The past decade has seen a substantial increase in the enrolment figures of tertiary level colleges and universities in OECD countries and it is predicted that this increase will continue. One of the likely consequences of these increases is the maintenance and/or increase of class sizes in colleges and universities, especially at undergraduate…

This paper investigates how the precision and stability of a teacher's value-added estimate relates to the characteristics of the teacher's students. Using a large administrative data set and a variety of teacher value-added estimators, it finds that the stability over time of teacher value-added estimates can depend on the previous achievement…

Studies of English language education in primary and secondary schools in Asia have shown that at different times the orientation of English language curricula for schools has been adjusted to meet changing sociopolitical and educational trends. In much of Asia the emphasis of the objectives set out in the English curricula has shifted from…

This policy brief revisits the long and storied literature on whether money matters in providing a quality education. Increasingly, political rhetoric adheres to the unfounded certainty that money doesn't make a difference in education, and that reduced funding is unlikely to harm educational quality. Such proclamations have even been used to…

Research has shown that there is no greater influence on a student's success than the quality of his or her teacher. This book presents the research findings which demonstrate the connection between teacher effectiveness and student achievement. We've always known, at least intuitively, that teachers matter, but this book proves that teachers are…

Objective: This study assessed the impact of Curriculum Infusion (CI) on undergraduates' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. The related effects of students' perceptions of instructors' credibility and immediacy were also examined. Participants: Participants were 309 undergraduates enrolled in 14 CI…

This study sought to determine the nature of the relationship between cultural competence and teacher efficacy. According to 30 years of NAEP data, stagnant achievement among minority students persists; among factors related to student achievement, teacher efficacy represents the school-related variable that is most closely correlated and…

The fundamental asset of a university is its faculty. Without faculty working with students, the university is just a set of buildings. The faculty design and teach the courses, keep the educational program updated, and work with students to help them gain the skills and knowledge they need to prepare for their careers or professional education.…

This policy brief, a quick look at some aspects of the debate, illustrates the differences in New York City public schools that would result when layoffs are determined by seniority in comparison to a measure of teacher effectiveness. Due to data limitations and an interest in simplicity, this analysis employs the value added of teachers using the…

As a new decade dawns, teachers stand at the center of a policy vortex. They serve as the primary focus of one of the Obama administration's four pillars of educational reform--effective teachers and leaders. Educational reformers of all stripes have focused tremendous energy on thinking of ways to identify effective teachers and in turn recruit,…

A cost-effectiveness analysis of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) program suggests that Board certification is less cost-effective than a range of alternative approaches for raising student achievement, including comprehensive school reform, class size reduction, a 10% increase in per pupil expenditure, the use of…

Since the 1970's there has been a movement in the United States aimed at increasing the integration of students with disabilities among non-disabled peers in general education classes. The practice of inclusion--full integration of students regardless of the severity of disability--is not uniformly accepted. While many agree with the ideals and…

This Information Capsule examines a number of important factors associated with teacher quality. Although a clear consensus has not been reached regarding what actually constitutes teacher quality, it is still believed to be the single most important school-related factor affecting student achievement. In fact, a number of researchers have…

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is poised to take action today that will lead to serving all students more effectively. Although the challenges are significant, including deep budget cuts, the district made the strategic choice to look thoroughly at how resources are currently allocated and now has a foundation for making decisions that will…

At the request of Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers (PFT), Mathematica has developed value-added models (VAMs) that aim to estimate the contributions of individual teachers, teams of teachers, and schools to the achievement growth of their students. The authors' work in estimating value-added in Pittsburgh…