Search

U.S. public schools are highly segregated by both race and class. Prior research shows that the desegregation of Southern schools in the 1960s and 1970s led to significant benefits for black students, including increased educational attainment and higher earnings. We do not know, however, whether segregation today has the same harmful effects as it did 50 years ago, nor do we have clear evidence about the mechanisms through which segregation affects achievement patterns. In this paper we estimate the effects of current-day school segregation on racial achievement gaps. We use 8 years of data from all public school districts in the U.S. We find that racial school segregation is strongly associated with the magnitude of achievement gaps in 3rd grade, and with the rate at which gaps grow from third to eighth grade. The association of racial segregation with achievement gaps is completely accounted for by racial differences in school poverty: racial segregation appears to be harmful because it concentrates minority students in high-poverty schools, which are, on average, less effective than lower-poverty schools. Finally, we conduct exploratory analyses to examine potential mechanisms through which differential enrollment in high-poverty schools leads to inequality. We find that the effects of school poverty do not appear to be explained by differences in the set of measurable teacher or school characteristics available to us.

Linking score scales across different tests is considered speculative and fraught, even at the aggregate level (Feuer et al., 1999; Thissen, 2007). We introduce and illustrate validation methods for aggregate linkages, using the challenge of linking U.S. school district average test scores across states as a motivating example. We show that aggregate linkages can be validated both directly and indirectly under certain conditions, such as when the scores for at least some target units (districts) are available on a common test (e.g., the National Assessment of Educational Progress). We introduce precision-adjusted random effects models to estimate linking error, for populations and for subpopulations, for averages and for progress over time. These models allow us to distinguish linking error from sampling variability and illustrate how linking error plays a larger role in aggregates with smaller sample sizes. Assuming that target districts generalize to the full population of districts, we can show that standard errors for district means are generally less than 0.2 standard deviation units, leading to reliabilities above 0.7 for roughly 90% of districts. We also show how sources of imprecision and linking error contribute to both within- and between-state district comparisons within vs. between states. This approach is applicable whenever the essential counterfactual question--"what would means/variance/progress for the aggregate units be, had students taken the other test?"--can be answered directly for at least some of the units.

This paper provides a brief overview of key trends in enrollment, demographics, and segregation in California's schools in recent decades. Total public school enrollment has been relatively stable, and charter schools account for an increasing share of public enrollment. The Hispanic share of public enrollment has increased dramatically, and the white share declined. Increasingly, Hispanic Californian children are second and third generation Americans, and the share of students who are English Learners has remained relatively consistent. The share of Asian students has remained consistent over time but with a decline in the share of first generation and an increase in the share of second and third generation Asians. Trends in the socioeconomic conditions of California's schoolchildren are positive. Their parents are more educated and more likely to speak English well, and they are no more likely to be growing up in a single-parent household. On the other hand, overall child poverty has not declined to prerecession levels, and there are persistent and large differences in poverty across racial and ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic children are substantially more likely to both be in families with incomes below the poverty line and to attend schools with high poverty rates. This is because California's schools are fairly segregated by race. We present data and discuss these trends below.

In the first systematic study of gender achievement gaps in U.S. school districts, we estimate male-female test score gaps in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for nearly 10,000 school districts in the U.S. We use state accountability test data from third through eighth grade students in the 2008-09 through 2014-15 school years. The average school district in our sample has no gender achievement gap in math, but a gap of roughly 0.23 standard deviations in ELA that favors girls. Both math and ELA gender achievement gaps vary among school districts and are positively correlated -- some districts have more male-favoring gaps and some more female-favoring gaps. We find that math gaps tend to favor males more in socioeconomically advantaged school districts and in districts with larger gender disparities in adult socioeconomic status. These two variables explain about one fifth of the variation in the math gaps. However, we find little or no association between the ELA gender gap and either socioeconomic variable, and we explain virtually none of the geographic variation in ELA gaps.

There is no comprehensive database of U.S. district-level test scores that is comparable across states. We describe and evaluate a method for constructing such a database. First, we estimate linear, reliability-adjusted linking transformations from state test score scales to the scale of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We then develop and implement direct and indirect validation checks for linking assumptions. We conclude that the linking method is accurate enough to be used in analyses of national variation in district achievement, but that the small amount of linking error in the methods renders fine-grained distinctions among districts in different states invalid. Finally, we describe several different methods of scaling and pooling the linked scores to support a range of secondary analyses and interpretations.

The research featured in this paper is part of the CORE-PACE Research Partnership, through which Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) has partnered with the CORE districts to conduct research designed to support them in continuous improvement while simultaneously helping to improve policy and practice in California and nationwide. Through this partnership, PACE coordinates and executes research with partners from all of California's top universities, including Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Davis, in addition to engaging researchers from universities and research organizations nationwide. This policy brief and the accompanying report show that there is good reason to pursue the measurement of social-emotional learning (SEL) and school culture/climate (CC) as a way to better understand student and school performance. Using data from California's CORE districts--districts serving nearly one million students who have embraced systematic measurement of SEL and CC--this study shows that SEL and CC measures demonstrate reliability and validity, distinguish between schools, are related to other academic and non-academic measures, and also illuminate dimensions of student achievement that go beyond traditional indicators. This report also shows how the SEL and CC measures can be used to identify areas of improvement within schools, such as identifying subgroup gaps or differences in reports between various respondent groups. [For the accompanying report, "Using Surveys of Students' Social-Emotional Learning and School Climate for Accountability and Continuous Improvement," see ED574847.]

Gender achievement gaps on national and state assessments have been a popular research topic over the last few decades. Many prior studies examine these gaps in different subjects (e.g., mathematics, reading, and science) and grades (typically kindergarten through eighth grade) for students living in various regions (typically states or countries) using a variety of measures. Despite drawing different conclusions about the exact magnitude of the gaps, the general findings about the existence of gender achievement gaps from prior research are consistent. In mathematics, the majority of studies do not find a significant achievement gap when children enter kindergarten, but show the existence of an average male-favoring gap in mathematics by the end of kindergarten lasting through fifth grade. In this paper, the authors seek to better understand the variation of gender achievement gaps within the United States by focusing at a higher geographic resolution than prior studies. They analyze gender achievement gaps within school districts across the nation. Given the evidence of the state-level variation and the support for suspecting that gender achievement gaps vary amongst districts within a state, the authors investigate how local social and economic factors, local demographics, and school district characteristics may relate to the magnitude and direction of gender achievement gaps, with a specific focus on the extent to which the gaps appear in a "stereotypical" or "gender-favoring" pattern. The data used in this study comes from the EdFacts state accountability tracking system, which was provided via restricted license by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The population of study is U.S. school districts serving third through eighth grade students. The EdFacts database includes data for all (approximately 13,700) public school districts in the US, and contains math and English Language Arts (ELA) test score data in grades 3-8 from 2009-2012. Among the roughly 9,400 districts in the sample, the average gender achievement gap in mathematics is near 0, although there is considerable variation across districts. In contrast, the average gap in ELA is roughly 0.25 Standard Deviations (SDs), in favor of girls. Again there is significant variation in the district-level gaps; however, they nearly always favor females. Plotting these gaps, it was found that there is considerable variation among districts along both the gender-favoring and stereotype dimensions. Figures and tables are appended.

U.S. school districts differ dramatically in their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics (Reardon, Yun, & Eitle, 1999; Stroub & Richards, 2013), and districts have considerable influence over instructional and organizational practices that may affect academic achievement (Whitehurst, Chingos, & Gallaher, 2013). This paper evaluates a linking method applied to a unique national district-level dataset that may achieve the goal of national district-level comparability for research purposes. The authors fit a heteroskedastic probit model to categorical test score data from the EDFacts Initiative (U.S. Department of Education, 2015), which includes frequencies of students in coarse "achievement levels" from every school district in the U.S. from 2008 to 2012. Data from 2013 are forthcoming. Using a population of all U.S. public school students in grades 3-8 from 2008 to 2013, the authors demonstrate that reparameterization of conventional model parameters recover, with remarkable accuracy, means and standard deviations of district test scores from fine-grained data. One table and one figure are appended. [SREE documents are structured abstracts of SREE conference symposium, panel, and paper or poster submissions.]

Prior research demonstrates the existence of gender achievement gaps and the variation in the magnitude of these gaps across states. This paper characterizes the extent to which the variation of gender achievement gaps on standardized tests across the United States can be explained by differing state accountability test formats. A comprehensive analysis of the interplay between state standardized test formats and differences in gender achievement on those tests is important for informing policies and practices that aim for greater equity in education. This study performs both a state-level and district-level analysis, using student test score results in grades 4 and 8 in 2009 from three different tests: (1) state accountability tests (using data from all 50 states and roughly 9,400 school districts); (2) the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment administered by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) (using data from roughly 3,700 school districts); and (3) NAEP tests administered (all 50 states). State accountability tests vary in item format among states; the NWEA and NAEP tests have a common item structure across states. For the state-level analyses, the population of study is the set of 48 U.S. states in the 2008-09 school year. For the district-level analyses, the population of study is the set of districts in both the NWEA and EdFacts data, which is approximately 700 districts. In order to understand the effects of test item format on gendered achievement, researchers leverage the variation in the item format across three assessments to model how within-state gender achievement gaps vary with differences in test item format, specifically the proportion of multiple-choice, short constructed-response, and extended-response questions. States vary substantially in the proportion of multiple-choice items on their tests in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) (ranging from 50-100% multiple-choice). Findings reveal that boys do better on multiple-choice tests than girls of the same academic skill. Specifically, estimates imply that gender gaps are, on average 0.22 standard deviations (SD) greater (favoring boys more) on multiple-choice tests than on constructed response item tests. These results appear to be driven primarily by gender-by-item format interactions affecting performance on ELA tests: in ELA, gender gaps on multiple-choice tests are roughly 0.30 to 0.40 SD larger (favoring girls less and boys more) than on constructed-response tests. On mathematics tests, the difference in performance is roughly 0.10 SD smaller, but still favoring girls less and boys more on multiple-choice tests than on constructed-response tests. These patterns are consistent regardless of whether NAEP or NWEA tests are used as the audit test. A table and figures are appended.

School performance pressures apply disproportionately to tested grades and subjects. Using longitudinal administrative data and teacher survey data from a large urban school district, we examine schools' responses to those pressures in assigning teachers to high-stakes and low-stakes classrooms. We find that teachers who produce greater student achievement gains in math and reading are more likely to be placed in a tested grade-subject combination in the following year and that the relationship between prior performance and assignment is stronger in schools where principals have more influence over assignments. This strategic response has the consequence of disadvantaging achievement in early grades, however, concentrating less effective teachers in K-2 classrooms, which in turn produces lower achievement for those students, as measured by low-stakes assessments, that may persist into tested grades as well.

There are nearly 14,000 school districts in the United States. Of these districts, there is very little information about the size of academic achievement gaps between whites and blacks and white and Hispanic students. This study was interested in district-level achievement patterns across the almost 14,000 school districts in the country because districts differ dramatically in their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, and because districts have considerable influence over instructional and organizational practices that may affect academic achievement gaps: including teacher hiring, evaluation, and placement decisions, professional development opportunities, student assignment and desegregation efforts, the allocation of resources among schools, and the type and availability of specialized instructional programs. The US Department of Education has provided a unique data set that contains the counts of students scoring in each of their state's proficiency categories. Study results found considerable variation in the level of white-Hispanic and white-black achievement gaps across districts in the United States. In the following months, additional explanation for this variation is expected by including a number of district-level control variables. Tables and figures are appended.

Most research on the middle school transition focuses on developmental and psychological changes around the age of the transition, and investigates or discusses the impact of such changes on academic performance, motivation and behavior in schools. In addition to intrapersonal developmental changes that middle-school students experience, they also experience significant changes in school context and school experiences. What has been less studied however, is whether and how the transition from elementary to middle school may affect the racial achievement gaps. In other words, it is not known yet whether the change in school contexts affects students from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in different ways, possibly affecting the black-white or Hispanic-white achievement gaps. This paper addresses this question. On the whole, it is unclear whether the transition to middle school may exacerbate achievement gaps or narrow them. This paper attempts to provide initial evidence on this question. Preliminary findings suggest that the transition to middle school has, on average a significant effect on racial achievement gaps. Further analyses will need to be conducted to rule out alternative explanations for the findings, to explore potential mediators and mechanisms of the findings, and examine the extent to which these negative effects of the middle school transition persist over subsequent years. Tables and figures are appended.

The authors' goals in this study are to use both the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and state accountability test score data to (1) provide a detailed description of the magnitude and trends of state-level academic achievement gaps among cohorts of students entering school in the 1990s and 2000s; (2) investigate the extent to which patterns and trends in gaps vary among states; and (3) provide preliminary evidence regarding the impact of NCLB (No Child Left Behind) on achievement gaps. The authors use Main NAEP test score data from 4th- and 8th-graders in 1990-2009. They also use state-level categorical proficiency count data for students in grades 3-8 in 2001-2010, collected with the help of state department of education officials, as well as the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Education. The authors are primarily interested in white-black and white-Hispanic gaps, though they also report female-male achievement gaps. The authors' findings to date indicate, first, that black-white and Hispanic-white achievement gaps have narrowed in the last decade or more. Male-female gaps appear largely unchanged over the same time period. Second, there is considerable variation across states in both the magnitude and trends in achievement gaps. Third, the patterns evident so far do not suggest a strong effect of NCLB on achievement gaps, though these analyses are not yet complete. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Principals tend to prefer working in schools with higher-achieving students from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Principals often use schools with many poor or low-achieving students as stepping stones to what they view as more desirable assignments. District leadership can also exacerbate principal turnover by implementing policies aimed at improving low-performing schools such as rotating school leaders. Using longitudinal data from one large urban school district we find principal turnover is detrimental to school performance. Frequent turnover results in lower teacher retention and lower student achievement gains, which are particularly detrimental to students in high-poverty and failing schools. (Contains 10 tables and 3 footnotes.)

While prior research has documented differences in the distribution of teacher characteristics across schools serving different student populations, few studies have examined how teacher sorting occurs within schools. Comparing teachers who teach in the same grade and school in a given year, the authors find less experienced, minority, and female teachers are assigned students with lower average prior achievement, more prior behavioral problems, and lower prior attendance rates than their more experienced, white and male colleagues. Though more effective (higher value-added ) teachers and those with advanced degrees are also assigned less difficult classes, controlling for these factors does not eliminate the association between experience, race, gender, and assignments. The authors hypothesize that this pattern of class assignments results, in part, from power relations among teachers within a school, a process that works to disadvantage those with less experience and from minority and female backgrounds, as well as from parental pressures. These patterns have negative implications for teacher retention given the importance of working conditions for teachers' career decisions. Teacher Value-Added Estimation is appended. (Contains 3 figures, 10 tables, and 8 footnotes.)

Teachers are systematically sorted across schools. Often, schools serving the lowest-achieving students are staffed by the least-skilled teachers. While teachers' school preferences account for some of the sorting, school practices are also likely to be a key factor. Using value-added methods, the authors examine the relationship between a school's effectiveness during a given principal's tenure and the retention, recruitment and development of its teachers. Three key findings emerge about principal effectiveness. More effective principals: (1) are able to retain higher-quality teachers and remove less-effective teachers; (2) are able to attract and hire higher-quality teachers to fill vacancies; and (3) have teachers who improve at a greater pace than those in schools with less effective leadership (there is some evidence for this, albeit weak). These findings reinforce the importance of personnel practices for effective school leadership. Appendices include: (1) Model Specifications for Estimating Principal Value-Added; and (2) Bayesian Shrinkage. (Contains 7 tables, 3 figures, and 7 footnotes.)

The authors use administrative data from three large urban school districts to describe student sorting within schools. Students are linked to each of their teachers and students' classmates are identified. There are differences in the average achievement levels, racial composition, and socioeconomic composition of classrooms within schools. This sorting occurs even in self-contained elementary school classrooms and is much larger than would be expected were students assigned to classrooms randomly. Much of the racial and socioeconomic sorting is accounted for by differences in achievement, particularly at the high school level. Classrooms with the most low-achieving, minority, and poor students are more likely to have novice teachers. Sorting students by achievement level exposes minority and poor students to lower quality teachers and less resourced classmates.

Using 18 years of data from more than 1,300 four-year colleges and universities in the United States, we investigate the extent to which institutional characteristics and contextual factors influence the propensity of colleges to indicate that they engage in affirmative action in their admissions decisions. Consideration of race/ethnicity in admissions declined sharply after the mid-1990s, especially at public institutions. Rather than being shaped by specific historical and political contexts, affirmative action in admissions appears to be a widely institutionalized practice in higher education that has been tempered by changes in the policy environment over time. (Contains 5 tables, 3 figures, and 23 notes.)

More than one out of every five principals leaves their school each year. In some cases, these career changes are driven by the choices of district leadership. In other cases, principals initiate the move, often demonstrating preferences to work in schools with higher achieving students from more advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Principals often use schools with many poor or low-achieving students as stepping stones to what they view as more desirable assignments. We use longitudinal data from one large urban school district to study the relationship between principal turnover and school outcomes. We find that principal turnover is, on average, detrimental to school performance. Frequent turnover of school leadership results in lower teacher retention and lower student achievement gains. Leadership changes are particularly harmful for high poverty schools, low-achieving schools, and schools with many inexperienced teachers. These schools not only suffer from high rates of principal turnover but are also unable to attract experienced successors. The negative effect of leadership changes can be mitigated when vacancies are filled by individuals with prior experience leading other schools. However, the majority of new principals in high poverty and low-performing schools lack prior leadership experience and leave when more attractive positions become available in other schools.

The literature on effective schools emphasizes the importance of a quality teaching force in improving educational outcomes for students. In this paper, we use value-added methods to examine the relationship between a school's effectiveness and the recruitment, assignment, development and retention of its teachers. We ask whether effective schools systematically recruit more effective teachers; whether they assign teachers to students more effectively; whether they do a better job of helping their teachers improve; whether they retain more effective teachers; or whether they do a combination of these processes. Our results reveal four key findings. First, we find that more effective schools are able to attract and hire more effective teachers from other schools when vacancies arise. Second, we find that more effective schools assign novice teachers to students in a more equitable fashion. Third, we find that teachers who work in schools that were more effective at raising achievement in a prior period improve more rapidly in a subsequent period than do those in less effective schools. Finally, we find that more effective schools are better able to retain higher-quality teachers, though they are not differentially able to remove ineffective teachers. The results point to the importance of personnel, and perhaps, school personnel practices, for improving student outcomes.