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STATE TO RECONVENE ABBOTT EVALUATION WORK GROUP
GROUP TO CONSIDER RESEARCH PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS
After suspending the process to award a
contract for a "comprehensive formal evaluation"
of the Abbott programs in June 2005, the New Jersey Department
of Education (NJDOE) asked a panel of researchers to review
the original evaluation design and recommend next steps.
The panel included Andrew Porter, Professor
of Education Leadership and Policy at Vanderbilt University;
Cecilia Rouse, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at
Princeton University; and Ronald Ferguson, Economist and Lecturer
of Public Policy at Harvard University.
On October 14th, NJDOE issued a "Final
Report" entitled "Improving the Evaluation
Method of Abbott Schools", containing the panel's recommendations.
The panel recommends that NJDOE 1) adjust its statistical
model; 2) conduct a review of the scholarly literature to
identify best instructional practices; and 3) implement randomized
controlled trials to individually evaluate these practices
in the Abbott districts.
The Report does not specify whether the
NJDOE should implement these actions in addition to
or as a replacement for a comprehensive evaluation
of the implementation and impact of the Abbott programs and
reforms. In 1998, the NJ Supreme Court ordered the State to
evaluate implementation of the Abbott programs.
The Abbott Evaluation Work Group, formed
pursuant to the 2003 mediation agreement between NJDOE and
ELC, is scheduled to reconvene on December 15th to consider
the panel's recommendations, preview efforts by the NJDOE
to establish a student-level information system in the Abbott
Districts, and chart next steps for the evaluation.
For more information, contact Lesley Hirsch
at 973-624-1815, ext. 15 or lhirsch@edlawcenter.org.
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ABBOTT EVALUATION WORK GROUP
MEMBERS
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Steven Barnett, Rutgers University |
Gordon MacInnes, New Jersey Department of
Education |
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Thomas Corcoran, University of Pennsylvania |
Ernest Reock, Rutgers University |
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Lesley Hirsch, Education Law Center |
Cecilia Rouse, Princeton University |
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Penelope Lattimer, New Jersey Department
of Education |
Willa Spicer, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors
Association |
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James H. Lytle, Trenton Public Schools |
Elaine Walker, Seton Hall University |
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Prepared: November 10, 2005
Copyright © 2005 Education
Law Center. All Rights Reserved.
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