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       2009 Research Conference | June 7–9

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) hosted the Fourth Annual IES Research Conference Sunday, June 7 through Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
2660 Woodley Road, NW
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Agenda

Sunday  Monday Tuesday
Sunday, June 7, 2009
2:00 pm  – 6:00 pm Conference Registration
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm NCER Grantee Meetings

Middle & High School Education Reform/ Education Leadership/Education Policy/Postsecondary Education
David Sweet and Ram Singh
Cognition/Education Technology
Website Carol O'Donnell & Jonathan Levy
Methodology
Allen Ruby
Early Childhood
Caroline Ebanks
Social/Behavioral
Website Emily Doolittle
SBIR
Website Edward Metz
Math/Science
Christina Chhin
Predoctoral/Postdoctoral
Katina Stapleton
Teacher Quality
Harold Himmelfarb
Read/Write & Struggling Readers
Elizabeth Albro

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Welcome Reception
Welcome Remarks and Presentation of the 2009 Outstanding IES Predoctoral Fellow Award
Lynn Okagaki, NCER Commissioner and NCSER Acting Commissioner

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Poster Presentations — Session A
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Monday, June 8, 2009
7:30 am – 5:00 pm Conference Registration
7:30 am – 8:45 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:45 am Opening Plenary
Presiding
Stuart Kerachsky, NCES Commissioner

Opening Remarks
Jon Baron, National Board for Education Sciences Vice Chair

Plenary Address
Website Video | Website Transcript
The Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education

PDF File Director's Remarks
John Q. Easton, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences

10:00 am – 11:30 am Panel Sessions and Open Forum
The Problem of False Discoveries: How to Balance Objectives
Two panelists will present new approaches to the multiple comparisons problem.
Moderator:
Amy Feldman Farb, NCEE
Presenters:
Peter Schochet and John Deke, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website The Multiple Comparisons Problem in IES Impact Evaluations: Guidelines and Applications
Discussants:
David Judkins, Westat
Website Discussion of The Problem of False Discoveries: How to Balance Objectives
Jeffrey Smith, University of Michigan
PDF File Comments on "The Multiple Comparisons Problem in the IES Impact Evaluations: Guidelines and Applications"
PDF File Discussant Comments: Pathways to Teaching Session Presentation
Flash Video Video | PDF File Transcript

  Why Does College Cost So Much? Costs, Prices, Subsidies, and Productivity in U.S. Higher Education
How does the sticker price of college compare to the cost of providing education? These panelists will discuss various cost models and research conducted in the higher education finance realm.
Moderator:
Tom Weko, NCES
Presenters:
Donna Desrochers, Delta Cost Project
Website Trends in College Spending: Where Does the Money Come From, Where Does It Go?
Craig Bowen, NCES
Website Price, Cost, and Subsidy in U.S. Higher Education
Marvin Titus, University of Maryland
Degree Productivity and Cost Efficiency in U.S. Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities

  Using Evidence to Invest in School Improvement Actions
A group of policymakers and researchers discuss where evidence fits into their school reform calculus. Drawing from case studies to effective research—how to make cost-effective choices from available evidence.
Moderator:
Mark Dynarski, What Works Clearinghouse
Presenters:
Willa Spicer, Deputy Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Education
Eric Smith, Commissioner, Florida Department of Education
James H. Lytle, University of Pennsylvania

  Strategies for Improving Comprehension
This panel will present two recent NCEE studies that used professional development or supplemental products aimed at improving student comprehension in elementary grades.
Moderator:
Marsha Silverberg, NCEE
Presenters:
Susie James-Burdumy, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website Evaluation of Reading Comprehension Programs
Mike Garet, American Institutes of Research
Website The Impact of Professional Development Models and Strategies on Teacher Practice and Student Achievement in Early Reading

  Improving Mathematics Achievement Despite past and present efforts to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, students continue to struggle. The need for more research in mathematics education is a given, but where and how should we direct our research efforts? The speakers will discuss promising avenues for future research in mathematics education.
Moderator:
Christina Chhin, NCER
Presenters:
Russell Gersten, Instructional Research Group
Website Needed Future Research on Instructional Practice in Mathematics
Robert Siegler, Carnegie Mellon University
Website Learning Research and Mathematics Education: Bidirectional Contributions, Bidirectional Challenges

  Open Forum
Scaling Up and Sustaining Interventions
Website A discussion of what it takes to scale-up an intervention and what it takes to sustain the fidelity of the implementation of an intervention.
Moderator:
Carol O'Donnell, NCER

11:30 am – 1:00 pm Plenary Luncheon
Presiding
Phoebe Cottingham, NCEE Commissioner
Website Plenary Address
The Honorable Cecilia E. Rouse, Member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers

1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Panel Sessions
Enhancing School Readiness
The speakers will address what we know and still need to know about the "school readiness gap" for at-risk children with disabilities; achievements in preschool that are predictors of later academic performance; early childhood interventions and curricula that are improving school readiness outcomes; including evidence-based strategies for promoting school readiness in young children with disabilities; as well as the importance of developing an infrastructure to guide and link research in this area.
Moderator:
Joan McLaughlin, NCSER
Presenters:
Barbara Goodson, Abt Associates
Website How Do We Close the Gap for At-Risk Children?
Judith Carta, University of Kansas
Website How Do We Get Children with Disabilities Ready for School?

  Problems with the Design and Implementation of Randomized Experiments
Randomized experiments provide the best evidence about causal effects of interventions, but experiments are often compromised in practice. Sometimes the compromises arise because of problems in the execution of the experiment. In still other cases the compromises arise because of misunderstanding about the analysis or its interpretation. This session will present an illustrative set of these problems and what, if anything can be done about them in practice.
Moderator:
Allen Ruby, NCER
Presenter:
Larry Hedges, Northwestern University
Website Problems with the Design and Implementation .of Randomized Experiments
Presentation
Flash Video Video | PDF File Transcript

  Reversion to the Mean, or Does Dosage Matter?
Some intervention advocates urge sustaining a new training, curriculum, supplement, or another type of school or classroom policy/practice for more than a year, arguing that teachers need more than a year to master new practices or that students need extended exposure to teaching practices. Results from new large-scale experimental studies focused on more extended exposure to intervention treatments raise caution about these assumptions. This session will discuss four such studies.
Moderator:
Robinson Hollister, Swarthmore College
Presenters:
Mark Dynarski, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings from Two Years of Implementation
Patrick Wolf, University of Arkansas
Website Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Fund: Impacts after Three Years
William Corrin, MDRC
Website Enhanced Reading Opportunities: Findings from the Second Year of Implementation
Presentation
Flash Video Video | PDF File Transcript

  Getting Beyond the Horse Race in International Assessments
The initial release of the findings of international student assessments such as PISA and TIMSS is accompanied by a great deal of press and gnashing of teeth over U.S. standings in the horse race. But beyond the horse race lies a wealth of additional information that is more difficult to interpret, but may prove valuable in understanding our place in the world and how to improve it. To help us find what's worth reporting beyond the league tables, a panel of researchers will offer perspectives for getting more analysis out of international assessments.
Moderators:
Dan McGrath and Val Plisko, NCES
Presenters:
John Smithson, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
Website Measuring The Alignment of TIMSS and PISA with U.S. State Standards
Dan Sherman, American Institutes for Research
Website Estimating Performance Below the National Level
Robert Hauser, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Website What PISA can tell us about Quality and Equity in the Performance of Students and Schools
Mark Schneider, American Institutes of Research
Website How PISA can be used for Improvement

  Math Curriculums: Do We Have Answers for First Grade?
There is much debate about what approaches work best at teaching math, especially to students in high poverty districts and schools under Title I. Four math curricula, selected by an expert panel through a competitive process, are being tested in first grades with random assignment of curriculum across 39 schools. The report from the first year found statistically significant impacts for two of the four curriculums.
Moderator:
Audrey Pendleton, NCEE
Presenter:
Roberto Agodini, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website Evaluation of Early Elementary Math Curricula

  Learning Disabilities
Despite decades of research involving individuals with specific learning disabilities, a disconnect continues to exist between identifying children with specific learning disabilities and tailoring instruction to meet a child's unique needs. The presenters will discuss these issues and provide suggestions for future research that addresses improving academic outcomes within the challenges of educational settings.
Moderator:
Kristen Lauer, NCSER
Presenters:
Sharon Vaughn, University of Texas at Austin
Website Future Directions for Research in Learning Disabilities: What We Know and What We Need to Know
Lee Swanson, University of California at Riverside
WebsiteWho are the Children with Specific Learning Disabilities? Translating Evidence from Meta-Analysis and Longitudinal Research

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Poster Presentations — Session B
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Open Forums
Effectively Communicating Research Findings with Practitioners: Lessons from the REL Experts Bring Evidence to Practitioners (EEP) Initiative
Moderator:
Jill Weber, REL Northeast & Islands
Website Strategies for Schools that are Marginally Adequate: How Can ARRA Funds be Wisely Applied?
Moderator:
Lou Cicchinelli, REL Central
State Financial Crises and Encouraging Teacher Mobility to Assure Better Distribution of Effective Teachers: Proposals for State Teacher Pension System Reform
Moderator:
Dean Nafziger, REL Southwest
Website Robert M. Costrell, University of Arkansas
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009
7:30 am – 10:30 am Conference Registration
7:30 am – 8:45 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 am – 10:30 am Panel and Open Forum Sessions

Presentations by Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers and the 2009 IES Outstanding Predoctoral Fellow
Presenters:
Nicole McNeil, University of Notre Dame
Website Modifying Arithmetic Practice to Promote Understanding of Mathematical Equivalence
Gregory Fabiano, University of Buffalo
Website Enhancing Outcomes for Students with ADHD in Special Education Settings
2009 IES Outstanding Predoctoral Fellow
Website Anita McGinty

  Assessing Intervention Fidelity: Models, Methods and Modes of Analysis
In this session, the speakers describe and illustrate the use of intervention models—theory of change, a logic model, and an in situ program model—to specify fidelity indicators and methods of assessment. We also illustrate how composite fidelity indices can be used in intent-to-treat (ITT) and treatment-on-treated (TOT) statistical models of intervention effects.
Moderator:
Jacquelyn Buckley, NCSER
Presenters:
David S. Cordray, Vanderbilt University
Chris Hulleman, Vanderbilt University
Website Assessing Intervention Fidelity in RCTs: Models, Methods and Modes of Analysis
Presentation
Flash Video Video | PDF File Transcript

  How Do We Get To Reading With Understanding?
After decades of reading research, we have substantial work on how to teach children word level skills. But word level skills are not enough to enable children to read with understanding. What do we need to do to teach children to read with understanding?
Moderator:
Elizabeth Albro, NCER
Presenter:
Charles Perfetti, University of Pittsburg
WebsiteReducing the Complexities of Reading Comprehension: A Simplifying Framework
Donald J. Leu, University of Connecticut
WebsiteFrom the Report of the RAND Reading Study Group to Online Reading Comprehension: Promising New Directions for Research on Reading Comprehension in the Age of the Internet

  Pathways to Teaching: Findings from National Studies
This panel explores two recommended strategies for enlarging the supply of new teachers and the support of first-year teachers. Both studies focus on whether student learning is helped or hindered by either broadening the route to teaching or giving new teachers special support.
Moderator:
Betsy Warner, NCEE
Presenters:
Jill Constantine, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website An Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification
Amy Johnson, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Website Impact Evaluation of Teacher Induction Programs

  Why the Research Community Should Take Notice of State Longitudinal Data Systems
This session on Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) will familiarize education researchers with IES/NCES's role in working with states to develop these systems. Researchers will learn about the types of data states are collecting with their individual SLDS systems. They will also learn how researchers are using data systems to make education decisions. Lastly, researchers will be briefed on ongoing work to use this type of data to address education policy issues.
Moderator:
Lee Hoffman, NCES
Presenters:
Tate Gould, NCES
WebsiteWhat Data Can We Get from State Longitudinal Data Systems?
Sean Mulvenon, University of Arkansas
Website How are Researchers Using Data from State Longitudinal Data Systems?
Jane Hannaway, Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research
Website How Can Research Use Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems to Inform Education Policy ?
Presentation
Flash Video Video | PDF File Transcript

  Open Forum
Can School Finance Policy Lead to Better School Outcomes?
Linking school finance with educational policy goals has been a theme in legislative, judicial, and academic discussions for the past several decades. At the same time, direct linkages have not been quick to be adopted. This forum will draw out the linkages between research and policy in the area of school finance, concentrating on two fundamental questions: what research is relevant for making school finance decisions and what do we know about the impacts on performance of various finance policies?
Moderators:
Website Eric A. Hanushek, Stanford University
Alfred A. Lindseth, Sutherland LLP

 
10:45 am – 1:00 pm Poster Presentations — Session C
1:00 pm Conference Adjournment

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