This book informs the American Education Stakeholders about the importance of empowering our learners with new knowledge, skills, and ability to help them become more effective and influential in society. The United States ranks 25th on the list of OECD countries in its overall poverty gap between people in poverty and affluent people, and ranks 26th in its poverty gap for children born into poverty and children from affluent families. Considering new educational funding measures at the federal, state, and local levels, the American educational system must focus on implementing programs that equip children with multidimensional human capital that enables them to be upwardly mobile, particularly in an era of intense technological change with the expansion of automation and artificial intelligence. These goals are not new. We believe that now is an important time to articulate and commit to the transmission of human capital for children and identify the practices that best promote it. This book aims to make recommendations to educational programming that should be invested in that has shown potential in mitigating the opportunity gap and increasing human capital. With long aftershocks, the pandemic's dramatically decreased educational opportunities may mean that America's future workforce will be devastated by the declining number of children in our pre-K-12 system, a phenomenon predicted to begin showing its effects in 2025, with a higher number of students projected to be below grade level in skilled areas. Simply increasing funding will have little impact in driving improved outcomes if the funds are not used wisely; indeed, expenditures per student have roughly tripled since 1960. This book recommends a systems-level approach to the American education system. The authors believe that without deeply considering the underlying incentives and governance of educational programming initiatives, more money alone will not solve the skills gap and declining out comes among learners. This handbook will be essential to state and local entities to make systemic recommendations to practitioners, college professors, and researchers.
Goldy Brown III is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Whitworth University's Education Administration Program. He has served as a former professor and routine guest speaker in college courses, where he has gained valuable experience leading college level discussions on educational foundations and leadership. In addition, he has conducted seminars on "what principals look for when hiring a teacher." He also has seven years of experience as a K-12 leader, serving as a principal. Schools that he led received four state recognition awards for closing the achievement gap between low-income and affluent students. Dr. Brown has also published articles on school leadership. His research focuses on Leading for traditionally underserved students and effective educational programming & policy for traditionally underserved students. Christos A. Makridis serves as a Research Professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business in Arizona State University, a Digital Fellow at the Digital Economy Lab in Stanford University, a Non-resident Fellow at the Institute for Religious Studies at Baylor University, a Senior Adviser at Gallup, and a Senior Adviser on the National Artificial Intelligence Institute at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Christos previously served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers managing the cybersecurity, technology, and space activities, as a Non-resident Fellow at the Cyber Security Project in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, as a Digital Fellow at the Initiative at the Digital Economy in the MIT Sloan School of Management, and as a Visiting Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Christos earned a Bachelor's in Economics and Minor in Mathematics at Arizona State University, as well a dual Masters and PhDs in Economics and Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University. https://www.christosmakridis.com/
Introduction Section I: Educational Programs that have Produced Some Positive Results Chapter 1: The Economic Value of Parent and Community Involvement (Albert A. Cheng & Bob Maranto) Changing Family Structure, Schools, and Society School and Family Inputs The Education Production Function The Coleman Report Waning Attention to Family Inputs Waxing Attention Paid School Finance Family Inputs and Children's Outcomes Sociology Research and Evidence Evidence from the Understanding American Study Educational Research on Parent Involvement and Community Engagement Evaluations of Family Support Interventions Implications for Policy and Practice and Future Research Chapter 2: Social Emotional Learning in Pre-K-12 Schools (Mark Brackett, Nicole Elbertson, Tangular A. Irby, & Krista L. Smith) RULER as a Case Study Best Practices in Equitable Implementation of SEL Commit to Making Equitable SEL a Priority Hire and Maintain a Diverse Staff to Instruct and Model SEL Get to Know Students to Ensure Lessons and Examples are Relevant and Meaningful Acknowledge Ethnocentrism and Bias in SEL Programs and Practices and Correct for Them Ensure SEL is Not Misused to Control Marginalized Groups Choose Words Carefully Ensure Accessibility of All Tools, Strategies, and Content Consider Using SEL as a Means to Transform Inequitable Settings and Systems Partner with Parents, Caregivers, and the Community Be Curious and Open to Feedback Use SEL for Prevention as Well as Intervention Monitor All SEL Efforts Over Time and Strive for Continuous Improvement Conclusion and Policy Implications Chapter 3: Quality and Intentionality: Making Afterschool Programs More Effective (Goldy Brown III) Taxonomy of Government-Funded Afterschool Interventions Academic Improvement Social Emotional Learning Exposure, Recreation, and STEM Improving Afterschool Programs: Quality & Intentionality Implementation Questions and Recommendations Recommendations for Programming Personnel and Attendance Funding Potential Cost-Effective Analysis Preventing Negative Behavior Further Research Regarding Afterschool Programming Chapter 4: Career, Technical, & Higher Education Opportunities for Traditionally Underserved Students (Walter Ecton) Background and Evidence on CTE Outcomes Vocational Education in the International Context Examining CTE in Today's Context Data Descriptive Findings Methods Results and Discussion Recommendations for Policy and Practice Define Intended Outcomes for Specific CTE Programs Build Partnerships to Strengthen CTE Programs Only Offer High-Quality, Relevant CTE Programs Ensure Access to CTE for the Students Who Stand to Benefit Most Focus on Equitable Participation in CTE Opportunities for Future Research and Questions for Policymakers Chapter 5: Turning Hurdles into Launch Pads: Improving Equity and Efficiency through Increased High School Graduations in the United States (Aidan Vining & David Weimer) Available Evidence on Ethnicity/Race (Minority) and Income Differences Why Does It Matter? The Social Value of High School Completion High School Graduation Shadow Prices for the United States Estimation Steps Estimation Issues Shadow Price Estimates Benefits and Discount Rates Benefits Including Externalities Applicability of the Estimates to Minority and Economically Disadvantaged Students Increasing Minority and Disadvantaged Student Graduation CBA and CEA Evidence Promising Interventions that Have Not (Yet) Been Shown to Offer Positive Net Benefits Conclusions and Policy Implications Section II: Changes Needed at the State and Local Level to Make Positive Results More Widespread Chapter 6: Getting Past the Current Trade-Off Between Privacy and Equity in Educational Technology (Ryan Baker) The Promise of Artificially Intelligent Educational Technology The Risk of Algorithmic Bias The Push Towards Prioritizing Privacy Alternative Ways to Protect Privacy While Improving Algorithmic Effectiveness Recommendations for State Educational Agencies and School Districts Provide Demographic Data to Vendors for the Purpose of Checking for Algorithmic Bias Incentivize Vendors to Conduct Algorithmic Bias Audits, or Conduct them Directly Rather than Asking Vendors to Delete Data, Ask them to Secure it Encourage Vendors to Adopt Data Infrastructures that Enable Privacy-Protecting Analyses Conclusions Chapter 7: Identifying, Establishing, and Distributing the Economic Value of the Classroom Teacher Matthew Springer & Christopher Brooks Quantifying the Economic Value of Teachers Maximizing Teacher Value: Policy Reforms to Compensation, Recruitment, Evaluation, and Retention The Problem: Teacher Compensation Policies Fail to Recognize the Value of Teachers Potential Policies for Improvement: Teacher Performance Incentives Challenges in Evaluating and Retaining the Most Effective and Valuable Teachers The Problem: Teacher Evaluation Systems Neither Adequately Differentiate Teachers by Ability Nor Emphasize the Economic Value of Teachers The Solution: Evaluation Systems that Emphasize Robust Measures of Value-Added The Problem: Teacher Retention is Low, Especially for Highly Effective Teachers, and School Leaders Have Limited Capacity for Removing Ineffective Teachers Potential Policies for Improvement: Tenure Reforms, Principal Accountability, and Increased Incentives Equity: How Can We Get the Most Effective Teachers to Work with the Least Advantaged Students Conclusion and Recommendations Compensation Evaluation Retention Distribution Chapter 8: Effective School Choice Systems in a State (Corey DeAngelis) Politicization of Public School COVID-19 Responses Incentives in the Governance of Public and Private Schools Empowering Families and Improving Outcomes Understanding the Incentives Behind Funding Students, Not Systems Implementable State Policy Recommendations K-12 Education's New Special Interest Chapter 9: The Economic Value of Expanding Effective Systemic School Changes that raise the achievement of Low-Income Students (F. Mike Miles) Ignoring System Principles A Different System Key Obstacles to Systemic Change The Navarre Point Other Obstacles Constraints of an Interconnected System Status Quo Bias Risk Aversion Failure to Assess the Future How to Change the System Eight Principles of a New Education System Learning Happens Everywhere and Anytime Learning is Personalized and Students Own their Learning Parents have Access to an Expanded Number of Choices of Schools and Programs The System Offers a New Employee Value Proposition and Compensation is Tied to what the System Values Most Learning is Increasingly Focused on How to Think and How to Learn The School, Community, and Family Provide Students with a Set of Required Experiences, Not Just Specific Courses Community Groups are Tapped to Educate Students in Many Non-Core Subjects Governing Entities Check and Balance one another and Encourage Innovation At the Operational Level A Focus on Outcomes Alignment Throughout the Organization Accountability Support Progress Monitoring Budget Priorities Compensation and Incentives Capacity Leadership Density System Principles Vision for the Future The Pace of Change Adaptability A Model for Systemic Reform The Pace of Change Reimagined Schools? About the Contributors References
