Home > What's New > 2006 Archives

• December 18, 2006: Emerging Trends in Teacher Recruitment and Retention in the No Child Left Behind Era
• November 29, 2006: CEEP Policy Chat Series to Preview K-12 Education Legislative Topics
• November 15, 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part III - What is the Impact of NCLB on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities?
• Sep. 18, 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part II - Response to Intervention (RTI) – Basic Elements, Practical Applications, and Policy Recommendations?
• Aug. 8, 2006: The Excellence Achievement Gap: State-Level Data
• Aug. 7, 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part I - Is Indiana Ready for State-Sponsored Prekindergarten Programs?
• June 19, 2006: CEEP Issues New Education Policy Brief on High School Reform
  
• June 16, 2006: Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey
• June 9, 2006: Full Day Kindergarten
• March 31, 2006: The State of Education in Indiana
• April 10, 2006: Education Sector Co-founder Thomas Toch Announced as Next Policy Chat Speaker
• March 31, 2006: The State of Education in Indiana
• March 29, 2006: Educational Technology in Indiana: Is it Worth the Investment?
• February 28, 2006: CEEP Examines Cyber Charter Schools
• February 13, 2006: Enriching the High School Curriculum Through Postsecondary Credit-Based Transition Programs
• January 26, 2006: Are Indiana’s Public Schools in Need of Education Deregulation?
• January 4, 2006: The 2005 Public Opinion Survey on Education in Indiana

December 18, 2006: Emerging Trends in Teacher Recruitment and Retention in the No Child Left Behind Era. Teacher quality is one of the most important predictors of a child’s academic achievement, but schools in Indiana and across the nation are struggling to employ a full cadre of teachers who are qualified to instruct the subjects they are teaching. The latest CEEP policy brief, “Emerging Trends in Teacher Recruitment and Retention in the No Child Left Behind Era,” explores the factors and circumstances behind the national struggle to meet the highly qualified teacher requirement under NCLB, focusing on recruitment and retention issues for both subject-area and geographic shortages. The CEEP policy brief outlines several key recommendations to help schools improve teacher recruitment and retention efforts.

Click HERE to view the “Fast Facts” about teacher recruitment and retention or click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

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CEEP Education Policy Chats Continue After The Holidays The center’s 2006-2007 Education Policy Chat Series began by engaging the community in discussions about Indiana charter schools, causes and solutions for Indiana’s student dropout problem, and K-12 education topics facing the Indiana General Assembly. The next three policy chats will feature leaders of organizations that significantly influence today’s national debates about education.

CEEP is delighted to sponsor opportunities for these visitors to meet and talk with our community about challenges and changes in education on the national and local levels. Anyone with an interest in education issues is welcome to attend. The large audiences include a mix of I.U. students and faculty, local and state education policymakers, researchers, news reporters, and general community members.

Here are CEEP’s guests for the next three Policy Chats. Click on their name for information about each speaker. Click on their organization for a link to its Web site.

February
	Dr. Frederick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. Location to be decided and posted here soon
March
	Dr. Chester Finn, President, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, D.C. Thursday, March 8, 2007 @ 1:30 p.m. Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
April
	Mr. Andy Rotherham, Co-Director, Education Sector, Washington, D.C. Thursday, April 12, 2007 @ 1:30 p.m. Georgian Room in the Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

CEEP Policy Chat Series to Preview K-12 Education Legislative Topics The Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) and the Indiana University School of Education will be hosting members of the Indiana General Assembly for a Policy Chat Forum on Wednesday, November 29, 2006, at 1:30 p.m., in the Dogwood Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. Representative Robert Behning, Senator Teresa Lubbers, and Representative Peggy Welch will participate in a discussion about key K-12 education issues likely to be addressed during the 2007 legislative session.

The three panelists have significant experience in the Indiana General Assembly and serve on committees of importance to public education. Representative Welch (D-60) has served in the House of Representatives since 1998 and sits on the Ways and Means Committee. Representative Behning (R-91) has served as the chair of the Education Committee in the House of Representatives and has been a member of the legislature since 1992. Senator Lubbers (R-30) is the chairperson of the Education and Career Development Committee as well as the Assistant Majority Floor Leader in the Indiana State Senate. A representative of the Senate Democrat Caucus has also been invited to participate and will be announced in subsequent notifications.

The significance of K-12 education as a state responsibility is reflected in Indiana’s state budget, where funds allocated for K-12 spending in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 represented 39 percent of the budget, more than any other expense of state government. In FY 2007, Indiana’s state budget will allocate approximately $4.6 billion to K-12 education. Additional emphasis will be placed on education issues in light of Governor Mitch Daniels' declaration of full-day kindergarten as his top legislative priority in 2007. Likely K-12 issues to be discussed at the event include:

• Full-day kindergarten funding and implementation
• Preschool/prekindergarten programs
• School funding
• Statewide standardized testing in Indiana
• Teacher compensation, recruitment and retention

All students, faculty, staff, media personnel, and community members are welcome to attend.

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November 15, 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part III “What is the Impact of NCLB on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities?" An Education Policy Brief report issued today by the Center for Education & Evaluation Policy and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, both at Indiana University, outlines both the positive effects and the unintended consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act on students with disabilities. The report indicates that while efforts to meet NCLB accountability standards have improved short-term student outcomes, the act's narrow assessment criteria creates pressure for school administrators to reverse inclusion efforts and may contribute to higher drop-out rates among students with disabilities. The report also points to a central conflict between the two federal mandates affecting special education -- NCLB and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, originally passed in 1997 and reauthorized in 2004. The Policy Brief is particularly timely in view of the efforts of Congress to reauthorize NCLB in 2007.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

Sep. 18, 2006: Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part II “Response to Intervention (RTI) – Basic Elements, Practical Applications, and Policy Recommendations?" Response to Intervention (RTI) refers to an integrated, school-wide method of service delivery across general and special education that promotes successful school outcomes for all students. RTI is a twofold system of reliable high-quality instruction and frequent formative assessment of student progress. As a result of changes to federal regulations regarding the identification procedures for determining the presence of a specific learning disability, RTI is emerging as a promising alternative to the IQ-achievement discrepancy model. In the Education Policy Brief, “Response to Intervention (RTI) – Basic Elements, Practical Applications, and Policy Recommendations” the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community along with the authors of the report examine the impetus behind RTI, describe the principle components of RTI, highlight several model RTI programs around the country, and issue policy recommendations for the implementation of RTI in Indiana.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

Aug. 8, 2006: The Excellence Achievement Gap: State-Level Data will be presented by CEEP Research Assistant Amber Esping at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association on Sunday, August 13, 2006. CEEP Director Jonathan Plucker and Associate Director Terry Spradlin contributed to preparation of the material and presentation.

The PowerPoint file for this presentation is available by clicking HERE.

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Aug. 7, 2006: " Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part I – Is Indiana Ready for State-Sponsored Prekindergarten Programs?" In 2004, 38 states offered publicly-funded prekindergarten programs to increase school readiness of three- and four-year-old children and to help close student academic achievement gaps that persist in elementary and secondary schools. Indiana is not one of the states that provide publicly-funded prekindergarten programs. In the Education Policy Brief, “Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part I – Is Indiana Ready for State-Sponsored Prekindergarten Programs?” the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community tackle major policy questions regarding publicly-funded prekindergarten programs, including: Why should Indiana invest in prekindergarten? Who should be served? What should prekindergarten look like in Indiana? And how much will it cost? In an effort to answer these questions, the co-authors seek to inform policymakers about the feasibility of prekindergarten as a strategy that complements the push for full-day kindergarten funding and maximize the opportunity for critical cognitive development and school preparedness for Hoosier children.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

June 19, 2006: CEEP Issues New Education Policy Brief on High School Reform
"Redesigning High Schools to Prepare Students for the Future: 2006 Update" In December 2004, the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) examined the issue of high school reform in its Education Policy Brief, “Redesigning High Schools to Prepare Students for the Future.” That Policy Brief highlighted many initiatives undertaken to help improve the academic preparation students receive in high school for entering college or the workforce. Since the publication of that report, many new policies and programs have been established across the country at the local, state, and national levels to further restructure secondary education with the goal of improving student outcomes so that graduates are prepared for success in college or as a member of the workforce in the new global economy.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

June 16, 2006: Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey In an ongoing effort to provide timely, informative Education Policy Briefs (EPB), we invite our readers to share their opinions and suggestions with us about the EPB series by completing an online stakeholder satisfaction survey. The survey should take less than five minutes to complete and will provide valuable information to CEEP that will enable us to better inform readers on many significant K-12 education policy issues.

You can access the survey at http://ceep.indiana.edu/survey/EPB/satisfaction.html

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June 9, 2006: Full Day Kindergarten The U.S. Department of Education is funding an extensive evaluation of full day kindergarten by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP). Full day kindergarten (FDK) is increasingly being used as a strategy to address achievement gaps and promote early learning and school readiness as part of state P-16 initiatives. Although correlational, causal-comparative, and other non-experimental designs appear to support the effectiveness of FDK relative to half-day programs, results from quasi-experimental designs are mixed, probably due to nonequivalence of control and treatment groups. There have been very few experimental designs that utilized random assignment to treatment and control groups or carefully matched samples. Among these studies, most are dated (e.g., Humphrey, 1980), and their results may no longer be generalizable to today’s children. Given the widespread (and increasing) use of FDK and its considerable cost relative to half day kindergarten (HDK), CEEP’s evaluation is timely and is expected to have a considerable impact on early childhood research and policy

In the evaluation plan, CEEP's practical experience in conducting experimental studies is combined with attention to rigorous standards for conducting both experimental research and complex statistical analyses, such as the What Works Clearinghouse standards for experimental design and standards recommended by the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy (2002).

Click HERE to find the FDK reports in PDF format.

April 24, 2006: Examining College Remediation Trends in Indiana The need for college remediation is a strong predictor that a student will fail to achieve a college degree. Poor high school preparation of students, increasing student enrollment in higher education, and heightened competition in the job market all have contributed to an increase in college remediation participation in Indiana and nationally. This Education Policy Brief reviews the status of remedial education at the postsecondary level by examining state and national data and considers why college-level remedial programs are necessary. The Brief also examines the costs and systems of delivery for these programs and strategies to lessen the need for remediation. Stan Jones, Commissioner of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, shares a policy perspective on Indiana’s efforts to address this issue.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format.

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April 10, 2006: Education Sector Co-founder Thomas Toch Announced as Next Policy Chat Speaker
The Indiana University School of Education and the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy will host Mr. Thomas Toch, Co-founder and Co-director of the independent national education policy think tank Education Sector, and one of the nation’s leading education writers. Mr. Toch will discuss his recent report “Margins of Error: The Education Testing Industry in the No Child Left Behind Era.” The Policy Chat will take place on Friday, April 21, 2006, at 1:00 p.m. in the Solarium of the Indiana Memorial Union.

Prior to co-founding Education Sector in 2005, Mr. Toch served in numerous capacities as a journalist and education commentator. These positions included director of the NCEE Policy Forums and Writer-in-Residence at the National Center on Education and the Economy and Guest Scholar in education at the Brookings Institution. Additionally, Mr. Toch served as the senior education correspondent at U.S. News & World Report.

Mr. Toch has been a guest commentator on education on the ABC Nightly News, Good Morning America, the CBS Morning News, CNN, Frontline, and National Public Radio. He has also written extensively on various topics in education. He has contributed to many national publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and The Washington Monthly. His list of publications includes two books, High Schools on a Human Scale and In the Name of Excellence.

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March 31, 2006: The State of Education in Indiana was the subject of Jonathan Plucker’s presentation at a meeting of the Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Dr. Plucker is Director of the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy and associate professor of educational psychology and cognitive science at the IU School of Education. He offered data from several CEEP studies in support of his observations and predictions.

Since the meeting, several have requested the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation Dr. Plucker used. The PowerPoint file may be downloaded by clicking HERE.

March 29, 2006: Educational Technology in Indiana: Is it Worth the Investment? The relationship between technology and student academic achievement, and the necessity for future funding of educational technology in Indiana are covered in CEEP’s newest Educational Policy Brief. How is technology being used in Indiana schools? How might it be used most effectively, for the expense? Do students in some schools have less access to the technology, and does it matter? The brief thoroughly addresses these and its title question and presents the relevant policy perspectives of two experts.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format.

February 28, 2006: CEEP Examines Cyber Charter Schools What are cyber charter schools? What are their potential benefits? What problems might arise if specific statutory language is not in place to govern these schools? The Center for Evaluation & Education Policy reviews the concept, opportunities, possible problems, and policy implications of virtual charter schools in its latest Education Policy Brief.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format.

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February 13, 2006: Enriching the High School Curriculum Through Postsecondary Credit-Based Transition Programs. A growing body of research indicates that student success in postsecondary education is strongly correlated with both rigorous academic preparation in high school and a clear understanding of the expectations for college-level academic work. One way to better to better prepare students for the challenges they will face after high school is through the use of postsecondary credit-based transition programs such as dual credit courses, Advanced Placement courses and exams, the International Baccalaureate Program, and middle college high schools. CEEP’s new Education Policy Brief examines the benefits of postsecondary credit-based transition programs as well as the issues of access and participation in these programs in Indiana.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format.

January 26, 2006: Are Indiana’s Public Schools in Need of Education Deregulation? The Center for Evaluation and Education Policy examines this issue in the latest Education Policy Brief released today. Many teachers, education leaders, and politicians assert that regulations impede the abilities of Indiana’s public education system to effectively serve students’ needs, and that schools need to be freed from as much regulation as possible to allow them to focus on the pursuit of academic achievement. There are flexibility options or waivers presently provided by the federal and state governments to give schools more latitude in implementing programs and complying with certain regulations; but, do these options provide sufficient flexibility, or should actions be taken to further deregulate education in Indiana? If deregulation is necessary, what changes should be considered? See what superintendents and other education leaders think about these questions and more in this new Education Policy Brief.

Click HERE to find a copy of the policy brief in PDF format on the CEEP web site.

January 4, 2006: The 2005 Public Opinion Survey on Education in Indiana, released by CEEP today, reports on the attitudes and perceptions of Hoosiers on a broad range of K-12 education issues. Overall, the new data suggests that Hoosiers’ remain supportive of public schools, but see a need for improvement in some areas. CEEP Director Jonathan Plucker and Associate Director for Education Policy Terry Spradlin presented the survey data and discussed the results with members of the Indiana State Board of Education this morning. School quality, funding, charter schools and school choice, school construction, high-stakes testing, and full-day kindergarten were key topics in the presentation.

Click HERE to find a copy of the survey report in PDF format on the CEEP web site. Click HERE to view the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation about the survey prepared for the State Board of Education. Click HERE to read the IU Press Release about the survey.

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