Search

Staff turnover is a pressing problem in early childhood education. High turnover can create organizational instability and distract from the care and education mandate of early childhood education centers. The Early Childhood Workforce Development Research Alliance of the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands wants to better understand the factors associated with turnover in the early childhood educator workforce. Using data from the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education, this study found that a low average turnover rate across early childhood education centers obscured systematic variation in turnover patterns across types of centers and programs, with high turnover rates in some types. Higher wages were associated with lower turnover rates across centers. Turnover rates were highest among private-pay centers serving children ages 0-5. Nonwage benefits such as health insurance and retirement benefits and paid time off for professional development were generally unrelated to turnover rates. Educators were also clustered into certain center types based on background characteristics; Black educators and educators with lower educational attainment more likely to work in centers with low wages and high turnover. [For the appendixes, see ED611678; for the study brief, see ED611681; for the study snapshot, see ED611682.]

This is the second of three whitepapers on designing curricula for diversity. It provides the step-by-step process for using the Equity and Inclusion for Curriculum Design (EI-CD). Additionally, it describes how the framework can be used to design and adapt STEM+CS [science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science] curriculum materials. [For Part 1, see ED615692. For part 3, see ED615695.]

In this first of three whitepapers on designing curricula for diversity, the authors explain why equity and inclusion should be addressed in standardized curriculum materials and introduce the Equity and Inclusion Framework for Curriculum Design (EI-CD). [For Part 2, see ED615694. For Part 3, see ED615695.]

This report is an evaluation of the i3 development grant Think College Transition (TCT), an inclusive dual enrollment transition model to improve achievement and post-school outcomes for students with intellectual disabilities or autism (ID/A). The model offers an innovative approach to transition services for students with intellectual disabilities and autism by providing participation in inclusive academic and social environments of a college campus with same-aged peers rather than continuing to receive transition services in typical high school environments. This evaluation examined the impact of TCT services on the job-seeking skills, career readiness, self-determination, college self-efficacy, and employment of ID/A youth. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare baseline and end-of-the year data on outcome variables from students with ID/A participating in the TCT model at three institutes of higher education in Massachusetts with students with ID/A participating in business-as-usual transition services through their school districts. The fidelity with which the TCT model was implemented at the intervention sites was also evaluated. Results from the evaluation found that, after controlling for student baseline scores, the TCT model had a significant effect on students' scores of self-determination after one year of participation. This is one of the first quantitative studies to examine college-based transition programs using a rigorous research design. Future research will need to be conducted to learn what TCT model components specifically affect self-determination and what other long-term effects participation in the TCT model might have. [Additional financial support for this research was provided by the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation.]

This longitudinal study analyzes high school graduation outcomes of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students. It extends the work of Kieffer and Parker (2016) by investigating the high school graduation rates and the types of diploma earned by the 1,734 students who entered New York City public schools (either from another country or from another school system in the United States) in grades 5 and 6 in the 2003/04 school year (the first year after implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act) and who were classified as English learner students, regardless of whether they were subsequently reclassified.1 The study followed two cohorts through two years after their expected graduation year (that is, through 2011/12 for the grade 5 cohort and 2012/13 for the grade 6 cohort. The study explores differences between long-term and short-term English learner students. Of the 1,734 students in the sample, 718 (41.4 percent) were identified as long-term English learner students and 1,016 (58.6 percent) were identified as short-term English learner students. For this study long-term English learner students were defined as students who were classified as English learner students when they entered school in grade 5 or 6 and were not reclassified as former English learner students within six years (through grade 10 for those who entered in grade 5 and through grade 11 for those who entered in grade 6), consistent with the New York City Department of Education (2013) definition. Approximately 44 percent of long-term English learner students who entered in grade 5 and 21 percent who entered in grade 6 were reclassified as former English learner students before their expected year of high school graduation. Short-term English learner students were defined as those who were reclassified as former English learner students within six years. The study addressed three research questions: (1) What percentage of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students graduated from high school on time (that is, within four years of entering grade 9)? To what extent does the percentage differ between long-term and short-term English learner students?; (2) What percentage of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students graduated one or two years after their expected graduation year (that is, within five years or six years of entering grade 9)? To what extent does the percentage differ between long-term and short-term English learner students?; and (3) What percentage of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students received a New York City Local diploma, Regents diploma, or Advanced Regents diploma within six years of entering grade 9? To what extent does the percentage differ between long-term and short-term English learner students? The study found: (1) Approximately 64 percent of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students graduated from high school on time; (2) Approximately 15 percent of students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students graduated one or two years after their expected graduation year, yielding a six-year cohort graduation rate of 79 percent; and (3) Among students who entered New York City public schools in grade 5 or 6 as English learner students, approximately 41 percent earned a Regents diploma, 19 percent earned a Local diploma, and 19 percent earned an Advanced Regents diploma. The following are appended: (1) Diploma requirements in New York State; and (2) Data and methodology.

The proliferation of new technologies has changed the way we live, learn, and work. The vision of the future includes a new machine age, where various technologies (sensors, communication, computation, and intelligence) will be embedded around, on, and in us; where humans will shape technology and technology will shape human interaction; and where technologies and humans will collaborate to discover and innovate. Without question, the U.S. workforce will need a new set of skills and competencies to succeed in the future work environments on this Frontier--which feels like it grows closer with each new technological advance--and to move our society forward as a global leader in the 21st century. To ensure the workforce is future-ready, our society will need to address existing challenges related to education for workforce development, economics, equity, and ethics. As our society works to understand and identify strategies to overcome these complex and interrelated challenges, two theories--the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) -- can help us understand and attend to the following key factors in cultivating a future-ready workforce: (1) The importance of work to society; (2) why work is critical to human identity; (3) how youth develop their work identities; and (4) why we should be concerned about making sure that there is decent work for everyone. Both the PWT and SCCT theories argue that because career development is an iterative process that begins early and is nurtured through both in- and out-of school experiences, we need to start supporting STEM workforce development long before youth reach the undergraduate level. Drawing upon these theories, this paper explores the potential to build on the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program's successful use of a "helix" approach, which blends career and content learning to help young people master the foundational skills they will need for work success at the Human-Technology Frontier. [Additional support for this report was provided by the STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR) and Boston College.]

With the rapid growth in the number of English learner students served by schools in the United States, educators are increasingly concerned with how these students progress toward proficiency in English. The large and diverse English learner student population in New York City public schools, where more than 41 percent of students speak a language other than English at home, provides a unique opportunity to investigate how long it takes for English learner students to become reclassified as former English learner students. This study was conducted at the request of the English Language Learners Alliance at the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands to better understand variation in English language acquisition patterns among English learners. It followed seven student cohorts for periods ranging from two to nine years, through the 2011/12 school year. The first student cohort followed in the study entered school in 2003/04 and was followed for nine years; the last cohort entered in 2010/11 and was followed for two years. The study drew on longitudinal administrative data in order to provide descriptive evidence on the time that English learner students take to become reclassified and in order to shed light on student characteristics that were associated with longer or shorter times to reclassification as former English learner students. Key findings include the following: (1) Slightly more than half the students who entered kindergarten in New York City public schools as English learner students were reclassified within four years (by the end of their expected grade 3 year). A quarter of students were not reclassified within six years and thus became long-term English learner students; (2) The median time to reclassification for English learner students who entered school in grade 6 or 7 was about a year longer than that of English learner students who entered in kindergarten; (3) The median time to reclassification was three years for English learner students with above average initial English proficiency and nearly five years for English learner students with below average initial English proficiency, among students entering at any grade; and (4) The median time to reclassification for English learner students with specific learning disabilities was about four years longer than that of their peers without disabilities, and the median time to reclassification for students with speech or language impairments was two years longer than that of students without these impairments, among students entering at any grade. The following are appended: (1) Review of the literature on time to reclassify English learner students as former English learner students; (2) Study sample; (3) Analytic approach; (4) Measures used to create initial English proficiency and reclassification variables; (5) Fitted model estimates for key findings; and (6) Supplemental analyses and results incorporating additional control variables.

English learner students are one of the fastest growing subgroups in America's schools, and gaps between English learner students and their native English-speaking peers in academic outcomes remain large in most districts and states. This study examines data for all English learner students in grades K-12 in the study district who took the Language Assessment Systems Links (LAS Links) English language proficiency assessment in spring 2011. Focusing on a large urban district in Connecticut, this study examines three research questions: (1) What were the characteristics of English learner students and of the English learner programs and schools they attended in 2010/11?; (2) Which student characteristics, types of English learner programs, and school characteristics were most closely related to English learner students' English proficiency scores in 2010/11?; and (3) Which student characteristics, including English proficiency levels, and which types of English learner programs were most closely related to English learner students' math and reading performance? A large urban district in Connecticut with a share of just over 10 percent of English learner students in its student population was selected as the site for this study. The study used administrative data from the study district to conduct descriptive statistics and regression analyses to address the research questions. While there are differences in performance on both the LAS Links and Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT)/CAPT assessments by type of English learner program, the differences do not have a clear pattern. A table is appended. [SREE documents are structured abstracts of SREE conference symposium, panel, and paper or poster submissions.]

Analyzing data that possess some form of nesting is often challenging for applied researchers or district staff who are involved in or in charge of conducting data analyses. This report provides a description of the challenges for analyzing nested data and provides a primer of how multilevel regression modeling may be used to resolve these challenges. An illustration from the companion report, The correlates of academic performance for English language learner students in a New England district (REL 2014-020), is provided to show how multilevel modeling procedures are used and how the results are interpreted. "Step by step procedure for using the Advanced Statistics module of SPSS IBM Statistics" is appended.

The number of English language learners has grown in the Northeast & Islands Region over the past decade. While the total student population shrank 3.5 percent between 2001/02 and 2009/10, the population of English language learner students grew 7.6 percent and now constitutes 6.1 percent of students in the region, up from 5.5 percent in 2001/02. In Connecticut the shift was even greater. While the student population shrank 1.1 percent, the population of English language learner students grew 39.7 percent and now constitutes 5.3 percent of Connecticut's student population, up from 3.8 percent in 2001/02 (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). While the percentage of English language learner students may be small in some districts, these students often fail to meet state proficiency standards. A large urban district in Connecticut with a share of just over 10 percent of English language learner students in its student population was selected as the site for this study. The researchers used cross-sectional data from the Language Assessment Systems Links (LAS Links) assessment, which measures English proficiency in grades K-12; the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) of math and reading in grades 3-8; and the Connecticut Achievement and Performance Test (CAPT) of math and reading in grade 10 to address three research questions: (1) What were the characteristics of English language learner students and of the English language learner programs and schools they attended in 2010/11; (2) Which student characteristics, types of English language learner programs, and school characteristics were most closely related to English language learner students' English proficiency scores in 2010/11; and (3) Which student characteristics, including English proficiency levels, and which types of English language learner programs were most closely related to English language learner students' math and reading performance? Key findings detailed in this report include: (1) Characteristics of English language learner students and of the programs and schools these students attended in 2010/11; (2) Student characteristics, types of English language learner programs, and school characteristics most closely related to English language learner students' English proficiency scores in 2010/11; and (3) Student characteristics and types of English language learner programs most closely related to English language learner students' math and reading performance. Appended are: (1) Literature review; (2) About the Language Assessment Systems Links assessment; (3) Measures of academic achievement; (4) Analysis sample; (5) Analysis methods; (6) Description of variable coding schemes for models; and (7) Regression tables.

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. The study examined student and program characteristics that are related to English proficiency and content area achievement for English language learner students in one urban district in New England. The study found that English learner students with individualized education programs had English proficiency scores significantly lower than the mean for all English learner students in all grades, and that students' English proficiency scores were associated with both math and reading performance in all grades. Results also showed that there were no clear patterns in the relationship between the type of English learner program attended and students' English proficiency, math, or reading scores. [This brief was written in collaboration with the English Language Learners Alliance.] [For the full report, see ED560752.]

While the overall student population in Massachusetts has dropped slightly in the last 10 years, the number of English language learners (ELLs) has increased by more than 50 percent. In April 2012, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) contracted with researchers at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), to study current practices in identifying disabilities among ELLs and in meeting their instructional needs in schools and districts across the state. The study included an online survey sent to all directors of special education and directors and coordinators of English learner education programs in districts with ELLs, as well as in-depth qualitative interviews of district directors from five school districts, and principals and teachers from four schools. The survey was completed by special education and bilingual education leaders from 64 percent of Massachusetts' districts, which serve 94 percent of ELLs across the state. At the school level, administrators and teachers met with researchers. While everyone interviewed described facing many challenges in both identifying disabilities among ELLs and in meeting the instructional needs of ELLs with disabilities, almost all individuals also described concrete ways in which they are addressing the challenges, including both systems solutions and teaching strategies. The overall findings suggest that, although Massachusetts schools and districts face challenges in meeting the instructional needs of ELLs with disabilities--challenges that include articulating the role and fidelity of implementation of a tiered system of support for ELLs and improving the integration of ELL teachers and administrators in school and district collaborative structures--there are also many practices and processes led by highly committed individuals with extensive expertise, and they are using that expertise to meet the needs of these students. The following appendices are included: (1) Interview Protocols; (2) Online Survey; and (3) Glossary of Assessment Terms. [This document was written with the assistance of Maria Paz Avery, Diana Baker, Shai Fuxman, Anna Lingan, Claudia Rinaldi, Maria Teresa Sanchez, and Michelle Schamberg.]

Using interviews with district and school personnel and documents from state and district web sites in three districts in New York State, the study examines practices for identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners and the challenges that arise. Specifically, two research questions guided the project: (1) According to district and school personnel in three midsize New York State districts, what processes are used to identify students who are English language learners and also have learning disabilities? (2) What challenges do those district administrators and school personnel describe about the process of identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners? The study finds both similarities and differences in practices, with more differences in prereferral than in referral practices. It identifies eight challenges to the identification of learning disabilities in students who are English language learners and five interrelated elements that appear to be important for avoiding misidentification. The eight challenges are: (1) Difficulties with policy guidelines; (2) Different stakeholder views about timing for referral of students who are English language learners; (3) Insufficient knowledge among personnel involved in identification; (4) Difficulties providing consistent, adequate services to students who are English language learners; (5) Lack of collaborative structures in prereferral; (6) Lack of access to assessments that differentiate between second language development and learning disabilities; (7) Lack of consistent monitoring for struggling students who are English language learners; and (8) Difficulty obtaining students' previous school records. Appendices include: (1) Study methods; (2) Research on identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners; (3) Interview protocols; and (4) Cross-district demographics, organizational structure, and programs for students who are English language learners in middle school. (Contains 6 tables, 3 boxes, and 24 notes.) [This report was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) by Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands administered by Education Development Center, Inc.]

Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the domains of reading and writing (literacy skills) are more closely associated with performance than are the English language domains of speaking and listening (oral skills). (Contains 1 note.) [For full report, see ED504060.]

Using assessment results for 5th and 8th grade English language learner students in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the report finds that the English language domains of reading and writing (as measured by a proficiency assessment) are significant predictors of performance on reading, writing, and mathematics assessments and that the domains of reading and writing (literacy skills) are more closely associated with performance than are the English language domains of speaking and listening (oral skills). Seven appendices are included: (1) Review of the Literature; (2) Methods of Analysis; (3) About the Data; (4) Descriptions and Reliability Estimates for New England Common Assessment Program and Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State; (5) Confidence Intervals for Testing Differences; (6) Multilevel Modeling Procedures; and (7) New England Common Assessment Program Models. (Contains 17 notes, 1 figure, 2 boxes and 19 tables.) [For summary report, see ED504061.]