The short-term emphasis engendered by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has focused research predominantly on unraveling the complexities and uncertainties in assessing short-term results, rather than developing methods and assessing results over the longer term. In this paper we focus on estimating long-term gains and address questions important to…

We provide an overview of research in sustainability education. We argue that the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability programs at K-12 schools is one metric by which sustainability education can be conceptualized. We present a new measure of whole-school sustainability, or "interconnectedness," and then use it to compare…

According to an extensive review of the literature, effective instructional delivery and "classroom management" practices are critical factors to elevate student achievement (Shindler, Jones, Williams, Taylor, & Cadenas, 2012). The purpose of this study was to analyze a comparison of classroom management practices on student…

This report provides a first-time analysis of the nation's current investments in elementary-age children, defined as children ages 6 through 11. The authors consider over 100 federal programs through which the federal government allocates money to children, and subsequently estimate the amount spent on six- to eleven-year-old children. This…

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program, in which schools in their third year of failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) are required to offer out-of-school-time tutoring in core subjects to low-income students. This study synthesized provider effects reported in…

Expanding schooling options for children in low performing schools is one of the major principles of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy, representing two reform initiatives for public education school improvement that have dominated the conversations among public education policymakers, test-based accountability and school choice. Given their…

How government spends money, and who benefits, reveals the priorities. How, then, do children fare in the competition for public resources? While families have long been the primary caregivers of children, all levels of government--local, state, and federal--invest in the growth and development of children, whether through education, family…

The present quantitative study evaluated the effects of Supplemental Educational Services (SES), a federally mandated component of No Child Left Behind, on student achievement in reading and mathematics. SES provides free tutoring outside of school to disadvantaged students who attend Title I schools in their third year of failing to achieve…

This study examines the appropriateness of a large-scale state standards-based English-Language Arts (ELA) assessment for students who are deaf or hard of hearing by comparing the internal test structures for these students to students without disabilities. The Grade 4 and 8 ELA assessments were analyzed via a series of parcel-level exploratory…

In assessing the validity of a norm-referenced model used in evaluating large-scale federal educational programs for disadvantaged children, gain estimates were shown as approximately equal with randomized control group model estimates compared by retrospective analyses of two databases. (Author/CM)

Evaluation of large-scale programs is problematical because of inherent bias in assignment of treatment and control groups, resulting in serious regression artifacts even with the use of analysis of covariance designs. Nonuniformity of program implementation across sites and classrooms is also a problem. (Author/GSK)

The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP) is a joint USOE-NIE panel which reviews the evidence of effectiveness submitted for a variety of educational products and practices developed through federally supported programs. Studies show that school superintendents and other adopters prefer to initiate changes where there is assurance that benefits…

Use of performance gaps analysis in program evaluation is examined by analyzing and critiquing the gap reduction design as an experimental design and an analytic tool in program outcome evaluation. The example of the Bilingual Education Evaluation System illustrates the contention that disadvantages of the method outweigh its contributions. (SLD)

The federal government recently enacted its first school voucher program as a pilot project in the District of Columbia. To be eligible, students need to be entering grades K-12 and have a family income at or below 185 percent of the poverty level. Although a rigorous analysis of the Opportunity Scholarship Program's impact on student achievement…

We conducted the first cost-benefit analysis of a federally financed, comprehensive early childhood program. The Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers are located in public schools and provide educational and family support services to low-income children from ages 3 to 9. Using data from a cohort of children born in 1980 who participate in the…