Research
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The Stickiness of Pandemic-Driven Disenrollment from Public Schools
Using data from Michigan and nationally representative data, authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector.
Evaluating Emergency Licensure in Massachusetts
To avoid pandemic-induced teacher shortages, Massachusetts implemented an emergency license, removing most traditional licensure requirements for individuals who wanted to become teachers. This research reports on initial impacts on composition and quality of the workforce.
The Effect of Retention Under Mississippi’s Test-Based Promotion Policy
Study conducted by Boston University's Wheelock Educational Policy Center evaluating the impact of Mississippi’s test-based promotion policy - requiring students to demonstrate reading proficiency before moving on to the third grade. Results suggest positive results, particularly strong in reading, into the 6th grade for those who were retained.
Politics and Children’s Books: Evidence from School Library Collections
This study compiles data on the books in over 6,000 school libraries. With this unique look inside school library shelves, the study details important trends related to the collections based on various characteristics, including for instance the difference between high and low-income schools, the political leanings of surrounding areas and the effects of efforts to ban specific content.
Can a Commercial Screening Tool Help Select Better Teachers?
Do commercially available screening tools help schools and districts hire better teachers? Study from Olivia Chi and Matthew Lenard, suggests caution before making a big investment.
Enrollment Flexibility and Charter School Impacts: The Effect of Backfill on Students in Massachusetts Charter Middle Schools
This study leverages Massachusetts’s adoption of a statewide requirement for charter schools to backfill vacancies within some grades to provide the first causal estimates for the effect of incorporating new students on the performance of incumbent charter school pupils. Using data from the universe of Massachusetts public school students enrolled in Grades 5 through 8 from 2007-2008 to 2013-2014, this study compares changes in student achievement in impacted vs. not-impacted grades within Boston charter schools to the patterns of student achievement within traditional public schools and charter schools outside of Boston.
Ability Signals and Rigorous Coursework: Evidence from AP Calculus Participation
The study examines how one signal of ability—whether a student achieves “Advanced” status on Massachusetts’ 10th grade statewide standardized assessment—effects subsequent enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus courses. Short answer: it does, but not equally.
Using Classroom Observations in the Evaluation of Special Education Teachers
Researchers find that Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching is limited in assessing the quality of instructional practices most valued in special education.
COVID-19 and the Composition of the Massachusetts Teacher Workforce
With fears of teacher shortages mounting amidst the pandemic, the Wheelock Educational Policy Center examines actual changes in the composition and demographics of the teacher workforce in Massachusetts.
The Pandemic’s Effect on Demand for Public Schools, Homeschooling, and Private Schools
Using data from Michigan and nationally representative data, authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector.
Teacher Time Use and Affect During COVID-19
Authors provide the most direct and detailed evidence yet of teachers’ work and affect before and immediately after spring 2020 school closures.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying
As COVID-19 disrupted in-person schooling, researchers examined changing bullying patterns using data from Google internet searches.
The School to Prison Pipeline: Long-Run Impacts of School Suspensions on Adult Crime
Researchers analyzed the impact of school discipline on student achievement, educational attainment and future involvement with the criminal justice system.
The Effect of Charter Schooling on Student Mobility and Classification Status
Authors analyzed students' school preference, mobility, and classification changes in charter & traditional public schools in Newark, New Jersey.
The Impact of Principal Attrition and Replacement on Indicators of School Quality
Authors explored whether principal transitions are inherently disruptive or varies on the context of the outgoing or incoming principal.
A Classroom Observer Like Me: The Effects of Race-congruence and Gender-congruence Between Teachers and Raters on Observation Scores
Olivia Chi examined how race and gender dynamics influence administrators’ subjective assessments of teachers in classroom observations.
Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: COVID-19 Induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time
Researchers analyzed internet search trends on school and parent-centered instructional resources during the pandemic.
Professional Development at Scale: The Causal Effect of Obtaining an SEI Endorsement Under Massachusetts’s RETELL Initiative
This project used longitudinal data from Massachusetts to measure the causal effect of a rigorous and time-intensive professional development (PD) delivered at a nearly unprecedented scale: teachers earning an endorsement in Structured English Immersion (SEI) under the Massachusett’s Rethinking Equity in the Teaching of English Language Learners (RETELL) initiative.
Regulatory Arbitrage in Teacher Hiring and Retention
Authors compared Massachusetts longitudinal administrative data on the relationship of teacher value-added and attrition between charter and public schools.
Are Two Teachers Better than One? The Effect of Co-Teaching on Students with and without Disabilities
Using longitudinal data for students and teachers in Massachusetts, researchers estimated the effect of co-teaching within a large public school system.