News
Proving the School-to-Prison Pipeline
At issue is the school-to-prison pipeline—a term often used to describe the connection between exclusionary punishments like suspensions and expulsions and involvement in the criminal justice system. Black and Hispanic students are far more likely than white students...
The Covid-19 Pandemic Is a Lousy Natural Experiment for Studying the Effects of Online Learning
The Covid-19 pandemic that prompted a nationwide shutdown of schools and a shift to online instruction in spring 2020 also prompted a wave of articles calling this instructional change a “natural experiment” that could be used to study the effects of online education....
Newark Students, Including Special Needs and English Learners, Are Less Likely to Transfer Out of Charters than District Schools, Study Finds
Students who land in charter schools are less likely to leave—including English learners and students with disabilities. In a new study released by the Wheelock Educational Policy Center, researchers use data from Newark, New Jersey to represent the clearest evidence...
New Wheelock Educational Policy Center Will Put Research in the Hands of Policymakers, Drive National Conversations
Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development is taking another big step forward, one that expands the cross-discipline collaborations that began with the 2018 merger of Wheelock College and Boston University. The college recently launched...
New Database Shows How the Largest 40 School Districts in Massachusetts Have Responded to the Coronavirus
Almost a quarter of public school districts in Massachusetts are in fully remote learning models due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But among the state’s 40 largest districts, the rate is nearly double. According to a survey released by Boston University and the...
Regulatory Arbitrage in Teacher Hiring and Retention: Evidence from Massachusetts Charter Schools
Charter schools in the US – publicly funded, but independently operated schools of choice – are often criticized for competing with and harming the quality of surrounding traditional public schools. This column examines Massachusetts’s expansive and effective...
Are Charter Schools Hurting Traditional Public Schools?
WEPC faculty director Marcus Winters joins The Report Card with Nat Malkus podcast to weigh in on whether the expansion of the charter school sector harms students who remain in traditional public schools.
How Charter Schools Train Teachers
Advocates of school choice sometimes say that a little competition is good for everyone. Case in point: A new analysis suggests that charter schools serve as a proving ground for effective teachers who aren’t yet licensed, but who eventually get poached by traditional...