Think Twice Weekly Report

SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 - SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

The Think Twice Weekly Report compiles public education-related policy reports, research and articles of interest to policymakers, educators and stakeholders. This list is not exhaustive but is meant to highlight recent reports that may be used to support or undermine the work of our subscribers in supporting public schools. We encourage you to take a moment to scan these reports and determine if they may be used by policy makers to assist or erode your mission.




Policy Reports


Accountability

Source: EdTrust
Date: 9/18/2024
Reassessing ESSA Implementation: An Equity Analysis of School Accountability Systems

EdTrust believes that states' school accountability systems should be designed and implemented to ensure all students have access to high-quality learning experiences by identifying schools producing the lowest outcomes for students and providing these schools with the additional resources and supports they need to improve, while providing all schools with data that can inform resource allocation and continuous improvement efforts. However, our recent review of publicly available information on state accountability systems reveals that states have a long way to go in realizing the promise of leveraging these systems to support school improvement and, ultimately, better opportunities for all students.

Computing, Technology, and Information Systems

Source: Center for American Progress
Date: 9/17/2024
Using Learning Science To Analyze the Risks and Benefits of AI in K-12 Education

This issue brief is the second in a summer 2024 series of products from the Center for American Progress that will focus on policy recommendations to enhance the use of technology in K-12 public schools.

Teacher Employment and Retention

Source: NTCQ
Date: 9/20/2024
Reimagining the Teaching Role: Research Summary

Teachers' working conditions (that is, their perception and happiness with the environment in which they work) are linked to their overall satisfaction with the job, and ultimately their decision to stay or leave the profession. To keep the most effective teachers, we need to strengthen and foster positive working conditions. We can do so through potential strategies like more collaborative roles, better instructional materials, and stronger professional supports-all of which have been shown to lead to more satisfied teachers. This context opens the door for emerging conversations about reimagining instruction in schools, redefining teaching roles, and exploring how states develop, strengthen, and support their educator pipelines to improve student outcomes.

Tuition Tax Credits

Source: Commonwealth Foundation
Date: 9/17/2024
Pennsylvania's Education Tax Credit Scholarships: How EITC Serves Children and Families in the Commonwealth

"Key Points: Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are state tax credit programs that give thousands of low- to middle- income students access to high-quality schools of their choice.

Scholarship organizations awarded 77,670 K-12 scholarships in 2021-22, up more than 15,000 from the previous year. Unfortunately, the state denied over 63,000 student scholarship applications because of arbitrary program caps. Students now attend school on an EITC or OSTC scholarship in all 67 counties.

New state requirements that went into effect beginning July 1, 2024, require that 90 percent or more of scholarship donations fund eligible scholarships, with 10 percent reserved for administration fees; 70 percent of scholarship organizations already meet this requirement.

Data from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia indicates tax credit scholarships empower low- income families in low-achieving schools with an alternative education for their children. Most families receiving tax credit scholarships earn below the median income level for their respective counties, and the counties with the most low-achieving public schools have the highest number of scholarship recipients. The average household income for EITC and OSTC scholarship recipients across the state ranges from $41,463 and $73,100 annually.

Tax credit scholarship recipients routinely outperform their public school peers, which the case studies manifest. Tax credit students graduate and matriculate to college at higher rates than their public school counterparts and are present at school even while public schools are experiencing unprecedented chronic absenteeism.

Tax credit scholarship programs fulfill a core need for low- to middle-income students in Pennsylvania. The data in this initial report provides a basis for their expansion alongside other new scholarship programs to improve access to educational opportunity for the children and families of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."

School Evaluation / School Reform and Restructuring

Source: CRPE
Date: 9/12/2024
The State of the American Student: Fall 2023

"As we reported in our inaugural State of the American Student report in September 2022, the Covid-19 pandemic and related school closures led to unprecedented academic setbacks for American students. They exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and accelerated the mental health crisis for young people. This second edition provides basic data on the overall system, but focuses especially on students who are nearing graduation, or have already graduated, from high school. The traditional pathways to college and career were already not working for too many of these students. The pandemic made everything worse."

Reports Reviewed


GLC seeks to ensure that policy briefs impacting education reform are based on sound, credible academic research. Below are reviews conducted with GLC support.



Review of Helping Families Navigate the Changing Education Landscape

Source: Cato Institute
Reviewed by: Huriya Jabbar, University of Southern California

A recent Cato Institute report describes how Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), the newest form of private-school voucher, have the potential to transform education by giving families increased options for tailoring their child's education, especially with the guidance of special consultants along the way. A review of that report, however, determines that it fails to provide useful evidence to support its conclusions and its recommendation that the cost of these "choice navigators" should be included as an eligible expense.

In her review of Helping Families Navigate the Changing Education Landscape, Huriya Jabbar of the University of Southern California agrees with the report's assertion that the school choice environment is becoming increasingly complex, particularly with the advent and rapid growth of ESAs. She also does not contest the likelihood that families, particularly those from historically marginalized groups, may benefit from additional guidance, a documented challenge stemming from differential access to information and resources needed to successfully access and enroll in educational programs.




What We're Reading


Research and articles that we want to highlight for subscribers as potential resources:



Trump wants to shut down the Department of Education. Here's what that could mean

By: Katie Lobosco, CNN

This article outlines what the Department of Education does and how eliminating it could play out.


In an Unprecedented Move, Ohio Is Funding the Construction of Private Religious Schools

By: Eli Hager, ProPublica

The state is giving millions in taxpayer dollars directly to private schools to help them renovate and expand their campuses. It may be the next frontier in the push to increase the use of school vouchers, proponents say.


Americans' Views on Book Restrictions in U.S. Public Schools 2024

By: Knight Foundation

Book challenges and restrictions in U.S. public schools have increased dramatically since 2021. Yet research on public awareness, attitudes and engagement in these activities is limited. In an effort to fill this critical knowledge gap in the national dialogue, Knight Foundation partnered with Langer Research Associates to survey a random national sample of more than 4,500 adults, deeply exploring public attitudes on restricting students' access to books in public schools. This research extends the foundation's two-decade history of public opinion polling on attitudes toward the First Amendment and free expression.


The State of the American Student: Fall 2024

By: CPRE

The Center on Reinventing Public Education released their third State of the American Student report. This report updates the field annually on the state of public education and COVID-19 recovery efforts. It covers what they have determined students and families need, how school systems are responding, what barriers they face, and what promising innovations show the potential to propel a more just, responsive, and joyful public education system.


Talking back to the failing-schools narrative

By: Mark Hlavacik, Jack Schneider, KAPPAN

Media coverage shapes perceptions of public schools by pushing a pervasive message of crisis. A more nuanced and multifaceted conversation can help.