What's New for June 2008
Technology-Based Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03 and 2004-05 (June 27, 2008)
This report details findings from "Technology-Based Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2004-05," a survey that was designed to provide policymakers, researchers, and educators with information about technology-based distance education courses in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide. This report also compares these findings with baseline data collected in 2002-03, and provides longitudinal analysis of change in the districts that responded to both the 2002-03 and 2004-05 surveys. For these two surveys, distance education courses were defined as credit-granting courses offered via audio, video, or Internet or other computer technologies to elementary and secondary school students enrolled in the district, in which the teacher and students were in different locations.
2008 IES Research Conference Presentations Now Available (June 26, 2008)
Presentations from many of the recently concluded IES Research Conference panelists are now available for review. If you want to refresh your memory, or if you were unable to attend, these presentations provide a great portal into the substance of this annual event. Check back periodically for further additions.
NCES Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grants Request for Applications - 84.372 (FY 2009) (June 26, 2008)
The National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences has released a Request for Applications for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System. The purpose of this program is to provide grants to SEAs to enable such agencies to design, develop, and implement statewide longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student data, consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The long term goal of this program is to increase the number and capacity of comprehensive statewide longitudinal data systems, thereby permitting States to generate accurate and timely data to meet reporting requirements; support evidence-based education decision-making; and increase the efficiency and organization of transferring educational data among schools, districts, and states in order to improve student achievement. These grants will support the development of statewide longitudinal systems that link individual student data, promote interoperability across institutions and States, and protect student privacy consistent with applicable privacy protection laws. The submission deadline for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grants is September 25, 2008.
Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2005-06 (June 26, 2008)
This annual report provides basic information from the Common Core of Data about the nation's largest public school districts in the 2005-06 school year. The data include such characteristics as the numbers of students and teachers, number of high school completers and the averaged freshman graduation rate, and revenues and expenditures. Findings include: In 2005-06, these 100 largest districts enrolled 23 percent of all public school students, and employed 22 percent of all public school teachers. The districts produced 20 percent of all high school completers (both diploma and other completion credential recipients) in 2004-05. Across the districts, the averaged freshman graduation rate was 69.5 percent. Three states -- California, Florida, and Texas -- accounted for almost half of the 100 largest public school districts. Current per-pupil expenditures in fiscal year 2003 ranged from a low of $5,104 in the Puerto Rico School District to a high of $18,878 in the District of Columbia Public School District.
Just Released: National Indian Education Study - Part II: The Educational Experiences of American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Grades 4 and 8 (June 25, 2008)
This report presents information about the educational, home, and community experiences of approximately 21,000 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) fourth- and eighth-grade students that was collected during the National Indian Education Study (NIES) of 2007.
Trends Among High School Seniors, 1972-2004 (June 24, 2008)
Using questionnaire and transcript data collected in 1972, 1980, 1982, 1992, and 2004, this report presents information on five cohorts of high school seniors. The analysis addresses overall trends, as well as trends within various subgroups defined by sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES).
NAEP High School Transcript Studies Training for NAEP Researchers (June 18, 2008)
June 23 is the application deadline for this three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of NAEP transcript data for education research and policy analysis, August 4-6.
Using NAEP for Research and Policy Analysis--NAEP Database Training Seminar. (June 18, 2008)
June 23 is the application deadline for this three-day advanced studies seminar on the use of NAEP data for education research and policy analysis, July 30 to August 1.
Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Two Years (June 16, 2008)
The DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 established the first federally funded private school voucher program in the United States, providing scholarships of up to $7,500 for low-income residents of the District of Columbia to send their children to local participating private schools. The law also mandated that the Department conduct an independent, rigorous impact evaluation of what is now called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The study’s latest report, Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Impacts After Two Years, found no significant differences in student achievement between those who were offered scholarships to attend a participating private school and those who were eligible for, but were not offered (as assigned by a lottery) a scholarship. However, being offered a scholarship may have improved reading test scores among three subgroups of relatively more advantaged students: those who had not attended a School in Need of Improvement (SINI) school when they applied to the program, those who had relatively higher pre-program academic performance, and those who applied in the first year of program implementation.
Students in the program did not report being more satisfied or feeling safer than those who were not in the program. However, the program did have a positive impact on parent satisfaction and perceptions of school safety.
This same pattern of findings holds when the analysis is conducted to determine the impact of using a scholarship rather than being offered a scholarship and when estimating the effects of attending private school versus public school, regardless of whether an Opportunity Scholarship Program scholarship was used.
New PEELS report: Changes in the Characteristics, Services, and Performance of Preschoolers with Disabilities (June 10, 2008)
The National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the second major report from the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS) titled "Changes in the Characteristics, Services, and Performance of Preschoolers with Disabilities from 2003-04 to 2004-05: PEELS Wave 2 Overview Report." This report describes changes in disability status, changes over time in the special education and related services provided to preschoolers with disabilities, and changes in children's performance on a series of direct and indirect assessments.
Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings from the First Year of Implementation (June 10, 2008)
The report, Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs, presents implementation and impact findings after one year of program operation. This study tests whether interventions of structured approaches to academic instruction in after-school programs (one for reading and one for math) produce better academic outcomes than regular after-school services that consist primarily of help with homework, tutoring, or locally assembled materials that do not follow a structured curriculum.
Technical Methods Report: Guidelines for Multiple Testing in Impact Evaluations (June 9, 2008)
NCEE is beginning to publish commissioned papers called, Technical Methods Reports, that are an outgrowth from discussions and special investigations undertaken by the NCEE Methods Working Group. The reports are designed for use by research and evaluation specialists. These reports address current methodological concerns that evaluation experts believe warrant resolution or advancement. Typically, a paper will summarize the method issue and relevance to the conduct of studies, especially for studies in design or analysis phases. The first report in the series is
Technical Methods Report: Guidelines for Multiple Testing in Impact Evaluations presents guidelines for education researchers that address the multiple comparisons problem in impact evaluations in the education area. The problem occurs due to the large number of hypothesis tests that are typically conducted across outcomes and subgroups in evaluation studies, which can lead to spurious significant impact findings.
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Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2006; Graduation Rates, 2000 and 2003 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2006 (June 3, 2008)
This First Look presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2007 data collection, which included four components: Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2006; Graduation Rates, 2000 & 2003 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2006. These data were collected through the IPEDS web-based data collection system.
WWC Releases Two New Quick Reviews (June 3, 2008)
See how the WWC rated a study that explores whether placing sixth graders in middle schools rather than elementary schools affects their behavior and academic performance. Read the second new review, rating a study of a Texas Advanced Placement Incentive Program and its effect on students' SAT/ACT scores and college attendance.