Chalkbeat

Education news. In context.

Chalkbeat

research

Free for All

National
3 days ago

A benefit of free lunch for all: fewer students get repeatedly suspended, new study suggests

Allowing an entire school to eat for free can reduce the number of students who get suspended multiple times, according to a new study.

on the money

National
September 5, 2018

The salary slide: as other professionals see growth, teachers’ pay stagnates, new report finds

Teachers now earn about 20 percent less than other college-educated workers, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, a union-backed think tank.

research update

National
August 23, 2018

Suspensions really do hurt students academically, new studies confirm, but maybe less than previously thought

New research provides some of the strongest evidence yet that suspensions do in fact harm students’ academic performance.

the portfolio push

National
August 21, 2018

40 cities in 10 years: Leaked presentation offers more details on new group’s goals to spread charter (and charter-like) schools

The City Fund wants to reach 5 percent of low-income students in the U.S. within five years, according to a presentation obtained by Chalkbeat.

spring breakthrough

National
August 7, 2018

Spring break at school? New research says it helps middle schoolers catch up

It has spread across Massachusetts as a school turnaround strategy: bring students into school over spring break for hours and hours of extra instruction.

value added?

National
August 5, 2018

Eight years ago, the L.A. Times published teachers’ ratings. New research tells us what happened next.

"You shine a light on people who are underperforming and the hope is they improve. But when you increase transparency, you may actually exacerbate inequality."

turnover paradox

National
July 25, 2018

Black teachers leave schools at higher rates — but why?

National data shows the problem isn’t just recruiting teachers of color, but retaining them as well.

Teaching teachers

National
July 16, 2018

Mentors matter: Good teaching really can be passed down to student teachers, new research finds

Do student teachers learn more when they’re mentored by an effective teacher? The answer may seem obvious, but there’s been little research confirming as much—until now.

Unleaded

National
June 28, 2018

Lead hurts kids, including their ability to learn. But new research shows cities can help.

Being exposed to lead can substantially harm children, pushing test scores down and suspension rates up. A new study says there’s a lot that can be done about it

false choice

National
June 25, 2018

Early school choice deadlines mean affluent parents often get first shot at coveted schools, new study shows

A new study finds that early registration deadlines for Boston’s school choice program tended to trip up black, Hispanic, and low-income families

a high-stakes evaluation

National
June 21, 2018

The Gates Foundation bet big on teacher evaluation. The report it commissioned explains how those efforts fell short.

New research commissioned by Gates finds scant evidence that evaluation changes accomplished what they were meant to: improve teacher quality or boost student learning.

evaluating evaluation

National
Updated July 18, 2018

How bias happens: teaching struggling students can affect observation scores, study finds

The types of students teachers instruct may influence how administrators evaluate their performance.

mind the gap

National
June 15, 2018

In female-dominated education field, women still lag behind in pay, according to two new studies

Two new studies illustrate how even the education field — a female-dominated one where many salaries aren’t open to negotiation — isn’t immune to the gender pay gap.

charters on the hill

National
June 13, 2018

Virtual schools, open records, and claims about research — highlights from Congress’s look at charter schools

Charter schools got some extra attention in Washington, D.C. today in the form of a U.S. House hearing.

unintended benefit

National
June 6, 2018

Can lowering class size help integrate schools? Maybe, according to new research

A recent study suggests a concrete way that schools can attract and keep white families, while also boosting student achievement: lower class sizes.

can Uteach?

National
June 4, 2018

A teacher prep program that really works? This one is successfully minting math and science educators

New peer-reviewed research on the program, known as UTeach, shows that its teachers performed substantially better in the classroom than other teachers in Texas.

unequal childhoods

National
May 30, 2018

The ‘shadow education system’: How wealthier students benefit from art, music, and theater over the summer while poor kids miss out

More affluent kids are about twice as likely to visit a museum, art gallery, or historical site, compared with peers from low-income families.

testing vouchers

National
May 29, 2018

D.C.’s private school voucher program hurt low-income students’ math test scores, according to federal study

Low-income students who used a voucher to attend a private school in Washington, D.C., continued to see substantially lower math test scores after two years in the program

feeling the heat

National
May 28, 2018

Higher temperatures equal lower test scores — study confirms that students learn less in overheated classrooms

A warm classroom is not conducive to learning, as any student trying to pay attention to a teacher’s lecture on a hot day can attest. There’s research to back that up.

vouching for vouchers

National
April 24, 2018

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.
‹