This doctoral dissertation investigates the effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy on educational equity in New Jersey, focusing on three primary research questions. Firstly, the study examines whether the implementation of NCLB mandates led to the closure of achievement gaps between black and white students, as evidenced by disparities…

Evidence in psychology and economics has converged on an understanding of what matters for students' learning and what influences their life trajectories. While earlier work focused on the role of large scale assessment test scores, more recent research emphasizes the importance of socioemotional skills, experiences, and mindsets--such as conflict…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires annual data collection to monitor the provision of special education services, yet federal reports rarely disaggregate trends for English learners (ELs). In merging all available annual data files required under IDEA from 2006 to 2020, the present study provides the first large-scale…

In 2007, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5097, which required the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to convene a task force to examine how gangs are affecting school safety. The task force must annually report its findings and recommendations to the education committees of the Legislature. The Gangs in Schools Task Force…

Increasing and improving the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational pipeline has been a point of emphasis for decades, and federal policy in the United States has urged high schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one example, applied STEM courses--one growing branch within career and…

Ethnoracial inequality in educational achievement and attainment is a long-standing feature of the American education system. For example, national reading assessments show that White fourth graders scored nearly a standard deviation higher than Black or Hispanic students on average in 2015 (NCES, 2015). The measurement and analysis of differences…

We draw on novel district-level test score data to describe novel approaches for measuring ethnoracial achievement gaps and assessing trends toward achievement equity from 2009 to 2016. Using SEDA data, we estimate gap trends for each grade over time in each district. We measure trends in both within-district gaps--comparing Black or Hispanic to…

This is the 22nd report by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) that describes how states publicly report assessment data for students with disabilities in K-12 schools in the United States. The purpose of this report is to examine the extent to which states reported 2018-19 assessment data for students with disabilities "to the…

Speaking in front of the Education Writers Association, Secretary Betsy DeVos said that decades of reform efforts and increased social spending, both inside and outside of schools, "hasn't ultimately improved anything for any students, particularly not for the most vulnerable students." This seems to be a standard refrain from DeVos, and…

AERA's 2017 Call for Proposals asks us to consider pathways to achieving equal educational opportunity. This presentation argues that homelessness is one critical issue often overlooked when considering such pathways. Nationwide, over 1.3 million students experienced homelessness in 2013 (National Association for the Education of Homeless Children…

STEM education was a systematic teaching and/or learning process in the STEM fields and a positive correlation existed between STEM education, and the economic prosperity and power of a nation in the globalized world. In recent years, rising concerns have emerged about American STEM education. Many stakeholders wondered that whether the nation has…

To comply with Section 1111(e) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to submit evidence associated with their assessment systems to the United States Department of Education (ED) for peer review. Thirty-eight states submitted evidence for their assessment…

Many of the more than 700,000 students who leave U.S. high schools each year without a diploma have low literacy skills. More than 60 percent of eighth graders and 60 percent of twelfth graders scored below the "proficient" level in reading achievement according to the most recent administrations of the National Assessment of Educational…

In 2013, the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS) published the first-ever report on English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in member districts, reporting on a range of indicators in addition to ELL enrollment and languages spoken by such students. This report updates most of the data presented in the 2013 Council ELL report, shedding light…

As the ongoing national indicator of what American students know and can do, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading regularly collects achievement information on representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 12. Through The Nation's Report Card, the NAEP Reading Assessment reports how well students perform in…