News
UTD-ERC Particpates in Launch of Texas Consortium on School Research
ERC Data & Expertise Integral in Comptroller’s Resource Allocation Study
TSP Evaluates Engineering Curriculum
Andrews Joins TSP Research Team
New Computing Environment Increases Researcher Productivity
National Charter School Study Released
TSP Partners on National Supplemental Educational Services Study
Parsons Brings Wealth of Experience to TSP
TSP Doubles Staff, Expands Facility
TSP Launches Redesigned Website & E-Newsletter
Klopfenstein Joins TSP as Senior Researcher
UTD-ERC Launches Remote Access
Study Finds Preschool Programs Can Boost Test Scores
Data Holdings Update
UTD-ERC Particpates in Launch of Texas Consortium on School Research
(Nov. 9, 2009) Leaders from 19 Texas school districts plus additional educational organizations gathered in Houston recently for the formation and launch of the Texas Consortium on School Research. The event was sponsored by the Regional Educational Laboratory – Southwest (REL Southwest at Edvance Research) and was held adjacent to the Texas Association of School Administrators and Texas Association of School Boards (TASA/TASB) fall conference.
The Texas Consortium was modeled on the successful work of the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) who is collaborating on the Texas Consortium with REL Southwest, along with The University of Texas at Dallas Education Research Center (UTD-ERC).
The goal of the Texas Consortium is to allow members from districts across the state to collaborate in building research capacity to address critical issues to support improvement efforts. The Texas Consortium will also allow participants to create a “community of practice” through shared knowledge and practices.
(read more)
ERC Data & Expertise Integral in Comptroller’s Resource Allocation Study
(Oct. 5, 2009) In an effort to improve academic achievement and encourage more effective use of public education dollars, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs will conduct a study of school district resource allocation practices that contribute to high academic achievement and cost-effective operations.
The study, required by House Bill 3, will use the data and expertise of the UT Dallas Education Research Center. Working with the Education Research Center will be a select group of national experts in school accountability, statistical methods, psychometrics, and finance. The Comptroller has also enlisted the advice of a group of Texas superintendents in the study’s development and implementation.
“Developing new measures to determine which schools and school districts have achieved the highest performance in both academics and financial efficiency is far too important to be left to a single institution or a few experts,” said Dan O’Brien, Director of Texas Schools Project, which oversees the UT Dallas Education Research Center. “Therefore, we are drawing from the best and most experienced researchers in school finance and student achievement to guide the Comptroller’s resource allocation study.”
(read more)
TSP Evaluates Engineering Curriculum
(Sept. 30, 2009) Texas Schools Project has been asked to analyze the effect of a high-tech engineering curriculum, developed by The Infinity Project at the Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University, on Texas high school students’ academic achievement.
TSP’s evaluation will take place in two phases. This evaluation also lays the groundwork for future analysis of the program’s impact on college outcomes and beyond.
“It is of utmost importance that students be well equipped to compete in a globally competitive 21st century. This study will help us evaluate the effect our curriculum is having on these students,” said Torrence Robinson, TI director of public affairs and co-founder of The Infinity Project.
The evaluation, which includes high schools from more than 25 school districts throughout Texas, is scheduled to be completed by year-end, under the direction of Dr. Kristin Kuhne, manager of the newly formed evaluation unit at TSP.
(read more)
Andrews Joins TSP Research Team
(Aug. 31, 2009) Rodney Andrews, a Harvard University Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar, recently joined Texas Schools Project as a Senior Researcher. In addition, he has also joined the UT Dallas School of Economic, Political & Policy Sciences faculty as an assistant professor of economics.
Andrews’ areas of expertise include economics of education, labor economics, public finance, and applied microeconometrics. While he has investigated a range of topics including health policy, his recent research, “The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise on College Choice” and “Estimating the Responsiveness of College Applications to the Likelihood of Acceptance and Financial Assistance: Evidence from Texas,” focuses on the college application process and how it is impacted by financial assistance.
As part of his decision to move to Texas, Andrews cited the state’s ability to put longitudinal data in the hands of researchers who have the necessary skill sets to answer important education questions. “Texas, Florida and North Carolina are leading the way when it comes to providing longitudinal data to education researchers. This is critical if we are to inform policy makers and influence constructive change.”
(read more)
New Computing Environment Increases Researcher Productivity
(Aug. 26, 2009) Researchers using education data provided by The University of Texas at Dallas Education Research Center (UTD-ERC) are many times working with hundreds of thousands – and sometimes millions – of observations, or individual pieces of data. Performing complicated statistical analyses on this volume of data can take hours or even days.
Devora Davis, a visiting researcher from CREDO at Stanford University, typically spends 8-16 hours running a procedure to create a data set for analysis. But, because Texas Schools Project, the administrator of the UTD-ERC, recently installed a Cray CX1™ cluster, Devora’s job was completed in half the time. She remarked, “I was blown away by its speed!”
(read more)
National Charter School Study Released
(Aug. 26, 2009) A new report issued in June by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that there is a wide variance in the quality of the nation’s several thousand charter schools with, in the aggregate, students in charter schools not faring as well as students in traditional public schools.
A supplemental report, with an in-depth examination of the results for charter schools in Texas found that reading and math gains were significantly lower in charter school students compared to their traditional public school peers. For low income students, charter schools had a larger and more positive effect than for similar students in traditional public schools. The report also found that while first year charter school students on average experienced a decline in learning, students in their third and fourth years in charter schools saw a significant reversal, experiencing positive achievement gains.
Texas student data was provided through the UT Dallas Education Research Center at Texas Schools Project.
(read more)
CREDO National Charter School Study website
TSP Partners on National Supplemental Educational Services Study
(Aug. 5, 2009)Texas Schools Project (TSP) is partnering with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research to perform a national study of Supplemental Educational Services (SES) in five large, urban school districts: Dallas, TX; Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Nidhi Mehrotra of TSP will be responsible for two of these sites, Dallas Independent School District, starting in year one of the study, and Austin Independent School District, starting in year two.
The study is multi-dimensional, engaging in the analysis of various facets of SES. A primary focus will be to investigate what type of impact SES has on student achievement.
“Low-income and disadvantaged students are disproportionately represented in schools that have been identified for improvement under NCLB, and thus, they also may have the most to gain if the effectiveness of SES can be improved through additional research,” said Carolyn Heinrich, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and principal investigator of the study.
The study, which begins this fall, will take place over four years. It is being funded by The Institute for Educational Sciences, a division of the U.S. Department of Education. TSP’s portion of the grant is approximately $570,000.
(read more)
Parsons Brings Wealth of Experience to TSP
(July 13, 2009) Jim Parsons, founding member of the Joint Advisory Board and former Humble ISD Executive Director of Accountability, has joined Texas Schools Project as its Assistant Director.
Carla Stevens, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Research and Accountability for Houston ISD, was also a founding member of the Joint Advisory Board with Parsons. She commented, “As a fellow Joint Advisory Board member I have valued Jim’s input and experience, especially as we have reviewed research proposals and set policy for the Board.” She continued, “I know he is very well-respected from a state level and will be quite an asset in his new position.”
(read more)
TSP Doubles Staff, Expands Facility
(June 29, 2009) If you're looking for an available desk at Texas Schools Project (TSP), you might not find one. In fact, a classroom down the hall from TSP offices has temporarily been turned into workspace to handle the influx of new staff.
Dan O’Brien, TSP Director, shares, "We're continuing to find greater interest in both evaluation services and data access requests." He continues, "In addition, there are a variety of new partnerships we’re pursuing that will require a larger workforce. As a result, we have expanded our staff to meet both our current needs as well as prepare for the future.”
Along with an expansion in staff comes an expansion of work space. Through a series of scheduled moves, TSP will, by September, increase the size of its facility by more than 3,000 square feet.
(read more)
TSP Launches Redesigned Website & E-Newsletter
(June 15, 2009) Texas Schools Project (TSP) has just launched its new website – www.utdallas.edu/research/tsp-erc.
“I am very pleased with our new site,” says Dan O’Brien, TSP Director. “It allows us to share additional information about our work while highlighting our expertise in education research.” He continues, “As our organization continues to grow, this new website will help facilitate communication with researchers, policy makers, and others interested in education research.”
(read more)
Klopfenstein Joins TSP as Senior Researcher
(May 27, 2009) Kristin Klopfenstein joins Texas Schools Project (TSP) as a Senior Researcher on June 1. In addition, she has been appointed a visiting professor in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at UT Dallas.
Klopfenstein is known nationally for her work in education and economics. Her research, which focuses on issues such as Advanced Placement course effects and minority student preparation, has been published in a variety of scholarly journals including Economics of Education Review, Contemporary Economic Policy and The Southern Economic Journal.
(read more)
UTD-ERC Launches Remote Access
(Apr. 24, 2009) The University of Texas at Dallas Education Research Center (UTD-ERC) houses a wealth of data that is used extensively for academic research on education policy. The Center is now making this data more accessible to approved ERC research partners through remote access.
(read more)
Study Finds Preschool Programs Can Boost Test Scores
(Feb. 4, 2009) Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students who participated in Educational First Steps (EFS) preschool programs were shown in a recent UT Dallas study to perform significantly higher in elementary math and reading test scores than their peers.
(read more)
Data Holdings Update
As of November 1, 2009, our data holdings include data from Texas Education Agency (TEA) spanning the academic years 1991-2009, TEA testing data (TAKS) spanning academic years 2001-2008, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) data spanning the academic years 1990-2009, and State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) data spanning the academic years 1999-2008.
Additionally, we are in the process of verifying and converting additional TEA, THECB and SBEC files to STATA, SAS and SPSS formats.
Page last updated on November 10, 2009.
