Despite speculation that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001s (NCLB) finely tuned attention to improving academic opportunities for traditionally low-performing students and student subgroups compromises educational opportunities of high-performing students, there is limited empirical evidence that NCLB actually inhibits the progress of high-performing students. Consequently, ideological predispositions have dominated public interest in distributional effects under NCLB. A Student X Subject general linear model with school and Year X Grade fixed effects is estimated to isolate whether a school, based on prior years performance, has targeted resources to (a) students in a failing subgroup, (b) students in a failing subject, and/or (c) students failing math on a failing subgroup in Idaho. There is strong evidence that NCLBs threat of sanctions increased incentives for schools and school districts to elevate learning opportunities for traditionally low-performing students and student subgroups, but that the increased performance by traditionally low-performing students and student subgroups did not occur at the expense of traditionally high-performing students. It appears that Idahos response to NCLB is one of improved efficiency and not achievement tradeoffs, in that traditional public schools in the state did more with the same level and distribution of resources as in years past.

This study examines both school and classroom level peer group effects on middle school student academic and behavioral outcomes in a mid-size urban district in the South. Identification of peer effects faces three major methodological challenges: simultaneity bias, selection bias and correlated omitted variable bias. This study circumvents the simultaneity bias by using pre-determined peer characteristics and lagged values of peer behaviors. In order to eliminate the endogeneity bias from self-selectivity and correlated omitted variables, I exploit the magnet school admission lotteries to form instruments for the endogenous peer variable. A magnet school admission lottery randomly assigns students to the magnet school (treatment group) or neighborhood schools (control group); meanwhile, conditional on the attendance zone, the lottery also randomly assigns students to the peers who they will encounter in either the magnet school or the neighborhood school. Therefore, magnet school lotteries bring exogenous variation in peer characteristics and will be exploited to overcome the critical issue of selection bias in identifying peer effects. Three research questions have been investigated in this study: the average peer group effect, the effects of peer heterogeneity, and the heterogeneous peer effects. This study finds substantial classroom peer effects on both student academic achievement and disciplinary infractions. For example, students score higher and behave better when the class has more high performers, well behaved peers, or peers from high income families. Percent black students is found reducing individual academic achievement and increasing student disciplinary infractions from both level analyses. This study does not find any evidence that the dispersion of peer characteristics impacts individual academic achievement or behavioral records. Significant heterogeneous peer effects are found on some subgroups of students. For instance, female students are less impacted by peers, and black and low income students tend to have more behavioral problems if surrounded by high proportion of same group peers.

This study examines the relationships between three dimensions of principal instructional leadership in the context of four school districts implementing standards-based instructional reforms in middle school mathematics. It investigates the degree to which the depth of principals vision for standards-based mathematics instruction and the extent of their involvement in instruction influence the expectations that mathematics teachers perceive for their standards-based practice. Analysis first examines the validity of a subject-specific version of a survey-based scale for principal involvement, using a multi-level Item Response Theory (IRT) model. Validity is generally supported, though the scale would benefit from items designed to measure higher levels of the involvement construct. Results show that, overall, subject-specific leadership for standards-based math instruction appears to follow similar patterns to that of instructional leadership across an entire school, while also posing some additional challenges for principals. A rubric for principal expectations for standards-based mathematics instruction is then developed. Thirdly, several elements of principal vision of mathematics instruction are measured. Then, a hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) is used to test hypotheses about the extent to which principals instructional involvement and vision predict teachers perceptions of expectations for standards-based instructional practices. The explanatory model indicates that the principals vision for standards-based mathematics instruction has a significant predictive effect on teachers perceptions of standards-based instructional expectations, and the model accounts for 50% of between-school variance. However, the means through which the principals vision influences teachers perception of expectations is unclear. No association is evident between the tasks of the principal involvement scale and the degree to which teachers report instructional expectations aligned with the goals of standards-based instruction. Among the limitations to the study: The involvement measure appears sensitive to principal involvement in instruction for the purpose of achieving multiple goals. Additionally, the expectations perceived by teachers tend to be form-oriented and the ability to extrapolate to function-oriented expectations may be limited. Finally, vision and expectations variables are both cognitive measures; associations with actual classroom practice may differ.

This study provides information about the socialization experiences of African American college students within historically Black and predominantly White institutional contexts. Drawing on Weidmans (1989) conceptual framework for college student socialization, this study illuminates college student perceptions of individual and institutional factors that influence the socialization experiences of African American college students including: student background characteristics, parental socialization, non-college reference groups, in-college experiences, and socialization outcomes as central factors in the process of undergraduate student socialization. The data for this study was collected through in-person, semi-structured interviews conducted with African American college juniors at a historically Black, private, selective, research university, and at a predominantly White, private, selective, research university as well as participant observation, and the collection of artifacts. Across both institutions, students early commitment to college participation, expectations and preparation for college, parents, and formal college experiences including interaction with faculty in-class influenced students socialization. Participants also had limited interaction with non-college references at both institutions. Parents were perceived as an influence in students pre-college college as well as in college experiences. Institutional factors that emerged as push and pull factors across both institutions included faculty-student interaction in class, and more specifically faculty expectations and class structure, concern for students learning, rapport with students, and engagement of students in-class. Several themes emerged that differed across institutional contexts relative to students socialization experiences. At the predominantly White institution, institutional choice, and peer norms including perceptions of the prevailing image of students, and patterns of peer interaction emerged as themes in the data. At the historically Black institution, institutional choice, institutional values, perception of a lack of administrative support as well as peer norms including perceptions of the prevailing image of students. In sum, this study provides insights that can be utilized to enhance the socialization experiences of African American college students across both historically Black and predominantly White postsecondary institutional contexts.

Over the past 80 years, many scholars and higher education professionals have attempted to better understand college student persistence and the institutional characteristics which are most strongly associated with an institutions ability to retain students. One institutional characteristic that has received little empirical attention over these many years is organizational racial composition. This study examines the relationship between college/university undergraduate student body racial diversity and institutional freshmen retention and six-year graduation rates. The findings suggest that increased student body racial diversity is positively related to overall institutional freshmen retention rates but not significantly related to institutional six-year graduation rates. These relationships, however, were conditional on various institutional characteristics.

This dissertation examines the role of trustees in fundraising at private liberal colleges in the United States. It consists of two studies. The first study uses quantitative data from a 2004-2005 Council of Independent Colleges survey as well as the IPEDS and Voluntary Support of Education surveys. Multiple regression is used to determine what board variables influence total individual, corporate, and foundation giving. Most alumni demographic factors are not significant, although having higher percentages of alumni on the board negatively influences individual and corporate giving, and the percentage of the board in the field of medicine positively impacts foundation giving. However, the models for foundation and board giving explain very little of the variation. The second study is a set of three qualitative case studies of CIC-member institutions. All are PWIs in the Southeast with weak ties to Protestant denominations. In this analysis, the roles of board members are compared with what the literature, both theoretical and normative, suggests they ought to be. Board members at Pine, Maple, and Oak do not view themselves or act as principals in a principal-agent relationship with their president. Their involvement in fundraising is primarily limited to giving, with other tasks such as fundraising calls only undertaken at the administrations request. Most do not make fundraising policy, solicit donations, or refer prospects; most have undergone no training in fundraising and do not have very sophisticated understandings of fundraising, either in general or at their college in particular. Board members, in short, are expected to be donors, but the board as a whole does not have collective fundraising duties.

The purpose of this study is to understand how the process of educational assimilation differs between refugee and non-refugee immigrant students. More specifically, the study examines how well the segmented assimilation theory, which is the most-widely used theoretical framework in studying immigrant adaptation, can explain the difference in educational expectations between refugee and non-refugee immigrant students. The themes and patterns that emerged from the experiences shared by students offer a starting point for a larger study in the future. Student interviews revealed that life-historical contexts were especially key to understanding educational assimilation for refugee students, because their past traumatic events such as war, loss of a family member, poverty, and life at refugee camps in their country of origin had a profound impact on their and their families¡¯ original decisions to come to the United States. In sum, this research serves as a pilot study for the purpose of testing the appropriateness and adequacy of the conceptual framework and interview protocol, which were mainly developed from the theory of segmented assimilation. The interview protocol was refined by deleting questions, adding new questions, and rephrasing questions.

Homeless elementary school students are a vulnerable population. My mixed-methods study looks closely at one large urban district to determine how its homeless students fare academically and how their schools strive to meet their multiplicity of needs. My quantitative analysis shows that homeless students do not perform notably worse than low SES students who have housing. No school-level factors are found to predict homeless student achievement, and differences in average homeless students scores across schools are very small. In qualitative interviews and surveys with principals, teachers, and guidance counselors, I find that most are primarily concerned with logistical issues and providing emotional support, rather than designing specific academic interventions for homeless students. Although the strategies interviewees described mirror the literature closely, I did not find that schools whose homeless students performed above district averages employed different strategies than those below. Most strategies described as supporting homeless students are used for struggling housed students as well. I offer implications of my findings for research, policy, and practice.

This dissertation focuses on teacher retirement systems. The defined benefit pension plans that cover K-12 public school teachers in most states face two major problems: they may not be financially sustainable as large numbers of teachers retire in the coming years, and they may not be serving to recruit and retain a high-quality teaching force. I propose that in order for pensions to serve as a policy lever to attract and retain high-quality teachers, three conditions must be met. First, teachers must understand their retirement plans and the incentives imbedded therein. Second, they must value these incentives. Finally, the incentives must be aligned with the desired pattern(s) of retirement behavior. This dissertation investigates the extent to which each of these conditions is being met using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey and Teacher Follow-Up Survey as well as original data collected via a survey and embedded focus groups. It also outlines how pensions could be reformed to be better aligned with desired retirement behavior to recruit and retain high-quality teachers.

This research project examines school superintendents advice-seeking behavior as it relates to strategic decision making. Using an exploratory design intended to launch follow-on studies to pioneer this field of research in education administration, the study combined field observations with open-ended interviews to find out if mandated state and federal school reforms had increased superintendents focus on strategic matters, and, if so, how advice-seeking tendencies influenced related decision-making processes. Time-on-activity data showed a large increase in strategic behavior, and triangulation of interviews revealed four advice-seeking behaviors (Isolation, Broad Search, Confer with Consultants and Other) that basically described two tendencies (limited search or broad search for alternatives). Although similar to CEOs in several areas, superintendents were found to differ in a unique way: school administrators who tended to limit input leaned toward isolation, whereas business executives who limit input prefer to confide in friends or CEOs like them (seeking people who would affirm rather than challenge their ideas).