This paper examines the impact of Teach For America (TFA) on following-year student test and non-test outcomes in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This paper measures the extent to which exposure to TFA is followed by improved student outcomes in the future. In particular, this paper measures days missed due to absences or suspensions, course…

Across the country, urban school districts are opting to close under-enrolled schools as a way to consolidate resources. Motivated by a reported $1 billion deficit and declining enrollments in depopulating neighborhoods, the Chicago Board of Education voted in May 2013 to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program located in an…

Critics of school disciplinary policies have long noted that African American, male, low-achieving, and special education students experience higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions. However, research that seeks to estimate the effects of suspensions on student outcomes rarely accounts for the preexisting differences that distinguish…

The purpose of this two-group descriptive efficacy study was to explore the relationship between school configuration and academic and non-academic outcomes of sixth grade elementary students compared to academic and non-academic outcomes of sixth grade middle school students. The independent variable is the school configuration. Group 1 includes…

We analyze how fatal shootings in high schools affect schools and students using data from shooting databases, school report cards, and the Common Core of Data. We examine schools' test scores, enrollment, number of teachers, graduation, attendance, and suspension rates at schools that experienced a shooting, employing a difference-in-differences…

Behavior-focused alternative schools serve students who have been unsuccessful in other school settings due to low academic achievement coupled with significant behavior challenges. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of secondary behavior-focused alternative schools on four different student outcome variables: (a) school attendance,…

This study analyzed data on students in three Ohio school districts who had completed grades 8 and 9 to determine which data elements were the most accurate indicators of students' failure to graduate from high school on time. The most accurate indicators varied by district and grade level, which underscores the importance of having school systems…

Driven by a combination of concern for historically high suspension rates and substantial disproportionalities in suspension use, a recent wave of education reforms encourages schools to reduce their use of suspensions for student behavior management. Both academic and political discourse has focused on the extensive use of suspension for…

Driven by a combination of concern for historically high suspension rates and substantial disproportionalities in suspension use, a recent wave of education reforms encourages schools to reduce their use of suspensions for student behavior management. Both academic and political discourse has focused on the extensive use of suspension for…

The research featured in this paper is part of the CORE-PACE Research Partnership, through which Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) has partnered with the CORE districts to conduct research designed to support them in continuous improvement while simultaneously helping to improve policy and practice in California and nationwide.…

The research featured in this paper is part of the CORE-PACE Research Partnership, through which Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) has partnered with the CORE districts to conduct research designed to support them in continuous improvement while simultaneously helping to improve policy and practice in California and nationwide.…

Over the past twenty years, efforts to turn around low-performing schools have increasingly become a central component of federal and state education policy agendas. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Wraparound Zones Initiative (WAZ), a program supported by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education…

Ninth Grade Academies (NGAs)--also called Freshman Academies--have attracted national attention as a particularly intensive and promising approach for supporting a successful transition for high school freshmen. An NGA is a self-contained learning community for ninth-graders that operates as a school within a school. NGAs have four core structural…

In the 2012/13 school year American Indian students accounted for 1.1 percent of K-12 students nationwide and 1.4 percent of K-12 students in North Carolina (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Research has identified substantial achievement gaps between American Indian and other students on national tests, in graduation rates, and in…

Cross-sectional studies indicate how many students are victims of bullying at a single time, but do not tell us whether the same students continue to be bullied or whether there is a cumulative impact of bullying over time. This study examined the longitudinal stability and the cumulative impact of victimization in a sample of 382 students…