the most often reported; however, the majority of the states acknowledged that multiple tools and diagnostic measures were used within their states. It will be important for ongoing research studies on early screening and diagnosis to provide guidance to help states identify and use evidence-based strategies and tools for this important endeavor. Attachments 1 and 2 at the end of this paper are compiled tables of screening tools and diagnostic tools listed in the survey as well as additional tools survey respondents said were in use in their states. Included in the tables are commonly used acronyms, full citations, and URLs for more information on each screening tool and diagnostic tool. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Over the past decade, public attention on the importance of the civic development and education of youth has grown. To address these concerns, the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC) Charter School opened in 1996 with the explicit mission to prepare and engage students grades K through 12 as caring citizens who are capable and motivated to fully participate in our democracy. While content standards and assessments readily exist to articulate the academic and artistic development of students, youth civic development, especially at the elementary level, has been under-conceptualized. What is needed is a more robust, comprehensive developmental framework for citizenship education that begins with younger ages and addresses civic skills and dispositions to the same degree as civic knowledge. The product from this project is a set of tested, reliable measures of civic knowledge, civic thinking skills, civic participation skills and civic dispositions that are referenced to recent efforts to provide frameworks of competencies in civic education. Two sets of instruments were developed using a comprehensive conceptual framework for civic indicators at the elementary level. The measures include a student survey of student civic knowledge, skills and attitudes that relate to dispositions, which is the focus of this report; a set of corresponding grade level observation checklists of student skills and behaviors was also developed. Starting at a young age to foster developmental foundations for civic engagement includes a democratic orientation to others and identification with them as fellow members of a community and body politic. This focus is not only developmentally appropriate but also consistent with the goals of many elementary schools to foster prosocial skills and behaviors. In addition, there is a need for greater attention to age-appropriate, instrument identification and development for elementary aged students to document student civic development by focusing on what they can do, an important and often overlooked facet of K-12 civic education research and practice. Addressing this need will also assist other public elementary schools interested in recapturing their civic mission and in creating a K-12 developmental framework for civic development. Appended are: (1) Student Survey Used in National Pilot; (2) Student Observation Checklists for Grades K/1, 2/3 and 4/5; (3) Pearson Correlations between Scales; (4) Tests of Significance for Findings by Gender; (5) Tests of Significance for Findings by White and Non-White Subpopulations; and (6) Descriptive Statistics of Full National Sample. (Contains 3 figures.) [This Working Paper was produced by CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement). For CIRCLE Working Paper 46, see ED494037.]

Noting that children with special health care needs (CSHCN) make up one of every six children eligible for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), this study examined how SCHIP responded to the needs of children with chronic illnesses and disabilities. This qualitative study was based on the implementation experiences in 18 states. Key findings were organized into six areas. Findings indicated that none of the study states made overt efforts to target CSHCN for enrollment. Benefit packages under separate programs were more limited than those covered by Medicaid. In almost every state, SCHIP programs relied on managed care, with CSHCN being served through the same care systems serving all children. Three states reported policies that exempted CSHCN from cost sharing or somehow protected them from undue expense. Waiting periods disproportionately affected families of CSHCN. States reported difficulty in identifying and enrolling large numbers of CSHCN into SCHIP programs. Based on findings, two changes to current policy are recommended: (1) permit SCHIP coverage to "wrap around" existing private health insurance for selected priority populations; and (2) encourage or require states to broaden their waiting period exceptions policies to allow CSHCN to drop private coverage if that coverage is significantly limited or expensive. (An appendix lists the key SCHIP and Medicaid contacts in the study states. Contains 30 references.) (KB)

This paper describes a methodology used in an on-going retention study at New York University (NYU) to identify a series of easily measured factors affecting student departure decisions. Three logistic regression models for predicting student retention were developed, each containing data available at three distinct times during the first semester: first, prior to the start of the fall semester; second, after the third week of classes; and third, at the end of the first semester. A method of identifying appropriate variables for inclusion in the logistic regression model is discussed as well as a rationale for choosing different cut points to classify the logit results. The study followed Fall 1994 and Fall 1995 freshmen (n=2209) among whom 272 students did not return to NYU a year after entry. Variables were grouped into six general categories describing: (1) family background/individual attributes; (2) pre-college schooling; (3) institution commitment; (4) first-term academic integration; (5) first-term social integration; and (6) first-year finances. The study found all three models were reasonably effective in identifying high risk students using various probability cutoff points. It concluded that use of all three models to identify students at risk at the three different times would allow for an optimum intervention strategy. (BF)

The Longitudinal Student Success Study was a six-year study to identify factors associated with to student success at a large Eastern community college. The study focused on American Black students as one group of students likely to have different background characteristics and preparedness levels than what generally facilitates success at a postsecondary educational institution. Information was collected on 522 American Black students and 893 American White students who were first-time students in Fall, 1990. Student success levels were constructed from information on students' graduating, transcript information, and/or earning 12, 24, or 36 credit hours while maintaining a passing grade point average. An iterative chi-square segmental modeling technique was used to identify factors most likely to predict student success and non-success. Application of logistic regression allowed a prediction of non-success for a statistically significant portion of students within that category. Identified predictor variables included race, sex, age, full-time/part-time status, financial aid information, student work data, math assessment, and English assessment information. (Contains 32 references.) (JLS)

Prompted by repeated failure on a required English language proficiency test by a large proportion of undergraduates, educators at Cardinal Stritch College (Wisconsin) conducted a study to determine predictors of failure or success on the test, and whether revision of course placement standards should be considered to improve test performance. Academic and demographic data on 1,587 students from 1987-92 were analyzed for predictors of failure on both grammar and essay sections of the test. Certain subgroups (males, non-whites, nursing majors, community college transfers, and students entering as transfers) consistently performed less well on both test parts. Scores on standardized tests, letter grades in English department courses, and age were consistently high predictors of success on the test. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/MSE)

A study tracked 3,192 University of Iowa freshmen through their first year and into their second year on campus. Logistic regression analyses using multiple data sources (admissions and registrar files, a standardized entrance test (the American College Testing Program Assessment) student profile section, an entering freshman survey) were conducted to determine models of student persistence at two points: freshman year spring re-enrollment and sophomore year fall re-enrollment. Two relatively successful models for predicting sophomore persistence were derived, although both models predicted correctly rather small percentages of non-persisters. A followup study on the reasons given for withdrawal by false-positives in the model is recommended. For this sample, it was found that modeling persistence was related to college-level academic indicators; the only non-academic factor to enter the prediction equation was students' perceived need for financial aid. (Contains 17 references.) (MSE)

The Student as Learner Inventory, which was developed at Alverno College (Wisconsin), is described. Alverno College is a private, 4-year liberal arts college for women with an enrollment of 2,500 students. The inventory, which is completed by entering and second semester students in an undergraduate program, is integral to the curriculum. The inventory is part of a New Student Seminar and involves: self-reflection by students on their development as learners; support for discussions by student, advisor, and instructor concerning learning issues; and identification of students "at risk" for attrition. Teachers bring students into a conversation about their learning perspective in relation to what will make them effective as learners in the curriculum. Consideration is given to: the rationale for research in a curriculum context; the contextual validity of the learning statements in the inventory; collaboration among researchers, instructors, and advisors; reframing validity as research and instruction are combined; the value of putting learning ahead of research and measurement goals; integration of research and measurement with instruction; use of qualitative and quantitative responses to interpret student responses to the inventory; measurement perspectives on score uses; items specific to the local context and philosophy of learning; and inventory revision based on statistical techniques and informed judgment. The inventory is appended, along with an educator's guide to the inventory. (Contains 34 references.) (SW)

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The SASS is a set of integrated self-administered surveys designed to obtain national information on all aspects of the school system. The Teacher Listing Form (TLF) is the first in the SASS series. It is sent to the principal early in the school year to list all teachers at the school. These results are used to select teachers from the school to participate in the SASS. In 1994, the Teacher List Validity Study uncovered some problems with the TLF. This document reports on cognitive research conducted to find out why respondents made the mistakes they did so that the TLF could be improved. A cognitive interview was held with one person from each of 19 sampled schools in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia (usually the principal). A combination of cognitive techniques, including think-aloud protocols, provided data. The interviews revealed that the TLF needed to be reorganized so that important conceptual information was not interrupted by unrelated information. Some instructions needed to be rearranged for clarity. Better definitions of what to include or exclude were required. Respondents had difficulty in reporting the subjects teachers were qualified to teach, so a decision rule was designed to help them choose a subject. Breaking the data into sections that correspond more closely to the real-world organization of schools is also recommended. An appendix contains the TLF. (Contains two tables.) (SLD)

The book "Bilingual Education in Massachusetts: The Emperor Has No Clothes" is summarized. The summary outlines the demographic situation of the limited-English-proficient (LEP) population and the status of bilingual education in the state, within the context of existing legislation. Issues in the debate over availability and type of bilingual education to be provided are examined, and current instructional approaches and techniques are noted. Differences in program provision that are linked to language group are discussed, and research concerning the effectiveness of bilingual education is reviewed briefly. Three additional issues discussed include the identification and transitioning of eligible students, costs of transitional programs, and public opinion on bilingual education. Eight recommendations are made for regulatory and legislative reform to improve educational programs for LEP students: freeing school districts from legal obligation to provide native language instruction; increasing LEP population size needed to trigger a self-contained classroom; requiring parent consent for enrollment in self-contained classroom; requiring English language fluency for LEP program teachers; changing entry/exit criteria for self-contained classrooms; eliminating specific class-size ceilings; better research; and improved program structure. (MSE)

Grade retention and early dropout are two of the biggest challenges facing education systems in middle-income countries today, representing waste in school resources. We investigate whether reducing parent-school information gaps can improve outcomes that are early-warning signals for grade retention and dropout. We conducted an experiment in low-income schools in Chile to test the effects and behavioral changes triggered by a program that sends attendance, grade, and classroom behavior information to parents via weekly and monthly text messages. Our 18-month intervention raised average math GPA by 0.09 of a standard deviation and increased the share of students satisfying attendance requirements for grade promotion by 4.5 percentage points. Treatment effects were larger for students at higher risk of later grade retention and dropout. We find some evidence of positive classroom spillovers. Leveraging existing school inputs to implement a light-touch, cost-effective information intervention can improve education outcomes in lower-income settings. [Funding for this report was provided by The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and a Chilean FONIDE grant.]

Nearly 4 in 10 children report experiencing maltreatment by adulthood. Early detection mitigates maltreatment's negative effects. Yet factors that drive early detection remain understudied. We examine one possible source of early detection: educators in school settings. Administrative data on reports of child maltreatment across the U.S. over a 14-year period allows us to use two different regression discontinuity methods, one based on school-entry laws and one on school calendars. Both methods show education professionals are reporting cases that would have been missed otherwise. These findings suggest that improved training and support of educators may improve society's ability to help children and families.