Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

Includes bibliographical references.

Academic Redshirting" in Kindergarten: Prevalence, Patterns, and Implications -- The Impact of a Classroom-Based Guidance Program on Student Performance in Community College Math Classes -- Seniority Provisions in Collective Bargaining Agreements and the "Teacher Quality Gap" -- Shaping Professional Development to Promote the Diffusion of Instructional Expertise Among Teachers -- Considerations for Designing Group Randomized Trials of Professional Development With Teacher Knowledge Outcomes

[Article Title : "Academic Redshirting" in Kindergarten: Prevalence, Patterns, and Implications / Daphna Bassok and Sean F. Reardon, p. 283-297] Abstract : We use two nationally representative data sets to estimate the prevalence of kindergarten "redshirting"-the decision to delay a child's school entry. We find that between 4% and 5.5% of children delay kindergarten, a lower number than typically reported in popular and academic accounts. Male, White, and high-SES children are most likely to delay kindergarten, and schools serving larger proportions of White and high-income children have far higher rates of delayed entry. We find no evidence that children with lower cognitive or social abilities at age 4 are more likely to redshirt, suggesting parents' decisions to delay entry may be driven by concerns about children's relative position within a kindergarten cohort. Implications for policy are discussed.;[Article Title : The Impact of a Classroom-Based Guidance Program on Student Performance in Community College Math Classes / Kristin F. Butcher and Mary G. Visher, p. 298-323] Abstract : Passing through remedial and required math classes poses a significant barrier to success for many community college students. This study uses random assignment to investigate the impact of a "light-touch" intervention, where an individual visited math classes a few times during the semester, for a few minutes each time, to inform students about available services. Entire class sections, rather than individuals, were randomly assigned to program and control groups, reducing the administrative burden for the college of a randomized-controlled experiment. This study finds that the intervention increased students' use of tutoring services and reduced math class withdrawal rates, but had no effect on overall pass rates. The program did, however, increase the math class pass rates for part-time students, who represented almost 50% of the participants.;[Article Title : Seniority Provisions in Collective Bargaining Agreements and the "Teacher Quality Gap" / Lora Cohen-Vogel, Li Feng, and La'Tara Osborne-Lampkin, p. 324-343] Abstract : For at least two decades, studies have demonstrated that the least experienced and credentialed teachers are concentrated in poor, minority, and low-performing schools. Some blame provisions in collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) between teachers unions and school districts that favor senior teachers. Seniority preference rules, they say, exacerbate the "teacher quality gap" by allowing experienced teachers to transfer. Using data from Florida, the authors analyze whether and how CBAs influence the distribution of teacher quality within school districts, paying special attention to staffing rules that grant preferences to senior teachers. They find little evidence that the within-district variation in teacher quality between more and less disadvantaged schools in Florida is explained by the determinativeness of union contract rules.;[Article Title : Shaping Professional Development to Promote the Diffusion of Instructional Expertise Among Teachers / Min Sun, William R. Penuel, Kenneth A. Frank, H. Alix Gallagher, and Peter Youngs, p. 344-369] Abstract : This study examines how high-quality professional development can promote the diffusion of effective teaching strategies among teachers through collaboration. Drawing on longitudinal and sociometric data from a study of writing professional development in 39 schools, this study shows that teachers' participation in professional development is associated with providing more help to colleagues on instructional matters. Further, the influence of professional development on participants' instructional practice diffuses through the network of helping. These findings suggest that in addition to direct effects, spillover effects of professional development can occur through collegial interactions. Evidence presented in this study potentially helps educational leaders develop high-quality professional development programs and distribute professional development participants within schools to enhance all teachers' instructional practices.;[Article Title : Considerations for Designing Group Randomized Trials of Professional Development With Teacher Knowledge Outcomes / Ben Kelcey and Geoffrey Phelps, p. 370-390] Abstract : Despite recent shifts in research emphasizing the value of carefully designed experiments, the number of studies of teacher professional development with rigorous designs has lagged behind its student outcome counterparts. We outline a framework for the design of group randomized trials (GRTs) with teachers' knowledge as the outcome and consider mathematics and reading knowledge outcomes designed to assess the types of content problems that teachers encounter in practice. To estimate design parameters, we draw on a national sample of teachers for mathematics and a state Reading First sample to estimate for reading. Our results suggest that there is substantial clustering of teachers' knowledge within schools and professional development GRTs will likely need increased sample sizes to account for this clustering.