Thursday, June 17, 2010

A Look at the 2010 LEAP and GEE Scores

A few weeks ago the Applied Research team blogged about the Louisiana Department of Education's release of the 2010 LEAP and Graduation Exit Exam (GEE) scores, providing a quick overview of the averages by school type and highlighting some interesting facts. Today, we announce the release of deeper analysis of the results. This briefing considers how these scores compare to the previous year and to 2007, the first full school year after Hurricane Katrina. We also look at how growth and decline in performance for all public schools in New Orleans compares with the state of Louisiana. And finally, we analyze the rates of growth public schools in the city were seeing before Katrina with those after. The brief can be downloaded here.

To comment on our analysis, please visit our blog post and let us know what you think. If you are interested in how a particular school performed, you can download information on 2010 4th grade LEAP, 8th grade LEAP , and GEE pass rates here.

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The Times-Picayune Covers the Cowen Institute's Response to the Institute for Race and Poverty's Report

As we mentioned in our last research e-news update, the Institute on Race and Poverty (IRP) at the University of Minnesota Law School recently released a report entitled “The State of Public Schools in Post-Katrina New Orleans: The Challenge of Creating Equal Opportunity .” The IRP report, which was commissioned by the Institute for Quality and Equity in Education at Loyola University, examines the expansion of public charter schools in post-Katrina New Orleans and the racial and income demographics of public schools in Orleans Parish and in the New Orleans region. The report criticizes the use of charter schools as a method of reform by claiming that they segregate students in New Orleans on the basis of race and income. According to the report, charter schools also use other forms of overt and subtle selection to shape their student bodies. The authors instead advocate for policies to desegregate schools by race and income through the use of magnet schools and regional desegregation policies.

In response to this report, the Cowen Institute released a written explanation of where and why we agree and disagree with the findings. We also provide an evaluation of the report’s conclusions in light of the evidence it offers and other available evidence.  Click here to read our full response. Last week, the Times-Picayune covered the release of the IRP's report and our response to it. The article included quotes from an Orleans Parish School Board member, the director of the Loyola Institute that commissioned the report, the author of the report, and the Cowen Institute's Assistant Director for Research, Michael Schwam-Baird.

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We're Hiring a Policy Research Analyst

The Cowen Institute is currently searching for a Policy Research Analyst to support our applied research and public policy initiatives. He/she will primarily be responsible for keeping data about K-12 public schools and national research up-to-date and accessible through our virtual research archive and data center. The position will also assist in the writing and disseminating of briefs, flash reports, blog posts, and other communications. In addition, the Policy Research Analyst will support the production of longer briefs, articles, and evaluations on relevant education topics to support the Cowen Institute’s mission of providing high-quality information and best practices to practitioners and policymakers. The ideal candidate for the position will have a master’s degree in a relevant field (such as education, psychology, policy, the social sciences, or history); one to two years of work experience in a writing, research, and/or policy position; and data gathering and analysis experience. Click here for a more detailed job description.

If you are interested in this position, please send your resume and a cover letter to Steve Cruz at scruz@tulane.edu. It is also required that anyone interested in the position submit a formal application at http://www.profilesams.com/index.asp?siteid=TULNAMS by Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Thanks for your interest in joining our team!

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