Search

Since 1988, Vermont has been developing a state assessment program, the centerpiece of which is the student portfolio and "best pieces" drawn from it. The state's use of portfolio results will be limited to reporting aggregates, but within schools, teachers and principals may use the portfolios as they choose. The assessment program, which encourages the adoption of higher standards as it coexists with Vermont's tradition of local control and innovation, currently includes mathematics and writing at grades 4 and 8, and will eventually encompass a broader range of subjects. Pilot implementations of these programs were carried out in the 1990-91 school year. This interim report describes preliminary results from 4 data collection efforts related to mathematics portfolios: (1) questionnaires sent to 40 fourth-grade and 40 eighth-grade mathematics teachers in pilot schools (18 percent response rate); (2) questionnaires completed by 8 mathematics portfolio raters in 1990-91; (3) teacher questionnaires from 172 teachers (83 percent response rate) in 1991-92; and (4) interviews with 77 principals in 1991-92. Teacher and administrators responses concerning the use of portfolios will be incorporated into later studies. Teachers reported several positive effects on instruction and learning. Three appendixes provide a description of the study samples, the year 2 principal interview and instructions, and the year 2 teacher questionnaire. (SLD)

The quality of mathematics and science education in the United States and the goal of becoming first in the world in those two disciplines are topics of concern. This study attempts to describe the current condition of mathematics and science education and to evaluate the adequacy of existing national data to provide such a description. The report is presented in six sections. An introduction defines curriculum, enumerates the research questions, and describes the organization of the report. Sections 2-5 present the current status, the availability and reliability of data, and the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of alternative indicators for the following areas: graduation requirements; course availability; course completion; and course content. Section 6 presents conclusions and recommendations of the study. The study concluded that the existing data sources were inadequate to construct a system of curriculum indicators. The indicator patchwork pieced together did not cover all aspects of curriculum, was temporally uneven, relied on sources of uneven quality, contained measures that were not always congruent, and in sum, was inadequate for effective policymaking. The following recommendations were made to fill in data gaps and build a comprehensive curriculum indicator system: (1) ensure the continued and extended availability of graduation standards, course availability, and course completion data; (2) develop, validate, and incorporate measures of course content into ongoing data-collection efforts; (3) support research to validate and extend the information provided by ongoing data sources; and (4) develop sources for information to describe the mathematics and science curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels. Supplemental sections provide a summary, lists of tables and figures, principal data sources for building the curriculum indicator patchwork, NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) variables with high rates of missing values in 1985-1986, additional tables and figures, and a list of 59 references. (MDH)

Indicators of mathematics and science education progress are important to policymakers and the public in order to evaluate the quality of education. Recent reports have evaluated existing indicators and suggested core aspects of mathematics and science education that an indicator system should evaluate. This note discusses two fundamental aspects of the quality of educational indicators: their reliability and validity. The note is divided into five sections. The first section discusses recent concerns for the weaknesses in the academic achievement of science and mathematics students in the United States and the need for availability and quality of indicators to assess that achievement. The second section discusses the concepts of validity and reliability as criteria to gauge the quality of indicators. The third section examines the threats to the validity and reliability of indicators. The fourth section presents approaches for evaluating and validating indicators. The fifth section presents the conclusions of the report. The report recognizes the complex task of building an adequate system of indicators of mathematics and science education. Simplification is cited as essential in order to inform debate and policy, and at the same time conflicting with the goal of adequate description. The report suggests that the issue of simplification can be addressed by choosing measures carefully, evaluating the systems of indicators, and employing multiple measures of important constructs. (Contains over 80 references.) (MDH)

A study was done of the Lilly Endowment Educational Awards (LEEAs), one type of gift-aid for fulltime undergraduate Indiana residents. In particular the study addressed: (1) who receives LEEAs; (2) how Pell, State of Indiana, and LEEA formulas interact; (3) what happens when LEEAs are combined with all of the other types of gift-aid for a total package; and (4) whether the LEEA program increases college participation, affects school choice, or reduces loan burden. Most of the analysis relied on two data sources: the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana and the State of Indiana Commission for Higher Education Student Information System. The study found that recipients of Pell and state awards come from families whose income level is well below the median for the state. LEEA recipients tend to come from families whose income is near the median. All three gift-aid formulas interact with each other and with external factors, and in ways that are often not immediately obvious. Due to the common practice of "equity packaging," LEEA and state awards may be viewed as block grants to a school's general scholarship fund. The major effect of the program was reduction of student loan burden. Extensive tables and technical appendixes are included. (Contains 71 references.) (JB)

Integral to school restructuring is the need to create time for school staff to participate in developing a vision, setting goals, formulating plans, training, and exchanging experiences. The use of time is both the object of and the chief impediment to change. The study surveyed educational literature, and business management journals, supplementing these with interviews and data from other Rand studies. "A Timely Problem," the first of four sections, documents the substantial demands for time associated with restructuring. "The Role of Time in Achieving Change" examines how change requires: (1) removing some existing demands on time; (2) adequate investments of time and resources during implementation; and (3) sustained commitment. Successful implementation relies on scheduling time with appropriate lengths, frequency, and availability to key participants. "Time-Creation Devices" outlines six major approaches, including promoting time outside the classroom, refocusing existing commitments, rescheduling, prolonging the work year, and enhancing the efficiency of time use. "Promoting Time for Reform" makes specific policy recommendations for broad application throughout the educational system. (TEJ)

Although only a few dozen school systems have formally embraced site-based management, thousands of districts across the country are experimenting with it in some form. The study described in this report attempts to distill the experience of pioneering school systems, so that citizens and educators in other localities can benefit from it. During the 1989-90 and 1990-91 school years, a RAND research team studied five major urban and suburban school systems that had adopted site-based management: Columbus, Ohio; Dade County, Florida; Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky; and Prince William County, Virginia. Newspaper and scholarly accounts of site-based management in other communities were also considered. The report draws five major conclusions: (1) though site-based management focuses on individual schools, it is really a reform of the entire school system; (2) site-based management will lead to real changes at the school level only if it is a school system's basic reform strategy; (3) site-based schools are likely to evolve over time and to develop distinctive characters, goals, and operating styles; (4) a system of distinctive, site-based schools requires a rethinking of accountability; and (5) the ultimate accountability mechanism for a system of distinctive site-based schools is parental choice. These findings have specific implications for the entire school community. An appendix provides an overview of the five districts studied. (MLH)

Training measures in the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men, the National Child Development Study for Britain, and the Australian Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to study determinants and labor market outcomes of postschool training received by young men. Twelve percent of U.S. youth reported getting formal training in the first year, compared with between 30 and 40 percent of nonapprentice males in Britain and Australia. As they acquired work experience, a high proportion of U.S. youth reported receiving training, whereas job training in Britain and Australia proceeded at a slower pace. U.S. employers provided workers with company-based training; British and Australian employers relied on outside training sources. Level of schooling attainment was an important predictor of postschool training and labor market success. For all three countries, better-educated youth were considerably more likely to get training. Rapid technical changes increased the likelihood of getting company training, especially for youth with the most education. In all three countries, union membership was associated with an increased probability of training, and company-based training had by far the largest quantitative influence on raising youth wages. Other training benefits were employability and job stability. Wage effects of formal training in the United States were roughly twice those in Britain and Australia. (32 references) (YLB)

This study, conducted in Indiana, describes sources of teacher supply, various paths individuals take into teaching, and how the paths have changed over time. Findings are based on: a computerized file containing a record for each Indiana teacher from 1965 to 1988; a survey of all Indiana teachers who taught in school year 1987-88, but not in the previous year; and a survey of new 1988-89 hires. New and returning teachers are profiled and paths to teaching are detailed. The objectives of the study are: to assess the current teacher supply and demand in Indiana; to determine and recommend policies that will ensure an adequate supply of certified teachers; and to provide the Indiana State Department of Education with the capability of monitoring and performing future assessments of teacher supply and demand. Following a preface, summary, acknowledgements, figures and tables, the report is organized into four sections: (1) Introduction; (2) The Changing Profile of Newly Hired Teachers; (3) Profile of Teachers in the Survey Sample; and (4) Conclusions including historical trends, survey results, and policy implications. A survey of newly hired teachers in Indiana public schools, 1988-89, and a 1989 Indiana teacher survey are appended. (LL)

Patterns of military service, college enrollment, and civilian labor force participation among recent high school graduates and dropouts were examined. The activities that young people pursued after high school were disparate and dependent upon a multitude of factors. The supply of entry-level workers did not keep pace with the demand for technicians, skilled craftsmen, and college-trained workers. Although the flow of high school graduates and dropouts into education and the labor force were matters of national concern, the educational and vocational activities that young people pursued were poorly tracked. According to estimates for 1986, the high school graduation rate was almost exactly the same as it was in 1976 and 1965. The composition of the high school graduating classes changed to reflect greater minority representation. Activity patterns during the first year after leaving school remained remarkably stable since the early 1970s, with some increases in both college enrollment and military enlistment rates in the early 1980s. Analyses of postsecondary activities during the rest of the 5-year period following high school revealed considerable turbulence in activity patterns, much of it into and out of short-term civilian jobs. For college entrants, progress toward degree completion was notably sporadic and drawn out. (Appendixes include 55 references and information on estimating numbers of high school graduates and on the database.) (YLB)

Although one-to-one tutoring has often been regarded as the most effective method of teaching, surprisingly little is understood about tutoring expertise. This paper describes initial attempts to study one-to-one tutoring. The goal of the research was to construct a detailed cognitive model of the reasoning and knowledge of an expert human tutor. The method employed was a variant of knowledge engineering. Tutoring sessions with expert teachers (n=3) and high school students were videotaped and subjected to a detailed analysis aimed at abstracting the tutor's knowledge structures. Some important tutoring techniques that were isolated using these methods are described. Also discussed are several dimensions along which tutors appear to be intelligent planners and problem solvers. Finally, several implications are noted, including potential impact on the construction of intelligent computer-based tutoring systems. (Contains 46 references.) (Author/MKR)

This report presents the results of RAND research conducted at the U.S. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive videodisc (IVD) system used to facilitate training in a variety of military occupational specialities. The objectives of the study were to: (1) develop a methodology for assessing the instructional effectiveness of IVD technology, which links a microcomputer and laser videodisc to provide interactive instruction with high-resolution video displays; (2) apply the methodology to evaluate the benefits of an IVD training system used in communications training; and (3) provide a general model for assessing related training technologies in a broad range of courses and environments throughout the defense community. This report documents two RAND studies which compared the effects of hands-on equipment training with IVD training to determine the effectiveness of IVD in specific types of training and the transfer of that training to new situations. Discussions of issues raised by these studies in regard to how IVD technology may be used most appropriately in other training applications and training conditions conclude the report. (56 references) (DB)

The stated goal of Individual Computer-Assisted Instruction (ICAI) research is the development of computer software that combines much of the subject matter being studied, any particular student's learning schema, and the pedagogical knowledge of human tutors into a powerful one-to-one learning environment. This report describes the initial steps in the research to design an intelligent tutor for basic algebra. Early observations indicated that one specific tutor version would be too limited, hence emphasis was focused on development of a generic tutor from which many tutor versions could be forged. This report documents the rationale for redirecting the overall research effort, the development of the generic tutor, the development of tutor versions from that generic model, and the efforts to evaluate those various tutor versions. The following are included: (1) an introduction with research goals and report organization; (2) a rationale for development of a core tutor and an outline of its components; (3) the physical specifications of the core tutor and design specifications of three tutor versions--the passive tutor, the multiple-representations tutor, and the goal-commands tutor; (4) an empirical evaluation and subsequent analysis of the passive tutor and its uses; (5) the conclusions drawn from this stage of ICAI research with prospects for future directions; (6) the student attitude/background survey and the mathematics achievement test used in the assessment procedure; and (7) 37 references. (JJK)

This report attempts to resolve disagreements about trends in minority enrollments in postsecondary education institutions and to examine various factors that might help explain the enrollment trends. Among the study's findings were the following: (1) in the total group of individuals, aged 18-24, the overall enrollment rate of blacks has changed little since the mid-1970s; (2) the proportion of black high school graduates, aged 18-24, that is enrolled in college has declined substantially from a peak of nearly 33 percent in the mid-1970s; and (3) the enrollment rate of Hispanic youth has been stable since the late 1970s, though it remains lower than during the peak years of the mid-1970s. Possible factors causing the enrollment trends, such as military enlistments and family income differences, are analyzed. Data sources (the Current Population Survey and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) are described in an appendix. Includes 51 references. (JDD)

This study examines the way the nation's educational system distributes opportunities to learn mathematics and science among various groups of students. Participation and achievement in mathematics and science by women, minorities, and the poor is disproportionately low. Minorities and the poor, especially in inner cities, have considerably fewer opportunities to learn science and math, largely because of the kinds of schools they attend. The section titles of this report are as follows: (1) "The Distribution of Opportunity"; (2) "The Effects of Student Characteristics on Opportunity"; (3) "Access to Science and Mathematics Programs"; (4) "Access to Qualified Science and Mathematics Teachers"; (5) "Access to Resources"; (6) "Classroom Opportunities: Curriculum Goals and Instruction"; and (7) "Implications." An appendix provides a classification of courses offered at the secondary schools included in the sample. A 133-item reference list is included. (DM)

This report presents proposed standards for teaching internship programs. The internship standards are intended to be embedded in a state's teacher licensing system. The year-long (paid) internship is simultaneously the last year of formal teacher preparation, the first year of (supervised) teaching, and one requirement for the unrestricted teaching license. An intern would have to satisfactorily complete the internship before taking the final examination to receive a teaching license. The report is intended to provide guidance to teaching standards boards as well as colleges of education, school districts, and others concerned with improving the practical preparation of teachers. The discussion is presented in four sections: (1) "The Case for a Supervised Teaching Internship"; (2) "Internships in the Licensed Professions"; (3) "Standards for an Internship Program"; and (4) "Implementing the Internship: The Value of Clinical Schools." The appendices provide examples of evaluation forms; an extract from "Minnesota's Vision for Teacher Education: Stronger Standards, New Partnerships"; the Code of Ethics for Minnesota Teachers; and detailed descriptions of internship programs in four licensed professions--engineering, psychology, architecture, and medicine. A bibliography completes the volume. (JD)

Immigration has historically played an important role in supplying United States labor needs. However, current immigration and immigrant policies emphasize noneconomic selection criteria, such as family reunification, for determining the annual volume and characteristics of legal immigrants. Declining United States fertility rates and an increasing need for professional and skilled labor has prompted policymakers to consider changes in immigrant policies that would respond to the labor market needs of the economy. A greater emphasis on labor market considerations could meet changing demands for labor, minimize negative distributional effects, and speed up the economic and social adjustment of immigrants and their children. However, the following major factors must be considered in developing effective policies: (1) policies must be flexible in order to respond to rapidly changing labor market conditions; (2) policymakers need an informed basis for developing selection criteria that will ensure a match between immigration and manpower needs while avoiding short-term displacement of native workers; and (3) the absence of good information continues to make policy design and evaluation problematic. Statistical data are presented in eight tables and six graphs. An 81-item bibliography is appended. (FMW)

A prototype model was developed to estimate the effect of various variables on the internal rate of return to starting college. The model arose out of observations that there is a nonlinear relationship between education and earnings, that many students who begin college never finish, that there are large differences across fields of specialization in the earnings differential between college and high school graduates, and that many high school and family background characteristics appear to affect earnings. The model was then applied to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972. Results found that black males have a lower rate of return on one year of college than white males (5.4 percent versus 5.9 percent) which appears, however, to be due not to race but to other characteristics. Females also had a lower rate of return than men. It was noted that none of these differences are explained by differences in the observed characteristics of males and females. Other research using this model has shown a higher return on college attendance for women over men. It is suggested that further research and refinement of the model is necessary before strong conclusions can be developed. The study includes one table displaying results and nine references. (JB)

This report reviews research on the relationship between educational practices and policies and the low rates of participation of women, minorities, and disabled persons in science related careers. The information presented is designed to contribute to the discussion of how schools might create conditions that will help underrepresented groups prepare for careers in science and mathematics. The report has two central messages, there is much that is not understood about the low participation rates of these groups and what is known suggests that there are alterable features of schools that appear to constrain participation. The document discussed the following issues: (1) the current status and policy concerns involved in this issue; (2) the scientific pipeline; (3) cognitive and attitudinal factors; (4) school factors; (5) societal factors; (6) intervention strategies; and (7) further research. A list of over 200 references is appended. (CW)

A case study of three high schools was conducted as the first phase of a 2-year study of comprehensive high schools' vocational course offerings and how they decide which students should be enrolled in them. The schools are similar in size and grade span and in the same labor market area; they belong to different school districts and serve different student populations. One school serves a racially and socioeconomically diverse group in a naturally integrated neighborhood, the second school serves a mostly middle- to upper middle-class White and Asian population, and the third school serves a student population nearly all Black or Hispanic, with a substantial proportion poor. Other differences in the schools included differences in the type and range of vocational programs, number of and expectations for the students who take the courses, organization and management style of the schools, morale of faculty and staff, and local traditions or history. At all three schools, the guidance and placement systems seem to concentrate on college-bound and severely troubled students, almost ignoring noncollege-bound, untroubled students. Although each of the schools offers a variety of vocational courses, none has a cohesive, comprehensive vocational program. At all three schools, the perception of vocational education was of poor teachers, poor equipment, poor students, and poor courses. The study concluded that a radical approach to high school reform that would involve a more fundamental reconstruction of the high school curriculum, blurring the distinction between academic and vocational subjects, should be investigated. (31 references.) (KC)

A review of long-term international economic trends and the literature linking education and training (ET) to economic performance reveals no evidence of deindustrialization or falling labor productivity in the United States. Over the last 40 years, the nation has experienced lower growth rates in gross domestic product and productivity but remained the world leader in both. What is seen is a trend toward general conversion on those dimensions among nations in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. ET and its effects on labor quality are generally found to be among the most important contributors to economic growth, but, so far, scientific attempts to establish just how this mechanism works have not succeeded. Likewise, there is only sketchy evidence about the importance of human resources to a firm's success. The shortcoming may lie in the two approaches economic research has traditionally taken to the question--one focusing on the macro level of economic growth, the other on how ET affects individual wages and worker productivity. A more systems-oriented approach would be more appropriate and equal to the task. Taking this tack would mean developing a new theoretical framework that includes approaches as diverse as business and economic history, evolutionary economics, and case studies of matched firms in different countries. (YLB)

Studies conducted by Rand Corporation suggested that students did not need to be taught generic skills and work-related attitudes in actual workplaces. Such instruction could occur effectively at schools in traditional stand alone classrooms. To develop an instructional model for teaching generic skills, researchers used ethnographic methods to study the workings of eight high school classrooms. They found evidence that classrooms that successfully imparted generic skills and attitudes incorporated key structural and cultural features of workplaces, erasing some of the stereotypical distinctions between school and work. The specific characteristics common to classrooms that worked were organized into a model of generic skills instruction with four components: instructional goals, classroom design, teaching techniques, and school context. Teachers in successful classrooms had a mix of instructional goals. Relative emphasis varied by teacher and classroom, but in all cases generic skills and attitudes were targeted explicitly. These teachers pursued their instructional goals by situating learning in authentic practice and focused on intrinsic motivation. The role of the teacher was predominantly that of master to the students as apprentices. Some elements of school context affected classrooms in important ways. The schools' ability to provide resources affected students' access to knowledge. The most important aspect of professional teaching conditions was teacher autonomy. (YLB)

A 2-year, in-depth study of curriculum tracking in three large metropolitan-area high schools found that most high school teachers and administrators hold vocational education in low regard. Such thinking is a barrier to educational reforms proposed to integrate and improve academic and vocational education. Radical changes may be difficult to implement in large, comprehensive high schools with long-standing "tracking" systems, deeply rooted institutional cultures, and other constraints that range from parental or community demands and changing demographics to altered state requirements and resource cuts. The study found that at the three schools' honors and college-preparation courses were at the top in esteem and much of vocational education at the bottom. Vocational curriculum was held in such low esteem that it had practically no effect on curriculum decision making. Among barriers to change were the following: (1) there is a prevalent belief that high school students' abilities and motivation cannot be changed much; (2) almost all high schools act on these beliefs about students' differences by creating a split curriculum designed to accommodate students' various dispositions toward school work, not to alter them; (3) this split curriculum in high schools grants higher status to college-preparation courses, teachers, and students than to vocational courses, teachers, and students; and (4) matching students to courses is often strongly influenced by class, racial, and ethnic stereotypes. The study suggests that the present system is dysfunctional and that the only way to change it is to create a working model that displays a strong integrated curriculum. (KC)

This exploratory study examines the mother's perceptions of her preschooler's acculturation process, using qualitative methods to collect data from six Latino immigrant mothers about their own acculturation and that of their preschool child. Three patterns emerged: parallel dyadic acculturation, vertex dyadic acculturation, and intersegmented dyadic acculturation. One mother-child dyad were coded as parallel, defined by the complete disconnect between mother and child acculturation. Three mother-child dyads were code as vertex dyad, which is defined as the mother and child starting at the same stage of acculturation and then deviating from each other as the child's acculturation accelerates and mother's decelerates. Two dyads fell in the third dyad, intersegmented, where mother and child acculturation processes converge and separate at various points. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.) [This paper was produced by RAND Labor and Population. It was made possible by the NIA funded RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the NICHD funded RAND Population Research Center.]

Second-generation immigrants are typically analyzed under the assumption that, having been born in the United States, they grew up in the United States. We challenge this assumption by investigating the prevalence and patterns of second-generation Mexican-American children's migration to and return from Mexico during childhood, and consider the consequences of this migration for their schooling. Around 1 in 10 second-generation Mexican-American children live in Mexico for some of their childhood. Strong patterns of return to the U.S. throughout childhood, and especially in early adulthood, argue for their being considered as part of the Mexican-American second generation even when growing up in Mexico. The school enrollment of these emigrating children in Mexico is much lower than for those second-generation Mexican-American children remaining in the U.S. through childhood. The moderately negative selectivity of emigrating second-generation children explains little of their much lower school enrollment. We conclude that country of residence is a far more important determinant than either family background or migrant status. (Contains 4 tables and 4 figures.) [This paper is part of the RAND Labor and Population working paper series. It was made possible by the NIA funded RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the NICHD funded RAND Population Research Center. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the 2007 meeting of the Population Association of America.]

The leadership of Qatar has a social and political vision that calls for improving the outcomes of the Qatari K-12 education system. With this vision in mind, the leadership asked RAND to examine Qatar's K-12 education system, to recommend options for building a world-class system, and, subsequently, to develop the chosen option and support its implementation. The option that was selected includes internationally benchmarked curriculum standards, national testing based on those standards, independent government-funded schools, and parental choice among schools using annual school report cards. This executive summary provides an overview of Phase I (2001-2004) of the Qatari education reform initiative, "Education for a New Era," based on RAND's experiences as part of this ambitious effort involving Qataris and Qatari organizations, and international consultants and contractors. An Arabic translation is included. (Contains 2 figures.) [The research described in this report was prepared for the Supreme Education Council and conducted within RAND Education and the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute. The work reported was funded by the State of Qatar. For the full report, see ED496987.]

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and education (ECE). This volume provides a comprehensive assessment of publicly funded ECE programs for preschool-age children--for California as a whole, and for four case-study counties: Los Angles, Merced, San Diego, and San Mateo. California's system of publicly subsidized ECE programs for preschool-age children has evolved over time into a complex array of mostly targeted programs supported through multiple funding streams. The authors find that there is a sizable gap between the number of three- and four-year-old children eligible for such programs and the number that can be served given current program funding. In addition, the quality of ECE programs for preschool-age children is uncertain, and the sometimes low standards are compounded by a reimbursement structure for subsidized care that gives little incentive for providing higher quality programs. Finally, potential inefficiencies in the system may limit the benefits from the dollars spent. The following are appended: (1) Additional Analyses of Enrollment Patterns; (2) Los Angeles County Case Study; (3) Merced County Case Study; (4) San Diego County Case Study; and (5) San Mateo County Case Study. (Contains 7 figures, 48 tables, and 82 footnotes.) [The research described in this report was conducted by RAND Labor and Population. Additional funding was provided by the Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP).]

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education in California, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and education. This volume reports on the first component of this larger study effort, which addresses the following questions: (1) What is the number and percentage of students in grades K-3 who do not meet state education standards? (2) How does the fraction that fails to meet standards vary across groups defined by gender, race-ethnicity, English-language ability, parent education attainment, and family economic status? (3) Do high-quality preschool programs have the potential to close the observed achievement gaps? In addressing the first two questions, the analysis uses data from the 2007 California Standards Tests (CSTs) to look at the number and proportion of second and third graders who are not reaching state standards for performance in English-language arts and mathematics. The CST data was also used to examine achievement gaps in these grades between groups of students defined by personal characteristics or family background measures. To understand student differences before the CST assessments begin, other data sources were used for information on kindergarten and first grade, including such sources as reading performance assessments conducted in kindergarten and first grade in a subset of California school districts as part of the Reading First program instituted under the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Finally, to address the third question, this study evaluated the evidence from rigorous evaluations of preschool programs to assess the potential for well-designed programs to improve school readiness and subsequent school performance. This study found that despite rising achievement levels in recent years, a substantial percentage of second- and third-graders do not meet state education standards in English-language arts and mathematics. The size of the achievement gaps that currently exist and the strength of the evidence of favorable education benefits from well-designed preschool programs make a solid case for considering preschool as a component of a multi-pronged strategy for closing achievement gaps in California. Additional analyses of CST data is provided in an appendix. (Contains 11 figures, 24 tables, and 53 footnotes.) [The research described in this report was conducted by RAND Labor and Population. The Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) provided additional funding for this report.]

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and education (ECE). This volume provides a comprehensive assessment of publicly funded ECE programs for preschool-age children--for California as a whole, and for four case-study counties: Los Angles, Merced, San Diego, and San Mateo. California's system of publicly subsidized ECE programs for preschool-age children has evolved over time into a complex array of mostly targeted programs supported through multiple funding streams. The authors find that there is a sizeable gap between the number of three- and four-year-old children eligible for such programs and the number that can be served given current program funding. In addition, the quality of ECE programs for preschool-age children is uncertain, and the sometimes low standards are compounded by a reimbursement structure for subsidized care that gives little incentive for providing higher quality programs. Finally, potential inefficiencies in the system may limit the benefits from the dollars spent. The following are appended: (1) Additional Analyses of Enrollment Patterns; (2) Los Angeles County Case Study; (3) Merced County Case Study; (4) San Diego County Case Study; and (5) San Mateo County Case Study. (Contains 7 figures, 48 tables, and 82 footnotes.) [The research described in this report was conducted by RAND Labor and Population. The Los Angeles Universal Preschool contributed additional funding for this report.]

The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar, like that of many other countries, views education as the key to future economic, political, and social progress. Many have concluded that a country's ability to compete in the global economy and enable its citizens to take full advantage of technological advances relies on upgrading the quality of the schooling provided and ensuring that what is taught is aligned with national priorities and international developments. In summer 2001, the State of Qatar's leadership asked the RAND Corporation to examine the K-12 (kindergarten through grade 12) school system in Qatar. This research brief highlights aspects of Phase I (2001-04) of Qatar's K-12 reform initiative, Education for a New Era, based on RAND's experiences in this multi-participant effort to build a world-class standards- and choice-based education system. Key findings include: (1) Qatar's K-12 education system lacked a vision for high-quality education and structures to support it; (2) System reform focused on curriculum standards, new organizational structures, and a clear implementation plan; (3) Critical to the reform was the creation of new, Independent schools based on the principles of autonomy, accountability, variety, and choice; and (4) Since 2002, standards have been developed, almost all students have been tested, and a growing number of Qatar's children have enrolled in learner-centered schools with improved facilities where better-prepared and better-trained teachers guide them in accordance with internationally benchmarked standards. [This research brief describes work done within RAND Education under the auspices of the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute documented in "Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar," by Dominic J. Brewer, Catherine H. Augustine, Gail L. Zellman, Gery Ryan, Charles A. Goldman, Cathleen Stasz, and Louay Constant; 2007, 216 pp.]

Many urban school district students are dropping out and few of the remaining ones reach state or district achievement goals. These problems make governing urban schools both difficult and important. In 2005-06, the governance structure of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was examined, debated, criticized, and praised by several different constituencies, including the mayor, who sought to take over the district. This report chronicles education and public officials' efforts to change the Los Angeles Unified School District's governance structure. It focuses on the bid for mayoral control of LAUSD and the competing efforts on behalf of various stakeholders. It sets the struggles that took place in Los Angeles in a national context, drawing on the literature on educational governance to analyze the political process and the resulting policy change. New legislation ushers in an untried governance system with the potential to both improve and worsen the governance of the district. The legislation allows the mayor to develop new approaches to schooling in three high schools and their feeder schools. If this cluster management project demonstrates improvements, the approaches he employs could be applied to other schools in the district. Evaluating this endeavor and determining its effects on student outcomes is vital. The report commences with a preface, summary, and an introduction. Chapter 2 presents the state, city, and district context of LAUSD. Chapter 3 chronicles the process of modifying the LAUSD governance structure. Chapter 4 analyzes the various policy options proposed over the past year. Chapter 5 concludes this report with a discussion on the potential effects of the LAUSD governance change along with next steps. (Contains 1 table.) [The research described in this report was conducted within RAND Education for the Presidents' Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance.]

This report documents the results of a survey of 1,137 active-duty military families, including activated Reservists, regarding child care use. These survey data were analyzed to estimate the relationship between individual family characteristics and installation characteristics and the probability that the family uses any nonparental child care, uses DoD-sponsored child care, has unmet need for child care, and has undermet need for child care. Through this analysis, the reader develops a richer understanding of the extent to which DoD is meeting the need for child care among military families. This report will be of interest to officials responsible for DoD child-care policy and other quality of life issues. It should also be of interest to child care managers in other federal organizations, child care researchers, and child care policymakers at the national, state, and local levels who grapple with the issue of estimating the need for child care. Appended are: (1) Focus Group Summary; (2) Survey Nonresponse Analysis; and (3) Child-Care Survey Instrument. (Contains 15 tables.) ["Examining Child Care Need among Military Families. Technical Report" was written with Marika Suttorp.]

The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to meeting the need for child care among military families. DoD supports the largest employer-sponsored system of high-quality child care in the country. Through accredited child development centers (CDCs), family child care (FCC) homes, youth centers, and other after-school programs, DoD currently provides approximately 176,000 child-care spaces for military children 0-12 years old and plans to expand this capacity to 215,412 spaces by fiscal year 2007. To estimate the magnitude of child-care need among military service personnel, DoD uses a formula incorporating installation-level and other demographic data, including a combination of national and military statistical trends. Because the formula is based solely on demographic data, DoD was concerned that the formula might not be addressing all relevant aspects of child-care need. This monograph, the sixth in a series of RAND reports on military child care, is intended to provide DoD policymakers and managers of the military child-care system with information on the validity of the DoD formula, to improve the understanding of the factors that influence key child-care outcomes, and to address the broader issue of how DoD might refine its goals for military child care. Appended are: (1) Components of the Child-Care Need Formula: DoD and the Military Services; and (2) Military Child Care Survey. (Contains 3 figures, 18 tables, and 8 footnotes.) [The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute.]

Teacher education has been subject to both scathing criticism and innumerable efforts designed to reform it or to save it from being dismantled. One of the latest and most well funded efforts aimed at teacher education reform is boldly titled Teachers for a New Era (TNE). Eleven colleges and universities of various types nationwide were selected to participate in TNE. The TNE initiative emphasizes evidence-based decisionmaking, close collaboration between education and arts and sciences faculty, and teaching as an academically taught clinical-practice profession. This monograph has two main purposes: (1) to place TNE in the larger context of teacher education reform and to critically examine the process by which reform will result in caring, competent, and highly qualified teachers capable of producing improvements in student learning; and (2) to examine TNE's contributions to the grantee institutions' teacher education programs and culture and to assess the sustainability of TNE beyond the life of the grant. This monograph should be of interest to educational researchers, funders interested in K-12 education, and education policymakers at the national, state, and local levels who are struggling with issues of teacher quality and how to improve learning for all students. This research was conducted within RAND Education and reflects RAND Education's mission to bring accurate data and careful, objective analysis to the national debate on education policy. This monograph begins with a Preface, list of Figures and Tables, Summary, Acknowledgments and Acronyms followed by the following chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) TNE in the Context of the Broader Teacher Education Reform Effort; (3) TNE's Theory of Change: Assumptions, Enabling, Factors, and Potential Outcomes; (4) Profiles of the TNE Institutions; (5) Implementation Progress and Thoughts About Sustainability of TNE; and (6) Conclusions. The following are appended: (1) Teachers for a New Era Web Sites; (2) Implementation Progress: First Cohort of Grantees; (3) Second Cohort of Grantees: Sites Included in the National Evaluation; (4) Second Cohort of Grantees: Sites Not Included in the National Evaluation; and (5) Florida A&M University.(Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

This monograph presents the findings of a multiyear study of the effectiveness of reform-oriented mathematics and science instruction. It builds on an earlier RAND study, called the Mosaic project, which found "a weak but positive relationship" between reform practices and student achievement (see Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey, Stecher, Robyn, and Burroughs, 2000; Hamilton, McCaffrey, Stecher, Klein, Robyn, and Bugliari, 2003). The present study, called Mosaic II, extends this earlier research in two important ways. First, it incorporates more diverse indicators of student exposure to reform-oriented practices, including innovative, vignette-based measures. Second, it follows students for three years to measure the relationship after longer exposure. Similar to the earlier research, this study uses multiple measures of achievement, including open-ended assessments, to determine whether the relationship is sensitive to the manner in which achievement is measured. This monograph begins with a Preface, followed by a list of Figures and Tables, Summary, Acknowledgments and Abbreviations. The report is divided into the following five chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) Sample Selection and Data Collection; (3) Measures of Teaching Practices; (4) Relationships Between Reform-Oriented Instruction and Student Achievement in Mathematics and Science; and (5) Implications. Appendixes are included in a CD-ROM attached to the inside cover of this monograph. (Contains 6 figures and 12 tables.)

This research brief summarizes a survey about the effectiveness of programs from Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and fielding dating-violence prevention programs. The study evaluated "Ending Violence," a three-class-session prevention program. Developed by a Los Angeles-based nonprofit group called Break the Cycle, the program focuses on the law, highlighting legal rights of victims of domestic violence and legal responsibilities of perpetrators. The teachers are bilingual, bicultural attorneys. This program has three distinctive features: it is brief (three class sessions), it is compatible with existing health curricula, and it focuses on the legal dimension of dating violence. This perspective is usually new to teens--especially Latino teens in families that have recently immigrated--who may be unfamiliar with their rights under U.S. law or how to exercise them. The program also informs students about its legal services program, in which attorneys are available to teens at no cost to help them with dating violence issues. Key findings include: (1) Break the Cycle's dating-violence prevention program improved Latino teens' knowledge of dating abuse and legal recourse, reduced their acceptance of female-on-male dating violence (but not male-on-female dating violence, whose acceptance was already low), and enhanced teens' perceptions about seeking help if they experience dating violence; (2) Latino teens experiencing problems with dating violence who seek help are most likely to turn to informal sources of support (family and peers); and (3) Intervention programs can educate teens about the importance of intervening when they witness an incident of violence or abuse among their friends.

Research has shown that well-designed early education programs serving disadvantaged children in the year or so prior to kindergarten entry can generate benefits to government and the rest of society that outweigh the costs of the program services. As a result of this evidence and the conviction that children benefit from structured programs preparing them for school entry, enthusiasm for public-sector investment in preschool education has been growing among business leaders, policymakers, and the public. Within this context, there is growing interest in universal preschool education in California. In considering such a program, policymakers and the public focus on the potential benefits from a universal preschool program, as well as the estimated costs. This study aims to inform such deliberations by conducting an analysis of the economic returns from investing in preschool education in California. Appended are: (1) Methodology and Sources for Benefit-Cost Analysis; (2) Methods and Sources for Estimating Measured Preschool Benefits; (3) Methods and Sources for Estimating Projected Preschools Benefits; (4) Benefit-Cost Estimates for a Targeted Preschool Program; (5) No Preschool Baseline; and (6) Current Preschool Participation Baseline. (Contains 34 tables and 7 figures.)

Growing interest in universal preschool education has prompted researchers to examine the potential costs and benefits of making high-quality preschool available for all children one or two years before kindergarten entry. The analysis reported in this document builds on a previous RAND study which estimated that a high-quality, one-year, voluntary universal preschool program in California would generate $2.62 in benefits for California society for every dollar of cost (Karoly and Bigelow, 2005). Assuming that 70 percent of each year's group of eligible 4-year-olds participate in the program (approximately 385,000 out of 550,000 children), the study estimated that California society would receive $2.7 billion in present-value net benefits. (Contains 12 tables and 8 figures.) [This report was prepared for The David and Lucile Packard Foundation by RAND Labor and Population, a unit of RAND Corporation.]

On June 2, 2000, the Los Angeles County Probation Department entered into a settlement agreement with the Black Probation Officers Association in response to a civil suit. As part of the settlement, the Department was required to allocate resources internally based on the administration of a risk and needs instrument to its juvenile probationers. The parties agreed to stipulate the RAND Corporation as the evaluator of this instrument. The RAND Corporation was asked by the Los Angeles County Probation Department to provide assistance in the validation of a risk/needs assessment and Strength-Based Assessment Instrument to be used to objectively measure the risk and needs of minors in Los Angeles County referred to the Probation Department. RAND surveyed existing instruments, recommended several for validation, and conducted a pilot validation assessment of the chosen San Diego Risk and Resiliency Checkup instrument. The study methodology targeted 1200 youths for assessments using the SDRRC. Assessments were conducted by trained Deputy Probation Officers in four area offices across the county. Follow-up information gathered on youth arrests was used to determine whether the SDRRC was a valid predictor of recidivism in Los Angeles. Their analyses showed that the SDRRC was a valid instrument. The instrument and its subscales were significantly related to arrest for youths 12 months after their assessment. The scale was also significantly related to recidivism for major subgroups of interest: youths of different ethnicities as well as males and females. In analyses which took into account other factors related to recidivism, the SDRRC remained a significant predictor of subsequent arrest. However, the scale does seem to work differently for some youths. For Hispanic youths, in particular, the scale is not as strong a predictor as for other youths. Some scale domains are not consistently predictive for major race/ethnic groups. For black youths, family risk factors are not predictive of rearrest; for Hispanic youths, substance abuse risk factors are not predictive. (Contains 7 Figures, 36 Tables, and a List of Acronyms.) [ This report was produced by the RAND corporation]

Over the past ten years, probation departments across the state of California have seen a number of important changes in the way they do business. Beginning with Title IV-A-EA in 1993, departments began a system-wide "sea change," from a focus on suppression, enforcement, and monitoring of youthful offenders to a focus on families and on rehabilitative and therapeutic approaches. With the Comprehensive Youth Services Act/Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (CYSA/TANF) essentially replacing the Title IV-A-EA program in 1995, training conducted by departments on the 23 CYSA/TANF-eligible services and objectives helped to reinforce this message to line staff working directly with youths. In the course of a decade, the state undertook a number of major initiatives aimed at juvenile offenders and at-risk youths. This document contains a qualitative description of initiatives, along with available data on outcome measures that may have been impacted by such initiatives. These included juvenile arrest rates, numbers of youths incarcerated at the state and local level, and other measures of family and youth needs. This study may be of interest to California and other states' juvenile justice policymakers who must determine whether investment in community services for juvenile offenders is a wise use of taxpayer dollars. (Contains 1 table & 19 figures.)

This report is an initial effort to describe efforts of a number of states that are seeking to create statewide systems of high-quality pre-kindergarten services, as well as some of the progress they have made in doing so. Focusing on the efforts of a sample of eight U.S. states, it examines the policy choices that states have made when implementing pre-K in an environment of fiscal uncertainty and discusses policy and practice issues identified by respondents in the sector. Funding for this research was provided by The Heinz Endowments and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This report should be of interest to policymakers and other stakeholders who are seeking to ensure that scaled-up pre-K is of high quality.

Value-added modeling offers the possibility of estimating the effects of teachers and schools on student performance, a potentially important contribution in the current environment of concern for accountability in education. These techniques, however, are susceptible to a number of sources of bias, depending on decisions about how the modeling is executed and on the quality of the data on which models are based. If teachers are to be held accountable for the performance of their students, strategies for measuring the impact of their work must be refined or, at least, the uncertainties of these measurements must be taken into account in assessing the impact of teachers and schools on student performance. [This research brief describes work done for RAND Education documented in "Evaluating Value-Added Models for Teacher Accountability" by Daniel F. McCaffrey, Daniel M. Koretz, J. R. Lockwood, and Laura S. Hamilton.]