Andrew A. Beveridge

How Does Test Exemption Affect Schools' and Students' Academic Performance?.

Analyzing data from a large urban district in Texas, this study examines how high-stakes test exemptions alter officially reported scores and asks whether test exemption has implications for the academic achievement of special education students. Test exemption inflated overall passing rates but especially affected the passing rates of African American and Hispanic students because these students were more likely to be exempted. Furthermore, our results suggest that tested special education students in Grades 3 through 8 performed better academically than they would have if they were not tested. However, taking the high-stakes test provided no academic benefit to special education students in Grades 9 through 11.

Survey estimates of drug-use trends in urban communities: general principles and cautionary examples.

Surveys to depict substance abuse rates and monitor trends in specific areas have become increasingly important policy tools. Yet, as illustrated by two national multiwave surveys, using small sample survey data and making longitudinal comparisons is fraught with interpretative problems. In the case of the metropolitan area “over-sample” of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, for example, interpreting apparent declines in drug use has to take account of the devastating effects of Hurricane Andrew in the Miami Metropolitan area. In the case of a 41-community survey sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to evaluate substance abuse prevention, the difficulty is how to interpret small differences in drug use, which seem to follow no reasonable pattern with respect to treatment or comparison sites. Inferences from such surveys are confounded with statistical anomalies and unforeseen events. They are limited by the sample size. In part, the solution to these problems is to use other survey and nonsurvey data to validate their conclusions and to note their limitations. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]

Neighborhood Crime Victimization, Drug use and Drug Sales: Results from the “Fighting Back” Evaluation

A fundamental premise of the “Fighting Back” program was the existence of a direct causal relationship between drug use and crime. Using data from the evaluation of the program and spatial hierarchical models, we examine whether drug use and the presence of visible drug sales lead to elevated levels of three types of crime: assault, burglary, and theft. Our analysis controls for neighborhood disadvantage, racial and Hispanic concentration, percent renter occupied, and population density. For crime victimization rates by neighborhood, we find that for burglary, neighborhood disadvantage, the presence of visible drug sales, and drug use are related to victimization. None of the control variables demonstrate a significant impact on burglary victimization. For assault, only neighborhood disadvantage and visible drug sales are statistically significant, and for theft, only visible drug sales influence the rate of criminal activity. Considering the Fighting Back intervention, there are no differences in changing crime patterns of reported burglary, assault, and theft from 1983 through 1995 and no differences in the pattern of changing crime victimization rates for 1997 to 1999 between the Fighting Back and comparison sites. Possible reasons for the lack of effects of drug use prevention programs in crime reduction and possible alternative strategies are also discussed.

Commonalities and Contrasts in the Development of Major United States Urban Areas: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis from 1910 to 2000

Using newly available data, simple measures, and recently developed spatial analysis techniques, this paper addresses the following questions: 1) What are the general patterns of growth and decline in United States urban settlements from early in the twentieth century through 2000? 2) How varied are the patterns found? Do they vary by urban area or by period? 3) For three major metropolises in the United States, is the pattern of growth similar over the entire history of each city? How are they different or similar? Relying upon the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) data for census tracts from 1910 to 2000, this paper uses comparable data to assess patterns of growth in all urban areas with available data in the United States. Findings indicate that cities grew away from their centres in the early decades, but growth was more patterned in Chicago and Los Angeles than in the New York area. Later, growth and decline coexisted in similar zones; by 2000, no patterning was apparent in any of the three major metropolises. Implications are drawn for further research.

Microcomputers as work stations for sociologists

Microcomputers are making their way into the departments, institutions and homes of most sociologists. After a brief overview of the directions of computer and microcomputer evolution and of the microcomputers present uses, I offer specific advice about the use and purchase of microcomputers for sociologists engaged in research, teaching and administration.

Does Gaming the System Affect Students' Academic Achievement?

A growing body of evidence suggests that schools use test exemption to game educational accountability systems. However, it is not known whether test exemption affects students’ academic progress. Analyzing data from an urban school district in Texas, we find that special education students make larger achievement gains when they are tested. Using our most conservative estimates, the effect of being tested is approximately .40 standard deviations in reading and .28 standard deviations in math for grades 3-8. Because special education students are more likely to be minority and poor students and these students are more likely to be exempted than their white and non-poor special education counterparts, the exemption of special education students contributes to the growth of black-white, Hispanic-white, and high-low socioeconomic status achievement gaps.