Policy Research on Educational Resources
Content Advisor: Professor Larry Picus from the University of Southern California
Dana Center Researchers (2001–2004): Debra Hughes Jones, Rahel Kahlert, Cynthia L. Schneider, Lotte Smith-Hansen
Funder: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences
Project description
From 2001–2004, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) and the Charles A. Dana Center joined forces to conduct policy research. The goal is to disseminate research findings to education policymakers in the Southwest region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas).
The report, Investigation of Education Databases in Four States to Support Policy Research on Resource Allocation (available on SEDL's website), examines the capacity of state databases to conduct high-quality research. This study forms the foundation of the next study, which will examine how teacher resources (including teacher experience, certification, and salaries) are related to student achievement.
Visit SEDL's website for more research reports and papers and policy briefs.
Research questions
Primary question: Do state databases allow the investigation of the relationship between fiscal and staff instructional resources and student performance?
Researchers examine state databases in to discern whether the data can support new, rigorous research about the following questions:
- Is there a relationship between fiscal expenditures within instructional areas and student performance?
- Is there a relationship between teacher characteristics and student performance?
- Is there a relationship between instructional staffing patterns and assignment and student performance?
- Do these relationships change for varying demographic contexts?