TEACHER AND INSTRUCTIONAL REFORM POLICY
Overview
CEPEG faculty are local and national leaders in studying and leading change in the area of teacher and instructional reform policies and their impact for historically disadvantaged students. Recognizing that a high-quality teacher is the most important school-based input into students’ achievement and equitable long-term outcomes for students, Center members have engaged deeply in understanding teacher labor markets, as well as policies intended to improve teacher quality and instruction, particularly in urban settings. Co-Director Julie Marsh has studied a range of teacher policies, including new teacher evaluation systems, coaching initiatives, and efforts to support teachers in using student learning data to improve practice and outcomes for underrepresented students. Co-Director Burch has studied the implementation and impact of professional learning communities, class size reduction, and online learning programs. Co-Director Robles leverages her experience as former Superintendent for the Los Angeles County Office of Education to advance leadership for equity. In addition to teaching in Rossier’s doctoral and masters programs, she is responsible for the development of a new online Master’s degree program in school leadership, leading program development in conjunction with faculty, external organizations and experts. Center researcher David M. Quinn has studied the effects of program management approaches (such as fidelity of implementation versus structured adaptation), and of resources, on teachers’ learning, instruction, and practices that promote teacher learning and instructional improvement. He has also studied the potential of reforms related to summer learning to improve academic outcomes for low-income students.
A list of recent publications and projects is available below.
Blended learning
Burch, P., Good, A, & Heinrich, C. (2016). Improving Access to, Quality, and the Effectiveness of Digital Tutoring in K–12 Education, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(1), 65-87. Published online July, 2015.
Data quality and use
Bertrand, M., & Marsh, J. A., (2015). Teachers’ Sensemaking of Data and Implications for Equity, American Educational Research Journal, 52(5), 861-893.
Hough, H., Willis, J., Grunow, A., Krausen, K., Kwon, S., Mulfinger, L.S., & Park, S. (2017). Continuous improvement in practice. Stanford, CA: PACE. http://www.edpolicyinca.org/publications/continuous-improvement-in-practice.
Huguet, A., Marsh, J.A. & Farrell, C. C. (2014). Building Teachers’ Data-use Capacity: Insights from Strong and Developing Coaches. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(52).
Marsh, J. A., & Farrell, C. C. (2014). How Leaders Can Support Teachers with Data-driven Decision Making: A framework for understanding capacity building, Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 269-289.
Marsh, J. A., Farrell, C. C., & Bertrand, M. (2016). Trickle-Down Accountability: How Middle School Teachers Engage Students in Data Use, Educational Policy, 30(2), 243-280.
Marsh, J.A., & McCaffrey, D. (2011). What are achievement gains worth — to teachers? Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 52-56.
Instructional Reform
Allbright, T. N., Marsh, J. A., Kennedy, K. E., Hough, H. J., & McKibben, S. (in press). Social-emotional learning practices: insights from outlier schools. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning.
Kim, J. S., Burkhauser, M. A., Quinn, D. M., Guryan, J., Kingston, H. C., & Aleman, K. (2017). Effectiveness of Structured Teacher Adaptations to an Evidence-based Summer Literacy Program. Reading Research Quarterly, 52, 443-467. doi:10.1002/rrq.178.
Kim, J. S., Guryan, J. White, T., Quinn, D.M., Capotosto, L., & Kingston, H. C. (2016). The Delayed Effects of a Low-Cost and Large-Scale Summer Reading Intervention on Elementary School Children’s Reading Comprehension. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 9(S1), 1-22. doi: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1164780.
Kim, J. S., & Quinn, D. M. (2013). The Effects of Summer Reading on Low Income Children’s Literacy Achievement from Kindergarten to Grade 8: A Meta-analysis of Classroom and Home Interventions. Review of Educational Research, 83(3): 386-431. doi:10.3102/0034654313483906.
Kim, J.S. & Quinn, D.M. (2013, September 17). Effects of Home-based and School-based Summer Literacy Programs [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://edpolicyinca.org/blog/effects-home-based-and-school-based-summer-literacy-programs.
Marsh, J. A., McKibben, S., Hough, H., Hall, M., Allbright, T. N., Matewos, A. M., Siqueira, C. (2018). Enacting Social-Emotional Learning: Practices and Supports Employed in CORE Districts and Schools. Policy Analysis for California Education
Polikoff, M. P. & Porter, A. C. (2014). Instructional Alignment as a Measure of Teaching Quality. Educational Evaluation and and Policy Analysis, 36(4): 399-416.
Polikoff, M. S. (2018). The challenges of curriculum materials as a reform lever. Brookings Evidence Speaks Reports, 2(58), 1-11.
Polikoff, M. P. & Struthers, K. (2013). Changes in the Cognitive Complexity of English Instruction: The moderating effects of school and classroom characteristics. Teachers College Record, 15(8), 1-26.
Quinn, D. M., & Kim, J. S. (2017). Scaffolding Fidelity and Adaptation in Educational Program Implementation: Experimental Evidence from a Literacy Intervention. American Educational Research Journal, 54, 1187-1220. doi: 10.3102/0002831217717692.
Quinn, D.M., & Polikoff, M. (2017). Summer Learning Loss: What is it and what can we do about it? Retrieved from the Brookings Institution Website: https://www.brookings.edu/research/summer-learning-loss-what-is-it-and-what-can-we-do-about-it/.
Professional development and coaching
Lockwood, J.R., Sloan-McCombs, J. & Marsh, J. (2010). “Linking reading coaches and student achievement: Evidence from Florida middle schools, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32(3), 372-388.
Marsh, J., McCombs, J.S., & Martorell, F. (2012). Reading coach quality: Findings from Florida middle schools. Literacy Research and Instruction, 51(1), 1-26. Published online December 16, 2011: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2010.518662
Quinn, D. M., & Kim, J.S. (2017). Experimental Effects of Program Management Approach on Teachers’ Professional Ties and Social Capital. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Advanced online publication. doi: 10.3102/0162373717742198.
Teacher evaluation
Bush-Mecenas, S. & Marsh, J. (2017, November 29). Getting Teachers On Board with Evaluations [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.future-ed.org/work/getting-teachers-on-board-with-evaluations/
Kane, T. J., Blazar, D., Gehlbach, H., Greenberg, M., Quinn, D. M., Thal, D. (2019). “Can Video Technology Improve Teacher Evaluations? an Experimental Study.” Education Finance and Policy. Advanced online publication.
Marsh, J. A., Bush-Mecenas, S., Strunk, K. O., Lincove, J. A., & Huguet, A. (2017). Evaluating Teachers in the Big Easy: How Organizational Context Shapes Policy Responses in New Orleans, Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, 39(4), 539-570.
Marsh, J., Bush-Mecenas, S., Strunk, K., Lincove, J.A., & Huguet, A. (2017). How do schools respond to state policies on teacher evaluation? Education Research Alliance Policy Brief. New Orleans, LA: Tulane University. https://educationresearchalliancenola.org/publications/how-do-schools-respond-to-state-policies-on-teacher-evaluation
Quinn, D. M., Thomas J. K., Greenberg, M., & Thal, D. (2018). Effects of a Video-Based Teacher Observation Program on the De-privatization of Instruction: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment. Educational Administration Quarterly. Advanced online publication.
Strunk, K. O., Marsh, J. A., & Bruno, P. (2017). An Effective Teacher for Every Student: Developing a research agenda to further policy change. PACE Policy Brief. Stanford, CA: PACE.
White, R. (2018). Who do state policy makers listen to? The case of teacher evaluation. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(8).
Teacher labor market
Marsh, J. (2011). The debate over teacher merit pay: A Freakonomics quorum. http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/20/the-debate-over-teacher-merit-pay-a-freakonomics-quorum/
Marsh, J. & McCaffrey, D.F. (2011). Did New York’s Schoolwide Performance Bonus Program have what it takes to improve schools? Phi Delta Kappan, 93(4), 52-56. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/003172171109300413
Strunk, K. O., Cowen, J. M., Goldhaber, D., Marianno, B. D., Kilbride, T., & Theobald, R. (2017). It is in the Contract: How the Policies Set in Teachers Unions Collective Bargaining Agreements Vary Across States and Districts. Educational Policy, 32(2), 280-312
Teacher evaluation
Investigating Teacher Evaluation in New Orleans. Education Alliance for New Orleans, Tulane University and Arnold Foundation. Co-Principal Investigator (with Katharine Strunk), 2014 – 2015. This project examined responses to the state teacher evaluation policy in a sample of charter schools in New Orleans, drawing on case study methods.
A Five-Year Evaluation of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Teacher Incentive Fund Grant. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)/US Department of Education. Co-Principal Investigator (with Katharine Strunk), 2013 – 2016. This project was an independent evaluation of the LAUSD Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant which was intended to support and scale the district’s ongoing human capital reform efforts to improve the quality of teaching and, ultimately, student achievement across the district. Drawing on principal and teacher surveys, system-level interviews, and school case studies, the purpose of this formative and summative evaluation was to monitor the district’s progress towards achieving the TIF grant objectives and to examine the implementation and outcomes of the activities funded by the grant.
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