Poverty Interventions

All Research

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A Project of the Saguaro Seminar: Closing the Opportunity Gap

As rich and poor families have increasingly moved into separate communities, the character of neighborhood life in the United States has changed. This paper attempt to outlined several concrete steps to reduce economic segregation, rebuild communities, and narrow the opportunity gap. 

Closing the Opportunity Gap. (2016). A Project of the Saguaro Seminar. Retrieved from https://theopportunitygap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/april25.pdf

High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools: Research Review

This report reviews the research and strategies for achieving high levels of student performance in high poverty schools.

 

Center for Public Education. (2005, August 22). High-performing, high-poverty schools: Research review. Retrieved December 8, 2016, from Center for Public Education, http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/High-performing-high-poverty-schools-At-a-glance-/High-performing-high-poverty-schools-Research-review.html

Educating Amid Uncertainty: The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools

This study examined how uncertainty, both about students and the context in which they are taught, remains a persistent condition of teachers’ work in high-poverty, urban schools. Their conclusion: Traditional public schools are open systems and require systematic organizational responses to address the uncertainty introduced by their environments. Uncoordinated individual efforts alone are not sufficient to meet the needs of students in high-poverty urban communities.

Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., & Reinhorn, S. (2015). Educating amid uncertainty. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 753–790. doi:10.1177/0013161X15607617

Value Added of Teachers in High–Poverty Schools and Lower–Poverty Schools

This study examined the complex linkages between teacher quality and socio-economic-based disparities in student achievement. The gap in teacher quality appears to arise from the lower payoff to teacher qualifications in high-poverty schools. In particular, the experience-productivity relationship is weaker in high-poverty schools and is not related to teacher mobility patterns. Recruiting teachers with good credentials into high-poverty schools may be insufficient to narrow the teacher quality gap. Policies that promote the long-term productivity of teachers in challenging high-poverty schools appear key.

 

 

 

Sass, T., Hannaway, J., Xu, Z., Figlio, D., & Feng, L. (2016, June). Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower-poverty schools. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/research/publication/value-added-teachers-high-poverty-schools-and-lower-poverty-schools

Not Prepared for Class: High-Poverty Schools Continue to Have Fewer In-Field Teachers.

As Secretary of Education from 1993 to 2001, Richard Riley had serious concerns about out-of-field teaching. The practice— which places in core academic classes instructors who have neither certification nor a major in the subject field taught— just didn’t make sense to him.

Almy, S., & Theokas, C. (2010). Not Prepared for Class: High-Poverty Schools Continue to Have Fewer In-Field Teachers. Education Trust.

The effectiveness of a technologically facilitated classroom-based early reading intervention: The targeted reading intervention

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a classroom-teacher-delivered reading intervention for struggling readers called the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI), designed particularly for kindergarten and first-grade teachers and their struggling students in rural, low-wealth communities. 

Amendum, S. J., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Ginsberg, M. C. (2011). The effectiveness of a technologically facilitated classroom-based early reading intervention: The targeted reading intervention. The Elementary School Journal112(1), 107-131.

School Lunch Quality and Academic Performance

Providing children with nutritious school meals continues to be a topic of interest in education policy. It has been argued that a healthy diet can have a positive impact on childhood obesity as well as student achievement. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this popular intervention. A working paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research offers insights to help policy makers decide whether to select this option as a way to make a difference in children’s lives. The study, a natural experiment conducted in California public schools, uses a difference-in-difference regression statistical analysis of data from a treatment group and a control group at two or more different time periods, pre-treatment and post-treatment. The study found no evidence to support a reduction in obesity, but it did discover that introducing healthy meals was associated with a 0.036 standard deviation increase in test scores. The improved student achievement, although small, makes nutritious school lunches a viable cost-effective intervention that can boost test scores. It is important to remember that this is a correlational study and thus cannot establish a cause and effect relationship between healthy eating and student achievement.

 

Anderson, M. L., Gallagher, J., & Ritchie, E. R. (2017). School lunch quality and academic performance (NBER Working Paper No. 23218). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

An ecological model for school-based mental health services for urban low-income aggressive children

An ecological model for school-based mental health services that targets urban low-income aggressive children—a highly vulnerable and underserved population—is presented.

Atkins, M. S., McKay, M. M., Arvanitis, P., London, L., Madison, S., Costigan, C., ... & Bennett, D. (1998). An ecological model for school-based mental health services for urban low-income aggressive children. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research25(1), 64-75.

The Condition of Education, 2010 Spotlight: High-Poverty Schools

This report provides extensive data on the high-poverty schools and the students who attend them. It also provides information on principals, teachers, and staff who work in them.

Aud, S., Hussar, W., Planty, M., Snyder, T., Bianco, K., Fox, M., Frohlich, L., Kemp, J., Drake, L. (2010). The Condition of Education 2010 (NCES 2010-028). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

A Synthesis of Empirical Research on Teaching Mathematics to Low-Achieving Students

This meta-analysis synthesized research on the effects of interventions to improve mathematics achievement of students considered at risk for academic failure. It found that effective interventions included providing teachers and students with student performance data; using peer tutors; providing clear, specific feedback to parents on children's mathematics success; and using explicit instruction to teach math.

Baker, S., Gersten, R., & Lee, D. S. (2002). A synthesis of empirical research on teaching mathematics to low-achieving students. The Elementary School Journal, 51-73.

The Effect of Voucher Programs on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of school voucher programs for improving student achievement. The research is of special interest for three important reasons; (1) it examines an important policy issue relevant to educators and the public, (2) it is an example of a study designed to replicate previous research on an important topic, and (3) it highlights the importance of examining the cost effectiveness associated with implementing practices in real world settings.

 

Bennett, M., Banerjee, H. L.,  Doan, L. N., Geib, T., and Burley, A. (2018). The Effect of Voucher Programs on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. AERA Conference New York, NY. 10.302/1302823

The Effect of Voucher Programs on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of school voucher programs for improving student achievement. The research is of special interest for three important reasons; (1) it examines an important policy issue relevant to educators and the public, (2) it is an example of a study designed to replicate previous research on an important topic, and (3) it highlights the importance of examining the cost effectiveness associated with implementing practices in real world settings.

 

Bennett, M., Banerjee, H. L.,  Doan, L. N., Geib, T., and Burley, A. (2018). The Effect of Voucher Programs on Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis. AERA Conference New York, NY. 10.302/1302823

Language interventions taught to caregivers in homes and classrooms: A review of intervention and implementation fidelity

The Bridging the Word Gap Research Network conducted a review of literature to identify effective interventions to facilitate the communication development of young children in hopes of identifying ways to reduce the well-documented word gap among children associated with socio-economic class. As part of this effort, we focused on the ways in which caregivers (teachers, parents, and others) were taught to implement evidence-based practices for facilitating language learning and use.

Biel, C. H., Buzhardt, J., Brown, J. A., Romano, M. K., Lorio, C. M., Windsor, K. S., ... & Goldstein, H. (2020). Language interventions taught to caregivers in homes and classrooms: A review of intervention and implementation fidelity. Early Childhood Research Quarterly50, 140-156.

The narrowing gap in New York City teacher qualifications and its implications for student achievement in high-poverty schools.

By estimating the effect of teacher attributes using a value-added model, the analyses in this paper predict that observable qualifications of teachers resulted in average improved achievement for students in the poorest decile of schools of .03 standard deviations.

Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., Rockoff, J., & Wyckoff, J. (2008). The narrowing gap in New York City teacher qualifications and its implications for student achievement in high‐poverty schools. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management: The Journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management27(4), 793-818.

Direct Instruction Reading

This book provide detailed information on how to systematically and explicitly teach essential reading skills. The procedures describe in this text have been shown to benefit all student, especially powerful with the most vulnerable learners, children who are at risk because of poverty, disability, or limited knowledge of English. 

Carnine, D., Silbert, J., Kameenui, E. J., & Tarver, S. G. (1997). Direct instruction reading. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

The effects of school-based decision-making on educational outcomes in low- and middle-income contexts: a systematic review

This review assesses the effectiveness of school-based curricula, finance, management, and teacher’s decision-making. This report has implications for the impact of charter schools, as the primary intervention in this model is local control. The report finds limited evidence of the effectiveness of these reforms, especially from low-income countries.

Carr-Hill, R., Rolleston, C., Pherali, T., & Schendel, R. (2014). The effects of school-based decision making on educational outcomes in low-and middle-income contexts: A systematic review.

Gauging Goodness of Fit: Teachers’ Assessments of their Instructional Teams in High-Poverty Schools

Rich opportunities for learning are important for all teachers. Whatever expertise they
acquire in their pre-service program, teachers continue to need ongoing professional learning in order to meet additional responsibilities and the evolving needs of their students and schools. Continuous learning is especially vital for teachers who work in the dynamic and demanding environments of high-poverty, urban schools.

Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., Johnson, S. M., Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., & Reinhorn, S. K. (2016). Gauging Goodness of Fit: Teachers’ Assessments of their Instructional Teams in High-Poverty Schools. Retrieved from http://projectngt.gse.harvard.edu/files/gse-projectngt/files/gauging_goodness_of_fit_0622916.pdf

Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina

Using longitudinal data on teachers, we estimate hazard models that identify the impact of this differential pay by comparing turnover patterns before and after the program’s implementation, across eligible and ineligible categories of teachers, and across eligible and barely-ineligible schools.

Clotfelter, C. T., Glennie, E., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor. J. L. (2008). Would higher salaries keep teachers in high-poverty schools? Evidence from a policy intervention in North Carolina. Journal of Public Economics, 92(5), 1352–1370.

Do Bonuses Affect Teacher Staffing and Student Achievement in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from an Incentive for National Board Certified Teachers in Washington State

This study examined a teacher incentive policy in Washington State that awards a financial bonus to National Board Certified Teachers who teach in high-poverty schools. It found that the bonus policy increased the proportion of National Board Certified Teachers in bonus-eligible schools, through increases in both the number of existing NBCTs hired and the probability that teachers at these schools apply for certification. However, it do not find evidence that the bonus resulted in detectible effects on student test achievement.

Cowan, J., & Goldhaber, D. (2015). Do bonuses affect teacher staffing and student achievement in high-poverty schools? Evidence from an Incentive for National Board Certified Teachers in Washington State. Center for Education Data & Research.

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education.

This book discusses findings and recommendations of the Committee on Minority Representation in Special Education of the National Research Council. 

Donovan, M. S., & Cross, C. T. (2002). Minority students in special and gifted education. National Academies Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055.

Promoting teachers' implementation of culturally and contextually relevant class-wide behavior plans

Research suggests student of differing racial groups are unequally impacted by school disciplinary interventions. This study examines whether teachers who self-assessed their own use of culturally and contextually relevant practices would implement a class-wide behavior plan with high levels of implementation fidelity. Results indicated that teachers who engaged in self-assessment and training did implement the plan with high levels of implementation fidelity, particularly when given performance feedback. 

Fallon, L. M., Cathcart, S. C., DeFouw, E. R., O'Keeffe, B. V., & Sugai, G. Promoting teachers’ implementation of culturally and contextually relevant class‐wide behavior plans. Psychology in the Schools.

Placing Children in Special Education: A Strategy for Equity

The document contains the final report of a project to determine the factors that account for disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs, especially programs for mentally retarded students; and to identify placement criteria for practices that do not affect minority students disproportionately

Holtzman, W. H., Messick, S., & National Research Council. (1982). Placing children in special education: A strategy for equity. National Academies.

Why Do High-Poverty Schools Have Difficulty Staffing Their Classrooms with Qualified Teachers?

This report investigates the possibility that the characteristics and conditions of schools are behind the teacher shortage crisis. The data indicate that school staffing problems are not primarily due to teacher shortages, in the sense of an insufficient supply of qualified teachers. Rather, the data indicate that school staffing problems are primarily due to a “revolving door” – where large numbers of qualified teachers depart from their jobs long before retirement. The data show that much of the turnover is accounted for by teacher job dissatisfaction and teachers pursuing other jobs. Significant numbers of those who depart from their jobs in these schools report that they are hampered by inadequate support from the school administration, too many intrusions on classroom teaching time, student discipline problems and limited faculty input into school decision-making.

Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). Why do high-poverty schools have difficulty staffing their classrooms with qualified teachers? (Report prepared for Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future—A National Task Force on Public Education). Washington, DC: The Center for American Progress and the Institute for America’s Future. Retrieved from https://scholar.gse.upenn.edu/rmi/files/ingersoll-final.pdf.

Students' Attachment and Academic Engagement: The Role of Race and Ethnicity

In this study, the authors examined whether students of different racial-ethnic groups vary in attachment and engagement and whether properties of schools (eg, racial-ethnic composition) influence these outcomes over
and above individual characteristics. 

Johnson, M. K., Crosnoe, R., & Elder Jr, G. H. (2001). Students' attachment and academic engagement: The role of race and ethnicity. Sociology of education, 318-340.

Educating Amidst Uncertainty: The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-poverty, Urban Schools

This study examined teachers need for organizational responses that addressed the environmental uncertainty of working with students from disadvantaged neighborhoods. It described four types of organizational responses — coordinated instructional supports, systems to promote order and discipline, socio-emotional supports for students, and efforts to engage parents — and illustrate how these responses affected teachers’ ability to manage the uncertainty introduced by their environment.

Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., & Reinhorn, S. (2015). Educating Amid Uncertainty The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 753-790.

Rigorous Evidence: Key to Progress Against World Poverty?

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) sponsoring rigorous independent evaluations of its funded projects to build scientifically-valid evidence about "what works." On October 29, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, in collaboration with MCC, hosted a forum with leaders of the development policy and research community on MCC's evidence-based approach.

Lyon, R. L. (2002, November). Rigorous evidence: The key to progress in education. In forum of the Coalition for Evidence Based Policy, Washington, DC.

Teacher inequality: How poor and minority students are shortchanged on teacher quality

This report provides new information on the impact of teacher quality on student achievement and offers specific steps states should take to remedy the persistent practice of denying the best teachers to the children who need them the most.

Peske, H. G., & Haycock, K. (2006). Teacher inequality: How poor and minority students are shortchanged on teacher quality. Retrieved from The Education Trust website: http:// www.edtrust.org/dc/publication/teaching-inequality-how-poor-and-minority-students-areshortchanged-on-teacher-qualit

School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps

This study found that one aspect of segregation in particular—the disparity in average school poverty rates between white and black students’ schools—is consistently the single most powerful correlate of achievement gaps. This implies that high-poverty schools are, on average, much less effective than lower-poverty schools, and suggests that strategies that reduce the differential exposure of black, Hispanic, and white students to poor classmates may lead to meaningful reductions in academic achievement gaps.

Reardon, S.F. (2015). School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps (CEPA Working Paper No.15-12). Retrieved from Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis: http://cepa.stanford.edu/wp15-12

Exploration of a blended learning approach to reading instruction for low SES students in early elementary grades.

This study investigated the potential benefits of a blended learning approach on the reading skills of low socioeconomic status students in Grades 1 and 2.

Schechter, R., Macaruso, P., Kazakoff, E. R., & Brooke, E. (2015). Exploration of a blended learning approach to reading instruction for low SES students in early elementary grades. Computers in the Schools32, 183–200.

The participant effects of private school vouchers across the globe: A meta-analytic and systematic review

Our focus throughout this study will be to see what impact, if any, school voucher programs, in the United States and throughout the world, have had on student test scores. If the findings are mixed, we shall try to determine unique patterns that are driven either by geography or relevant program design components. We will also compare overall outcomes for reading and math scores for programs within the US vs. outside the US and publically funded vs. privately funded programs. This can be helpful for policymakers designing future private school voucher programs. Reading assessments will only be included if they were in English, regardless of the language of the country in which they were administered. We do this to ensure commonality in the international reading assessments and also because the international voucher evaluations in the meta-analysis come from developing countries where English language skills are highly valued.

Shakeel, M., Anderson, K., & Wolf, P. (2016). The participant effects of private school vouchers across the globe: A meta-analytic and systematic review.

Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do

This paper reviews evidence from six recent studies, which collectively suggest that teachers who leave high-poverty schools are not fleeing their students, but rather the poor working conditions that make it difficult for them to teach and their students to learn. They include school leadership, collegial relationships, and elements of school culture.

Simon, N. S., & Johnson, S. M. (2013). Teacher turnover in high-poverty schools: What we know and can do. Teachers College Record, 117, 1-36

A New Majority: Low Income Students Now a Majority In the Nation’s Public Schools

A recent report from the Southern Education Foundation documents that, for the first time in recent history, the majority of children attending public schools come from low income families. The data also shows a steady growth in this trend over the last twenty-five years: 1989 (32%), 2000 (38%), 2006 (42%), 2011 (48%) and 2013 (51%). This is particularly challenging from an education perspective. To date, the K-12 education system has not found ways to adequately serve this population as evidenced by a consistent gap in student performance between high and low income students. As more and more students come from low-income families, the success or failure of the system will hinge on its ability to respond effectively.

Steve Suitts, Pamela Barba, Katherine Dunn (2015). A New Majority: Low Income Students Now a Majority In the Nation’s Public Schools. Southern Education Foundation

A New Majority: Low Income Students Now a Majority In the Nation’s Public Schools

For the first time in recent history, a majority of the schoolchildren attending the nation’s public schools come from low income families. The latest data collected from the states by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), evidence that 51 percent of the students across the nation’s public schools were low income in 2013.

 

Suitts, Steve. A New Majority Research Bulletin: Low Income Students Now a Majority in the Nation's Public Schools. Southern Education Foundation. (2015).

A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S

Recent media reports of teacher shortages across the country are confirmed by the analysis
of several national datasets reported in this brief. Shortages are particularly severe in
special education, mathematics, science, and bilingual/English learner education, and in
locations with lower wages and poorer working conditions.

Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the US. Learning Policy Institute.

Do Test Score Gaps Grow Before, During, or Between the School Years? Measurement Artifacts and What We Can Know in Spite of Them.

This research looked at test score gaps for a range of populations: between boys and girls; between black, white, and Hispanic children; between the children and the mother’s education; between children in poor and nonpoor families; and the gaps between high-poverty and low-poverty schools. They wanted to know whether gaps grow faster during summer or the school year. They were unable to answer this question as the results were inconclusive. Although, von Hippel and Hamrock did find the total gap in performance from kindergarten to eighth grade, is substantially smaller than the gap that exists at the time children enter school. The conclusion is that gaps happen mostly in the first five years of life. study suggests students who are behind peers at the time they enter kindergarten should receive early remedial instruction as the most efficacious way to improve overall performance.

von Hippel, P. T., & Hamrock, C. (2019). Do test score gaps grow before, during, or between the school years? Measurement artifacts and what we can know in spite of them. Sociological Science, 6, 43-80.

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