Judging the success of school reform requires an
interpretative context in which to judge whether effects obtained
are large enough to be important or so small as to be a disappointment.
The logic of school reform suggests two frameworks with which
to judge the importance of effects. One is the size of the existing
achievement gaps between important groups in society. The other
is the size of gaps between mean achievement among schools (adjusted
for student characteristics). Data from the National Assessement
of Educational Progress (NAEP) are used to demonstrate that in
national data, gaps that appear large by one standard might appear
small by the other. We argue that the most appropriate framework
for judging reform effects is that national distribution of school
effects.
Spyros Konstantopoulos, Assistant
Professor of Human Development, Social Policy, and Learning Sciences;
Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern
University Larry V. Hedges, Board of Trustees Professor
of Statistics and Social Policy; Faculty Fellow, Institute for
Policy Research, Northwestern University
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