Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

research

vouching for vouchers

National
1 day ago

Louisiana vouchers have led to big drops in test scores, but they also might boost college enrollment

Students who won a school voucher in Louisiana to attend their top-ranked private high school were 6 percentage points more likely to enroll in college.

study says...

National
April 19, 2018

One big upside of career and tech programs? They push more kids to graduate

At these CTE schools, low-income students were 21 percentage points more likely to graduate than their similar peers at typical high schools.

testing takeaways

National
April 10, 2018

A decade of stagnation: Little progress on closely watched federal test, as big disparities persist

Scores on the exams known as the “nation’s report card” have barely budged over the last two years, new data show.

salary slump

National
April 3, 2018

As teachers across the country demand higher pay, here’s how much salaries have stalled — and why it matters for kids

The protesters are making the case that they’re not just fighting for themselves but for their students and state.

more school less crime

National
April 2, 2018

Four-day school weeks, a nationwide symptom of tight budgets, lead to more youth crime, study finds

A new study points to an unintended but perhaps unsurprising consequence of cutting the school week: a spike in juvenile crime.

school cloning

National
March 28, 2018

Can top charters truly ‘replicate’? In Boston, yes — elsewhere, it’s not so clear

A new study finds that Boston charters maintained their high performance as they rapidly grew — perhaps because they closely emulated their original schools’ practices.

out-of-school factors

National
March 27, 2018

Food for thought: Students’ test scores rise a few weeks after families get food stamps

The timing of a family’s food stamp benefits affects their children’s academic performance, according to a new study.

research shows

National
March 23, 2018

Race, not just poverty, shapes who graduates in America — and other education lessons from a big new study

Black students are much less likely to graduate from high school and attend college than white students with the same family income.

thrown for a loop

National
March 21, 2018

Elementary school teachers sometimes follow a class of students from year to year. New research suggests that’s a good idea.

A new study shows that students improve more on tests in their second year with the same teacher and the benefits are largest for students of color.

bias in the classroom

National
March 16, 2018

‘Disciplinarians first and teachers second’: Black male teachers say they face an extra burden

A number of black male teachers described a similar experience: colleagues assuming that they were better able to deal with behavioral issues among black boys.

new neighbors

National
March 16, 2018

An integration dilemma: School choice is pushing wealthy families to gentrify neighborhoods but avoid local schools

The ability to opt out of the neighborhood school increased the likelihood that a mostly black or Hispanic neighborhood would see an influx of wealthier residents.

intended consequences

National
March 13, 2018

When Chicago cut down on suspensions, students saw test scores and attendance rise, study finds

A modest drop in out-of-school suspensions for severe behavior actually led to small increases in test scores and attendance for all students in a school.

Show me the money

National
March 12, 2018

We read new reports on the state of school funding in America so you don’t have to. Here’s what we learned.

While poor students necessarily don’t get less money than their affluent peers, they usually don’t get extra money for addressing additional needs.

research whiplash

National
February 22, 2018

Abolish middle school? Not so fast, new study says.

Rigorous studies have suggested that scrapping traditional middle schools is good for students. New research says, hold on a second.

study up

National
February 20, 2018

Do community schools and wraparound services boost academics? Here’s what we know.

The strategy has been embraced by districts across the country.

school rules

National
February 16, 2018

Arkansas passed a law banning suspensions for truancy. Then it was largely ignored.

Three years after the law passed, nearly 1,100 students were suspended for not showing up to school.

DACAmented results

National
February 14, 2018

Study finds DACA encourages undocumented kids to stay in school, as Congress ponders their future

Giving undocumented young people protection from deportation came with a big education bonus: It made them more likely to finish high school and enter college.

good news in golden state

National
February 8, 2018

How new evidence bolsters the case for California’s education policy rebellion

In recent years, California has gone its own way on education policy, and recent evidence suggests it might be working.

curriculum conundrum

National
February 6, 2018

With new focus on curriculum, Gates Foundation wades into tricky territory

The Gates Foundation has a new plan intended to help public schools: improve the materials that teachers use to teach. But that may run into some challenges.

hiring help

National
February 6, 2018

School districts struggle when hiring new teachers. A new study suggests L.A. has found a better way

Every spring and summer, America’s school districts face a critical challenge: hiring new teachers. New research suggests that Los Angeles has found a better way.

Unintended consequences

National
January 30, 2018

Did new evaluations and weaker tenure make fewer people want to become teachers? A new study says yes

After states put in place new evaluation and tenure rules, fewer people were interested in the job, a new study suggests.

Behind the numbers

National
January 29, 2018

Why ‘personalized learning’ advocates like Mark Zuckerberg keep citing a 1984 study — and why it might not say much about schools today

A close look at the 1984 study often cited by personalized learning supporters raises questions about its relevance to modern education debates.

money matters

National
January 12, 2018

Less money for schools after the recession meant lower test scores and graduation rates, study finds

The evidence is adding up: The Great Recession did real damage to student learning.

Choice and consequences

National
Updated January 10, 2018

The cost of charter growth: New research estimates the price tag for districts

As charter schools have expanded, critics have offered a similar complaint: they they drain money from public school districts. A new study puts a price tag on this.

Classrooms without teachers

National
January 9, 2018

In many large school districts, hundreds of teaching positions were unfilled as school year began

In the country’s largest school districts, thousands of students started the school year without a permanent teacher, according to data from public records.

the merit of merit pay

National
January 2, 2018

Big new study finds that performance bonuses for teachers boost test scores (a bit)

A new study shows that performance-based bonuses for teachers boosts student achievement.

2017 in review

National
December 22, 2017

What we’ve learned: 5 lessons from education research to take into 2018

Researchers have worked through 2017 to separate fact from fiction.

choice challenge

National
December 20, 2017

A Betsy DeVos-approved tax change is meant to make private school more affordable. Here’s why it might not work

There’s reason to believe that private schools are likely to raise tuition in response.

teacher trap

National
December 13, 2017

America’s teachers don’t move out of state much. That could be bad for students.

Teachers are significantly less likely to move between states than others with similar jobs — and past research suggests that students suffer as a result.

war on teachers?

National
December 12, 2017

When union protections disappear, poor schools lose teachers, new research finds

Michigan's teacher-focused policy changes did not increase in teacher turnover. But at schools with lower test scores or more students in poverty, teacher churn jumped.

research shows

National
December 8, 2017

Advocates of the portfolio model for improving schools say it works. Are they right?

As with many education policies, the portfolio model is gaining adherents even while an research base is still being built.

discipline dispute

National
November 28, 2017

As national debate over discipline heats up, new study finds discrimination in student suspensions

Black students in Louisiana are suspended for slightly longer than white students after being involved in the same fight, according to new research that adds to a roiling national debate about school discipline.

More than scores

National
November 26, 2017

New research takes an in-depth look at Chicago charter schools — and finds good news beyond test scores

Chicago's charter high schools seem to help students in the short- and long-run, but those schools also have higher student turnover.

union power

National
November 16, 2017

Gutting Wisconsin teachers unions hurt students, study finds

The high-profile fight to limit union power was replete with drama — including a recall election and state legislators fleeing…

a test of happiness

National
November 2, 2017

When teachers are better at raising test scores, their students are less happy, study finds

A new study finds a negative correlation between teachers’ impact on students’ test scores and those students’ reports of how happy they were in class.

merited pay

National
October 31, 2017

A simple solution for solving teacher shortages: pay incentives for hard-to-find educators

A new study offers a straightforward solution to teacher shortages: give bonuses or provide loan forgiveness to teachers in positions that are hard to staff.

study shows

National
October 16, 2017

The $100 million question: Did Newark’s school reforms work? New study finds big declines, then progress

It was announced with much fanfare in 2010: changes were coming to Newark’s schools. But are students learning more now than they were then, thanks to the reform effort?

school choice or peer choice?

National
October 11, 2017

A school choice quandary: parents care more about who attends a school than about its quality, in NYC study

A basic tenet of school choice is that families will choose the highest-quality school they can. Now a new study raises questions about this basic premise.

getting what you pay for

National
October 5, 2017

Want more young people to aspire to become teachers? Try paying teachers more

There’s building evidence that higher teacher pay helps encourage people to enter and stay in the classroom.

choice research

National
September 27, 2017

Florida’s tax credit voucher program helps get students to — but not necessarily through — college, study finds

Students in the country’s largest private school choice program were more likely to attend college than similar students who remained in public school

unions in charters

National
September 25, 2017

When charter schools unionize, students learn more, study finds

a new study of California schools finds that, far from harming student achievement, unionization of charter schools actually boosts test scores.

across the pond

National
September 21, 2017

Does England’s rapid expansion of charter-like ‘academies’ hold a lesson for the U.S.?

Is autonomy itself likely to improve schools? A new study offers a sobering answer.

teacher diversity

National
September 14, 2017

Efforts to ‘raise the bar’ for becoming a teacher are running headlong into efforts to diversify the profession. Now what?

Education advocates want to have it both ways: they want more teachers of color and to “raise the bar” for the profession with measures that screen out certain groups.

teacher diversity

National
September 13, 2017

This top-rated black teacher may lose her job over one test. Are ‘high standards’ working?

A Baltimore teacher may lose the job she loves because of a single test — an example of how efforts to "raise the bar" can play out on the ground.

recession repercussions

National
August 30, 2017

The Great Recession decimated the economy. It also hurt student learning, according to pioneering new study

As the Great Recession was sending economic shockwaves through the country, it was also hurting student learning, according to a new study.

charter kids go to college

National
August 29, 2017

Do ‘no-excuses’ charter schools lead to success after high school? At one high-profile network, the answer seems to be yes

A new study offers evidence that attending the Chicago-based Noble charter network does help students succeed after high school.

integration benefits

National
August 28, 2017

When school districts resegregate, more black and Hispanic students drop out

After courts lift school desegregation orders, students of color are more likely to drop out —the latest signal that school segregation harms black and Hispanic kids.

disability discrimination

National
August 27, 2017

Many worry that students of color are too often identified as disabled. Is the real problem the opposite?

New research challenges a piece of common wisdom about special education: that black students are too often told they have a disability.

the consequences of closure

National
August 24, 2017

Schools with more students of color are more likely to be shut down — and three other things to know about a big new study

Shutting down schools with low test scores doesn’t help student learning and disproportionately affects students of color, according a new study.

Rhode rage

National
August 17, 2017

New study deepens nation’s school turnaround mystery, finding little success in Rhode Island

Rhode Island tried to improve its struggling schools without dramatic changes. A new study on those efforts says they didn’t help student achievement.
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