The objective of this study is to use nationally representative data to examine the rates, destinations and sources of math and science teacher turnover. There are four sets of research questions the authors address concerning the departure of mathematics and science teachers from their schools: (1) At what rates do mathematics/science teachers…

The Reading First Program is a central element of the No Child Left Behind legislation (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). It builds on findings reported in a national consensus report (NICHD, 2000), about proven strategies to reduce the prevalence of reading difficulty in the early grades in order to help children read at or above grade level by…

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), this paper applied optimal propensity score matching method to evaluate the effects of Head Start on children's kindergarten retention, reading and math achievement in fall kindergarten comparing with center-based care. Both parametric and nonparametric…

This research investigated the effects of two contrasting pre-k curricula, relative to practice as usual, on subsequent academic achievement. One curriculum had a strong literacy focus, the other was a less didactic "developmentally appropriate" curriculum that allowed children to have more influence on classroom activities. The purpose of the…

The objective of this report is to review studies that report language and literacy outcomes associated with preschool curriculum-based interventions. Results from studies reporting on interventions targeting preschool children from low-income families were included regardless of the specific type of program. Although the majority of preschool…

Rigorous research provides information that will allow ECE (Early Childhood Educator) programs to select interventions that have a scientifically based track record of effectiveness in increasing teachers' skills and teaching quality. This paper shares implementation and impact results as well as the lessons learned in conducting an evaluation of…

Interrupted time-series (ITS) are often used to assess the causal effect of a planned or even unplanned shock introduced into an on-going process. The pre-intervention slope is supposed to index the causal counterfactual, and deviations from it in mean, slope or variance are used to indicate an effect. However, a secure causal inference is only…

There is limited empirical research about innovation in various types of schools of choice, although viable choice policies tend to assume clear differentiation amongst schools. Innovation can be conceptualized in many ways and takes place at multiple levels of the school organization. Schools can innovate in terms of the roles and responsibility…

Reading is critical to children's academic and future economic success. Yet reading skills continue to lag in the upper elementary grades. One way that school districts across the country have responded to the challenge of improving students' reading skills has been to hire additional, presumably more skilled, teachers as "instructional coaches"…

This paper investigates how bias reduction was affected when different degrees of measurement error were systematically introduced into the measures constituting the final estimated propensity score (PS), the PS only for the set of effective covariates and the PS only for the ineffective ones. Since there was already some error in the Shadish et…

This paper introduces a generalization of the regression-discontinuity design (RDD). Traditionally, RDD is considered in a two-dimensional framework, with a single assignment variable and cutoff. Treatment effects are measured at a single location along the assignment variable. However, this represents a specialized (and straight-forward)…

In this article the authors set out to examine the effect of tracking in mathematics. Previous analyses have shown it to be quite prevalent at 8th grade unlike much of the rest of the world. The US practices both between- and within-school tracking, leading to very different content coverage for different students. Without judging the merits of…

The authors' hypothesis is that if teachers (as experts) understand and teach concepts from the position of expertise teacher quality will improve. They believe that focusing on the key ideas will deepen both teacher and student understanding and allow learners to build the concepts necessary to form solid foundations for the application of…

This study aims to help address a need for information about efficacious mathematics curriculum and instruction at the high school level. Data from national and international studies, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), show very low mathematics proficiency rates for high school students. Many educators recognize a…

The primary objective of this study is to describe how reading programs are implemented in Reading First schools and in a group of schools serving similar populations of students. The surveys collected detailed information about reading programs from nationally representative samples of schools to illustrate how this billion dollar a year program…