Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis current issue

District Policy and Teachers' Social Networks

Coburn, C. E., Russell, J. L. — 2008-09-09

Policy makers increasingly include provisions aimed at fostering professional community as part of reform initiatives. Yet little is known about the impact of policy on teachers’ professional relations in schools. Drawing theoretically from social capital theory and methodologically from qualitative social network analysis, this article explores how district policies influence teachers’ social networks in eight elementary schools in two districts involved in the scale-up of mathematics curriculum. It is argued that policy affects whom teachers seek out for discussion of mathematics instruction but that differences in policy provisions lead to variations in the nature and quality of interactions. Furthermore, school leaders mediate district policy, thereby influencing these patterns of interaction. By uncovering the dynamics by which policy influences teachers’ social networks, this article contributes to understandings of the factors that foster the development of social capital. It also uncovers opportunities for intervention for those designing policy initiatives to support implementation of instructional innovations.

Credits, Time, and Attainment: Articulation Policies and Success After Transfer

Roksa, J., Keith, B. — 2008-09-09

While state legislatures are increasingly enacting articulation policies, research to date provides little evidence that these policies enhance students’ likelihood of transfer. Based on a careful historical review of state statutes, the authors propose that articulation policies do not improve transfer rates because that is not their intended purpose; the main goal of articulation policies is to prevent the loss of credits when students transfer within state higher education systems. Subsequently, the authors use the National Education Longitudinal Study to evaluate articulation policies based on an alternative set of outcomes: attainment of a bachelor’s degree, time to degree, and credits required to complete a bachelor’s degree. They discuss the limitations of existing data and propose that future studies be designed to specifically evaluate the transfer or loss of credits applicable toward general education requirements.

Winners and Losers: Changes in Texas University Admissions Post-Hopwood

Long, M. C., Tienda, M. — 2008-09-09

This article evaluates changes in racial and ethnic composition of three Texas universities following the ban on affirmative action imposed by the 1996 Hopwood decision. The authors estimate the extent to which universities practiced affirmative action before the ban and evaluate how officers at these universities responded by changing relative weights accorded to various applicant characteristics. After assessing whether changes in the relative weights favored minority applicants, the degree to which these new policies succeeded in maintaining minority shares at their pre-Hopwood levels is simulated. This article finds that these universities complied with the Hopwood ruling such that direct advantages given to Black and Hispanic applicants disappeared (and in some cases became disadvantages). Although there is some evidence that universities changed the weights they placed on applicant characteristics in ways that aided underrepresented minority applicants, these changes were insufficient to restore Black and Hispanic applicants’ share of admitted students.

Small High Schools on a Larger Scale: The Impact of School Conversions in Chicago

Kahne, J. E., Sporte, S. E., de la Torre, M., Easton, J. Q. — 2008-09-09

This study examines 4 years of small school reform in Chicago, focusing on schools formed by converting large traditional high schools into small autonomous ones. Analyzing systemwide survey and outcome data, the authors assess the assumptions embedded in the reform’s theory of change. They find that these schools are characterized by more collegial and committed teacher contexts and more academically and personally supportive student contexts. There is some evidence of decreased dropout rates and increased graduation rates for the first cohort of students but not for the second cohort. The authors do not find stronger instruction, nor do they find student achievement has improved. They discuss implications for reformers and policy makers who are interested in small schools in particular and high school reform in general.