Education policy at American Institutes for Research and CALDER
Arlington, VA
Joined April 2016
- Tweets179
- Following70
- Followers181
- Likes46
Ben Backes retweeted
New CALDER paper by @_ZeyuXu_ & @brbackes finds that in 2-year colleges in @KCTCS, HS GPA is a stronger predictor of gateway course success than test scores-- though neither has very strong predictive power alone. Read the full paper to learn more: bit.ly/4iNTibV
ALT Figure 4 from CALDER Working Paper 318-0525
Still looking for 1-2 more papers- please get in touch if thinking of submitting something value-added-ish to #2025APPAM
xitter.cf/shahh_hema/status/1908…
Looking to form/join a panel at #2025APPAM with my JMP!
I estimate teacher value added on ACT scores, then look at impacts on college enrollment & college performance. Message me if you have a related paper on teacher/school VA or predictors of college enrollment/ performance!
Ben Backes retweeted
Publication alert! Our @caldercenter
paper on inclusion and special education teacher attrition in MA, w/ @brbackes, @jecowan,
@CEDR_US, & Zeyu Jin, is now published in JLD. Abstract and links below!
Published: tinyurl.com/p5hvfdwx
Ungated: tinyurl.com/3t94s45f
Ben Backes retweeted
Want to learn more about what different measures tell us about the quality of the teacher workforce? Check out this new CALDER Brief by @brbackes, @jecowan, @DeArmondMM, @CEDR_US & @RoddyTheobald based on findings from the paper below.
Brief: caldercenter.org/publication…
Excited to finally release into the wild our @caldercenter Working Paper that examines the relationship between both test and non-test value added and student long-run outcomes (i.e., college enrollment) (with @jecowan, @RoddyTheobald, and @CEDR_US)
caldercenter.org/publication…
Ben Backes retweeted
@brbackes, James Cowan, Dan Goldhaber (@CEDR_US) & @RoddyTheobald connect "nontest" teacher performance markers, such as absences and grade progression, to student college enrollment with important findings for #EducationEquity.
doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1023-131…
Now published! jhr.uwpress.org/content/earl…
Excited to finally release into the wild our @caldercenter Working Paper that examines the relationship between both test and non-test value added and student long-run outcomes (i.e., college enrollment) (with @jecowan, @RoddyTheobald, and @CEDR_US)
caldercenter.org/publication…
Ben Backes retweeted
A big thanks to @NCTQ for their write up of our (@brbackes, @jecowan, @CEDR_US) research on emergency license teachers in MA. This paper is now out in EER, see below for the paper and one page summary!
Published paper: sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
One pager: caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
In the past four years, almost every state has lowered its entry standards for teaching. NCTQ President @HeatherPeske knows this all too well, as she was one of those state policymakers in Massachusetts.
At first, the policy impact seemed slight. New research says otherwise 👇
Pleased to say that this article is now published in EER! @jecowan @RoddyTheobald @CEDR_US
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
New working paper! With @jecowan @CEDR_US @RoddyTheobald
We examine a pandemic-era policy in Massachusetts that allowed prospective teachers to become licensed to teach without first completing typical requirements such as licensure testing. caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
New working paper! With @jecowan @CEDR_US @RoddyTheobald
We examine a pandemic-era policy in Massachusetts that allowed prospective teachers to become licensed to teach without first completing typical requirements such as licensure testing. caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
We do *not* find any evidence that differences across Emergency license cohorts are explained by prior contact with teacher pipeline, such as being employed in MA public schools, enrolling in prep, etc. Instead, there appear to be unobservable differences driven by selection
Ben Backes retweeted
It feels crazy that, in these times of school staffing challenges, we're likely facing staff layoffs in coming years as we reach the ESSER fiscal cliff. See ⬇️ for Dan's overview of our attempt, with Grace Falken, to quantify the likely impact on the public school workforce in WA
As promised, we just released a new @caldercenter paper on how ESSER funding INFLUENCED school system hiring in WA. In particular, we are estimating the number of school system employees got hired that wouldn't have in the absence of ESSER funds.
1/n
Ben Backes retweeted
See below for Dan's thread about our new @caldercenter paper on teacher education program admissions. I rarely get to do new things in this job, and I loved learning about and doing our first conjoint analysis as part of this paper!
Most teachers are prepared at university-based prep programs. So, who these programs recruit & admit goes a long way to shaping the teacher workforce. What do faculty value in STEM applicants? We (many authors) asked them!
tinyurl.com/bdf7xryx
1/n
New! With @DrMikeHansen, we examine whether there's any evidence that TFA impacts on test scores translate to improvements in other measurable student outcomes
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.…
Hot off the press: a very long-gestating paper with @jecowan (we wrote the proposal for this work in 2016!) looking at statewide online test transitions and test mode penalties
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…
In contrast to an earlier test transition in MA and what @arielchris3 @orgul_ozturk & @gordanier found in South Carolina (direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-…), we find minimal mode effects in MA's more recent test administration
Ben Backes retweeted
{New} When COVID hit, states granted waivers to allow teachers "emergency" licenses without their normal training.
Were those teachers worse?
Today @The74 I dig into research from @brbackes @CEDR_US @abacherhicks @OliviaLChi which suggests maybe not: the74million.org/article/eme…
