2008

WORKING PAPER 2008-01
The Hispanic-White Achievement Gap in Math and Reading in the Elementary Grades. Sean F. Reardon, Stanford University, & Claudia Galindo, The Johns Hopkins University, January, 2008

The authors provide a detailed descriptive analysis of the development of Hispanic-White math and reading achievement gaps in elementary school, with particular attention to variation in these patterns among Hispanic subgroups.  The report draws on  kindergarten through fifth grade test score data from a nationally-representative sample of students who were in kindergarten the fall of 1998.

2007

WORKING PAPER 2007-04
Who Sits on School Boards in California? Jason A. Grissom, Harry S Truman School Public Affairs, University of Missouri-Columbia, December, 2007.

This report describes California’s school board members, including their demographic characteristics, education levels, ideology and experience. It also examines how these characteristics differ for urban, suburban and rural school districts.  The author draws on a survey, including a stratified random sample representative of school board members across California, conducted between January and August 2006. 

WORKING PAPER 2007-03
What Do Cost Functions Tell Us About the Cost of an Adequate Education?
Robert Costrell, University of Arkansas, Eric Hanushek, Stanford University, &
Susanna Loeb, Stanford University, (conference paper for From Equity to Adequacy to Choice:  Perspectives on School Finance and School Finance Litigation) November 13, 2007.

The authors review the econometric cost function technique and provide evidence that draws into question the usefulness of the cost function approach in school finance studies for estimating the cost of an adequate education.

WORKING PAPER 2007-02
Who Leaves? Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement. Don Boyd, University at Albany, Pam Grossman, Stanford University, Hamp Lankford, University at Albany Susanna Loeb, Stanford University, & Jim Wyckoff, University at Albany, September 30, 2007

The authors generate estimates of novice teachers’ value-added to student test score gains in New York City (NYC) and assess the relative effectiveness of teachers who stay in their original school, transfer within NYC, transfer to another New York State (NYS) district, or leave teaching in NYS public schools. The authors pay particular attention to attrition patterns in lower-scoring schools and, for the teachers in these schools who transfer within the NYC public system, differences between the schools to which the relatively more and less effective teachers transfer.

WORKING PAPER 2007-01
The Narrowing Gap in New York City Teacher Qualifications and its Implications for Student Achievement in High Poverty Schools. Donald Boyd, University at Albany, Hamilton Lankford, University at Albany, Susanna Loeb, Stanford University, Jonah Rockoff, Columbia University, &James Wyckoff, University at Albany. August, 2007.

This paper examines changes in the distribution of teachers across schools in recent years and the implications of these changes for students.  The authors examine three questions: (1) how has the distribution of teaching qualifications between schools with concentrations of poor students and those with more affluent students changed over the last five years; (2) what effects are the changes in observed teacher qualifications likely to have on student achievement; and (3), what implications do these findings have for improving policies and programs aimed at recruiting highly effective teachers?