The goal of IPSI’s publications is to provide expert, balanced, data-based information on IPSI, University of Texas, and state and national programs, practices and research. These policy forums and publications explore key issues both in Texas and throughout the nation relevant to our mission to improve the P-16 pipeline and student college readiness, access, and success.
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How About a Trip to Finland?
Darvin M. Winick, Ph.D.
Institute for Public School Initiatives
March, 2012
The current volume of pronouncements on how poorly US students do on international academic assessments pushes us to anticipate a pending decline in our country’s economy unless we emulate the school systems of allegedly higher performing foreign school systems. Quickly, off to Finland or Singapore to find out how to educate students successfully, we are told.
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From Chaos to Tranquility: One School's Transformation
Becki Krsnak, M.Ed. and Daryl Michel, Ph.D.
Institute for Public School Initiatives
October, 2011
Imagine driving up to an urban middle school in the early afternoon to pick up your child or attend a parent conference. As you approach the school, you observe students wandering around in the grass, sitting on the steps, and talking to friends when you know they belong in class. Students are wearing clothes that break the school's dress code policy. You wonder what is happening.
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Will Individual Teacher Pay for Performance Schemes Increase Student Performance – Probably Not?
Darvin M. Winick, Ph.D.
Institute for Public School Initiatives
December, 2011
Pay for performance is not a new concept. Incentive pay plans have been around for a long time and the makeup of a good plan are well known. We have learned over time to increase performance, a plan needs to be understandable to participants and considered fair and potentially valuable. How do we design a plan to satisfy these needs?
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They Are Not Going to Let Them Fail
Teresa Tipton, M.A. and Daryl Michel, Ph.D.
Institute for Public School Initiatives
October, 2011
Educators might agree that middle school presents its own unique challenges, especially with today’s expectation that schools bring all students to high levels of achievement. Adolescent illiteracy is quantified each year in “The Nation’s Report Card”—the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—which reports that more than two-thirds of the nation’s eighth graders read below the proficient level, with approximately a quarter unable to read at even the most basic level (NAEP 2009). What can we do to turn these dismal statistics around and help all students reach common curriculum standards? One method of improvement is to study campuses that have successfully ensured that every student learns and that every member of the learning community is held to high expectations.
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Best Practices in Reading: A Study of 16 Texas Reading First Campuses
Reflection is an essential part of the learning process (Schon, 1987). After implementing new practices, it is important for practitioners to look back in an effort to continually improve educational experiences for students. As Texas Reading First neared the end of implementation, a self-study was initiated focusing on effective instructional practices that had been implemented over the course of the grant period. What worked well? What can others learn from us? What can we do better? The Study/Demonstration Site Project sought to first identify effective practices, and then to study those practices in an effort to learn from practitioners and share their success with others at the local and state levels.
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An Analysis of Gaps in Funding for Charter Schools
and Traditional Districts
Debra S. Haas
March, 2009
While charter schools have many similarities to traditional public schools, one area in which they vastly differ is access to funding resources. While both systems are held to the same accountability standards, charter schools have much less access to resources. In Analysis of Gaps in Funding for Charter Schools and Traditional Districts, policy analyst Debra S. Haas provides details on the funding differences that put charters at a disadvantage, and provides suggestions to Texas policymakers on how to “even the playing field” to help charters continue providing innovative educational programs to meet diverse student needs. Some of the funds that traditional schools have that are not afforded to charter schools include: funding for facilities; lower borrowing rates through the Permanent School Fund; access to the local tax base and sum-certain funding; and size adjustments.
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Supporting Texas Strategic Compensation Programs:
Technical Assistance as a State Model
Heather Zavadsky, Ph.D., Elizabeth Barkowski, & Michael Volonnino
Institute for Public School Initiatives
November, 2009
With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the topic of alternative compensation programs has vaulted to the forefront in discussions of attracting, developing, and retaining, effective teachers in America’s classrooms. However, structuring programs that compensate educators in a way that is valid, manageable, and perceived as fair by educators remains a daunting task to districts. "Supporting Texas Strategic Compensation Programs: Technical Assistance as a State Model" explains the importance of providing state-level technical assistance for districts engaged in this work, and highlights the supports offered by the Texas Technical Assistance Center operated by IPSI.
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Market-Based Reform of Teacher Compensation
Michael Podgursky
Department of Economics, University of Missouri - Columbia
November, 2009
Educator compensation accounts for over 90% of instructional costs in public schools. However, teacher compensation, based primarily on years of experience and educational attainment, rewards factors unrelated to student achievement and inhibits a district’s ability to attract and retain effective teachers. In Market-Based Reform of Teacher Compensation, economist Michael Podgursky details how rigid salary schedules and retirement benefit systems impede alignment between teacher compensation, the teacher labor market, and teacher effectiveness.
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Evaluating Research for Policy Development
Fredrick M. Hess, Ph.D. & Heather Zavadsky, Ph.D.
December, 2009
The growing volume and accessibility to information and data, combined with increased demands to base decisions on “evidence,” has raised the need for policymakers and practitioners to skillfully evaluate the credibility and usefulness of research. "Evaluating Research for Policy and Development," authored by Fredrick M. Hess and Heather Zavadsky, provides simple guidelines and questions to ask when reviewing research before accepting its findings.
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Maximizing the Return on Texas' Educational Investment
in Pre-Kindergarten
Lori L. Taylor
December, 2009
Much research points to the importance of pre-school as a means to prepare children for Kindergarten. Recently, the Texas 81st legislative session intensely debated how much pre-school is recommended for children. "Maximizing the Return on Texas’ Education Investment in Pre-Kindergarten," written by Lori Taylor, an economist from the A&M Bush Policy School, discusses the issue through a lens of fiscal impact and investment.
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