Annotated Bibliography Example

Article Summary
Citation: Lafortune, J., Rothstein, J., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2016). Can school finance
reforms improve student achievement? Washington, DC: Washington Center for Equitable
Growth.
Research Questions/Hypotheses: What is the impact of “adequacy”-based finance

reforms on student achievement? What is the impact of changes in state policies that send
funding to low-income districts?
Motivation/contribution: Many people argue money doesn’t matter in education. But

many previous studies on the topic are not very good, because they just look at correlations
between spending and student achievement. This paper uses national data and studies
court-mandated finance reforms. By studying court-ordered increases in funding, we can
obtain a better estimate of the causal effect of money on student outcomes.
Theoretical/conceptual framework: None stated
Data source (sample size, sampling, location, response rates, etc.): Student-level data
from the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) from 1990-2015. A
database of school finance reform court cases and their timing.
Methods (quant/qual/mixed, additional detail): Quantitative methods. “In order to

estimate how much adequacy-based school finance reforms have contributed to this
reduction, we use an “event study” design, which essentially looks at the result of three
successive differences for each school finance reform. We compare outcomes in high-
income and low-income districts (difference #1), in states where school finance reforms
have been implemented and where reforms haven’t been implemented (difference #2), and
before and after the reform (difference #3).” (p. 3)
Key Results: “state-level school finance reforms markedly increased the progressivity of
school spending, and that this increase was not accomplished by redistributing money
from rich to poor districts, but rather by increasing state funding across the board, with
larger increases in low-income districts.” (p. 3) “In states that did not implement reforms,
test scores in low-income districts deteriorated relative to high-income districts between
1990 and 2011, a reflection of rising inequality over this period. But in states that imple-
mented reforms, the gap closed slightly.” (p. 4) “A final result of our study is less
encouraging. While school finance reforms did successfully reduce achievement gaps
between high- and low-income districts, they did not have measurable impacts on gaps
between high- and low-income students.” (p. 5)
Implications: “The extra funding has important impacts that, while not enough to close the
achievement gap between high- and low-income districts, can contribute toward
narrowing it. Indeed, we find that a reform closes about one-fifth of the pre-reform gap.
There are no other policies that have been implemented at a large scale that have had
impacts of this size.” (p. 5) “There are still 22 states that have not implemented school
finance reforms since 1990. These states in general have larger gaps in funding between
high- and low-income districts that have not shrunken much in two decades. By moving
aggressively to ensure adequate funding in low-income districts these states could
markedly reduce funding gaps and move toward equal opportunity and more equitable
outcomes.” (p. 6)
Critiques/Weaknesses: n/a
Annotated Bibliography
Lafortune, J., Rothstein, J., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2016). Can school finance reforms
improve student achievement? Washington, DC: Washington Center for Equitable
Growth.
This paper investigates the impact of court-ordered school finance reforms on student
achievement. The authors construct a database of school finance reforms and analyze the
impacts on student achievement using student-level data from the National Assessment for
Educational Progress from 1990-2015. The authors’ approach compares high-and low-
income districts before and after a finance reform in states that have and have not had a
finance reform. They conclude that these reforms indeed increase overall school spending
levels and narrow or reverse the spending gap between high- and low-income districts.
They also conclude that these spending changes have large effects on student achievement
—they are enough to narrow the gap between high- and low-income school districts by
20%. However, the reforms have not been successful at narrowing the achievement gaps
between high- and low-income students, because of the way these students are distributed
across schools. The authors conclude by noting that 22 states have not yet had adequacy
reforms and arguing that, if they did, they would likely see similar outcomes.
Summary
Citation: Turner, C., & Cardoza, K. (Hosts.) (2017, October 18). Raising kings: A year of love
and struggle at Ron Brown College Prep. NPR Codeswitch [audio podcast]. Retrieved from
https://www.npr.org/series/557324733/a-year-at-ron-brown-high-school.
Research Questions/Hypotheses:
What is the performance of Ron Brown school? Does their method of educating students
really work?
Studying implementation and intermediate outcomes (not just test scores).
Motivation/contribution:
It’s an interesting new model with academic and social-emotional supports – makes it
worth investigating. Trying to serve a group (predominantly poor black boys) who have
historically not done well in school (in this district or in general).
Theoretical/conceptual framework:
Love/the role of close social connections/support.
Data source (sample size, sampling, location, response rates, etc.):

Outcomes – 100 black freshmen at Ron Brown school (Washington DC).
Teacher/parent/student interviews. Observations. Over the course of a full academic year.
Methods (quant/qual/mixed, additional detail):

Qualitative. Ethnography. Journalism.
Key Results:
Students became more trusting of teachers and peers. They were motivated by visiting
colleges to improve. Challenges with restorative justice model (parent and teacher).
Attendance improved (exceeded district average). Most students came back (few
dropouts). Improved learning by about a year, but given how far behind they were they
were still far behind. Teacher turnover was high – 50% between first and second year.
Implications:
Challenges with teacher buy-in (related to policies that allowed kids to progress without
high performance). Many of these kids are so far behind that one year’s progress may not
cut it. Challenges/benefits of changing schools from explicitly academic to more
social/emotional – what’s the purpose of education? Is self-segregation appropriate – what
are trade-offs? Are there elements (care team) that might benefit schools in general?
Critiques/Weaknesses:
Annotated Bibliography
Turner, C., & Cardoza, K. (Hosts.) (2017, October 18). Raising kings: A year of love and
struggle at Ron Brown College Prep. NPR Codeswitch [audio podcast]. Retrieved
from https://www.npr.org/series/557324733/a-year-at-ron-brown-high-school.
This three-part podcast investigates the first year of Ron Brown College Prep, an all-boys’
predominantly black charter high school in Washington, D.C. The authors use observations
and interviews with Ron Brown students, parents, teachers, and administrators, as well as
descriptive comparisons of educational outcomes, to illustrate the successes and challenges
of the school model. They find both positive and negative outcomes, suggesting that the
model is working well in some ways but not in others. The authors present evidence
suggesting that student retention, attendance, and achievement gains generally meet or
exceed the district average (especially when the comparison group is other nearby
schools). For instance XYZ statistic. In contrast, they document a number of challenges with
the implementation of the restorative justice discipline policy, and they note growing
teacher dissatisfaction and high teacher turnover (suggesting concern about the
sustainability of the model). Their conclusion seems to suggest that this kind of model can
have positive effects, but perhaps not enough to fully close large gaps that have emerged
earlier on. However, there is need for continued study.

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Article Summary

Research Questions/Hypotheses: What is the impact of “adequacy”-based finance

Motivation/contribution: Many people argue money doesn’t matter in education. But

Theoretical/conceptual framework: None stated

Methods (quant/qual/mixed, additional detail): Quantitative methods. “In order to

Data source (sample size, sampling, location, response rates, etc.):

Methods (quant/qual/mixed, additional detail):

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