Dr. Pianta is Dean of the Curry School of Education, as well as the Novartis Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, University of Virginia. A former special education teacher, Dr. Pianta's research focuses on investigating the effects of schooling on children's social and academic outcomes and on improving school and classroom experiences through teachers' professional development. He has been involved in developing observational assessments of classrooms and observationally-based systems for professional development. Dr.
Abstract: Teacher Preparation and Student Achievement: This research project describes the recent changes in the routes into teaching in New York City. It assesses the effects of these changes on the distribution of teachers across schools and the academic achievement of students. It then looks more closely at the preparation of teachers in the district and estimates the effects of characteristics of this preparation on teachers' value-added to student achievement in their first two years of teaching.
Abstract: The challenges facing K-12 public education systems in Michigan and throughout the U.S. are formidable, and seem to grow more complex by the day. Issues related to globalization, federal oversight through the No Child Left Behind law, unfunded state mandates, aging infrastructure, and many more, are putting pressure on K-12 public school systems even while calls to improve student achievement and public education accountability grow from all quarters.
Abstract: Community colleges today enroll over one-half of all college students nationwide or nearly 12 million students. And yet, fewer than 40% of those who start at a public two-year college earn any type of degree within six years. Even among those students who intend to complete a degree, only about one-third do so within six years.
Abstract: Accountability programs, including the one implemented by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, operate under the assumption that schools are inefficient -- that is, that schools can provide higher quality education without investing additional resources. These programs seek to make schools more efficient by using incentives. The state of North Carolina currently operates two independent incentive systems for public schools.
Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS)
Sarah Cohodes will present work with Elizabeth Setren and Chris Walters titled "Can Successful Schools Replicate? Scaling Up Boston’s Charter School Sector."AbstractIn a climate of school turnarounds, charter school conversions, and new school openings, an important question is whether schools that boost student outcomes can reproduce their success at new campuses. We study a policy reform that allowed effective charter schools in Boston, Massachusetts to replicate their school models at new locations. Estimates based on randomized admission lotteries show that replicate charter schools generate large achievement gains on par with those produced by their parent campuses. The average effectiveness of Boston’s charter middle school sector increased after the reform despite a doubling of charter market share.
Abstract The case for a national effort to create core standards grows stronger by the day. Currently, 50 states have 50 standards, and most states are setting the bar as low as possible in order to comply with the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements of NCLB. Half the states have set fourth-grade reading benchmarks so low that they fall beneath even the most basic level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
**Due to COVID-19, this event has been canceled. We are working to reschedule for a future date or deliver this content in a different format. Check this page or follow @fordschool on Twitter for updates. Learn more here about the University of Michigan's new university-wide measures regarding classes and events.**
Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS)
Free and open to the public Teach For America (TFA) is an important but controversial source of teachers for hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty U.S. schools. We present findings from the first large-scale experimental study of secondary math teachers from TFA. We find that TFA teachers are more effective than other math teachers in the same schools, increasing student math achievement by 0.07 standard deviations over one school year.
Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS)
An illustrious group of Michigan graduates from fields such as economics, education, political science, psychology, public policy, social work, sociology, and women’s studies will discuss past, present, and future research on issues related to gender, race, poverty, inequality, and economic mobility.
Free and open to the public.Pizza lunch provided at 11:25am to the first 100 guests.Sponsored by: The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)Co-sponsored by: The Education Policy Initiative (EPI) and the University of Michigan School of EducationFor more information visit www.closup.umich.edu or call 734-647-4091. Follow on Twitter @closup
Washington, DC area alumni are invited to a book conversation with Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Megan E. Tompkins-Stange. She will be discussing her new book, Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
University of Michigan Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium
Join EPI's scholars at 27 roundtables, panels and poster sessions, and help us to celebrate Susan Dynarski's selection as the recipient of APPAM's Spencer Award for transformative work in education policy research.
Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS)
A presentation by Carrie Xu, PhD student in Economics and Information on peer effects in a field experiment followed by a presentation by Ben Alcott, PhD student in Education, on whether progress assessments hinder equitable progress
Causal Inference in Education Research Seminar (CIERS)