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Attrition is a critical concern for evaluating the rigor of prevention studies, and the current study provides rates of attrition for subgroups of students and schools who are often sampled for prevention science. This is the first study to provide practical guidance for expected rates of attrition using population-level statewide data; findings indicated that researchers using K-12 school-based samples should plan for attrition rates as high as 27% during middle school and 54% during elementary school. However, researchers should consider the grade levels initially sampled, the length of follow-up, and the specific student characteristics and schools available for sampling. Postsecondary attrition ranged from 45% for bachelor's degree seekers to 73% for associate degree seekers. This practical guidance can help researchers to proactively plan for attrition in the study design phase, limiting bias and increasing the validity of prevention studies.

School concentrated disadvantage has been linked to poorer academic achievement and psychosocial functioning in prior research. The current study expands upon prior examinations of school concentrated disadvantage by applying a measurement approach first described by Michelmore and Dynarski in 2017, where eligibility for free and reduced-price meals (FRPM) is examined over time and the duration of eligibility serves as the key indicator of student disadvantage. We used data from a linked longitudinal administrative data system in Maryland, and we measured disadvantage using the proportion of years a student was eligible for FRPM between 6th and 12th grades (see ref. Michelmore & Dynarski). This measure was aggregated to the school level to measure school concentrated disadvantage. We found that school-level concentrated disadvantage was uniquely, and more strongly related to college enrollment than individual student-level disadvantage. However, early labor market outcomes tended to be more strongly linked to race/ethnicity than experiences with disadvantage. We highlight the need for additional targeted resources for students in schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students.

There is demand among policy-makers for the use of state education longitudinal data systems, yet laws and policies regulating data disclosure limit access to such data, and security concerns and risks remain high. Well-developed synthetic datasets that statistically mimic the relations among the variables in the data from which they were derived, but which contain no records that represent actual persons, present a viable solution to these laws, policies, concerns, and risks. We present a case study in the development of a synthetic data system and highlight potential applications of synthetic data. We begin with an overview of synthetic data, what it is, how it has been utilized thus far, and the potential benefits and concerns in its application to education data systems. We then describe our federally-funded project, proposing the steps required to synthesize a statewide longitudinal data system covering high school, postsecondary, and workforce data. Last, for use as a template for other agencies considering synthetic data, we review the challenges we have confronted in the development of our synthetic data system for research and policy evaluation purposes.

Homeless and low-income students share multiple overlapping risk experiences; however, some studies report little to no observed differences in outcomes between these students. From the cumulative risk perspective, homelessness is perched at the extreme edge of economic insecurity, suggesting that homeless students encounter additional hardships beyond poverty experiences alone. Using a continuum of risk framework, this study leveraged statewide administrative data from a 6th grade cohort of Maryland public school students (N = 52,610) to investigate the association between homelessness and educational and early labor market outcomes, above and beyond the associations linked to poverty. Findings provide support for the continuum of risk in relation to educational outcomes; however, no significant differences were observed in early labor market outcomes, although racial differences were detected. This study underscores the importance of targeted interventions in promoting positive, long-term outcomes, particularly for students who were homeless in adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent involvement is greatly influenced by the extent to which schools and teachers reach out to parents. Charter schools may be uniquely situated vis-à-vis traditional public schools to create the school organization and policies that can encourage teachers to reach out more. The authors examined the extent to which organizational and teacher-level characteristics account for cross-sector variation in teacher outreach using a matched sample of charter and traditional schools. Teacher efficacy, parent empowerment in classrooms, and home-school contracts accounted for some, but not all, of the higher levels of teacher outreach in the sample charter schools. Specific factors promoting teacher outreach were not limited to the charter sector.