ERIC Number: ED579075
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jun
Pages: 51
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Effects of School Reform under NCLB Waivers: Evidence from Focus Schools in Kentucky. CEPA Working Paper No. 17-05
Bonilla, Sade; Dee, Thomas
Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis
Under waivers to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the federal government required states to identify schools where targeted subgroups of students have the lowest achievement and to implement reforms in these "Focus Schools." In this study, we examine the Focus School reforms in the state of Kentucky. The reforms in this state are uniquely interesting for several reasons. One is that the state developed unusually explicit guidance for Focus Schools centered on a comprehensive school-planning process. Second, the state identified Focus Schools using a "super subgroup" measure that combined traditionally low-performing subgroups into an umbrella group. This design feature may have catalyzed broader whole-school reforms and attenuated the incentives to target reform efforts narrowly. Using regression discontinuity designs, we find that these reforms led to substantial improvements in school performance, raising math achievement by 17 percent and reading achievement by 9 percent.
Descriptors: Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation, Educational Change, Change Strategies, State Standards, Low Achievement, Regression (Statistics), Program Effectiveness, Program Implementation, Accountability, Achievement Gains, Educational Improvement, Planning, Coding, Teacher Surveys, Achievement Tests, Student Records, Statistical Analysis, Rural Schools, Intervention, Mathematics Achievement, Reading Achievement
Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis. 520 Galvez Mall, CERAS Building, 5th Floor, Stanford, CA 94305. Tel: 650-736-1258; Fax: 650-723-9931; e-mail: contactcepa@stanford.edu; Web site: http://cepa.stanford.edu
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) at Stanford University
Identifiers - Location: Kentucky
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A