Russell W. Rumberger

Research Projects and Publications

 

 

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

 

·        California Dropout Research Project

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation.

A series of recent reports suggest that less than 75 percent of ninth graders in California graduate from high school, and the percentage in some districts is fewer than 50 percent. The social and economic welfare of the state depends on finding a solution to this educational crisis.  The purpose of this project is to synthesize existing research and undertake new research to inform policymakers and the larger public about the nature of—and potential solutions to—the dropout problem in California.  The project will produce a series of reports and policy briefs addressing four facets of the issue: (1) the measurement and incidence of dropping out; (2) the educational, social, and economic costs of dropouts for individuals and the state; (3) the short-term and long-term causes of dropping out; and (4) proven interventions. Drawing on this information, a policy committee composed of researchers, policymakers, and educators will then draft a state policy agenda to improve California's high school graduation rate.

·        Investigating State, District, and School Variability in the English Learner Achievement Gap

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Educational Sciences.

 

According to the 2000 Census, almost 18 percent of the school-age population in the United States spoke a language other than English at home. Many of these children are not proficient in English when they enter school and are referred to as Limited English Proficient (LEP) students or simply English learners (ELs). There is a sizeable achievement gap between these students and English only students across all subjects and grade levels, but the size of the gap varies widely among states and districts. Pursuant to Goal One of the Institute’s priorities, this study will investigate the achievement gap between English learners and English only students and the variability in the achievement gap related to the policies and practices of schools, districts, and states.

 

PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS (sorted by topic)

  • Dropouts
  • Student mobility
  • English language learners
  • Preschool
  • Achievement gap
  • School segregation
  • Research methods
  • Higher education

 

Dropouts

 

“California’s exit exam fails employers.  Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2006.  Commentary.

 

National Institute of Statistical Sciences/Education Statistics Services Institute Task Force on Graduation, Completion, and Dropout Indicators: Final Report (Task Force Member).  NCES 2005-105.  Washington, D.C.:  U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2005.  Report (PDF).

 

“Test Scores, Dropout Rates, and Transfer Rates as Alternative Indicators of School Performance” (with Gregory Palardy).  American Education Research Journal, 41 (2005), 3-42.  Paper (PDF).

 

“Other view:  Under NCLB, state tinkers with dropouts” (with Daniel J. Losen).  Sacramento Bee, April 29, 2005.  Commentary. 

 

“Why students drop out of school.” In Gary Orfied (Ed.), Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis (pp.131-155). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2004.  (PDF version). (To order book).

 

“What can be done to reduce school dropouts?” In  Gary Orfied (Ed.), Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis (pp.243-254). Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2004.  (PDF version).  (To order book).

  

Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Student’s Motivation to Learn (contributor).  Committee on Increasing High School Student’s Engagement and Motivation to Learn, National Research Council.  Washington, D.C. The National Academy Press, 2003.

 

“The Early Employment and Further Education Experiences of High School Dropouts: A Comparative Study of the United States and Australia” (with Stephen P. Lamb).  Economics of Education Review, 22 (2003): 353-356.  Paper (PDF).

 

Who Drops Out of School and Why.  Paper prepared for the National Research Council, Committee on Educational Excellence and Testing Equity Workshop, “School Completion in Standards-Based Reform: Facts and Strategies,” Washington, D.C., July 17-18, 2000.  Paper (Word).

 

“The Distribution of Dropout and Turnover Rates among Urban and Suburban High Schools.” (with Scott Thomas) Sociology of Education, 73 (2000): 39-67.  Paper (PDF).

 

Capturing Latino Students in the Academic Pipeline (with Patricia Gándara, Hugh Mehan, and Katherine Larson).  University of California, Berkeley:  Chicano/Latino Policy Project, May 1998.  CLPP Policy Report (PDF).  California Policy Seminar Brief.

 

“Dropping Out of Middle School:  A Multilevel Analysis of Students and Schools.” American Educational Research Journal, 32 (1995): 583-625. Paper (PDF).

 

Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success (with Katherine Larson).  Technical Report, December 1995. 

 

Student mobility

 

“The causes and consequences of student mobility.” Journal of Negro Education, 72 (2003), 6-21.  Paper (PDF).

 

Student Mobility and Academic Achievement.  ERIC Digest (PDF).  Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, June 2002. 

 

The Educational Consequences of Mobility for California Students and Schools (with Katherine A. Larson, Gregory J. Palardy, and Robert K. Ream).  Research Series 99-2.  Berkeley, CA: Policy Analysis for California Education, March 1999. 

      Pre-production report (PDF).  Policy Brief (PDF). 

 

The Hazards of Changing Schools for California Latino Adolescents (with Katherine A. Larson, Gregory J. Palardy, Robert K. Ream, and Nina C. Schleicher).  University of California, Berkeley:  Chicano/Lation Policy Project, October 1998.  CPPP Policy Report (PDF).  California Policy Seminar Brief. 

 

 

English language learners

 

Preschool Participation and the Cognitive and Social Development of Language Minority Students.  CRESST/UC LMRI Technical Report, January 2006 (PDF version).

 

 “Seeking equity in the education of California's English learners.” (with Patricia Gándara).  Teachers College Record, 106(2004), 2032-2056.  Paper (PDF).

 

“English Learners in California schools: Unequal resources, unequal outcomes” (with Patricia Gándara, Julie Maxwell-Jolly, & Rebecca Callahan).  Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11, Retrieved October 7, 2003 from http: //epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n36/.   

 

The Inequitable Treatment of English Learners in California’s Public Schools (with Patricia Gándara).  Report prepared for the lawsuit, Williams v. State of California, April 2003.  Available on the WWW at: http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/williams. 

 

 

Preschool

 

“Less-costly alternatives to Prop. 82 could yield better results.”  San Jose Mercury, June 28, 2006.  Commentary.

 

Preschool Participation and the Cognitive and Social Development of Language Minority Students.  CRESST/UC LMRI Technical Report, January 2006 (PDF version).

 

Preschool for California’s Children: Promising Benefits, Unequal Access (with Rebecca Bridges, Bruce Fuller, Loan Tran)

      PACE/UC LMRI Policy Brief, September 2004 (PDF version).

 

 

Achievement gap

 

“Parsing the data on student achievement in high poverty schools.”  North Carolina Law Review, 85 (2007), 101-119.  (PDF version)

 

“Understanding and Addressing the Latino Achievement Gap in California” (with Brenda Arellano).  UC LMRI Working Paper, July 2004. (PDF version).

 

 

School segregation

 

 “The Impact of Segregation on Academic Achievement in Southern High Schools” (with Gregory Palardy).  In Resegregation of the American South, edited by Jack Boger, Chris Edley, and Gary Orfield.  Chapel Hill:  University of North Carolina Press, forthcoming.

      Chapter (PDF).  Technical Appendix (Word version).

 

“Does Segregation Still Matter?  The Impact of Social Composition on Academic Achievement in High School” with (Gregory Palardy) Teachers College Record, 107 (2005), 1999-2045.  Paper (PDF).

 

 

Research methods

 

“Multilevel Models for School Effectiveness Research” (with Gregory Palardy). In Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences, edited by David Kaplan, pp. 235-258.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004. (PDF version).  

 

 

Higher education

 

"The Economic Returns to College Major, Quality, and Performance:  A Multilevel Analysis of Recent Graduates" (with Scott Thomas).  Economics of Education Review, 12 (1993),  1-19. Paper (PDF).

 

 

Updated October 5, 2006.