Definition of policy
Authoritative allocation of values
Policy as value-laden action
Policy as actions that assign ideals
Policy as text
Written rules
Policy as process
Continuous cycle of decisions
Policy as discursive
Policy being interpreted differently over time
Reactive policy
Developing a rule responding to an event
Proactive policy
Preventing a problem before it happens
Democratic equality
Public good; students are to become democratic citizens
Social efficiency
Both public and private good; vocational approach to education
Social mobility
Private good; focused on the individual competing in a capitalistic society
What two pieces of legislation pushed schools to use VAM's?
Race to the Top and ESSA
What are the drawbacks when using VAM's?
Students are not randomly assigned to teachers or to schools and teachers are not randomly assigned to classes or to schools. Therefore, the condition everything else being equal cannot be met and causal inferences (e.g., teachers are the cause of student
What was the result of the STAR experiment about class size in Tennessee?
By the age of 20 students who were in smaller classes had a 2% higher chance of being in college
By age 27 there was no difference in the students' incomes
What was wrong about the STAR experiment about class size?
Cut offs for size of classroom both large and small was not justified
It was automatically assumed that there would be less distractions in the smaller classes
Tennessee is not representative of the whole United States
What are the two main issues with class size?
It's expensive
There's no solid evidence that it works
What is the main argument against teachers' unions?
Underlying policy assumption is that the interests of teachers-as-employees and the organization that bargain on their behalf are not aligned with the interests of children or the state
What are mandatory topics in regards to collective bargaining?
Things that directly affect the compensation and working conditions of teachers and often include wages, hours
What are permissive topics in regards to collective bargaining?
Topics are one step removed from core employment terms including things like textbooks, educational objectives
Freedom of choice
Rights of families to choose schools for their kids that correspond to their values, educational philosophies, etc.
Productive Efficiency
Maximization of educational results for any given resource constraint
Equity
Quest for fairness in access to educational opportunities
Social Cohesion
Schooling within a democratic society; leading students to become full democratic citizens