Barbara Nye

How Large Are Teacher Effects

It is widely accepted that teachers differ in their effectiveness, yet the empirical evidence regarding teacher effectiveness is weak. The existing evidence is mainly drawn from econometric studies that use covariates to attempt to control for selection effects that might bias results. We use data from a four-year experiment in which teachers and students were randomly assigned to classes to estimate teacher effects on student achievement. Teacher effects are estimated as between-teacher (but within-school) variance components of achievement status and residualized achievement gains. Our estimates of teacher effects on achievement gains are similar in magnitude to those of previous econometric studies, but we find larger effects on mathematics achievement than on reading achievement. The estimated relation of teacher experience with student achievement gains is substantial, but is statistically significant only for 2nd-grade reading and 3rd-grade mathematics achievement. We also find much larger teacher effect variance in low socioeconomic status (SES) schools than in high SES schools.

The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review

A review of 39 studies indicated that achievement test scores decline over summer vacation. The results of the 13 most recent studies were combined using meta-analytic procedures. The meta-analysis indicated that the summer loss equaled about one month on a grade-level equivalent scale, or one tenth of a standard deviation relative to spring test scores. The effect of summer break was more detrimental for math than for reading and most detrimental for math computation and spelling. Also, middle-class students appeared to gain on grade-level equivalent reading recognition tests over summer while lower-class students lost on them. There were no moderating effects for student gender or race, but the negative effect of summer did increase with increases in students’ grade levels. Suggested explanations for the findings include the differential availability of opportunities to practice different academic material over summer (with reading practice more available than math practice) and differences in the material’s susceptibility to memory decay (with fact- and procedure-based knowledge more easily forgotten than conceptual knowledge). The income differences also may be related to differences in opportunities to practice and learn. The results are examined for implications concerning summer school programs and proposals concerning school calendar changes

Relationships among Attitudes about Homework, Amount of Homework Assigned and Completed, and Student Achievement.

Students (n = 709), parents, and teachers (n = 82) completed a questionnaire concerning amount of homework assigned by teachers, portion of assignments completed by students, and attitudes about homework. Student achievement measures were also collected. Weak relations were found between the amount of homework assigned and student achievement. Positive relations were found between the amount of homework students completed and achievement, especially at upper grades (6-12). At lower grades (2 and 4), teacher-assigned homework was related to negative student attitudes. At upper grades, teachers with more positive attitudes toward homework and those whose students performed more poorly on stantlardized tests reported assigning more homework. A path analysis for lower grades indicated that class grades were predicted only by standardized test scores and the proportion of homework completed by students. At upper grades, class grade predictors also included parent, teacher, and student attitudes.

The Effects of Small Classes on Academic Achievement: The Results of the Tennessee Class Size Experiment

The effects of class size on academic achievement have been studied for decades. Although the results of small scale randomized experiments and large-scale econometric studies point to positive effects of small classes, some scholar have seen the evidence as ambiguous. This paper reports analyses of a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size, project STAR in Tennessee. Although implementation was not perfect, these analyses suggest that shortcomings in implementation probably led to underestimates of the effects of class size. The analyses reported here suggest class size effects that are large enough to be important for educational policy and that are quite consistent across schools. Thus, small classes appear to benefit all kinds of students in all kinds of schools.

The long-term effects of small classes: A five-year follow-up of the Tennessee class size experiment

Reduction of class size to increase academic achievement is a policy option that is currently of great interest. Although the results of small-scale randomized experiments and some interpretations of large-scale econometric studies point to positive effects of small classes, the evidence has been seen by some scholars as ambiguous. Project STAR in Tennessee, a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size, provided persuasive evidence that small classes had immediate effects on academic achievement. However, it was not clear whether these effects would persist over time as the children returned to classes of regular size or would fade, as have the effects of most other early education interventions. This article reports analyses of a 5-year follow-up of the students in that experiment. The analyses described here suggest that class size effects persist for at least 5 years and remain large enough to be important for educational policy. Thus, small classes in early grades appear to have lasting benefits.

Do Low-Achieving Students Benefit More from Small Classes? Evidence from the Tennessee Class Size Experiment

Recent evidence about the effects of class size on academic achievement from randomized experiments points to positive effects of small classes. However, the evidence about the mechanism producing these effects is less clear. Some scholars have argued for mechanisms that would imply greater effects of small classes for low-achieving students. This article investigates possible differential effects of small classes on achievement using data from Project STAR, a four-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size. We examined the differential effects of small classes for students in the bottom half and bottom quarter, respectively, of their classs achievement distribution in kindergarten. Although small class effects are somewhat larger for low-achieving students in reading, the differential effects (interactions) are not statistically significant. Moreover, the small class effects for low-achieving students in mathematics are actually smaller than those for higher achieving students. Thus while there are unambiguous positive effects of small classes on achievement, there is no evidence for differentially larger effects of small classes for lower achieving students.

A Model of Homework's Influence on the Performance Evaluations of Elementary School Students.

Abstract This study was the first to test a model of the influence of homework on classroom performance using a sample of elementary school students. A total of 28 teachers in Grades 2 and 4 took part in the study, along with 428 students and parents. The authors used structural equation modeling to examine relationships among variables. Student norms were positively related to the elimination of distractions from homework by parents. Positive student norms, higher student ability, and positive parent attitudes toward homework were all related to greater parent facilitation. Students attitude toward homework was unrelated to home and community factors but was related positively to parent attitudes toward homework. Classroom grades were unrelated to students attitude toward homework but were predicted by how much homework the student completed (even after the use of homework in grading was controlled), by student ability, and by the amount of parent facilitation. More generally, parent facilitation was an important mediator of the relation between student norms, student ability, and parent attitudes toward homework, and the outcome of classroom grades.

Are Effects of Small Classes Cumulative? Evidence From a Tennessee Experiment

Abstract Some scholars argue that the effects of small classes in the early grades are not cumulative—that the benefits of small classes accrue in the 1st year of small classes. That argument suggests both policy implications and scientific questions of why additional benefits should not accrue from additional exposure to small classes. In this article, the cumulative effects of small classes on achievement were investigated with data from Project STAR, a 4-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size. Controlling for achievement in the previous-year small classes in Grades 1, 2, and 3 yielded additional positive effects on reading and mathematics achievement. Thus, there are additional (cumulative) effects of small classes after the 1st year that may be large enough to be important for education policy.

Homework for Students with Learning Disabilities The Implications of Research for Policy and Practice

The literature on homework for students with learning disabilities is reviewed. First, a summary of Coopers (1989a) synthesis of research on homework for students without disabilities is presented, including (a) a definition of homework, (b) a model of the homework process, (c) the results of a meta-analysis of homework studies, and (d) generic policy guidelines. Next, special education research on homework conducted after 1985 is described. The literature is divided into studies that manipulated homework conditions and homework-related surveys of teachers and parents. The results of the literature review suggest that homework policies and practices for students with learning disabilities should emphasize (a) simple, short assignments; (b) careful monitoring by and prominent rewards from teachers; and (c) parental involvement, especially to provide structure, conducive environments, and immediate rewards.

Carry-Over Effects of Small Classes.

Abstract A two‐part follow‐up study was conducted of students in grade 4 who had participated in the reduced class size experiment during the preceding years. Outcome measures included a range of norm referenced and criterion referenced achievement tests and teachers’ ratings of the youngsters’ effort, initiative taking, and disruptive behavior in the fourth grade classroom. Statistically significant carry‐over effects of small classes were found on every achievement measure. Significant differences were also found in participation levels between students who had attended small classes and those in regular classes, but these were not as consistent as the impact on cognitive performance. The confirmed consequences of placing youngsters in classes with 12 to 17 pupils need to be supplemented by research on other outcomes in order to compare the complete range of benefits with the relatively large monetary costs that could be incurred.