Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic
Policy Institute and a visiting professor at Teachers
College, Columbia University. From 1999 to 2002 he was the
national education columnist of The New York Times. He is
the author of Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and
Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap,
published in May 2004. His most recent book (co-authored in
2005) is The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence
on Enrollment and Achievement. He is also the author of
The Way We Were? Myths and Realities of America’s Student
Achievement and co-author of All Else Equal, Are Public and
Private Schools Different? Mr. Rothstein is a board member
of the American Education Finance Association and, from 1988-
1993, worked as a budget and policy analyst for the Los
Angeles Board of Education. He has experience as a high
school teacher and has taught in several undergraduate and
teacher training programs. He is currently at work on two
books, one to calculate the costs of an adequate education
and the other to document the relative progress states are
making to remedy inequities in education.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He advises the government on the global AIDS crisis and threats related to bioterrorism. Through the years, Dr. Fauci has served as Visiting Professor at major medical centers and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for his scientific accomplishments, including 30 honorary doctorate degrees from universities in the United States and abroad. Dr. Fauci is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, as well as a number of other professional societies including the Association of American Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. He serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals; as an editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine; and as author, coauthor, or editor of more than 1,000 scientific publications, including several textbooks.
New Series
New Series Co-Sponsored by EDCI: Conversations about Teaching & Teacher Education Policy with Professors David Imig and Morva McDonald
About the series: Conversations about Teaching and Teacher
Education Policy is a new series co-sponsored by the Center
for Education Policy and Leadership and the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction. This series features Dr. David
Imig (former president of the American Association of
Colleges of Teacher Education and currently Professor of
Practice at the University of Maryland) and Dr. Morva
McDonald (Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction)
in conversations with national and local leaders.
Conversations explore critical policy issues related to
teaching and teacher education including: What are current
directions in teaching and teacher education policies? Who
is shaping these policies and how are these policies being
received? What role can and should teachers and teacher
educators play in educational improvement?
Symposia
What's 'High Quality' About High Quality
Teaching? Interdisciplinary Perspectives on a National
Debate
On September 21, 2004, CEPAL and the International Center
for Transcultural Education co-sponsored this fall symposium,
featuring presentations by Drs. Jacqueline Cossentino, Robert
Croninger, Barbara Finkelstein, Wanjiru Kamau, Jennifer King
Rice, and Linda Valli. The formal presentations were followed
by a moderated discussion among presenters and audience members
regarding the state of the field in educational research on
high quality teaching and implications for practice in schools,
school district central offices, state educational agencies,
and higher education. For more information on CEPAL research
projects related to teacher quality click
here.
Video tapes of this event are available for check-out at the
Educational Technology Services at the College of Education
(0234 Benjamin).
Brown Bag Lunch Series
The Center for Education Policy and Leadership (CEPAL)
Brown Bag Lunch Series promotes conversations about the
research and practice of education policy and leadership.
Each session features prepared remarks by an invited speaker
followed by questions and discussion. Presenters are typically
faculty from the University of Maryland College of Education
or visitors from other universities, schools, and professional
associations. Presentations are open to faculty, students,
and the public. CEPAL aims to sponsor at least one lunchtime
session each month of the regular academic year and encourages
additional presentations throughout the year.
2005-2006:
March 15, 2006 (Really) Doing the Ethnography of Schooling
What is educational ethnography? How is it practiced? And what purpose does it serve? In an era of high-stakes testing and "data-driven" decision-making, what can ethnographic research offer to educational policymakers and leaders? Drawn from Cossentino's ongoing research of Montessori teaching practice and culture, this presentation explores the ”hows” and the “whys” of educational ethnography, including an array of practical, intellectual, and ethical challenges entailed in conducting ethnographic research and working with educational policymakers and leaders to use ethnographic research findings in their decision-making. These challenges are especially potent for school principals and teachers studying their own schools or classrooms. Using her own work as a case-in-point, Cossentino demonstrates how knowledge gained through ethnography can offer unique insight into the cultural meanings that drive life in schools and yield information essential to school improvement. Following a brief presentation of research that has been ongoing since 2001, Cossentino facilitates an interactive discussion of key challenges and puzzles associated with educational ethnography.
February 15, 2006 Comparing Black & Brown in Educational History: Potentials or Pitfalls?
Presented by Victoria-Maria MacDonald, Visiting Professor, Education Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park.
What does history teach about cooperation between Latinos and African and Caribbean Americans to strengthen educational equity for both groups? Dr. MacDonald explores this question by drawing on several significant but little-known instances of such cooperation (e.g., a 1948 Texas school desegregation case, Delgado v Bastrop Independent School District). She argues that such cases conflict with common portrayals of Latinos and African and Caribbean American groups in the popular media as competitors for political and economic power, particularly in urban areas once dominated by African American leaders. She also explores how such examples seem particularly powerful in light of various federal actions (e.g., the creation of the category "Hispanic Serving Institutions" in higher education) that have otherwise fueled tensions between these groups. She concludes with implications for how policymakers, individuals, and advocacy organizations can address barriers to cooperation across racial lines in pursuit of equity for all.
December 7, 2005 Damaging Democracy: Conservative Foundations and the Assault on the University Curriculum
Presented by Steven Selden, Professor, Education Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park.
For 50 years, conservative activist centers, including the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Madison Center for Educational Affairs, and the American Council for Trustees and Alumni have received more than $21 million for the production and distribution of neo-conservative campus guides and curriculum evaluations. With support from the Olin, Bradley, Earhart, and Castle Rock foundations, they have developed projects designed to reconstruct public perceptions of the curriculum, university faculty, and initiatives designed to increase diversity on college campuses. These projects are judged as one aspect of a broader conservative restoration that includes a focus on markets, affirmative action, family structure, and the role of religion in the public square. Dr. Selden’s presentation analyzes the funding and content of four publications: The Common Sense Guide to America's Colleges; Choosing the Right College; The Shakespeare File; and Defending Civilization. The guides claim to value national cohesion, patriotism, and the cause of merit in all areas of human activity. Yet contrary to their poorly reasoned jeremiads, the paper concludes that it is the reports themselves that damage democracy, not the professors, programs, and students they vilify.
May 11, 2005 Site Based Management: Emergence and
Effects. The Case of Israel.
Presented by Haim Gaziel, Professor, Educational Policy and Administration,
Bar Ilan University
Dr.
Gaziel presented a study that is part of an evaluation
project of Site-Based Management (SBM) implementation
and effects in Israeli elementary schools. Because of
educational, economical and political reasons, the Israeli
government decided in 1993 to follow other countries and
restructure the educational system. The decision began
implementation in 1995, and the evaluation was completed
in 2001. Findings revealed significant differences between
SBM and non SBM schools regarding teacher participation
and influence in all domains. No difference was found
in parent and student participation and influence. Teachers
were more satisfied with their jobs and reported more
committed in SBM schools than their counterparts. There
were no significant differences between both schools categories
regarding students' performance in SAT (state assessments
tests) in math and literacy.
April 25, 2005 The Impact of High Stakes Accountability
Policies on School Capacity for Improvement.
Presented by Betty Malen, Professor & Jennifer King Rice, Associate Professor,
Education Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College
Park.
Drs. Betty Malen and Jennifer King Rice, co-authors of the
Spring 2005 LEADS publication, discussed findings from case
studies of two types of high-stakes accountability initiatives
in two different contexts. The first case examined a metropolitan
school district’s experience with a reconstitution initiative
that brought about sweeping staff changes in six of its low
performing schools. The second case examined how a more rural
elementary school responded to the graduated sanctions imposed
on schools that fail to make "adequate yearly progress" as
required in the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
February 21, 2005 Is Eugenics Inherently Bad? The Case
of the Truman Jesse Moon's Biology Textbook Series, C. 1921-1963.
Presented by Dr. Steve Selden, University of Maryland, College
Park.
Dr. Selden discussed his analysis of seventy-three high school
biology textbooks published between 1914-1964 and ten volumes
written by Truman Jesse Moon and published by Henry Holt between
1921-1963. A quantitative analysis traced comparative patterns
in the texts' eugenic content over time. The Moon series was
found to be less representative of mainline eugenics than
were the texts in the broader database. A qualitative analysis
of the Moon texts found that after 1947 they combined four
elements into a reform eugenic discourse. This combination
of elements provided readers with a politically conservative
"narrative of adjustment" as a basis for making personal and
institutional decisions.
November 15, 2004 Race Equity and Diversity in Public
Higher Education in the South. Presented by Drs. Sharon Fries-Britt,
Jeffrey Milem, Laura Perna and John Williams and their Graduate
Student team, University
of Maryland, College Park.
In January 2004, this cohort of four faculty members and several graduate students received funding from the
Lumina Foundation for Education to explore continuing problems of race equity and opportunity in public higher
education in the nineteen southern and southern-border states that, prior to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court decision, operated on a racially segregated basis. This presentation described preliminary
findings regarding the status of race equity and diversity in one of the nineteen states. It provided an overview
of what the team found in regard to the federal oversight of efforts to correct "lingering vestiges" of past race
segregation laws and policies, institutional and state sponsored race equity and diversity programs, and trends in
higher education enrollment and degree completion.
May 5, 2004
Re-visioning the Preparation of School
Principals: An Initiative of the American Association of School
Administrators. Presented by Dr. Willis D. Hawley, Professor
Emeritus, University of Maryland, College Park.
In
a recent national survey, over 70 percent of the Superintendents
of Schools said that they felt that the preparation of school
principals by universities was inadequate. In response to
this concern by its members, the American Association of School
Administrators has launched an effort to design a curriculum
for the education of school leaders that can be used by universities
and school districts. AASA is working with Sylvan Learning
in the development of this program. The courses and intern
experiences that make up the program can be completed online
or in web-facilitated contexts. Dr. Hawley is coordinating
the development of the "start-from-scratch" curriculum, in
collaboration with prominent researchers and school leaders
from throughout the country. In this presentation, Dr. Hawley
discussed the content of the program, demonstrating how the curriculum
has been designed as a set of case-based interactive learning
experiences that will foster the application of research and
evidence of best practice by school-level leaders. The pedagogy
is based on work of the National Research Council.
April 8, 2004
Coordinating Centrally to Foster Implementation
Locally: Elementary Mathematics Reform in Baltimore. Presented
by Dr. Patricia F. Campbell, Curriculum and Instruction, University
of Maryland, College Park.
Dr.
Campbell discussed a systematic reform effort undertaken by
University of Maryland faculty together with administrators
from the Office of Science, Mathematics, and Health in the
Baltimore City Public School System. This K-5 Mathematics
initiative, funded by federal, state, local, and university
sources, encompassed curriculum revision, textbook adoption
and assessment, as well as district-wide and on-site professional
development for K-5 teachers. In addition to describing the components
of the reform, Dr. Campbell summarized associated student achievement
results, as well as the impact of the new curriculum guide, aligned
textbook resources, and persistent high quality professional development.
Implications for systemic reform also were discussed.
March 8, 2004
Leadership Development and Access. Presented
by Dr. Kirsten Turner, Curry School of Education, University
of Virginia.
This presentation examined the degree to which in-state admission
cohorts at a selective public flagship university are representative
of the state's 17-21 year old population. U.S. Census data
and University admission data on socio-demographic characteristics,
including race, gender, place of residence, family income
and education level were used in conjunction with geo-spatial
mapping to portray the distribution of access to the University
for a variety of sub-populations over time. The data revealed
persistent patterns of disproportionate representation, with
the highest rates of access to the University concentrated
predominately among white and Asian students in a few suburban
areas and high schools of the state. These patterns of under-representation
and the inequitable distribution of access pose a singular
challenge for selective public flagship institutions that
have long made developing a diverse set of leaders for their
state and state's communities one of their fundamental missions.
This research has implications for higher education policymakers
and administrative leaders alike, as institutions are increasingly
asked to demonstrate their public worth and commitment
to the distribution of an array of public benefits, including
leadership development.
February 3, 2004
Artifacts of Expansive Learning in
School Improvement Planning to Meet Requirements for Adequate
Yearly Progress Under NCLB. Presented by Dr. Hanne Mawhinney,
University of Maryland, College Park.
Dr.
Mawhinney, a nationally recognized scholar of policy implementation
and organizational change, discussed findings from one
part of her broader study of Maryland's standards-based
accountability system. The findings featured in this presentation
came from a multi-level, longitudinal case study of one
Title I elementary school's planning process to meet Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) under the requirements of the federal
No Child Left Behind program. This study focuses on what
Dr. Mawhinney calls "the institutional dynamics of accountability"
and how this shapes implementation. More specifically,
this study draws on institutional theories of organizational
development and change that rest on assumptions that schools
cannot be understood apart from their wider social and
cultural contexts. Dr. Mawhinney argued that these environments
create regulative, normative, and cognitive infrastructures
that constrain and support organizational operations- in
this case, schools' efforts to meet annual yearly progress.
She demonstrated how members of the school improvement
team in her focal school engaged in organizational learning
and innovation as part of implementation and how school
principals and teachers institutionalized accountability
systems within their school structures. She explored how
various rules regarding "legitimate action" frame how
these school actors participate in reform. She used "activity
theory" to demonstrate essential dimensions of the school
improvement process and the importance of this theory
to implementation research, especially in complex, multi-layered
high-stakes accountability environments.
November 20, 2003
Supreme Court Update. Presented by Julie Underwood,
Associate Executive Director and General Counsel, National
School Boards Association (NSBA), Washington, DC.
Dr.
Underwood, Associate Executive Director and General Counsel
for the National School Boards Association, presented an overview
of recent Supreme Court cases and their implications for public
school districts. Cases included: affirmative action, the
Children's Internet Protection Act, and the use of public
funds for religious activities. Each of these cases promises
to have significant impacts on the operations of public schools
and school districts. Dr. Underwood explored these impacts
and discussed broader issues related to the role of courts
in public school change.
October 16, 2003
Chinese Women and Girls under China's
Economic Reform: Listening to their Voices. Presented by Dr.
Jing Lin, University of Maryland, College Park.
This presentation discussed dramatic changes in Chinese women's
social status during China's recent transformation from a
socialist economy to a market economy. Dr. Lin shared research
she conducted between 1999-2002 with professional women and
girls in China to explore their socialization and identity
construction. Research findings reveal that while Chinese
girls generally enjoyed better educational and employment
opportunities than their mothers and grandmothers, they still
face numerous obstacles due to gender discrimination in society.
Dr. Lin demonstrated how specific changes in government policies,
employment, education, and the development of women's studies
as an academic field have caused major social status changes
for Chinese women. Dr. Lin also explored the importance of
incorporating women's and girls' voices in educational research
and policy analysis. In her presentation, Dr. Lin drew comparisons
between China and the United States, discussing the implications
of her research for U.S. education policy research and educational and societal change.
September 15, 2003
The Relationship Between State Public
Policies and College Enrollment.
Presented by Dr. Laura Perna, University of Maryland, College
Park.
This
presentation discussed the effects of state public policies
on the higher education enrollment choices of students. Findings
came from two empirical studies. The first study used multilevel
modeling to examine the relationship between state public
policies and the types of colleges or universities that high
school graduates nationwide choose to attend. Analyses revealed
that four categories of state policies (direct appropriations,
tuition, financial aid, and K-12 academic preparation) influence
the type of college in which high school graduates enroll.
The second study used descriptive analyses of data from a
variety of sources to: (1) examine changes during
the 1990s in the college enrollment of students of different
racial/ethnic groups in the state of Maryland, (2) explore
the state public policies that may have influenced changes
in the demand for and supply of higher education during this
period, (3) raise questions about the connections between
enrollment changes and state public policies, and (4) assess
the potential implications of recent state policies on future
enrollment in the state. Findings from these studies have
important implications for the design and implementation of
public policies that are designed to promote access to higher
education for traditionally under-represented groups.
May 9, 2003
The Attainment of Education for All:
A Tale of Global Policy. Presented by Steve Klees, University
of Maryland, College Park.
In 1990, in Jomtien, Thailand, representatives of 145 developing
countries came together at an unprecedented meeting and signed
what has been since called the Jomtien Accord establishing
a global policy initiative called Education for All (EFA).
While the Accord had a number of components, the major result
was a commitment by all countries and major international
agencies to achieve specific educational targets by the year
2000. Principal among the goals was to have all girls and
boys in the relevant age group in primary school by the year
2000. Estimates indicated that 150 million of these children
were not in school. However, halfway through the decade, it
was decided to postpone the attainment of these targets to
2015. This decision was reaffirmed at the 10-year EFA follow-up
meeting in Dakar, Senegal in 2000. However, three years later,
it was made clear that the 2015 targets would not be met.
In this seminar, Dr. Klees discussed alternative interpretations
of the global policy story.
April 15, 2003
Globalization and Educational Reform:
Policy Borrowing as a Strategy for Reforming Schools. Presented
by Dr. Carol Anne Spreen, University of Maryland, College
Park.
South African education over the last five years has undergone
a dramatic shift from content-based to outcome-based teaching
and learning. Educational borrowing - the adoption of one
country's policy idea by another - has significantly shaped
the new curriculum. The story of this shift in South Africa
underscores the complexity of the process by which policy
ideas travel across countries - in this case, from Australia,
New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, and the United States to South
Africa. Dr. Spreen used an historical analysis of policy borrowing
in South Africa to show that international ideas serve as
important levers for policymaking and legitimizing contested
reform approaches; at the same time, as ideas become institutionalized
and "mainstreamed," their political viability depends on the
extent to which their international origins are concealed.
Tracing the evolution and origins of outcome-based teaching
& learning demonstrates the complex ways that international
social and cultural ties, political and economic relationships,
democratic imperatives, and shifting roles of global and local
participation all influence policy decisions.
February 19, 2003
Research That Makes a Difference. Presented
by Dr. Estela Mara Bensimon, Rossier School of Education,
University of Southern California.
Social science research is commonly regarded as an activity
to produce knowledge that solves categories of problems. Dr.
Bensimon described a model for doing research-as-praxis to
advance the good of a group. She illustrated the methods and
initial results of research-as-praxis with findings from a
14-campus project, funded by the James Irvine Foundation,
whose goal is equity in educational outcomes for students
of color in institutions of higher education.
November 18, 2002
Biological Determinism in the 1920s: American Eugenics and the Transformation of Better Babies Contests into Competitions for Fitter Families.
Presented by Dr. Steve Selden, University of Maryland, College Park.
Dr. Selden's presentation focused on one aspect of the popularization of the biological determinist ideas by the American eugenics movement in the early twentieth century. Using a series of images from archives across the U.S. or United States, Dr. Selden discussed how determinist visions of biology transformed Better Babies contests with a generally benign concern for physical and mental standards into eugenically-oriented Fitter Families competitions with a strong commitment to controlled human breeding. Dr. Selden argued that despite the various disciplinary alternatives practiced by contemporary biologists, today's popular media continue to present the public with determinist interpretations of advances in modern biology. The presentation concluded that this narrow interpretation of contemporary biology provides unnecessarily constrained insights for the public as it confronts increasingly complex challenges in social policy.
The presentation was based in part on a 2002 article from the MCKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins University: "Better Babies, Better Families, and Contemporary Medical Genetics: Do the Ethnical Issues of Eugenics' Past have Relevance Today?" Portions of this research were sponsored by the Spencer Foundation summer grant, "Struggling for the Curriculum: Better Families Contests and American Education Policy in the 1920s."
October, 2002
Learning Communities and Education Policy Implementation: Lessons from Theory and Practice.
Presented by Drs. Ken Strike & Meredith I. Honig, University of Maryland, College Park
Contemporary education policies increasingly aim to foster "community" as a key lever of school improvement. Despite the common use of the term "community" across policies, conceptions of community vary in ways consequential to policy implementation but are typically unexamined in research and practice. Drs. Ken Strike and Meredith Honig explored definitions of community in contemporary education policy designs and offered different research-based perspectives on what their implementation requires. Ken Strike focused on philosophical dimensions of community and examined the promises and pitfalls of community among staff and students within schools. Dr. Honig presented findings from two separate research efforts. First, she demonstrated how literature on professional learning communities informs school improvement efforts. Then she presented results from a comprehensive review of literature on students' school performance to show how communities outside schools matter to student learning.
Department of Education
Policy and Leadership
College of Education - University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Email: cepal@umd.edu
For 50 years, conservative activist centers, including the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Madison Center for Educational Affairs, and the American Council for Trustees and Alumni have received more than $21 million for the production and distribution of neo-conservative campus guides and curriculum evaluations. With support from the Olin, Bradley, Earhart, and Castle Rock foundations, they have developed projects designed to reconstruct public perceptions of the curriculum, university faculty, and initiatives designed to increase diversity on college campuses. These projects are judged as one aspect of a broader conservative restoration that includes a focus on markets, affirmative action, family structure, and the role of religion in the public square. Dr. Selden’s presentation analyzes the funding and content of four publications: The Common Sense Guide to America's Colleges; Choosing the Right College; The Shakespeare File; and Defending Civilization. The guides claim to value national cohesion, patriotism, and the cause of merit in all areas of human activity. Yet contrary to their poorly reasoned jeremiads, the paper concludes that it is the reports themselves that damage democracy, not the professors, programs, and students they vilify. 
Dr.
Gaziel presented a study that is part of an evaluation
project of Site-Based Management (SBM) implementation
and effects in Israeli elementary schools. Because of
educational, economical and political reasons, the Israeli
government decided in 1993 to follow other countries and
restructure the educational system. The decision began
implementation in 1995, and the evaluation was completed
in 2001. Findings revealed significant differences between
SBM and non SBM schools regarding teacher participation
and influence in all domains. No difference was found
in parent and student participation and influence. Teachers
were more satisfied with their jobs and reported more
committed in SBM schools than their counterparts. There
were no significant differences between both schools categories
regarding students' performance in SAT (state assessments
tests) in math and literacy.
In January 2004, this cohort of four faculty members and several graduate students received funding from the
Lumina Foundation for Education to explore continuing problems of race equity and opportunity in public higher
education in the nineteen southern and southern-border states that, prior to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court decision, operated on a racially segregated basis. This presentation described preliminary
findings regarding the status of race equity and diversity in one of the nineteen states. It provided an overview
of what the team found in regard to the federal oversight of efforts to correct "lingering vestiges" of past race
segregation laws and policies, institutional and state sponsored race equity and diversity programs, and trends in
higher education enrollment and degree completion.
In
a recent national survey, over 70 percent of the Superintendents
of Schools said that they felt that the preparation of school
principals by universities was inadequate. In response to
this concern by its members, the American Association of School
Administrators has launched an effort to design a curriculum
for the education of school leaders that can be used by universities
and school districts. AASA is working with Sylvan Learning
in the development of this program. The courses and intern
experiences that make up the program can be completed online
or in web-facilitated contexts. Dr. Hawley is coordinating
the development of the "start-from-scratch" curriculum, in
collaboration with prominent researchers and school leaders
from throughout the country. In this presentation, Dr. Hawley
discussed the content of the program, demonstrating how the curriculum
has been designed as a set of case-based interactive learning
experiences that will foster the application of research and
evidence of best practice by school-level leaders. The pedagogy
is based on work of the National Research Council.
Dr.
Campbell discussed a systematic reform effort undertaken by
University of Maryland faculty together with administrators
from the Office of Science, Mathematics, and Health in the
Baltimore City Public School System. This K-5 Mathematics
initiative, funded by federal, state, local, and university
sources, encompassed curriculum revision, textbook adoption
and assessment, as well as district-wide and on-site professional
development for K-5 teachers. In addition to describing the components
of the reform, Dr. Campbell summarized associated student achievement
results, as well as the impact of the new curriculum guide, aligned
textbook resources, and persistent high quality professional development.
Implications for systemic reform also were discussed.
Dr.
Mawhinney, a nationally recognized scholar of policy implementation
and organizational change, discussed findings from one
part of her broader study of Maryland's standards-based
accountability system. The findings featured in this presentation
came from a multi-level, longitudinal case study of one
Title I elementary school's planning process to meet Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) under the requirements of the federal
No Child Left Behind program. This study focuses on what
Dr. Mawhinney calls "the institutional dynamics of accountability"
and how this shapes implementation. More specifically,
this study draws on institutional theories of organizational
development and change that rest on assumptions that schools
cannot be understood apart from their wider social and
cultural contexts. Dr. Mawhinney argued that these environments
create regulative, normative, and cognitive infrastructures
that constrain and support organizational operations- in
this case, schools' efforts to meet annual yearly progress.
She demonstrated how members of the school improvement
team in her focal school engaged in organizational learning
and innovation as part of implementation and how school
principals and teachers institutionalized accountability
systems within their school structures. She explored how
various rules regarding "legitimate action" frame how
these school actors participate in reform. She used "activity
theory" to demonstrate essential dimensions of the school
improvement process and the importance of this theory
to implementation research, especially in complex, multi-layered
high-stakes accountability environments. 
Dr.
Underwood, Associate Executive Director and General Counsel
for the National School Boards Association, presented an overview
of recent Supreme Court cases and their implications for public
school districts. Cases included: affirmative action, the
Children's Internet Protection Act, and the use of public
funds for religious activities. Each of these cases promises
to have significant impacts on the operations of public schools
and school districts. Dr. Underwood explored these impacts
and discussed broader issues related to the role of courts
in public school change. 
This
presentation discussed the effects of state public policies
on the higher education enrollment choices of students. Findings
came from two empirical studies. The first study used multilevel
modeling to examine the relationship between state public
policies and the types of colleges or universities that high
school graduates nationwide choose to attend. Analyses revealed
that four categories of state policies (direct appropriations,
tuition, financial aid, and K-12 academic preparation) influence
the type of college in which high school graduates enroll.
The second study used descriptive analyses of data from a
variety of sources to: (1) examine changes during
the 1990s in the college enrollment of students of different
racial/ethnic groups in the state of Maryland, (2) explore
the state public policies that may have influenced changes
in the demand for and supply of higher education during this
period, (3) raise questions about the connections between
enrollment changes and state public policies, and (4) assess
the potential implications of recent state policies on future
enrollment in the state. Findings from these studies have
important implications for the design and implementation of
public policies that are designed to promote access to higher
education for traditionally under-represented groups. 
