Curriculum
Does Course Structure Increase STEM Employment for Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Technology Training Programs? Evidence from LaunchCode
We examine three coding bootcamps offered by LaunchCode (LC101, Women+, and CodeCamp) to understand if tailored structures within coding bootcamp programs—designed for underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)—lead to increased program persistence for women,… more →
I know my rights? Iowa Senate File 496, book bans, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceThis instrumental case study explores 31 Iowan educators’ and board of education members’ perceptions of the ways the state’s book ban law, Senate File 496 influenced school information systems. Mathisen’s (2015) informational justice conceptual framework guided data analysis. The three key… more →
Classifying Courses at Scale: a Text as Data Approach to Characterizing Student Course-Taking Trends with Administrative Transcripts
Topics: MethodsTags: Curriculum, Higher educationStudents’ postsecondary course-taking is of interest to researchers, yet has been difficult to study at large scale because administrative transcript data are rarely standardized across institutions or state systems. This paper uses machine learning and natural language processing to standardize… more →
STEM teacher workforce in high-need schools resilient despite shrinking supply and increasing demand
Topics: MethodsThe teacher workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) has been a perpetual weak spot in public schools’ teaching rosters. Prior reports show the pipeline of new STEM teachers into the profession is weak while demand for instruction in STEM fields continues to grow. This… more →
A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence Linking Mathematics and Science Professional Development Interventions to Teacher Knowledge, Classroom Instruction, and Student Achievement
Topics: Student LearningDespite evidence that teacher professional development interventions in mathematics and science can increase student achievement, our understanding of the mechanisms by which this occurs – particularly how these interventions affect teachers themselves, and whether teacher-level changes predict… more →
Structured Reporting Guidelines for Classroom Intervention Research
Tags: Class size, CurriculumInconsistent reporting of critical facets of classroom interventions and their related impact evaluations hinders the field’s ability to describe and synthesize the existing evidence base. In this essay, we present a set of reporting guidelines intended to steer authors of classroom intervention… more →
Failing to Learn from Failure: The Facade of Online Credit Recovery Assessments
Tags: Curriculum, AssessmentOnline credit recovery (OCR) courses are the most common means through which students retake courses required for high school graduation. Yet a growing body of research has raised concerns regarding student learning in these courses, with low quality assessments posited as one contributing… more →
The Prevalence and Policy Implications of Between-School Heterogeneity in Learning Outcomes: Evidence from Six Public Education Systems
Topics: Student LearningWhile learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries are generally at low levels, the degree to which students and schools more broadly within education systems lag behind grade-level proficiency can vary significantly. A substantial portion of existing literature advocates for aligning… more →
Improving elementary school students’ reading comprehension through content-rich literacy curriculum: The effect of structured read-aloud supplements on measures of reading comprehension transfer
Topics: Student LearningThis study contributes to the science of teaching reading by illustrating how a ubiquitous classroom practice – read alouds – can be enhanced by fostering teacher language practices that support students’ ability to read for understanding. This experimental study examines whether and to what… more →
Who Wants To Say “Gay?” Public Opinion About LGBT Issues in the Curriculum
Morgan Polikoff, Michael Fienberg, Daniel Silver, Marshall Garland, Anna R. Saavedra, Amie Rapaport.Topics: Families and CommunitiesTags: LGBTQIA+ students, CurriculumPublic schools are currently a source of major political conflict, specifically with regard to issues related to LGBT representation in the curriculum. We report on a large nationally representative survey of American households focusing on their views on what LGBT topics are and should be… more →
A Kindergarten Lottery Evaluation of Core Knowledge Charter Schools: Should Building General Knowledge Have a Central Role in Educational and Social Science Research and Policy?
David Grissmer, Thomas White, Richard Buddin, Mark Berends, Daniel Willingham, Jamie DeCoster, Chelsea Duran, Chris Hulleman, William Murrah, Tanya Evans.Tags: Charter schools, CurriculumThe Core Knowledge curriculum is a K-8 curriculum focused on building students General Knowledge about the world they live in that is hypothesized to increase reading comprehension and Reading/English-LA achievement. This study utilizes an experimental design to evaluate the long term effects of… more →
They Only Hate the Term: Explaining Opposition to History Curriculum Policy and Critical Race Theory
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceThe George Floyd Protests of the Summer of 2020 initiated public conversations around the need for antiracist teaching. Yet, over time the discussion evolved into policy debates around the use of Critical Race Theory in civics courses. The rapid transition masked the fact that we know little… more →
Evolution vs. Creationism in the Classroom: The Lasting Effects of Science Education
Tags: Science education, CurriculumAnti-scientific attitudes can impose substantial costs on societies. Can schools be an important agent in mitigating the propagation of such attitudes? This paper investigates the effect of the content of science education on anti-scientific attitudes, knowledge, and choices. The analysis… more →
Teacher Policy and Racial/Ethnic Gaps in Access to Advanced Coursework: Evidence from Across the United States
Advanced course-taking in high school sends an important signal to college admissions officers, helps reduce the cost and time to complete a post-secondary degree, and increases educational attainment and future earnings. However, Black and Hispanic students in the U.S. are underrepresented in… more →
Using Implementation Fidelity to Aid in Interpreting Program Impacts: A Brief Review
Topics: MethodsTags: Assessment, CurriculumPoor program implementation constitutes one explanation for null results in trials of educational interventions. For this reason, researchers often collect data about implementation fidelity when conducting such trials. In this article, we document whether and how researchers report and measure… more →
The effects of English language development curriculum materials on students’ English proficiency
Tags: Multilingual learners, CurriculumCastañeda v. Pickard (1981) mandated that educational programs for emergent bilinguals be tested for program efficacy. Since English language development (ELD) curricular materials are one part of an instructional program, we assess this mandate by examining the effectiveness of ELD materials in… more →
The Formalized Processes Districts Use to Evaluate Mathematics Textbooks
Morgan Polikoff, Shauna E. Campbell, Cory Koedel, Quynh Tien Le, Tenice Hardaway, Hovanes Gasparian.Tags: Curriculum, Mathematics educationTextbooks are a widely used educational intervention that can affect student achievement, and the marginal cost of choosing a more effective textbook is typically small. However, we know little about how textbooks get from the publisher to the classroom. We use a lens of institutional theory and… more →
Strengthening the Research Base that Informs STEM Instructional Improvement Efforts: A Meta-Analysis
Topics: Teacher and Leader DevelopmentWe present results from a meta-analysis of 95 experimental and quasi-experimental preK-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development and curriculum programs, seeking to understand what content, activities and formats relate to stronger student outcomes.… more →