Education
Teacher Preparation for Profit or Prestige: Analysis of a Diverse Market for Teacher Preparation
pWith increasing awareness of the importance of teacher quality for student learning, education policy leaders have turned their attention to the nationrsquo;s teacher training programs as a potential target for reform. One proposed strategy is to increase competition for university-based programs by encouraging new program types. This study examines the relative effectiveness of universities and new program types using the diverse market in Texas. We examine program effectiveness through a framework integrating certificate pathways, organizational goals, and market incentives. We find that independent nonprofits have positive effects on student performance in math that are not explained by teacher sorting or program selectivity. Effects of program types vary across student and school demographics, and some types are particularly effective with high-risk populations. However, some program types are not available to all schools, and thus small differences between program types do not justify focusing reforms on any one type of program./p
Teacher Quality Differences Between Teacher Preparation Programs: How Big? How Reliable? Which Programs Are Different?
Postsecondary Education, Training and Labor Market Tranisitions in Texas: A Regional Analysis
The Politics and Statistics of Value-added Modelling for Accountability of Teacher Preparation Programs
The effects of school physical education grants on obesity, fitness, and academic achievement
pObjectivebr /
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Foundations and governments fund a number of programs that provide grants to improve school physical education or other forms of school-based physical activity. The effects of these grant programs are unknown. We evaluate the effects of Texas Fitness Now, a program in which the state of Texas granted $37 million to improve physical education in high-poverty middle schools over the 4 school years from 2007ndash;08 to 2010ndash;11. The stated goals of Texas Fitness Now were to reduce obesity, increase fitness, and raise academic achievement.br /
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Methodbr /
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We summarize how Texas Fitness Now funds were spent and estimate the impact of Texas Fitness Now using a fixed-effects longitudinal model that exploits changes in schools#39; eligibility over time. Changes in eligibility occurred when eligibility expanded to new schools after year 2 and when the program was terminated after year 4.br /
Resultsbr /
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Most Texas Fitness Now funds were spent on sports and fitness equipment. Smaller amounts were spent on anti-obesity curricula. Texas Fitness Now improved strength and flexibility, especially among girls, but it did not improve BMI or academic achievement, and it had mixed effects on aerobic capacity. The fitness benefits were not lost in the year after the program ended, perhaps because schools kept the equipment that they had bought during their years of eligibility.br /
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Conclusionbr /
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The results of Texas Fitness Now were typical for an intervention that relied almost exclusively on physical activity. Programs that improve BMI as well as fitness tend to have a more fully developed nutrition component./p