Susanna Loeb, Matthew Kraft, Lindsay Page, and John Papay are named to 2022 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.
The metrics recognize university-based scholars in the U.S. who are doing the most to influence educational policy and practice. The rubric reflects both a scholar's larger body of work and their impact on the public discourse last year.
As 2021 draws to a close, we on the EdResearch team wanted to take a moment to share highlights from the past year and preview what’s ahead in 2022. Some of you may know the work of Chip and Dan Heath, who in their 2017 book write about “peak moments” - notable experiences that stand out among others for their ability to elevate us, give us insight, serve as sources of pride, and connect us. In a year with many ups and downs for all of us, personally and professionally, we thought sharing the EdResearch project’s “peak moments” would be a nice way to reflect on the past 12 months.
Studies are few and mixed about the effectiveness of online versus in-person tutoring, but “many districts are struggling to recruit a sufficient number of tutors locally – especially those districts in rural areas or those that are focusing on higher-level or more technical courses such as calculus. While in-person tutoring may be preferred, for some locations and courses virtual is the best option,” Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University and education professor, tells SmartBrief.
“Throughout the whole country, we didn’t get a return on investment,” said Joshua Bleiberg, one of the researchers involved in the study at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. “It’s important to emphasize that this is an average. There are some places where it did work well.”
The study, The Effect of Teacher Evaluation on Achievement and Attainment: Evidence from Statewide Reforms, was posted on the Annenberg website in December 2021. It is a working paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
What’s needed, in short, is a concerted effort to deepen research on teacher professional learning. The Research Partnership for Professional Learning, a collaboration of professional learning organizations and researchers at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, is doing some of this work by uniting experts to drive a transformation of professional learning research and practice in the United States.
High-dosage/low ratio tutoring has “consistently proven to accelerate achievement as quickly as possible” for all students regardless of their demographics, age, or whether they are from rural, suburban or urban areas, said Penny Schwinn, the state’s education commissioner.
Indeed, research shows that tutoring programs that serve children in small groups with regular, frequent sessions can increase learning by up to 10 months, according to a synthesis of research by Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
What's happening: Nearly every sector is dealing with a pandemic-era labor shortage, but the problem is especially acute in public education.
"Teacher salaries had fallen in the few years even before the pandemic, reducing the supply of teachers," says Susanna Loeb, an education economist and director of Brown University's Annenberg Institute. "So the shortage of teachers may actually be greater than the shortage in other areas, which are more pandemic related."
Master’s student Isabella Arreola was named the 2021 Ruth J. Simmons Urban Education Policy Scholar, which includes a full-tuition award and recognizes the UEP graduate student who most epitomizes the former Brown University president’s commitment to educational equity and social justice. The Annenberg Institute’s Board of Overseers established the Ruth J. Simmons Urban Education Policy Scholarship as a permanent annual award in 2012.
Teachers strikes often generate headlines where they’re taking place, but their influence can extend beyond local communities and affect political discourse in surprising ways, according to a new study by Brown University’s Melissa Arnold Lyon and Matthew A. Kraft. The researchers looked at 550 local strikes in the past few years, some of them part of the coordinated “Red for Ed” work stoppages in 2018, and the political advertisements that followed them. FutureEd associate director Phyllis Jordan spoke with Lyon about the new research.