http://erc.cehd.tamu.edu

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http//erc.cehd.tamu.edu
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The Development of the State of Texas Education
Research Center at Texas AM University Lessons
Learned about Formulating a Research Agenda to
Impact Educational Policy and Practice
MIS Annual Conference
February 27-29, 2008
San Francisco,
CA

• Jacqueline R. Stillisano, Karin Sparks, Hersh
  Waxman
• erc.cehd.tamu.edu

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Establishment of the State of Texas Education
Research Centers (ERCs)

• Jacqueline R. Stillisano
• Texas AM University

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Purposes of State of Texas ERCs

• Program was established by the 79th Texas
  Legislature (3rd called session, 2006)
• Section 100.5 authorized Texas Higher Education
  Coordinating Board (THECB) and Texas Education
  Agency (TEA) to establish centers for education
  research
• Legislature provided funding for 1 year

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• Research topics may include
• Impact of state/federal education program
• Performance of educator prep programs
• School finance
• Best practices of school districts
• Additional topics may include issues related to
  enrollment/graduation in higher education

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• Three Education Research Centers were funded in
  July 2007
• UTD The Texas Schools Project
• UT Austin University of Texas Center for
  Collaborative Educational Research and Policy
• TAMU State of Texas Education Research Center at
  Texas AM
• Satellite projects were funded through each
  individual ERC.

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Data Warehouse

• THECB will operate data warehouse under
  interagency contract with TEA
• Data warehouse will provide PK-12 and higher
  education data to the ERCs
• ERCs will be primary source of student level data
  for other researchers

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Program Oversight

• Joint Advisory Board (JAB) appointed by TEA/THECB
  to provide oversight guidance
• JAB meets twice yearly
• Reviews operations of the ERCs
• Examines current research projects
• Approves proposals for independent research
  projects

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Organizational Structure
TAMU Governance Advisory Committee
Stakeholder Advisory Committee
Technical Advisory Committee
Education Research Center At TAMU
Curriculum Instruction
Educator Preparation
School Finance, Resources, Facilities
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Research Focuses on Three Programmatic Areas

• Educator Preparation
• School Finance, Resources, Facilities
• Curriculum Instruction

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Educator PreparationProgram Area Projects

• Focus of the projects examine best practices in
  preparing, recruiting, retaining well-qualified
  teachers
• Math Science Teacher Preparation, Recruitment,
  and Retention Perceptions and Insights of Texas
  Middle School and High School Teachers
• Mid-Rio Professional Learning Community
  Math/Science Interactive Collaborative

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School Finance, Resources, Facilities Program
Area Projects

• Focus of the projects examine issues surrounding
  HB 1, which addressed school finance, property
  tax relief, and public school accountability
• The New Texas Two-Step Balancing the Pursuits of
  Fiscal Equity and Economic Efficiency During an
  Era of Educational Accountability in Texas
• What is the Impact of Variations in School
  facilities on Student Achievement, Teacher
  Retention, and the Cost of Education?
• Costs, Competition, and Consolidation

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Curriculum and Instruction Program Area Projects

• Focus of the projects promising practices in
  classroom instruction and their impact on student
  achievement
• What Works in Texas Identifying Best Practices
• The Effect of the Math Teks Connection (MTC)
  Project on Classroom Instruction and Students
  Mathematics Achievement

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Program Area Leaders

• Provide ongoing evaluation of the program and its
  work.
• Support professional development needs of
  research and support staff
• Identify/manage program resources
• Monitor progress of project activities
• Review deliverables generated by projects
• Write/edit interim and final reports

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• Additional organizational components and
  responsibilities of the ERC at TAMU
• Prepare future educational researchers
• Provide Research Fellows programs
• Facilitate research opportunities for external
  researchers
• Disseminate research findings

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Texas Education Agency/Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board Data Warehouse

• Karin Sparks
• Texas AM University

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ERC data comes from two sources1) Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (THECB)

• Data collected yearly on ALL students in
• Texas who attend

• Public Universities
• Community and Technical Colleges
• Health related Institutes

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Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) 2000 2008

• Student-level Admissions Data

• Gender and ethnicity
• Degree sought
• Ranking in HS
• Mother and Fathers educational level
• ACT SAT scores

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Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) 2000 2008

• Student-level Enrollment Data

• Classification
• Tuition status and residence
• Major or area of concentration
• Credit hours earned

• Student-level Graduation Data

• Type/level of degree awarded

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Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) 2000 2008

• Texas Success Initiative (formerly TASP)

• Students who do not meet minimum scores on
  ACT, SAT or TAKS
• TSI assessment in reading, writing and
  mathematics
• Provided with developmental studies in areas
  of deficiency

Student-level TSI Data

• Initial TSI score
• Number of credit hours in each developmental
• course
• Subsequent TSI score (pass/fail)

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Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
(THECB) 2000 2008

• Class Report

• Type of class (lab, lecture, seminar)
• Number enrolled
• Instructor information (tenure, non-tenure)

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2) Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 -
2005, 2005 2006, 2006 2007

• Data collected yearly on PK-12 public schools

• Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)

• Math Grades 3-10 plus Exit level
• Science Grades 5, 8 and 10 plus Exit level
• Reading Grades 3-9
• English Language Arts Grade 10 plus Exit level
• Social Studies Grades 8 and 10 plus Exit level

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• Non-TAKS Performance Indicators (student level)

• Demographic (Sex and ethnicity)
• Enrollment
• Campus
• Grade
• LEP status
• At-risk status
• Economic status

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• Non-TAKS Performance Indicators (student level)

• Participation in Special Programs
• Special education
• Career and technology education
• Bilingual/ESL
• Optional extended year program

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• Non-TAKS Performance Indicators (student level)

• Attendance
• Days absent and present

• Attendance in programs and services
• Special education programs
• Bilingual/ESL programs
• Pregnancy related services
• Gifted/talented programs

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• Non-TAKS Performance Indicators (student level)

• Course completion (for grades 9-12)
• Disciplinary Actions
• Leavers

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• Financial records for all Texas districts and
  campuses

• Budgets and actual expenditures
• How money is allocated and spent
• Source of funds
• Expenditures by program area

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Texas Education Agency (TEA) 2004 - 2005, 2005
2006, 2006 2007

• ISD Personnel Records

• Base pay and supplemental pay
• Demographic characteristics
• Educational attainment
• Teaching assignment
• Time allocation
• Population served

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Identifier for Student Records

• TEA and THECB files are linked by a common
• identifier.
• Names, SSNs and birthdates were replaced by a new
  (encrypted) identifier.

• FERPA Guidelines maintains confidentiality of
  these sensitive data
• Student PK-12 records to be matched by student
  across the three years
• Student PK-12 records can be matched to THECB
  Higher Ed college data
• Data can be linked to data from other state
  agencies such as the Texas Workforce Commission

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Research that utilizes the ERC data

• Examine the academic history and progress of
  students
• from PK-12 through college
• Provide an in-depth examination of
  educational
• outcomes, policies and programs
• Point to policies and initiatives that do and
  do not work
• Results provided to educational
  administrators and
• policymakers allow informed decisions on how
  to
• improve academic achievement

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Summary

• The student-level data that resides at the ERC
  at TAMU
• offers researchers access to information that
  is not
• typically available.
• The ERC serves as a point of access to
  studentlevel
• public education data for

• Researchers within AM who have been
  pre-approved
• to conduct projects that utilize the ERC
  data.
• Researchers and organizations who develop
  future projects that
• will use the data housed at the ERC at TAMU.

Data is open to researchers who submit proposals
to the ERC at TAMU
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Important Lessons for Research, Policy,
Practice Researchers Opportunities
Obligations to the Profession

• Hersh Waxman
• Texas AM University

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Introduction

• Opportunity v. Obligation
• Good Research v. Value-Added Research
• Engaged in important theoretical and empirical
  pursuits that ensure equity and excellence in
  education for all learners (Garcia, 2001)

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Important Lessons for Research

• Critical research questions should guide the
  research, NOT the data warehouse

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Important Lessons for Research

• We should focus on the big issues/ideas rather
  than just those that are manageable (I.e.,
  publishable)

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Important Lessons for Research

• Pragmatic issues generally trump research issues!

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Important Lessons for Research

• Interpretation of the data is as important as the
  quality of the data (Lewis, et al. 2008).
• Todays world provides us with too much data and
  not enough thought (Hallowell, 2006).
• Data gatherer v. great innovator

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Important Lessons for Research

• We have an obligation opportunity to provide
  training internships to researchers from HBCUs
  HSIs
• We have an obligation opportunity to provide
  training internships to prospective researchers

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Important Lessons for Policy

• Research policy can be an agent of change (NSF,
  2003)

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Important Lessons for Policy

• In order to close the achievement gaps, we need
  to focus on "structural" changes as well as
  "instructional" changes (Berliner, 2004).

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Implications for Practice

• Disseminate widely to different audiences (e.g.,
  rschrs, preservice clrm tchrs, administrators,
  school board members, policy makers)
• Disseminate in different formats (e.g., books,
  articles, policy briefs, videos, podcasts)

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Important Lessons for Practice

• We have the opportunity to create a learning
  community or network of researchers,
  policymakers, and practitioners to address
  critical educational issues

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3 Facets of Good Work

• Excellence in practice
• Concern with the social and ethical implications
  of ones work
• Engagement in something that matters and feels
  good (Gardner Shulman, 2005).

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Important Lessons for Practice

• Transformational change agents are inner directed
  and other focused (Quinn, 2000)
• Always try to have your research focus on making
  a difference on the lives of children.

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Delineating the Vision of the ERC at TAMU

• How do we define our mission in relation to the
  other ERCs?
• What is our unique contribution as one of three
  statewide centers?
• How can we be competitive, yet collaborative?

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Promoting the ERC at TAMU

• What value does the ERC bring to our college and
  to our university?
• How do we make our colleagues aware of what the
  ERC has to offer?
• How do we showcase the ERC to people and
  organizations outside the TAMU system?
• How do we encourage people to take advantage of
  the research opportunities provided by the ERC?

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Sustaining the ERC at TAMU

• How do we continue to build capacity as a
  research center?
• How do we maintain our visibility in the
  academic/research community?
• How do we generate income sufficient to support
  the data warehouse?

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State of Texas Education Research Center at
Texas Am University

• http//erc.cehd.tamu.edu