scholarly journals Ecological Systems and Complexity Theory: Toward an Alternative Model of Accountability in Education

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen S. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Contextual Theory ◽  
Accountability In Education ◽  
Individual School ◽  
Research And Policy

The call for accountability within education has led to the increased examination of the academic achievement of students across the nation. Too often, however, schools and school districts are scrutinized by means of overly simplistic linear models that fail to consider the complexity of interactions that result in student achievement. This paper postulates that student achievement is instead best understood as a developmental outcome that emerges as a result of interactions among layers within a complex system. Organizations such as schools can be modeled using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems and analyzed using complexity theory as an appropriate and useful alternative to the linear models that often form the basis of educational research and policy. Key elements of both Bronfenbrenner’s ecological-contextual theory and complexity are explained and applied at the level of an individual school.

School Districts and Student Achievement

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Chingos ◽  
Grover J. Whitehurst ◽  
Michael R. Gallaher
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Fifth Grade Students ◽  
Variance Decomposition Analysis

School districts are a focus of education reform efforts in the United States, but there is very little existing research about how important they are to student achievement. We fill this gap in the literature using 10 years of student-level, statewide data on fourth- and fifth-grade students in Florida and North Carolina. A variance decomposition analysis based on hierarchical linear models indicates that districts account for only a small share (1 to 2 percent) of the total variation in student achievement. Nevertheless, the differences between lower- and higher-performing districts are large enough to be of practical and policy significance, with a one standard deviation difference in district effectiveness corresponding to about 0.11 standard deviations in student achievement (about nine weeks of schooling). District performance is generally stable over time, but there are examples of districts that have shown significant increases or decreases in performance.

scholarly journals A Viable Solution to Implementing Effective Instructional Supervision

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Stephen Benigno
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Accurate Assessment ◽  
Effective Evaluation ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Supervision Model

<p>With an increased emphasis on instructional accountability with respect to instruction, assessment and curriculum development, administrators have been struggling to find a model of supervision that is clinical and collaborative and that will produce an accurate assessment of classroom instruction. According to Goe (2007), “In recent years, the focus has moved away from holding schools accountable for student achievement and toward holding teachers accountable” (p. 12). The Clinical Supervision model is an accepted and viable strategy of teacher evaluation that has been utilized in many school districts for a number of years. Clinical Supervision, if conducted with fidelity, can provide the administration of the school with an opportunity to collaborate with the teacher and create an effective evaluation experience.</p>

scholarly journals AN EXAMINATION OF ONE FACTOR IN SCHOOL REFORM: INCREASED TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY IN TWO URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (27) ◽  
pp. 329-344
Author(s):  
Nadine Bonda
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Standardized Testing ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban School Districts ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach

Beginning in 2009, and with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, school districts across the United States began to be held to higher standards and their progress publicly reported.  Student achievement began to be measured by standardized testing and great efforts were being made to reduce the achievement gap. This paper is based on a five-year study of teacher evaluation in two urban districts in Massachusetts where improving teacher practice was seen as an important factor in raising student achievement. This research studied efforts to address those teachers who were identified as underperforming and were supported through individual improvement plans.  This paper used a case study approach to show what the practices of a sampling of these teachers looked like, teachers’ reactions to being rated unsatisfactory, and teachers’ reactions to the improvement planning process.

scholarly journals Environmental and historical imprints on beta diversity: insights from variation in rates of species turnover along gradients

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1768) ◽  
pp. 20131201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Nathan J. Sanders ◽  
Signe Normand ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning ◽  
Simon Ferrier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Northern European ◽  
Species Similarity ◽  
Southwest Australia ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Curvilinear Relationships

A common approach for analysing geographical variation in biodiversity involves using linear models to determine the rate at which species similarity declines with geographical or environmental distance and comparing this rate among regions, taxa or communities. Implicit in this approach are weakly justified assumptions that the rate of species turnover remains constant along gradients and that this rate can therefore serve as a means to compare ecological systems. We use generalized dissimilarity modelling, a novel method that accommodates variation in rates of species turnover along gradients and between different gradients, to compare environmental and spatial controls on the floras of two regions with contrasting evolutionary and climatic histories: southwest Australia and northern Europe. We find stronger signals of climate history in the northern European flora and demonstrate that variation in rates of species turnover is persistent across regions, taxa and different gradients. Such variation may represent an important but often overlooked component of biodiversity that complicates comparisons of distance–decay relationships and underscores the importance of using methods that accommodate the curvilinear relationships expected when modelling beta diversity. Determining how rates of species turnover vary along and between gradients is relevant to understanding the sensitivity of ecological systems to environmental change.

Do charter schools alleviate the negative effect of teacher turnover?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karlerik Naslund ◽  
Branco Ponomariov
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
Public School Districts ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Using Data

Using data on charter and public school districts in Texas, we test the hypothesis that the labor practices in charter schools, in particular their ability to easily dismiss poorly performing teachers, diminishes the negative effect of teacher turnover on student achievement and graduation rates in comparison to public schools. We find some support for this hypothesis, and discuss implications for theory and practice.

Using Covariates to Improve Precision for Studies That Randomize Schools to Evaluate Educational Interventions

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard S. Bloom ◽  
Lashawn Richburg-Hayes ◽  
Alison Rebeck Black
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
High Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Middle Schools ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Urban School Districts ◽  
School Level ◽  
Baseline Covariates

This article examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates, especially pretests, improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Empirical findings from five urban school districts indicate that (1) pretests can reduce the number of randomized schools needed for a given level of precision to about half of what would be needed otherwise for elementary schools, one fifth for middle schools, and one tenth for high schools, and (2) school-level pretests are as effective in this regard as student-level pretests. Furthermore, the precision-enhancing power of pretests (3) declines only slightly as the number of years between the pretest and posttests increases; (4) improves only slightly with pretests for more than 1 baseline year; and (5) is substantial, even when the pretest differs from the posttest. The article compares these findings with past research and presents an approach for quantifying their uncertainty.

Informal language planning for elementary school language development

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 6-18
Author(s):  
Carol J. Rodriquez
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Planning ◽  
Independent Research ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Public Meetings ◽  
Individual School

Language planning is an activity that takes place in formal/national situations, but it also occurs in a variety of unintended ways and on smaller scales (e.g. Russo and Baldauf 1986). This paper documents the informal language planning which has occurred as part of the process of developing and implementing Arizona’s Elementary Foreign Language Mandate. It is a case study which demonstrates the problems and effects of informal language planning in public education systems such as Arizona’s. The study focuses on the initial specifications of the mandate and the efforts of individual school districts to comply in a timely manner. The difficulties encountered by one school district as it considers ways to implement the mandate are examined in detail. The data for this study was gathered from official documents, personal interviews, videotapes, newspaper articles, public meetings and independent research related to language policy in the state of Arizona. The study suggests that a greater awareness of language planning skills at this level could lead to the development of more effective language programs.

scholarly journals Relationships between District Size, Socioeconomics, Expenditures, and Student Achievement in Washington

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vince Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Washington State ◽  
District Size ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
Assessment Of Student Learning ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between district size, socioeconomic status, actual levy percentages, and their predictive influence on the 2003 Washington Assessment of Student Learning results for 4th and 7thgrade students in Reading and Mathematics. The convenient sample was 82 Washington State 2nd-Class school districts with enrollments between 500-2,000 students. The results indicated: (a) no significant correlations between achievement anddistrict size; (b) socioeconomic status was the best predictor of achievement; and (c) actual levy percentages and student outcomes were significantly correlated in the positive direction.  

Coherent school improvement: Integrating outcomes-based assessment and trauma-informed practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 136548022095364
Author(s):  
C. Allison Reierson ◽  
Stephen R. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Central Question ◽  
School Based ◽  
Organizational Activity ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Trauma Informed Practice ◽  
School Improvement Initiatives

This literature review tests a framework for coherent implementation of school improvement initiatives. Often in education, initiatives are introduced as disparate, isolated approaches towards improved student learning. As a result, teachers, school-based administration and school districts frequently change their focus, contributing to fragmentation, stagnation and initiative fatigue. Robinson et al. offer ‘five domains of organizational activity’ as key areas of focus for coherent school improvement. We investigate application of Robinson et al.’s five domains to two seemingly disparate school improvement initiatives: outcomes-based assessment (OBA) and trauma-informed practice (TIP) as both represent significant areas of focus in our context. We construct our literature review around the central question: Can two divergent aspects of school improvement: outcomes-based assessment and trauma-informed practice, be aligned through Robinson et al.’s five domains, to coherently support their integration in schools? We found that Robinson et al.’s five domains were a useful tool for alignment of these diverse initiatives and were able to extrapolate beyond application to OBA and TIP, to other school improvement initiatives. Coherence benefits administration, teachers, and most importantly, promotes student achievement. When all elements of school improvement are part of a cohesive whole, all members the school community are better able to understand their role in driving student achievement.

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