Trey Miller

Effects of Dual-Language Immersion Programs on Student Achievement: Evidence From Lottery Data

Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, and science and on English learners’ (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13% to 22% of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners’ probabilities of remaining classified as EL are 3 to 4 percentage points lower than those of their counterparts. This effect is stronger for ELs whose native language matches the partner language.

Teaching Practices and Language Use in Two-Way Dual Language Immersion Programs in a Large Public School District.

ABSTRACT Many educators and policy makers look to two-way dual language immersion as one of the most promising options to close achievement gaps for English learners. However, the programs’ effectiveness depends on the quality of their implementation. This article reports on a large-scale study of the implementation of dual language immersion across a large, urban school district. Using classroom observations, we examined teaching practices and language use by teachers and students in dual language immersion classrooms across an entire school district. We found strong implementation of teaching practices consistent with sheltered instruction and strong adherence by teachers to partner language use as prescribed by the district’s guidelines. This article provides a descriptive view of what is happening in two-way dual language immersion classrooms in a large, urban U.S. school district. While other studies may examine classroom practices, few have done so on this scale.

Non-Citizen Mexican Youth in US Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment

This paper examines state policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the Current Population Survey (1997–2010), we assess changes in college enrollment among Mexican-born non-citizens — a proxy for the undocumented population. In contrast to previous analyses, we find that policies extending in-state tuition to undocumented youth do not directly affect rates of college enrollment. However, we find that Mexican-born non-citizen youth residing in states that deny in-state tuition have a 12.1 percentage point lower probability of being enrolled in college than their peers living in states with no such policies.

Premigration School Quality, Time Spent in the United States, and the Math Achievement of Immigrant High School Students

Using a nationally representative sample of 1,189 immigrant youth in American high schools, we examine whether the quality of education in their country of origin is related to post-migration math achievement in the 9th grade. To measure the quality of their education in the country of origin, we use country-specific average test scores from two international assessments: the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). We find that the average PISA or TIMSS scores for immigrant youth’s country of origin are positively associated with their performance on the 9th grade post-migration math assessment. We also find that each year spent in the United States is positively associated with performance on the 9th grade post-migration math assessment, but this effect is strongest for immigrants from countries with low PISA/TIMSS scores.

Effects of Dual-Language Immersion on Students’ Academic Performance

Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion on students’ test scores in reading, mathematics, and science, and on English learners’ (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in fifth and eighth grades, ranging from 13 to 22 percent of a standard deviation, reflecting 7 to 9 months of learning. We find little benefit in terms of mathematics and science performance, but also no detriment. By sixth and seventh grade, lottery winners’ probabilities of remaining classified as EL are three to four percentage points lower than those of their counterparts. This effect is stronger for ELs whose native language matches the partner language.

Innovative Pathways Through Developmental Education and Postsecondary Success: An Examination of Developmental Math Interventions Across Texas

ABSTRACT This study assessed alternative course delivery for developmental education (DE) math and student outcomes in community colleges in Texas. We examined 2 innovative interventions: (a) study skills courses offered alongside DE math and (b) DE math courses that are shorter than a full semester. Our model leveraged detailed demographic information and DE placement exam scores to compare students in these interventions to similar students in traditional DE math. We found that students in shorter courses were 12% more likely to pass DE math and 2% more likely to pass a first college-level (FCL) math course within a year. Likewise, students also enrolled in a study skills course were 4% more likely to pass DE math, 1% more likely to pass FCL math within a year, and 4% more likely to persist to the next college year. These findings suggest that emerging reforms to DE show promise and deserve further study.

Dual Credit Education in Texas: Interim Report

Dual credit (DC) education allows high school students to take college-level courses that simultaneously provide credit toward a high school diploma and a college degree. This report provides an initial perspective on the accessibility, diversity, quality, and efficiency of DC education programs in Texas. It also proposes areas of DC education to investigate in the second phase of the study.

Information and College Decisions: Evidence From the Texas GO Center Project:

We study GO Centers, a college information program that is run by student peers and provides information about all aspects of the college-going process to academically prepared students on the margin of attending college. We use the semi-random rollout of the program along with detailed panel data on the universe of Texas public school students to identify both short- and long-term program impacts. GO Centers led to a large increase in college application rates and a small increase in college enrollment rates, yet no increase in college completion rates. These results underscore the need to assess long-term outcomes in evaluations of educational interventions targeting college enrollment, and suggest that students at the margin of enrolling in college may require additional supports during college to successfully complete college degrees.

Can We Explain Gender Differences in Officer Career Progression

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RANDs publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Preface In 2011, the congressionally mandated Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC) concluded that two factors contributed to the underrepresentation among senior military leaders of racial and ethnic minority and female officers: lower rates of promotion than white male officers and, in the case of midlevel female officers, lower retention. Left unclear is the relative contribution of each. That is, to what extent is the lack of representation mostly because of lower retention, lower promotion rates, or both? The MLDC relied, in part, on the results of an earlier RAND study that tracked the retention and promotion of officers, using data on officer cohorts entering between 1967 and 1991 and tracking them through 1994. Because the results of this earlier study are dated, the Office of the Secretary of Defense asked RAND to update the study, using more-recent data. The Office of the Secretary of Defense also requested that RAND provide information on what explains gender differences in the officer career pipeline. The updated analysis was conducted in the first phase of our research, summarized in Beth Asch, Trey Miller, and Alessandro Malchiodi, A New Look at Gender and Minority Differences in Officer Career Progression in the Military (2012). The second phase of the research is summarized in this report and addresses the question of what explains gender differences in the officer career pipeline. The analysis should be of interest to the policy community concerned about the career progression of minority and female officers and the military manpower research community. Summary An ongoing concern of personnel managers in the Department of Defense (DoD) is the lack of diversity among senior …

Implementing Two-Way Dual-Language Immersion Programs: Classroom Insights from an Urban District

Dual-language immersion programs—in which students learn core subjects (language arts, math, science, and social studies) in both English and a “partner” language—have been gaining in popularity across the United States. Such programs may use a two-way model, in which roughly half the students are native speakers of the partner language and the other half are native speakers of English, or a one-way model, in which most students are native speakers of a single language. The growing demand for these programs is due in part to studies that have linked dual-language immersion to academic and cognitive benefits for students, regardless of their native language or socioeconomic status. Based on these findings, many educators and policymakers see dual-language immersion, and particularly two-way programs, as a promising way to close achievement gaps and foster academic success for English learners and other disadvantaged students. As two-way dual-language immersion programs proliferate, the question of how and how well these programs are implemented will take on greater significance. The fidelity of implementation—whether a program is implemented according to its original design—may play an important role in the success of these programs. The Portland Public School District in Oregon has offered dual-language immersion programs since 1986. To understand how such programs are implemented in classrooms, the RAND Corporation and the American Councils for International Education partnered with the district to observe teachers and students in a subset of Portland’s twoway and one-way immersion classrooms. The observations were undertaken as part of a four-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to assess the causal impact of dual-language immersion programs on students’ academic achievement. The observation data discussed here were collected from the district’s two-way programs in Spanish and Russian in spring 2013 and spring 2014. Data collection focused on two important aspects of fidelity of implementation: the extent to which teachers used the instructional practices recommended by the district (i.e., quality of delivery) and the extent to which teachers and students spoke or wrote in the partner language during class periods designed to be conducted in that language (i.e., adherence to the model). This research brief summarizes key findings from the observation data and offers a descriptive view of classroom practices in two-way programs in the district.