Education policy at American Institutes for Research and CALDER
Joined April 2016
- Tweets 179
- Following 70
- Followers 182
- Likes 47
22 Photos and videos
Ben Backes retweeted
1 May 2025
New CALDER paper by @_ZeyuXu_ & @brbackes finds that in 2-year colleges in @KCTCS, HS GPA is a stronger predictor of gateway course success than test scores-- though neither has very strong predictive power alone. Read the full paper to learn more: bit.ly/4iNTibV
ALT Figure 4 from CALDER Working Paper 318-0525
3
11
432
10 Apr 2025
Still looking for 1-2 more papers- please get in touch if thinking of submitting something value-added-ish to #2025APPAM
x.com/shahh_hema/status/1908…
5 Apr 2025
Looking to form/join a panel at #2025APPAM with my JMP!
I estimate teacher value added on ACT scores, then look at impacts on college enrollment & college performance. Message me if you have a related paper on teacher/school VA or predictors of college enrollment/ performance!
2
493
Ben Backes retweeted
21 Jan 2025
Publication alert! Our @caldercenter
paper on inclusion and special education teacher attrition in MA, w/ @brbackes, @jecowan,
@CEDR_US, & Zeyu Jin, is now published in JLD. Abstract and links below!
Published: tinyurl.com/p5hvfdwx
Ungated: tinyurl.com/3t94s45f
1
5
14
1,128
Ben Backes retweeted
20 Sep 2024
Want to learn more about what different measures tell us about the quality of the teacher workforce? Check out this new CALDER Brief by @brbackes, @jecowan, @DeArmondMM, @CEDR_US & @RoddyTheobald based on findings from the paper below.
Brief: caldercenter.org/publication…
5 Oct 2022
Excited to finally release into the wild our @caldercenter Working Paper that examines the relationship between both test and non-test value added and student long-run outcomes (i.e., college enrollment) (with @jecowan, @RoddyTheobald, and @CEDR_US)
caldercenter.org/publication…
1
3
4
1,040
Ben Backes retweeted
18 Sep 2024
@brbackes, James Cowan, Dan Goldhaber (@CEDR_US) & @RoddyTheobald connect "nontest" teacher performance markers, such as absences and grade progression, to student college enrollment with important findings for #EducationEquity.
doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1023-131…
3
7
375
13 Sep 2024
Now published! jhr.uwpress.org/content/earl…
5 Oct 2022
Excited to finally release into the wild our @caldercenter Working Paper that examines the relationship between both test and non-test value added and student long-run outcomes (i.e., college enrollment) (with @jecowan, @RoddyTheobald, and @CEDR_US)
caldercenter.org/publication…
3
10
745
Ben Backes retweeted
25 Jul 2024
A big thanks to @NCTQ for their write up of our (@brbackes, @jecowan, @CEDR_US) research on emergency license teachers in MA. This paper is now out in EER, see below for the paper and one page summary!
Published paper: sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
One pager: caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
In the past four years, almost every state has lowered its entry standards for teaching. NCTQ President @HeatherPeske knows this all too well, as she was one of those state policymakers in Massachusetts.
At first, the policy impact seemed slight. New research says otherwise 👇
4
15
1,293
17 Jul 2024
Pleased to say that this article is now published in EER! @jecowan @RoddyTheobald @CEDR_US
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
30 Apr 2024
New working paper! With @jecowan @CEDR_US @RoddyTheobald
We examine a pandemic-era policy in Massachusetts that allowed prospective teachers to become licensed to teach without first completing typical requirements such as licensure testing. caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
2
7
823
30 Apr 2024
New working paper! With @jecowan @CEDR_US @RoddyTheobald
We examine a pandemic-era policy in Massachusetts that allowed prospective teachers to become licensed to teach without first completing typical requirements such as licensure testing. caldercenter.org/sites/defau…
1
4
20
6,572
30 Apr 2024
We do *not* find any evidence that differences across Emergency license cohorts are explained by prior contact with teacher pipeline, such as being employed in MA public schools, enrolling in prep, etc. Instead, there appear to be unobservable differences driven by selection
2
1
155
30 Apr 2024
A takeaway: short-run impact of a pandemic response is not necessarily same as long-run impact if policy made permanent.
E.g., if initial wave represented a pool of interested teachers held out by barrier, different selection mechanism than those who tried teaching bc of policy
2
124
Ben Backes retweeted
1 Apr 2024
It feels crazy that, in these times of school staffing challenges, we're likely facing staff layoffs in coming years as we reach the ESSER fiscal cliff. See ⬇️ for Dan's overview of our attempt, with Grace Falken, to quantify the likely impact on the public school workforce in WA
1 Apr 2024
As promised, we just released a new @caldercenter paper on how ESSER funding INFLUENCED school system hiring in WA. In particular, we are estimating the number of school system employees got hired that wouldn't have in the absence of ESSER funds.
1/n
6
20
2,401
Ben Backes retweeted
8 Mar 2024
See below for Dan's thread about our new @caldercenter paper on teacher education program admissions. I rarely get to do new things in this job, and I loved learning about and doing our first conjoint analysis as part of this paper!
8 Mar 2024
Most teachers are prepared at university-based prep programs. So, who these programs recruit & admit goes a long way to shaping the teacher workforce. What do faculty value in STEM applicants? We (many authors) asked them!
tinyurl.com/bdf7xryx
1/n
3
12
1,127
7 Mar 2024
New! With @DrMikeHansen, we examine whether there's any evidence that TFA impacts on test scores translate to improvements in other measurable student outcomes
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.…
1
1
3
1,436
7 Mar 2024
Side note: as easy as it is to complain when the review process is frustrating, I'd like to balance that here by saying that the referees for this submission gave incredibly thoughtful and useful feedback. The process can work well!
83
21 Feb 2024
Hot off the press: a very long-gestating paper with @jecowan (we wrote the proposal for this work in 2016!) looking at statewide online test transitions and test mode penalties
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.…
2
2
9
1,090
21 Feb 2024
In contrast to an earlier test transition in MA and what @arielchris3 @orgul_ozturk & @gordanier found in South Carolina (direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-…), we find minimal mode effects in MA's more recent test administration
1
1
290
Ben Backes retweeted
10 Jan 2024
{New} When COVID hit, states granted waivers to allow teachers "emergency" licenses without their normal training.
Were those teachers worse?
Today @The74 I dig into research from @brbackes @CEDR_US @abacherhicks @OliviaLChi which suggests maybe not: the74million.org/article/eme…
2
20
24
9,294