ERIC Number: ED565611
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Apr
Pages: 9
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Decision Points and Considerations for Identifying Rural Districts That Have Closed Student Achievement Gaps. REL 2016-130
Culbertson, Michael J.; Billig, Shelley H.
Regional Educational Laboratory Central
Rural districts have long faced challenges in closing achievement gaps between subgroups of students. This brief report describes key decision points and considerations for decision-makers interested in identifying rural districts that have closed academic achievement gaps. Examining practices in these districts may suggest activities associated with making achievement gains and narrowing achievement gaps that can be systematically investigated. Examples from recent work with rural stakeholder groups in Colorado and Nebraska are used to highlight key issues in the identification process. The following six key considerations for identifying rural districts with narrowing achievement gaps are presented: (1) Which subgroup gaps should be examined?; (2) What counts as rural?; (3) Which measures should be used?; (4) What additional criteria should be considered?; (5) How should reductions in achievement gaps be measured?; and (6) How should measures be aggregated to create a single ranking of districts?
Descriptors: Rural Schools, School Districts, Academic Achievement, Achievement Gap, Measurement Techniques, Research Methodology, Sampling, Data Collection, Scores, Trend Analysis
Regional Educational Laboratory Central. Available from: Institute of Education Sciences. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20208. Tel: 800-872-5327; Web site: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Regional Educational Laboratory Central (ED); National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (ED); Marzano Research Laboratory
Identifiers - Location: Colorado; Nebraska
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: EDIES12C0007
IES Publication: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=4498
Author Affiliations: N/A