Teacher turnover is a challenge for U.S. public schools. Research suggests that teachers 'perception of their school working conditions influence their leaving decisions. Related research suggests ...that principals may be in the best position to influence school working conditions. Using 4 years of panel data constructedfrom the North Carolina Teacher Working Condition Survey, this study uses valueadded modeling approaches to explore the relationship between teachers 'perceptions of four measures of their working conditions and their principal. It finds that teacher ratings of the school environment depend on which principal is leading the school, independent of other school and district contextual factors, suggesting districts struggling with teacher turnover should assess climate and use that information to advise and support principals.
Abstract Policy research institutes in the United States play an important role in the creation of evidence for evidence‐based policymaking. This is the case with respect to their advocacy for the ...gathering and broad dissemination of “Big Data” and in the publication of policy analysis in the academic literature using these data. But they play a much more significant role, via non‐refereed working papers, in predicting the possible behavioral and distributional consequences of currently proposed policies being considered by the executive and legislative branches of government. Historically, however, policy research institutes, both inside and outside the Beltway, have also played a less understood role. This role is the nurturing of those mostly academic‐based economists who, as members of the Council of Economic Advisers, eventually end up advising presidents of the United States and their staff on the state of economic knowledge regarding the economic problems these policymakers are called to solve via evidence‐based policymaking.
Elements of Success Burkhauser, Susan; Hanser, Lawrence M; Hardison, Chaitra M
02/2014
eBook
Open access
The U.S. military services have traditionally used a tiering system including education credentials as one element of gauging the likelihood of a recruit persevering through his or her first term of ...service. To assess the continuing value of this system, the authors compared attrition rates for those with distance learning or homeschool credentials to those of high school diploma holders.
Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students' test scores in reading, ...mathematics, and science and on English learners' (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intentto-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13% to 22% of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners' probabilities of remaining classified as EL are 3 to 4 percentage points lower than those of their counterparts. This effect is stronger for ELs whose native language matches the partner language.
Given the focus on accountability in education, stakeholders are interested in evaluating whether efforts aimed at improving school leadership show results; the key criteria are student outcomes. ...This report describes challenges that states, districts, and other entities can expect to encounter as they evaluate efforts targeting school leadership as a way to improve student outcomes and offers suggestions for dealing with those challenges.
RAND researchers provide guidance to state and district decisionmakers, focusing on four areas that research has identified as particularly influential in supporting principal effectiveness: ...placement in the school, evaluation, autonomy, and resources. We highlight how actions in these areas can create conditions in the school and district that foster principal success.
Principals new to their school face a variety of challenges that can influence their likelihood of improving their schools’ performance and their likelihood of remaining the principal. The authors ...present research on first-year principals’ experiences, actions, working conditions, and outcomes. The research is intended to inform efforts to promote school improvement and principal retention.
New Leaders is a nonprofit organization that partners with school districts to prepare and support principals. This report describes how the New Leaders program was implemented in partner districts, ...and it provides evidence of the effect that New Leaders has on student achievement.
In an effort to determine the feasibility of requiring all Air Force officers to attain a specific level of proficiency in a second language, the authors conducted a survey of current Air Force ...officers. The results suggest that such a requirement is not currently feasible. However, it would instead be desirable to offer incentives for a variety of efforts made toward achieving proficiency, both before and after commissioning.
