Grade inflation threatens the integrity of college grades as indicators of academic achievement. In this study, we contribute to the literature on grade inflation by providing the first estimate of the size of grade increases at the student level between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s. By controlling for student characteristics and course-taking…

Ratings published by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) require selectivity in admission to educator preparation programs. NCTQ provides a list of citations to support the selectivity standard termed "strong support." A review of each citation in the list found little or no support for the standard. Original data was…

By applying multilevel models with random effects, the authors reviewed and synthesized findings from 30 studies that were published in the last 20 years exploring the relationship between the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test for a Bachelor's Degree in Business (MFTB) and related factors. The results suggest that MFTB scores correlated…

A meta-analyses was undertaken to determine the factors that are most related with reducing the achievement gap. The meta-analysis included 30 studies that examined attempts to bridge the achievement gap between White students on one hand and Black and Latino students on the other. The results indicate that several factors are associated with a…

This study seeks to understand the relationship between K-12 online system adoption (e.g., Blackboard, Edmodo, WordPress) and school-level academic achievement ratings. Utilizing a novel approach to data collection via website data extraction and indexing of all school websites in a target state in the United States (n?=?732) and merging these…

The debate over charter school effectiveness relies largely on neoclassical logic: individual parents or students express demand for a widening array of school types and then experience variable levels of organizational quality. We argue that market-like behavior is nested in segments of local organizational fields with different types of charter…

This study examined how 30 minutes of search time on the Web affected students' essay scores in response to a writing prompt. Expository essays were obtained from 49 fourth- and fifth-grade students enrolled in an elementary school in Virginia, in the United States. Students were placed by random assignment into three groups with the same writing…

We analyzed the effect of grade span configurations (i.e., 6-8 versus K-8) on reading and math performance in Texas public schools for the last 5 school years. Participants in this study were 628 Texas schools (i.e., 314 middle schools and 314 K-8 schools) distributed across the 5 school years examined. Schools configured as K-8 schools were…

This article reports on findings based on analyses of a unique dataset collected by ACT that includes information on student achievement in a variety of subjects at the high-school level. The authors examine the relationship between teacher effect estimates derived from value-added model (VAM) specifications employing different student learning…

Schools across America are being ranked for their effectiveness on a number of student criteria, among them preparation of students for a successful college experience. This study investigates the relationship between graduating seniors, their successful first year retention in college and several personal and school related factors. The study…

The research findings presented in this paper illustrate how the "value added" of schooling can be assessed empirically using cross-sectional data. Application of the regression-discontinuity approach within a multilevel framework produces both an estimate of the absolute effect of 1 year schooling and an estimate of the variation across…

The study of federal education initiatives that takes place over multiple years in multiple settings often calls for aggregating and comparing data-in particular, student achievement data-across a broad set of schools, districts, and states. The need to track the trends over time is complicated by the fact that the data from the different schools,…