The two recently-filed New York lawsuits claiming that teacher tenure laws violate children's constitutional right to a "sound basic education" are finally dragging the long-obscure Section 3020-a of the state's Education Law into the spotlight. This attention is badly overdue because for decades § 3020-a has impeded efforts to ensure a…

This dissertation consists of essays on three inputs into the educational production function: curriculum, peers, and teachers. The chapters are linked by their focus on understanding the importance of these inputs for student achievement and by their exploitation of the exact timing of events (i.e., student mobility, receipt of special education…

Over the past decade, national initiatives have shifted States' attention to the challenge of turning around low-performing schools. The lack of consistent, dramatic improvements in the lowest-performing schools reflects the severity of the school turnaround challenge, but also suggests the need to continuously evaluate and refine turnaround…

Most educational reform programs, including No Child Left Behind, operate from the perspective that gaps in academic achievement can be reduced by improvements in the educational process directed by school administrators and teachers. This perspective ignores the ecological context in which underachieving schools are typically embedded. Using a…

Mentoring has become an extremely popular policy for improving the retention and performance of new teachers, but we know little about its effects on teacher and student outcomes. I study the impact of mentoring in New York City, which adopted a nationally recognized mentoring program in 2004. I use detailed program data to examine the…

This report, the seventh in a series concerning school calendars, examines teacher attendance patterns. Pupil attendance falls off from the September high point to reach a low point in February, whereupon the trend is reversed through June. Outside temperature and student patterns are similar. A sample of New York State public school districts was…

The effects of pay incentives on teacher absence rates were examined. The records of 292 teachers revealed that absence declined significantly and perfect attendance rose from 8 to 34 percent during an attendance incentive plan. Reduction in sick leave was accompanied by a significant increase in the use of personal days. (Author/CH)

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Is She Your Competition? Are India's Students…

Econometric analysis of data from over 700 New York state school districts found that (1) policies governing use of teacher leave days clearly influence their use; (2) higher student absenteeism correlated with poorer test performance; and (3) teacher absence was not largely associated with student test performance. Changes in leave policy were…

Findings of a study that formulated and tested new ways of thinking about teacher absence are presented in this paper, which is based on the premise that teacher absenteeism is a social invention that must be studied within the context of the work site and understood as a function of the social exchange that occurs therein. Prior research has used…

Pay incentives effectively motivate teachers in a suburban school district in New York State to reduce their rates of absence, particularly the number of sick days used. This suggests clearer perspectives on teacher absence. (BJV)

This report examined the extent to which student attendance, teacher certification, and teacher absence explained differences in reading and mathematics achievement among elementary and middle schools in New York City (beyond that explained by such student demographics as receiving free lunch, being an English language learner, and receiving…