Adequate Yearly Progress Status, Urbanicity, and Sector: School-to-School Variation in Instruction

• In Event: 63.057 - When the Pressure Is On: Effects of Accountability on Instruction

Abstract

Recent policy changes, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), has led educators, parents, and the general public to view schools as intrinsically different. This study investigates if AYP status, locale, and sector – common variables people use to judge the quality of schools – accurately signal true differences in instructional practices in high school mathematics and science. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), we find the school-to-school variation in instructional practices to be quite minimal. Controlling for a variety of school and teacher characteristics, we find that there is no difference in the use of developmental instruction between schools that make AYP and schools that do not, urban and non-urban schools, and public and private schools.

Authors

• Laura Northrop, University of Pittsburgh

• Sean P. Kelly, University of Pittsburgh