Special Issue of Educational Researcher Examines the Nature and Consequences of Null Findings in Education Research A new special issue of ER focuses on important questions raised by the prevalence of null findings—the absence of expected or measurable results—particularly in randomized control trials. Leading researchers address what it means when an evaluation produces null findings, why null findings are so prevalent, and how they can be used to advance knowledge. Read more New AERA Book Examines the Landscape and Effects of College Promise Programs AERA is publishing a new book titled Improving Research-Based Knowledge of College Promise Programs. The book is the first known collection of scholarly chapters dedicated to research on an array of college promise programs and their effects. Read more
Text-based “Nudges” to High School Seniors from School Counselors Boost Financial Aid Filing, College Enrollment High school seniors who receive texted reminders—or “nudges”—from their school counselors are more likely to complete the college financial aid application process and to enroll in college directly after graduating than their peers who are not nudged, according to a new study published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. Read more Study Finds Relationship between Racial Discipline Disparities and Academic Achievement Gaps in U.S. Schools An increase in either the discipline gap or the academic achievement gap between black and white students in the United States predicts a jump in the other, according to a new study published in AERA Open. Read more
2020 Award for Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research—October 31 Nominations Deadline The nominations deadline for the American Educational Research Association’s 2020 Award for Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research is October 31. Read more
Prudence Carter, National Expert on Educational Inequality, to Deliver 16th Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research Prudence L. Carter, dean and professor of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and national expert on inequality in education, will deliver the 2019 Brown Lecture. Read more
Video Research Recap - Aligning English Language Proficiency Standards With Content Standards A new article published in Educational Researcher highlights challenges and opportunities in aligning English language proficiency standards with academically rigorous content standards, as mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. Read more
AERA and CGS Awarded NSF Grant to Convene Leaders to Advance Open Science The American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) have received a collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation to convene higher education leaders, education researchers, and related scientists to advance academic support for open science. Read more
School Spending Cuts Triggered by Great Recession Linked to Sizable Learning Losses for Students in Hardest Hit Areas Substantial school spending cuts triggered by the Great Recession were associated with sizable losses in academic achievement for students living in counties most affected by the economic downturn, according to a new study published in AERA Open. Read more
New Research Video Recap - Rookie Mistakes: The Interplay of Teacher Experience and Racial Representation A new article published in Educational Researcher found that while the expectations gap between non-black and black teachers regarding black students’ academic potential persists regardless of experience, the gap is much larger among first year teachers. Read more
Study: School District Secessions in the South Have Deepened Racial Segregation between School Systems Since 2000, school district secessions in the South have increasingly sorted white and black students, and white and Hispanic students, into separate school systems, weakening the potential to improve school integration, according to a new study published today in AERA Open. Read more
School Segregation Worsens for Latino Children Compared with a Generation Ago Latino children are likely to enter elementary schools this year with fewer white peers than a generation ago, judging by data reported in a new study published in Educational Researcher. Read more
Study: Head Start Accountability Systems May Be Missing How Classroom Quality Varies Within Preschool Centers. A new study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that the high-stakes accountability policies used to monitor the quality of Head Start preschool centers may miss important variation in classroom quality within centers, which could lead to incorrect representations of center quality and inaccurate decisions about which programs need to re-compete for their funding. Read more Study Snapshot: Vanished Classmates: The Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement on School Enrollment. A new study published in the American Educational Research Journal found partnerships between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local police departments designed to enforce immigration laws reduced the number of Hispanic students in U.S. public schools in adopting counties by 10 percent after two years. Read more
Study Snapshot: Missed Exams and Lost Opportunities: Who Could Gain from Expanded College Admission Testing? A recent AERA Open study found that universal college admission testing in the state of Virginia could increase the number of high school graduates with test scores competitive for admission at universities in the state by as much as 40 percent—and at the most selective institutions, nearly 20 percent—with larger increases for low-income students. Read more
AERA Selects Prudence L. Carter to Deliver 2019 Brown Lecture in Education Research. Prudence L. Carter, dean and professor of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and national expert on inequality in education, has been selected by AERA to present the 2019 BrownLecture in Education Research. Read more
Study Snapshot: Cost Efficiency and Privatization at Public Research Universities in the United States. The privatization of revenue sources at public research universities, as a result of declining state support, has not necessarily increased their cost efficiency. From 2005 to 2015, short-term cost inefficiency has increased by 18.1 percent at these institutions. Read more Study Snapshot: Delayed Time-to-Degree and Post-College Earnings. College students whose time to graduation is delayed beyond four years are just as likely to be employed a decade after earning a bachelor’s degree as their “on-time” classmates. However, on average, delayed graduates earn 8 percent to 15 percent less, depending on the length and type of delay, than their on-time peers. Read more Study Snapshot: The Demotivating Effect (and Unintended Message) of Awards. While a vast majority of teachers and administrators report that their school recognizes students’ positive attendance through awards, perfect attendance awards largely have no positive impacts on student behavior, with some awards decreasing subsequent attendance. Read more Study Snapshot: Is Collegiate Political Correctness Fake News? Relationships Between Grades and Ideology. Researchers found that while standardized test scores are the best predictors of students' college grade point average, there is also a small relationship with ideology. However, any ideological biases have very modest impacts, with SAT scores and demographic factors playing much larger roles. Read more Study Snapshot: States’ Performance on NAEP Mathematics and Reading Exams After the Implementation of School Letter Grades. Overall, the 13 states that have implemented policies for A-F school letter grade accountability have fared no better or worse than other states in terms of increasing student achievement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) post policy implementation. Read more Study Snapshot: Uniform Admissions, Unequal Access: Did the Top 10% Plan Increase Access to Selective Flagship Institutions. Although the Top 10 Percent Plan admissions policy in Texas had the potential to increase access to the state’s flagship institutions for students from Texas high schools without a tradition of regularly sending students to those universities, it has done little since it was implemented in 1998 to expand acess for students from those schools. Read more Study Snapshot: Within-Year Teacher Turnover in Head Start and Children's Development. Within-year teacher turnover in Head Start—which happened at a rate of about 10 percent in both of the two years analyzed—is markedly and negatively associated with children’s language and literacy development, and with their behavioral and self-regulation skills. Read more Study Snapshot: Working During College: Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone. Students who work during college—accounting for background characteristics, college completion status, major program of study, college grade point average, and work behavior prior to college—earn more after college than similar students who do not work in college. Read more Study Snapshot: Workplace Violence: Risk for Teacher Exhaustion and Disengagement Through Relationships with Students and Colleagues. For teachers, being a victim of aggression or being a witness of verbal or physical violence against a student or a colleague leads to a decrease in work engagement and an increase in exhaustion over the course of five school years. Read more
AERA to Hold Town Hall Meetings on Sexual Harassment in Academe and Gun Violence Research at 2019 Annual Meeting AERA will hold two Town Hall meetings featuring prominent scholars and policy experts at its 2019 Annual Meeting. Read more Shaun Harper Voted AERA President-Elect Shaun Harper, a Provost Professor in the Rossier School of Education and Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, has been voted president-elect of the AERA. Read more
AERA to Live-stream Annual Meeting Opening Plenary and Presidential Address AERA has announced that it is live-streaming two sessions at the 2019 Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 5-9. The free live-streamed sessions include the Opening Plenary session and the AERA Presidential Address. Read more AERA Announces 2019 Award Winners in Education Research AERA has announced the winners of its 2019 awards for excellence in education research. AERA will honor the recipients for their outstanding scholarship and service at the Awards Ceremony and Celebration, April 7, at the AERA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Read more
More than 14,000 Education Researchers to Meet for 2019 Annual Meeting Join more than 14,000 AERA members and scholars from aligned fields and disciplines, policymakers, and practitioners in Toronto to hear from major speakers. Choose from more than 2,500 sessions featuring high-quality and timely education research. Read more
As Genetic Data Expand, Researchers Urge Caution in How Predictors of Learning and Education Outcomes Are Used In a review published online in AERA Open, researchers from Stanford University and the University of Cambridge warn that—as the predictive power of genes tied to learning and educational outcomes increases and access to genetic data expands—researchers, educators, and policymakers must be cautious in how they use such data, interpret related findings, and, in the not-too-distant future, apply genetics-informed student interventions. Read the press release
AERA Announces 2019 Fellows The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the selection of 10 prominent scholars as 2019 AERA Fellows. Read more
Media Invited to Register for 2019 Annual Meeting of Education Researchers Members of the media are invited to register to attend the AERA 2019 Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 5-9, for five days of cutting edge research, ideas, and engagement. Read more AERA Announces Most Read Education Research Articles of 2018 Research on the effect of private school attendance on student outcomes, the impact of teacher coaching on student achievement, the benefits of open and transparent education science, and more appears in the top 10 most popular journal articles published by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2018. Read more AERA Open Named Best New Journal in Social Sciences by the Association of American Publishers AERA Open was just named the “Best New Journal in Social Sciences” by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) for the 2019 Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE Awards). Read more
75 Science Societies Urge the Education Department to Base Title IX Sexual Harassment Regulations on Research and Evidence AERA and AAAS led 75 scientific societies in submitting comments on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed changes to Title IX regulations. Read more
Study Finds Link between Voter Preference for Trump and Bullying in Middle School A new study published in Educational Researcher found that bullying rates among middle school students in the spring of 2017 were 18 percent higher in localities where voters had favored Donald Trump than in those that had supported Hillary Clinton. Read more