Compensatory Education Programs Research Articles

Policy rhetoric, realities, and burdens: Using critical policy analysis to center at-promise student success in the McNair program

Educational policies designed to benefit students from first-generation, low-income, and racially minoritized backgrounds do not always consider the realities these students experience during college. Instead, students participating in compensatory education programs can endure further marginalization. Using critical policy analysis’ core tenets as guiding principles to frame our study and guide our analysis, we conducted a three-phase qualitative analytic study. We examined interviews with students and McNair program policy documents to interrogate policymakers’ hidden assumptions and the (de)centering of minoritized student perspectives in the McNair program policy. Students in the program discussed varied and conflicting definitions of success, such as learning they did not want to attend graduate school—a primary goal and measure of success for the federal government. They also highlighted advisors as a source of support. By centering the experiences of students, our findings highlight this critical gap and draw attention to the administrative burdens placed on at-promise students, emphasize the need for holistic socio-emotional support in federal policy, and underscore the powerful role of supportive faculty and staff.

Muddy sensemaking: Making sense of socio-emotional skills amidst a vague policy context

Education laws and policies have moved toward promoting socio-emotional (SEL) skills, adopting numerous terminologies in their standards. However, the incremental change has left compensatory education practitioners who are committed to promoting SEL opportunities with little guidance when the programs’ governing policies do not include language acknowledging the importance of SEL to student success. Additionally, the ongoing debate in the SEL field about which taxonomies might best capture the skills and the lack of conceptual clarity offers these practitioners little additional guidance. Drawing on sensemaking theory, this case study examined how practitioners in a compensatory education program made sense of SEL skills through their practice. The study used a case-based design with multiple methods, namely, document review, observations, and pre- and post-program semi-structured interviews. The study employed sensemaking theory and CASEL’s SEL framework in the thematic analysis of the documents, observations, and interviews to understand how practitioners made sense of the concept of SEL. The findings indicate three key aspects important in the practitioners’ sensemaking process: the local environment established by the federal policy and the leaders’ policy interpretation, which emphasized the importance of SEL skills; their articulation of their conceptualization of SEL skills at the beginning of the program; and the usefulness of an SEL skills conceptual framework. I discuss the policy and equity implications at the federal and local level.

The evidence for the effectiveness of family- and center-based early childhood education programs

Early Childhood Education (ECE) provides compensatory educational programs both in preschools and the early grades of primary school, and for parents at home. The aim of this policy is to prevent young children from disadvantaged backgrounds starting formal schooling with significant educational delays. In many countries ECE programs are in existence for several decades now. The search in this article is for the scientific evidence-base of this policy. While the focus is on the Netherlands, the findings probably also are valid for many other countries.

La educación compensatoria como medida para la población refugiada y migrante: evolución de resultados

This research explains the essential characteristics of the organisation of compensatory education programmes as they are implemented in a centre in the Community of Madrid (Spain), It also presents the typology of compensatory education and approaches the results of the investments made in them according to their modalities and to a specific theoretical analysis. Once the study was contextualized, sets out the procedure and requirements for participating in each type of compensatory education programme according to the usual professional practice and describes the profile of pupils eligible for such programmes meeting the requirements of a linguistic nature, curriculum and tutorial. Specific mention is made of the important role of the family in compensatory education and its crucial role in achieving satisfactory results. The present case study includes data between the 2007-2008 school year and the 2014-2015 school year. It is a question of making an inferential analysis based on the percentages of the data collected in six consecutive academic years in three specific modalities of compensatory education programmes that include an analysis of the educational responses and the results obtained from them within a concrete reality. Data on repetition and promotion and qualification are analyzed. The conclusions revolve around the need to compensate for social disadvantages in order to ensure the achievement of academic achievements in terms of equity despite the fact that in recent years investment in resources for these programmes (especially with regard to the provision of the necessary staff) is progressively being undermined. The solution could focus on adjusting the approach to a prism more in line with the principles of inclusion.

Has the Portuguese Compensatory Education Program Been Successful in Reducing Disadvantaged Schools’ Performance Gaps? A 15-Year Quantitative Analysis of National Exams

A central goal of the Portuguese compensatory education program—Territórios Educativos de Intervenção Prioritária (TEIP)—is the improvement of the academic performance of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. In this article, we seek to understand whether the schools involved in the program have been successful in reducing their academic performance gaps—as measured by grades in national exams—relative to non-TEIP schools. We also analyze the evolution in the proportion of national exams carried out in TEIP schools relative to non-TEIP schools, as these are a proxy for students’ desire to proceed into higher education. The analysis points to a general failure of the program in reducing the gap between TEIP and non-TEIP public schools regarding academic performance. In addition, the proportion of national exams undertaken in TEIP schools has been decreasing. These results question TEIP’s ability not only to enhance academic performance, but also to drive students into higher education.

Social inequality in access to higher education: grade inflation in private schools and the ineffectiveness of compensatory education

Access to higher education is affected by inequalities worldwide. Here we present a longitudinal study based on large databases of scores in upper secondary education and access to higher education in Portugal. Our findings show how access to higher education builds on and reinforces social inequalities: (1) private, fee-paying secondary schools inflate their students’ scores; (2) this inflation unfairly improves their chances of accessing higher education; (3) the Portuguese national compensatory education programme is ineffective in bridging the gap in academic performance between the less privileged and the rest of the schools. This study, then, provides further insights into how the upper classes are disproportionately benefited by the massification of higher education. To achieve greater equity, issues such as the State supervision of grading practices, the assessment and reconfiguration of compensatory education programmes, and the admission process into higher education have to be addressed.

The New Plan for the Prevention of School Failure in Catalonia (Spain)

This paper outlines the development of the Ministry of Education’s Compensatory Education Program focusing on the changes in Catalonia due to the Plan for Language and Social Cohesion. This program was the emblematic result of the reformist policy adopted in 1983 in the field of education. It was, therefore, a hopeful and optimistic discourse aimed at correcting social inequalities and producing higher levels of social justice. Despite the inherent weaknesses of this approach, the Compensatory Education Program has enabled carrying out interventions in particularly complex areas and, in addition, the range of activities has been very broad and ambitious. Currently, its disappearance and transformation poses a challenge to the government to address the education of ethnic minorities at risk of social exclusion as well as actions to promote school success, to reduce school failure (scheduled for 2018). The development of Education’s Compensatory Education Program will be useful to students of foreign origin in order to improve their academic opportunities and of continuing in the education system.

Delayed Effects of a Low-Cost and Large-Scale Summer Reading Intervention on Elementary School Children's Reading Comprehension

ABSTRACTTo improve the reading comprehension outcomes of children in high-poverty schools, policymakers need to identify reading interventions that show promise of effectiveness at scale. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost and large-scale summer reading intervention that provided comprehension lessons at the end of the school year and stimulated home-based summer reading routines with narrative and informational books. We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 59 elementary schools, 463 classrooms, and 6,383 second and third graders and examined outcomes on the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) reading comprehension test administered nine months after the intervention, in the children's third- or fourth-grade year. We found that on this delayed outcome, the treatment had a statistically significant impact on children's reading comprehension, improving performance by .04 SD (standard deviation) overall and .05 SD in high-poverty schools. We also found, in estimates from an instrumental variables analysis, that children's participation in home-based summer book reading routines improved reading comprehension. The cost-effectiveness ratio for the intervention compared favorably to existing compensatory education programs that target high-poverty schools.

Educational Reform and African American Male Students after Brown v. Board of Education

African American (Black) males in K–12 public schools lag behind all groups by race and gender. Black male students experience greater barriers in achieving academic success in school. This places Black boys at the bottom of the American's race and economic caste system. Black girls, for several reasons, are more successful in school than Black boys. This is true when you compare Black boys to Black girls from similar economic conditions. Black males are treated more negatively than any other racial or gender group in public elementary and secondary schools. They are more likely than other groups to be placed into lower academic tracks and lower academic programs (special education), and federal compensatory education programs. Black males are subjected to harsher school disciple and suspensions than are White students and Black females, which results in more Black male students being underachievers (Ladson-Billings, 2006). This sorting process by race and gender begins in elementary school, where more Black males are placed into lower academic tracks (Tyson, 2011) and are taught by less qualified teachers. This tracking system is coupled with more severe disciplinary action for Black boys. This article provides information on barriers for the lack of educational success among Black males.

Sosial klasse, språk og kompensatorisk undervisning i førskolealderen

SUMMARYThe theoretical and empirical background for and the development of the so—called compensatory educational preschool programs are briefly outlined. Having reviewed some typical examples, the premises on which these programs seem to be based, are identified. The substantial part of the paper is then devoted to a critical analysis of the most basic of these premises, namely the assumption that children from particular socio—economic backgrounds have an undeveloped and rudimentary language. This particular assumption is critically analysed and questioned in the light of modern theory and research on language and communication.

Reassessing the Achievement Gap: An Intergenerational Comparison of African American Student Achievement before and after Compensatory Education and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Using data from the Digest of Educational Statistics, this article argues that an intergenerational comparison is a more productive, progressive method to interpret data used to gauge the achievement gap. It applies this method by comparing the academic achievement scores and educational outcomes of African Americans over a nearly 70-year period, 1940-2008, and uses the metrics’ National Assessment of Educational Progress average reading scores in fourth and eighth grade and high school and college completion-most often applied in assessing the achievement gap. It argues that since the inception of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965), and the compensatory education programs that have grown out this act, African Americans have made some of the greatest strides in improving their educational performance and outcomes in virtually every measureable category used to assess the achievement gap. The intergenerational comparisons offered serve as a counterassessment to the traditional modes of analysis that compare the achievement scores and educational outcomes of white to minority students.

Inclusive cultures, policies and practices in Spanish compulsory secondary education schools: teachers’ perceptions in ordinary and specific teaching contexts

This article presents a study that attempts to inquire into the indicators related with inclusive education by taking into account teachers’ responses in the ordinary and specific teaching contexts (experts in special education needs, specialists in therapeutic pedagogy and compensatory education or specific programmes organised to accommodate diversity). We used a Spanish translation of the Index for Inclusion, which has been adapted and divided into three Likert‐type scales about inclusive cultures, organisation in the teaching–learning context and inclusive practices. We did a t‐test to detect any significant differences in teachers’ responses in terms of the ordinary or specific teaching contexts in which they work. No significant differences were seen in the items related to cultures and organisation, but we found significant differences in 12 of the 36 items of the inclusive practices scale. Finally, we discuss the role of the processes for innovation and transformation in secondary schools and provide key factors to build an intercultural inclusive school.

Do compensatory education programs compensate for the effect of family environment deficit on academic achievement?

Do compensatory education programs compensate for the effect of family environment deficit on academic achievement?

Impact of School Quality on Child Labor and School Attendance: The Case of CONAFE Compensatory Education Program in Mexico

This paper focuses on the impact that two different types of policy interventions, namely enhancing school quality and contingent cash transfers, have on child labor and school attendance in Mexico. While there are many studies on the impact of oportunidades on schooling outcomes, little evidence is available on whether school quality programs such as National Council of Education Promotion (CONAFE) also reduce child labor and help keep children in school. To carry out the analysis, it merge the oportunidades panel dataset for the years 1997 to 2000 to the CONAFE dataset containing detailed information on the school quality program components. The econometric strategy involves a bivariate probit model for child labor and schooling, both for primary school aged children and adolescents. In this way, the authors are able to control whether the impact of the program on schooling differs according to the age of the targeted child. The report findings suggest that school quality programs are not only effective in increasing school attendance, but also act as deterrents to child labor, especially for children of secondary school age.

Early Childhood Care and Education in Ireland and the Challenge to Educational Disadvantage

Acknowledging the common assumption locating the impact of education in its role to act as a mediator between origins and destinations, this paper examines Early Childhood Care and Education [ECCE], particularly the role state provided, compensatory education plays in challenging educational disadvantage. Initially operationalisation is made of the key concepts of ECCE, equality of opportunity and educational disadvantage. I then move to briefly describe the historical development of ECCE and compensatory education. Three state provided compensatory education programmes are identified: Rutland Street Project, Breaking the Cycle and Early Start. I conclude by outlining the significant impact early interventions can have in a young child's life and endorse the notion that targeting towards more disadvantaged children and their families is an initial prerequisite in the challenge to educational disadvantage.

Breaking the link between poverty and low student achievement: An evaluation of Title I

This study provides an evaluation of the impact of Title I funding of compensatory education programs on school finance and student performance in New York City public schools during the 1993, 1997 and 2001 school years. Estimates based on a regression-discontinuity approach indicate that the program was unsuccessful in improving student outcomes in high-poverty schools in New York City during this period, and may in fact have had adverse effects during the earlier years in our sample. Less evidence of a negative effect is found for the 2001 school year. These findings are related to the way in which the federal funds were spent.

Terms of Endearment: Words that Define and Guide Developmental Education

Although the issue of redefining the developmental education profession has been a constant in its history, the urgency to reexamine it has never been greater. As practice advances and changes, so must the language to describe it. A reexamination can be an opportunity to transform the work of the field, expand its borders, and redefine its essential role within postsecondary education. The developmental education profession has been identified by a variety of terms: academic preparatory program, remedial education, compensatory education, learning assistance, developmental education, and access program. This article argues that the field must articulate new language to help others better understand and support its efforts. New language may help professionals in the field recognize common goals and lead to more support for students and more effective positioning of programs to better meet institutional priorities.

Comments

Comment by Robert Boruch Brian Jacob and Jens Ludwig have developed a fine paper. I have no major disagreements with what they have said. I do, however, have suggestions that amplify their paper's virtues and may help to reduce its vulnerabilities. Randomized Controlled Trials versus Quasi Experiments Jacob and Ludwig declare that it is important, for scientific reasons, to mount comparative empirical studies to explore whether and when the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) differ from the results of nonrandomized trials, also called quasi-experimental designs (QEDs). They argue further that such comparative studies will drive up the demand for higher-quality education research, especially randomized trials. Let me suggest ways to build on their declarations. I agree with Jacob and Ludwig that the 2003 work of Steven Glazerman, Dan Levy, and David Myers is important.65 But Glazerman and his colleagues do not consider the directions of biases. They examine only absolute values in the bias. They do not consider scenarios in which bias direction ought to be taken into account and in which the direction of bias may be domain specific. That programs can be made to look harmful when they are merely useless is important to some policy people and certainly to some scientists. That some programs can be made to look as if their effects are positive when their actual effects are negligible is also important to some other policy people and to some scientists. First, we need to recognize that the direction of statistical biases in QEDs can be important and is likely to be domain specific. For example, D. T. Campbell and R. F. Boruch give plausible scenarios of the different ways in which compensatory education programs can be made to look harmful when, in fact, they are merely useless.66 An obvious and possible reason for a negative bias in ordinary least squares regression estimates based on observational survey data on some interventions is that adjustment variables (covariates, the right-hand side of the equation, and the like) are measured imperfectly. This, since the 1960s, arguably has resulted in biased estimates of the effects of Head Start, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act, and other programs when analyses were based on linear models applied to data from nonrandomized trials. A second basic condition is omitted variables, of course. [End Page 67] Think now about the uncertainty and magnitude of bias and how this might be domain specific. For instance, Larry Hedges and Amy Nowell, basing their work on within-country studies, and Aubrey Wang, basing hers on cross-country studies in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), find that boys' performance on achievement tests is more variable than girls'.67 These studies are based on probability sample surveys. We do not know why this holds for math across most of thirty countries in the TIMSS. But this domain specificity, gender being the domain, suggests that our ability to forecast for boys is inferior to that for girls, at least at times. The variability in bias, when an estimator is, in fact, biased, may then also be larger when the target is boys as opposed to girls. Thomas Fraker and Rebecca Maynard's comparative study of QEDs versus RCTs is among the few that attends to domain differences.68 Their work invites an exploration of the prospect that the bias in nonrandomized trials may be lower when the target is mainly women (in the Fraker and Maynard study, those who were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children) as opposed to mainly young males (in the same study, youth who were involved in Supported Work programs). The complications are obvious. Nonetheless, one implication is that, if we are interested in whether estimators are biased and, if so, by how much, domains may count. Coupling Randomized Controlled Trials and Quasi Experiments Jacob and Ludwig further suggest that randomized trials might routinely be yoked with nonrandomized studies (quasi experiments) so...

Chapter 2: Partisanship and Ideology in the ESEA Reauthorization in the 106th and 107th Congresses: Foundations for the New Political Landscape of Federal Education Policy

Jn January 1995, a coalition of House freshman members from the newly elected Republican majority called for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education. One of the leaders of the coalition, Representative Joe Scarborough (R-FL), said in May of 1995: great federal experiment in education is over. It is failed. It is time to move on (cited in Jennings, 1998, p. 156). On May 18, the House of Representatives passed a budget blueprint for the next 7 years that would cut education programs, including Head Start and Safe and Drug Free Schools, by $40 billion. The House also turned the federal school lunch program over to the states via block grants and set funding $10 billion below the projected growth in demand. Majority Leader Newt Gingrich (R-GA) invoked the building of the opportunity society as justification for cutting social programs for children and families. In the summer of 1995, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate funding for President Bill Clinton's Goals 2000 legislation and to cut funding for Title I, the major federal compensatory education program, by 17%. During the ensuing 6 years, many observers believed that the federal role in education was in decline. The Clinton administration's enforcement of compliance with the 1994 Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) was weak, and almost all of Clinton's new education proposals, from national testing to class-size reduction, were fought by the Republican House and Senate. In 1996, Republican presidential nominee Robert Dole's major proposals were teaching moral values in schools and a multibillion-dollar school voucher plan (elimination of the U.S. Department of Education was a plank in the GOP platform) (Jennings, 1998, p. 172). Six years later, in January 2002, Republican President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The most conservative congressional Republicans, who opposed the bill's extensive new testing mandates and absence of school voucher provisions, were largely left out in the cold as the president won a major domestic political victory. In fact, House Education and Workforce Committee chairman

Do Federal Compensatory Education Programs Really Work? A Brief Historical Analysis of Title I and Head Start

After more than three decades, popular federal compensatory education programs are now being criticized for failing to have done enough to close the large gap in school achievement between disadvantaged students and their more fortunate counterparts. This article will analyze the expanding federal role in K-12 education after the mid-1960s and focus on two particularly large and popular federal initiatives: Title I and Head Start. A brief historical overview of these programs will be provided as well as a discussion of some of the major evaluations of them. Finally, some suggestions will be made on how we might try to improve the effectiveness of these programs in the future.