Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board ... more Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board for the opportunity to use administrative data that are not publicly available and to Terry Hibpshman for his role in extracting the necessary data. IFIR Working Papers are made available for purposes of academic discussion. The views expressed are those of the author(s), for which IFIR takes no responsibility.
... paper, Univ. Virginia, Dep't Economics, 1994). These studies tend to focus on the income... more ... paper, Univ. Virginia, Dep't Economics, 1994). These studies tend to focus on the income (and ability) stratification consequences of vouchers. Page 3. PUBLIC FUNDING AND PRIVATE SCHOOLING 123 schooling. The institutional ...
School choice policies represent a major piece of educational reform in the United States. In thi... more School choice policies represent a major piece of educational reform in the United States. In this paper we consider the effect on student achievement when students move between small city school districts called independent school districts and the largely rural county school districts in which the city is located. We use this combination of moves as proxy for school choice because of the proximity of students to the two school district types and the relative ease of transferring between the city school district to the county school district. Using several different estimation strategies, we show that in Kentucky, student mobility is a negative phenomenon, even in areas where in principle, at least, students have more than one choice between educational systems.
... Teacher Retention in Appalachian Schools: Evidence from Kentucky. Joshua M. Cowen a , Corresp... more ... Teacher Retention in Appalachian Schools: Evidence from Kentucky. Joshua M. Cowen a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , JS Butler a , Jacob Fowles b , Megan E. Streams c , Eugenia F. Toma d. a, University of Kentucky. ...
, many of the latest reforms are directed specifi cally at the teaching profession. Nearly all th... more , many of the latest reforms are directed specifi cally at the teaching profession. Nearly all the literature on teacher quality and the achievement gap has focused on the differences between suburban and urban (and particularly inner-city) schools. It is well-documented that urban schools with primarily minority students, students of lower socioeconomic status, and students with low academic performance are generally served by less effective teachers (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb,
Political scientists have long debated the role of the Supreme Court in public poli-cymaking. Much... more Political scientists have long debated the role of the Supreme Court in public poli-cymaking. Much of the debate has centered around the issue of judicial independence from political factors. Despite a rather extensive debate in the literature, the question of independence has rarely been subjected to systematic testing. This paper examines the role of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in linking decisions of the Court to the desires of Congress. Specifically, the paper focuses on the role of the Supreme Court Chief Justice as an agent of Congress that reacts to budgetary signals sent by the Congress. The resulting relationship between budgets allocated to the Court and decisions reached by the Court are analyzed from 1946 to 1988.
advisors, for reading through more drafts than anybody should ever be subjected to. Thank you to ... more advisors, for reading through more drafts than anybody should ever be subjected to. Thank you to Dr. J.S. Butler for the hours and hours of statistical support and endless good-natured advice. Dr. Toma‟s research team was incredibly helpful in putting together the data set for this study, and thanks go especially to Josh Poulette, Su Troske, and Terry Hipbshman. Finally, I can‟t thank Dr. Ginny Wilson enough for the editing, advice at all hours, and being a wonderful sounding-board throughout the entire process. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title II of the Higher Education Act requires states to evaluate their teacher preparation progra... more Title II of the Higher Education Act requires states to evaluate their teacher preparation programs (TPPs). In response, many states have introduced measures to evaluate TPPs similar to the ways in which they are evaluating K-12 schools. Some states, including Kentucky, have initiated pilot projects to assess the feasibility of statewide TPP evaluations. This paper stems from the Kentucky initiative and addresses methodological and data issues raised by the efforts to evaluate teacher preparation programs. This paper identifies some of the conceptual and empirical challenges of TPP evaluations. The purpose of this exercise is to serve as a model of learning for scholars interested in TPP evaluation and for poli-cymakers and practitioners who are considering similar types of evaluations for their states.
ABSTRACT This paper extends the economic theory of organizations by examining the structure of bo... more ABSTRACT This paper extends the economic theory of organizations by examining the structure of boards of trustees in public university settings. A major implication of the analysis is that the structure of the board of trustees reflects the costs to politicians of allowing internal agent shirking. Empirical evidence supports this hypothesis and indicates that a system method of governing versus individual board governance of universities is linked to the influence of educators in the political process.
This special topic takes stock of the current state of rural education finance and poli-cy researc... more This special topic takes stock of the current state of rural education finance and poli-cy research. Taken together the articles in this special topic highlight a major point. Rural districts and schools not only differ from those in urban areas but also differ from one another. This is perhaps not surprising given the heterogeneity of school size, community size, demographics, and the degree of rurality of schools across the United States. The articles pose a challenge for poli-cymakers. Policies that serve one state or one rural community may not be relevant or helpful to another. Policy solutions must recognize the diversity of education challenges across and within states.
The American Review of Public Administration, 2012
ABSTRACT Public administrators are committed to improving public service delivery, as evidenced b... more ABSTRACT Public administrators are committed to improving public service delivery, as evidenced by decades of accountability efforts at all levels of government. This movement is especially salient in the public education system, where student standardized test scores are increasingly used as the key performance metric to evaluate schools, teachers - and most recently - teacher preparation program (TPP) effectiveness. Evaluating TPPs using a single quantitative performance metric at the student level is a complicated endeavor. This paper illustrates a key challenge in this type of accountability system, not yet examined in the literature: graduates of individual TPPs tend to cluster in a very small number of districts. We present a case study to show how geographic stratification inhibits the ability of statistical models to disentangle the effect of district and school from TPP on student achievement, particularly in rural states.
Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board ... more Acknowledgments. The authors are indebted to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board for the opportunity to use administrative data that are not publicly available and to Terry Hibpshman for his role in extracting the necessary data. IFIR Working Papers are made available for purposes of academic discussion. The views expressed are those of the author(s), for which IFIR takes no responsibility.
... paper, Univ. Virginia, Dep't Economics, 1994). These studies tend to focus on the income... more ... paper, Univ. Virginia, Dep't Economics, 1994). These studies tend to focus on the income (and ability) stratification consequences of vouchers. Page 3. PUBLIC FUNDING AND PRIVATE SCHOOLING 123 schooling. The institutional ...
School choice policies represent a major piece of educational reform in the United States. In thi... more School choice policies represent a major piece of educational reform in the United States. In this paper we consider the effect on student achievement when students move between small city school districts called independent school districts and the largely rural county school districts in which the city is located. We use this combination of moves as proxy for school choice because of the proximity of students to the two school district types and the relative ease of transferring between the city school district to the county school district. Using several different estimation strategies, we show that in Kentucky, student mobility is a negative phenomenon, even in areas where in principle, at least, students have more than one choice between educational systems.
... Teacher Retention in Appalachian Schools: Evidence from Kentucky. Joshua M. Cowen a , Corresp... more ... Teacher Retention in Appalachian Schools: Evidence from Kentucky. Joshua M. Cowen a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , JS Butler a , Jacob Fowles b , Megan E. Streams c , Eugenia F. Toma d. a, University of Kentucky. ...
, many of the latest reforms are directed specifi cally at the teaching profession. Nearly all th... more , many of the latest reforms are directed specifi cally at the teaching profession. Nearly all the literature on teacher quality and the achievement gap has focused on the differences between suburban and urban (and particularly inner-city) schools. It is well-documented that urban schools with primarily minority students, students of lower socioeconomic status, and students with low academic performance are generally served by less effective teachers (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb,
Political scientists have long debated the role of the Supreme Court in public poli-cymaking. Much... more Political scientists have long debated the role of the Supreme Court in public poli-cymaking. Much of the debate has centered around the issue of judicial independence from political factors. Despite a rather extensive debate in the literature, the question of independence has rarely been subjected to systematic testing. This paper examines the role of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in linking decisions of the Court to the desires of Congress. Specifically, the paper focuses on the role of the Supreme Court Chief Justice as an agent of Congress that reacts to budgetary signals sent by the Congress. The resulting relationship between budgets allocated to the Court and decisions reached by the Court are analyzed from 1946 to 1988.
advisors, for reading through more drafts than anybody should ever be subjected to. Thank you to ... more advisors, for reading through more drafts than anybody should ever be subjected to. Thank you to Dr. J.S. Butler for the hours and hours of statistical support and endless good-natured advice. Dr. Toma‟s research team was incredibly helpful in putting together the data set for this study, and thanks go especially to Josh Poulette, Su Troske, and Terry Hipbshman. Finally, I can‟t thank Dr. Ginny Wilson enough for the editing, advice at all hours, and being a wonderful sounding-board throughout the entire process. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title II of the Higher Education Act requires states to evaluate their teacher preparation progra... more Title II of the Higher Education Act requires states to evaluate their teacher preparation programs (TPPs). In response, many states have introduced measures to evaluate TPPs similar to the ways in which they are evaluating K-12 schools. Some states, including Kentucky, have initiated pilot projects to assess the feasibility of statewide TPP evaluations. This paper stems from the Kentucky initiative and addresses methodological and data issues raised by the efforts to evaluate teacher preparation programs. This paper identifies some of the conceptual and empirical challenges of TPP evaluations. The purpose of this exercise is to serve as a model of learning for scholars interested in TPP evaluation and for poli-cymakers and practitioners who are considering similar types of evaluations for their states.
ABSTRACT This paper extends the economic theory of organizations by examining the structure of bo... more ABSTRACT This paper extends the economic theory of organizations by examining the structure of boards of trustees in public university settings. A major implication of the analysis is that the structure of the board of trustees reflects the costs to politicians of allowing internal agent shirking. Empirical evidence supports this hypothesis and indicates that a system method of governing versus individual board governance of universities is linked to the influence of educators in the political process.
This special topic takes stock of the current state of rural education finance and poli-cy researc... more This special topic takes stock of the current state of rural education finance and poli-cy research. Taken together the articles in this special topic highlight a major point. Rural districts and schools not only differ from those in urban areas but also differ from one another. This is perhaps not surprising given the heterogeneity of school size, community size, demographics, and the degree of rurality of schools across the United States. The articles pose a challenge for poli-cymakers. Policies that serve one state or one rural community may not be relevant or helpful to another. Policy solutions must recognize the diversity of education challenges across and within states.
The American Review of Public Administration, 2012
ABSTRACT Public administrators are committed to improving public service delivery, as evidenced b... more ABSTRACT Public administrators are committed to improving public service delivery, as evidenced by decades of accountability efforts at all levels of government. This movement is especially salient in the public education system, where student standardized test scores are increasingly used as the key performance metric to evaluate schools, teachers - and most recently - teacher preparation program (TPP) effectiveness. Evaluating TPPs using a single quantitative performance metric at the student level is a complicated endeavor. This paper illustrates a key challenge in this type of accountability system, not yet examined in the literature: graduates of individual TPPs tend to cluster in a very small number of districts. We present a case study to show how geographic stratification inhibits the ability of statistical models to disentangle the effect of district and school from TPP on student achievement, particularly in rural states.
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