Promotion power measure of Louisiana high schools¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 7 claims (7 for) · 2 studies (2 associational), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 7 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Promotion power is defined in the report as "a school’s effect on the long-term success of its students" as indicated by high school graduation, college or career readiness, college enrollment and persistence, and job market success. Mathematica calculated it for each Louisiana public high school using a statistical model applied to statewide administrative data, in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education and with Walton Family Foundation funding. The measure separates school contributions from factors such as family resources and students' learning before high school.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires longitudinal administrative data on students' high school graduation, readiness credentials, college enrollment and persistence, and earnings

Constraints¶

• Computed for Louisiana public high schools in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education

Target Learners¶

• Louisiana public high school students

Target Learning Goals¶

• High school graduation
• College and career readiness
• College enrollment and persistence
• Earnings

Claims¶

• Louisiana high schools vary widely in their success in promoting graduation, college enrollment, and earnings [+W]
• Schools positively impacting one promotion power measure are more likely to positively impact other long-term outcomes, but many show varying effectiveness across outcomes [+W]
• Promotion power measures substantially reduce or eliminate the relationship between student poverty and a school's measure of performance [+W]
• Schools with high promotion power for high school graduation tended also to have high promotion power for college enrollment [+W]
• Student background characteristics are less strongly related to promotion power scores than to status measures [+W]
• Students at high promotion power high schools have substantially better expected long-term outcomes than similar students at average promotion power schools [+W]
• The Louisiana study separated high schools' contributions to long-term success from family resources and students' learning before high school [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Promotion power measure of high school effects on long-term student success
• Promotion power: a school-effectiveness measure separating school contributions from student background

Examples¶

• Use statistical adjustment to separate school effects from family resources and prior learning when rating schools
• Use promotion power measures as information for districts, schools, and parents about high school performance
• States should weigh the tradeoff between easily measured indicators (understandable, low data burden) and more complex measures (greater nuance), and explore innovative readiness measures tied to long-term outcomes

Key Sources¶

• Jonah Deutsch, Matthew Johnson, Brian Gill. (2020). The Promotion Power Impacts of Louisiana High Schools. Mathematica. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/the-promotion-power-impacts-of-louisiana-high-schools