Recent research

The Role of Comprehensive Student Support Interventions during School Turnaround

Haibin Jiang, Yan R. Leigh, Mary E. Walsh

EdWorkingPaper: 24-1067, Annenberg Institute at Brown University:  |  October 2024

Abstract: The persistence of underperformance in schools within large urban districts remains a significant challenge in the U.S. K-12 education system. Education policymakers have enacted legislation aiming at improving these schools through "turnaround'' initiatives. However, students attending underperforming schools face multifaceted challenges that extend beyond the classroom. Therefore, restructuring the underperforming schools without addressing critical out-of-school factors appears to be insufficient to achieve the goal of these legislative efforts.

In this study, we focus on a large urban school district in Massachusetts with many underperforming schools undergoing school turnaround. During the turnaround process, some schools implemented a comprehensive student support intervention while others did not. The variation in supplementing school turnaround with comprehensive student support intervention and the timing of the implementation of the intervention allows us to explore whether comprehensive student support aiming at addressing out-of-school factors enhances student performance during the school turnaround process.

Employing difference-in-differences and event studies research designs, our findings reveal that schools and grades implementing the comprehensive student support intervention during their turnaround efforts demonstrate improvement in math and English language arts compared to those not implementing the intervention. These results provide valuable insights for policymakers, emphasizing the essential role of comprehensive student support in enhancing the success of school turnaround.

The Potential for Race Discrimination in Voucher Programs in a Post-Carson World

Preston Green, Bruce Baker, and Suzanne Eckes

Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 99, No. 4  |  August 2024

Abstract: Between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court examined three cases that involved states that tried to limit the use of public money to support religious-affiliated schools. The Supreme Court found a violation of the Free Exercise Clause in all three cases. Although not the focus of the Court’s opinions, these cases may have created avenues for discriminatory practices in publicly funded state school voucher programs. In elevating free- exercise rights above Establishment Clause concerns, the Court’s decisions may have serious implications for students’ civil rights in schools.

This article specifically examines whether the growth of school voucher programs in the context of these recent Supreme Court decisions creates a pathway for racial discrimination in participating voucher schools. We first explore the impact of the three Supreme Court decisions. Specifically, we argue that when the Court eliminated distinctions between policies denying funding because of religious status and policies denying funding for religious uses and when it elevated free-exercise arguments, it may have opened additional avenues for discrimination. Thus, we next address whether participating voucher schools can refuse admission to Black students.

To set the context for this discussion, we provide a brief historical analysis of case law that has previously supported race-based discrimination on religious grounds. We show that although past court cases and federal tax policy have created a bulwark against such discrimination, the recent rulings favoring free exercise rights raise concerns. If free-exercise rights trump civil rights, some voucher statutes may create an alternative funding stream for modern-day “segregation academies.”

Accountability or Austerity? Examining the Practice of K–12 Early Fiscal Intervention During Periods of Economic Crisis

Christopher M. Saldaña

Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis  |  June 2024

Abstract: Little research has examined how K–12 fiscal accountability policies and practices intersect with district finances and student outcomes during periods of economic crises. Employing a critical policy analysis perspective that distinguishes between the concepts of fiscal accountability and fiscal austerity and differences-in-differences and event studies approaches, this study examines the practice of early fiscal intervention in California’s AB 1200 fiscal accountability system during and after the 2008 financial crisis and recession. In particular, the study estimates the relationship between early fiscal intervention, district finances, and student academic outcomes in mathematics and reading and language arts.

Findings suggest that intervention led to significant cuts in per-pupil expenditures, resulted in no increase in state or federal revenues and an increase in local revenues through property taxes, and was negatively associated with student outcomes, especially in reading and language arts and for Hispanic/Latinx students. When taken together, the findings imply K–12 fiscal accountability in California was leveraged to promote fiscal austerity in educational spending during and after the 2008 financial crisis. Implications and policy recommendations are discussed.