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Research paper thumbnail of No Child Left Behind and the Education Achievement Gap

Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has ex... more Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has existed since the inception of standardized testing. The gap between white and African-American schoolchildren was the primary impetus behind much of the social policy ...

Research paper thumbnail of No Child Left Behind and the Education Achievement Gap. Policy Briefs: Education Reform. Volume 2, Number 5

Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has ex... more Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has existed since the inception of standardized testing. The gap between white and African-American schoolchildren was the primary impetus behind much of the social policy ...

Research paper thumbnail of High School Presence of Women Math and Science Teachers and the Enrollment and Persistence of Women in College STEM

Research paper thumbnail of Why Hispanic Students Drop Out of High School Early: Data from North Carolina

Research paper thumbnail of STEM-focused high schools and students’ STEM college outcomes in North Carolina

This study examines the effect of attending a high school that offers a program focused towards s... more This study examines the effect of attending a high school that offers a program focused towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics on students’ STEM college outcomes. Previous studies have looked at the impact of attending math and science focused schools mainly through qualitative analyses of isolated cases. In this study we look at a sample of students in North Carolina that attended public school high schools and had an intention of attending college, and evaluate the impact of attending a school that offers a math and science program in these students’ intention to major in STEM. The authors utilize a multilevel propensity score matching approach to contend with selection bias and the nesting structure of the educational data. In general, the results show evidence that attending a school that offers a science, technology, engineering and math focused program increases students’ intentions to major in STEM when in college and students’ odds of declaration and gradua...

Research paper thumbnail of Do Learning Experiences of Inspiration/Reinforcement and Preparation During High School Increase the Likelihood of Declaring a STEM Major?

Teachers College Record

Schools are integral to augmenting, diversifying, and equalizing the STEM workforce because schoo... more Schools are integral to augmenting, diversifying, and equalizing the STEM workforce because schools can inspire and reinforce students’ interest in STEM in addition to academically prepare them to be able to follow a STEM career. This study examines the influence of high school exposure to basic STEM courses, high school exposure to STEM-related environment and activities, high school quantity of exposure to pre-college STEM classes, and the quality of the latter for a sample of college bound NC students’ likelihood of declaring a STEM major. Utilizing multilevel-binomial models and multilevel-multinomial models with a longitudinal dataset from almost twelve thousand students in the North Carolina university system, we find that learning experiences students had during the high school years are related to students’ choice of major during the first college years. Findings suggest that STEM experiences of inspiration/reinforcement/preparation during high school interact with demograph...

Research paper thumbnail of Distributive Justice Antecedents of Race and Gender Disparities in First-Year College Performance

Social Justice Research, 2015

ABSTRACT Public education is a sphere of society in which distributive justice with respect to th... more ABSTRACT Public education is a sphere of society in which distributive justice with respect to the allocation of opportunities to learn can have profound and lasting effects on students’ educational outcomes. We frame our study in the distributive justice literature, and define just outcomes specifically from a meritocratic and strict egalitarian perspectives in order to investigate how assignment to academic tracks and the availability of opportunities to learn during high school are associated with students’ academic achievement during college. We examine the role of “just” placement into high school academic tracks, “just” access to high-quality teachers, and “just” assignment of secondary schools’ resources in high school, in relation to college freshmen’s grade point averages (GPA). We utilize longitudinal data from a unique dataset with over 15,000 students who spent their academic careers in North Carolina public secondary schools and then attended North Carolina public universities. Our results suggest that “unjust” assignment of students to certain high schools, access to high-quality teachers, and assignment to learn in specific academic tracks result in long-lasting consequences that are reflected in freshman college GPA. Importantly, findings also show that the direction and magnitude of the relationship between distributional injustice at schools and college performance is moderated by students’ own gender and race. Race and gender interact with the high schools’ institutional contexts operationalized by tracking practices, teacher quality, and by school racial and socioeconomic composition. Results show that similar settings do not affect all students in the same ways.

Research paper thumbnail of ROOTS of STEM

Research paper thumbnail of The Social Influences on the Realization of 2 Genetic Potential forlntellectual Development

Research paper thumbnail of How (and Why) NCLB Failed to Close the Achievement Gap: Evidence from North Carolina, 1998-2004

Research paper thumbnail of High School Presence of Women Math and Science Teachers and the Enrollment and Persistence of Women in College STEM

Research paper thumbnail of Collective Pedagogical Teacher Culture and Teacher Satisfaction

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Professional Teacher Communities, Reform Curriculum, and Mathematics Achievement in Elementary School

Research paper thumbnail of The Benefits of Teachers' Collective Pedagogical School Culture for Diverse Students' Mathematics Achievement

Research paper thumbnail of Ensuring Every Child Is in the Race To the Top: Mathematics Curricular Practices for Diverse Kindergarten Students

Research paper thumbnail of ROOTS of STEM Working Paper Series

Research paper thumbnail of Moving Latino/a Students Into STEM Majors in College: The Role of Teachers and Professional Communities in Secondary Schools

Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2014

ABSTRACT We argue that Latino/a students are more likely to major in science, technology, enginee... more ABSTRACT We argue that Latino/a students are more likely to major in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in college if they were educated in high schools where they studied with satisfied teachers who worked in collaborative professional communities. Quantitative results demonstrate that collaborative professional communities in high school are important for Latino/a students’ choice of major in college. Results from qualitative interviews clarify how Latino/a students’ perceptions of precollege educational environments shape their decisions to major in STEM.

Research paper thumbnail of Growing the Roots of STEM Majors: Female Math and Science High School Faculty and the Participation of Students in STEM

Economics of Education Review, 2015

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fiel... more The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is problematic given the economic and social inequities it fosters and the rising global importance of STEM occupations. This paper examines the role of the demographic composition of high school faculty-specifically the proportion of female high school math and science teachers-on college students' decisions to declare and/or major in STEM fields. We analyze longitudinal data from students who spent their academic careers in North Carolina public secondary schools and attended North Carolina public universities. Our results suggest that although the proportion of female math and science teachers at a school has no impact on male students, it has a powerful effect on female students' likelihood of declaring and graduating with a STEM degree, and effects are largest for female students with the highest math skills. The estimates are robust to the inclusion of controls for students' initial ability.

Research paper thumbnail of Foundations of Mathematics Achievement

The Elementary School Journal, 2014

university of north carolina at charlotte abstract Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-... more university of north carolina at charlotte abstract Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data, we examine how exposure to instructional practices influences math test scores at the end of kindergarten for children from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and for children with different levels of math skills at kindergarten entry. We also analyze the relationship between socioeconomic background and math academic readiness within racial/ethnic categories. Our results demonstrate that race/ethnicity and levels of math academic readiness moderate the relationship between instructional practices and math achievement. While we find that interactive group activities enhance students' mathematics achievement in kindergarten and that drills enhance math academic achievement of students with high math academic preparedness in kindergarten, we also find that use of manipulatives as well as music and movement have significant negative effects on mathematics achievement of Black students. Given the importance of kindergarten for launching children onto successful academic trajectories, the findings have implications for addressing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status gaps in mathematics achievement. the elementary school journal volume 115, number 1

Research paper thumbnail of Smooth and rough roads to academic achievement: Retention and race/class disparities in high school

Social Science Research, 2006

Educational and psychological researchers have long debated the relationship between retention an... more Educational and psychological researchers have long debated the relationship between retention and achievement. However, quantitative research on achievement trajectories has neglected this important variable. Given that retention policies are being institutionalized in schools, it is important to understand the relationship between retention and achievement trajectories. We examine the National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988–1992 to determine if reading and mathematical achievement

Research paper thumbnail of No Child Left Behind and the Education Achievement Gap

Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has ex... more Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has existed since the inception of standardized testing. The gap between white and African-American schoolchildren was the primary impetus behind much of the social policy ...

Research paper thumbnail of No Child Left Behind and the Education Achievement Gap. Policy Briefs: Education Reform. Volume 2, Number 5

Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has ex... more Abstract: A gap in standardized achievement-test scores among different groups of students has existed since the inception of standardized testing. The gap between white and African-American schoolchildren was the primary impetus behind much of the social policy ...

Research paper thumbnail of High School Presence of Women Math and Science Teachers and the Enrollment and Persistence of Women in College STEM

Research paper thumbnail of Why Hispanic Students Drop Out of High School Early: Data from North Carolina

Research paper thumbnail of STEM-focused high schools and students’ STEM college outcomes in North Carolina

This study examines the effect of attending a high school that offers a program focused towards s... more This study examines the effect of attending a high school that offers a program focused towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics on students’ STEM college outcomes. Previous studies have looked at the impact of attending math and science focused schools mainly through qualitative analyses of isolated cases. In this study we look at a sample of students in North Carolina that attended public school high schools and had an intention of attending college, and evaluate the impact of attending a school that offers a math and science program in these students’ intention to major in STEM. The authors utilize a multilevel propensity score matching approach to contend with selection bias and the nesting structure of the educational data. In general, the results show evidence that attending a school that offers a science, technology, engineering and math focused program increases students’ intentions to major in STEM when in college and students’ odds of declaration and gradua...

Research paper thumbnail of Do Learning Experiences of Inspiration/Reinforcement and Preparation During High School Increase the Likelihood of Declaring a STEM Major?

Teachers College Record

Schools are integral to augmenting, diversifying, and equalizing the STEM workforce because schoo... more Schools are integral to augmenting, diversifying, and equalizing the STEM workforce because schools can inspire and reinforce students’ interest in STEM in addition to academically prepare them to be able to follow a STEM career. This study examines the influence of high school exposure to basic STEM courses, high school exposure to STEM-related environment and activities, high school quantity of exposure to pre-college STEM classes, and the quality of the latter for a sample of college bound NC students’ likelihood of declaring a STEM major. Utilizing multilevel-binomial models and multilevel-multinomial models with a longitudinal dataset from almost twelve thousand students in the North Carolina university system, we find that learning experiences students had during the high school years are related to students’ choice of major during the first college years. Findings suggest that STEM experiences of inspiration/reinforcement/preparation during high school interact with demograph...

Research paper thumbnail of Distributive Justice Antecedents of Race and Gender Disparities in First-Year College Performance

Social Justice Research, 2015

ABSTRACT Public education is a sphere of society in which distributive justice with respect to th... more ABSTRACT Public education is a sphere of society in which distributive justice with respect to the allocation of opportunities to learn can have profound and lasting effects on students’ educational outcomes. We frame our study in the distributive justice literature, and define just outcomes specifically from a meritocratic and strict egalitarian perspectives in order to investigate how assignment to academic tracks and the availability of opportunities to learn during high school are associated with students’ academic achievement during college. We examine the role of “just” placement into high school academic tracks, “just” access to high-quality teachers, and “just” assignment of secondary schools’ resources in high school, in relation to college freshmen’s grade point averages (GPA). We utilize longitudinal data from a unique dataset with over 15,000 students who spent their academic careers in North Carolina public secondary schools and then attended North Carolina public universities. Our results suggest that “unjust” assignment of students to certain high schools, access to high-quality teachers, and assignment to learn in specific academic tracks result in long-lasting consequences that are reflected in freshman college GPA. Importantly, findings also show that the direction and magnitude of the relationship between distributional injustice at schools and college performance is moderated by students’ own gender and race. Race and gender interact with the high schools’ institutional contexts operationalized by tracking practices, teacher quality, and by school racial and socioeconomic composition. Results show that similar settings do not affect all students in the same ways.

Research paper thumbnail of ROOTS of STEM

Research paper thumbnail of The Social Influences on the Realization of 2 Genetic Potential forlntellectual Development

Research paper thumbnail of How (and Why) NCLB Failed to Close the Achievement Gap: Evidence from North Carolina, 1998-2004

Research paper thumbnail of High School Presence of Women Math and Science Teachers and the Enrollment and Persistence of Women in College STEM

Research paper thumbnail of Collective Pedagogical Teacher Culture and Teacher Satisfaction

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Professional Teacher Communities, Reform Curriculum, and Mathematics Achievement in Elementary School

Research paper thumbnail of The Benefits of Teachers' Collective Pedagogical School Culture for Diverse Students' Mathematics Achievement

Research paper thumbnail of Ensuring Every Child Is in the Race To the Top: Mathematics Curricular Practices for Diverse Kindergarten Students

Research paper thumbnail of ROOTS of STEM Working Paper Series

Research paper thumbnail of Moving Latino/a Students Into STEM Majors in College: The Role of Teachers and Professional Communities in Secondary Schools

Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2014

ABSTRACT We argue that Latino/a students are more likely to major in science, technology, enginee... more ABSTRACT We argue that Latino/a students are more likely to major in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in college if they were educated in high schools where they studied with satisfied teachers who worked in collaborative professional communities. Quantitative results demonstrate that collaborative professional communities in high school are important for Latino/a students’ choice of major in college. Results from qualitative interviews clarify how Latino/a students’ perceptions of precollege educational environments shape their decisions to major in STEM.

Research paper thumbnail of Growing the Roots of STEM Majors: Female Math and Science High School Faculty and the Participation of Students in STEM

Economics of Education Review, 2015

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fiel... more The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is problematic given the economic and social inequities it fosters and the rising global importance of STEM occupations. This paper examines the role of the demographic composition of high school faculty-specifically the proportion of female high school math and science teachers-on college students' decisions to declare and/or major in STEM fields. We analyze longitudinal data from students who spent their academic careers in North Carolina public secondary schools and attended North Carolina public universities. Our results suggest that although the proportion of female math and science teachers at a school has no impact on male students, it has a powerful effect on female students' likelihood of declaring and graduating with a STEM degree, and effects are largest for female students with the highest math skills. The estimates are robust to the inclusion of controls for students' initial ability.

Research paper thumbnail of Foundations of Mathematics Achievement

The Elementary School Journal, 2014

university of north carolina at charlotte abstract Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-... more university of north carolina at charlotte abstract Analyzing Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data, we examine how exposure to instructional practices influences math test scores at the end of kindergarten for children from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and for children with different levels of math skills at kindergarten entry. We also analyze the relationship between socioeconomic background and math academic readiness within racial/ethnic categories. Our results demonstrate that race/ethnicity and levels of math academic readiness moderate the relationship between instructional practices and math achievement. While we find that interactive group activities enhance students' mathematics achievement in kindergarten and that drills enhance math academic achievement of students with high math academic preparedness in kindergarten, we also find that use of manipulatives as well as music and movement have significant negative effects on mathematics achievement of Black students. Given the importance of kindergarten for launching children onto successful academic trajectories, the findings have implications for addressing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status gaps in mathematics achievement. the elementary school journal volume 115, number 1

Research paper thumbnail of Smooth and rough roads to academic achievement: Retention and race/class disparities in high school

Social Science Research, 2006

Educational and psychological researchers have long debated the relationship between retention an... more Educational and psychological researchers have long debated the relationship between retention and achievement. However, quantitative research on achievement trajectories has neglected this important variable. Given that retention policies are being institutionalized in schools, it is important to understand the relationship between retention and achievement trajectories. We examine the National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988–1992 to determine if reading and mathematical achievement

Research paper thumbnail of Demographic Characteristics of High School Math and Science Teachers and Girls' Success in STEM

Given the prestige and compensation of science and math-related occupations, the un-derrepresenta... more Given the prestige and compensation of science and math-related occupations, the un-derrepresentation of women and people of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors (STEM) perpetuates entrenched economic and social inequities. Explanations for this underrepresentation have largely focused on individual characteristics, including uneven academic preparation, as well as institutional factors at the college level. In this article, we focus instead on high schools. We highlight the influence of the intersection between race and gender of female math and science teachers on students' decisions to major in STEM fields. Theoretically, this article extends the political science concept of representative bureaucracy to the issue of women's and disadvantaged minorities' underrepre-sentation in STEM majors. We analyze longitudinal data from public school students in North Carolina to test whether organizational demography of high school math and science faculty has an association with college major choice and graduation. Using hierarchical pro-bit models with an instrumental-variable approach, we find that young white women are more likely to major in STEM fields and to graduate with STEM degrees when they come from high schools with higher proportions of female math and science teachers, irrespective of the race of the teacher. At the same time, these teachers do not depress young white or African American men's chances of majoring in STEM. Results for African American women are less conclusive, highlighting the limitations of their small sample size.