UTCCERP Research Projects

The University of Texas at Austin
Julian Vasquez Heilig, Ph.D., Co-Director

“A Study of LEP Serving Programs and Achievement in Texas Public Schools”  PI: Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig

The research will conduct field surveys of current curriculum practices that support bilingual education in South Texas through qualitative observations and also content analysis of written curriculum.  The research will also conduct regression analysis of state-level data on the linguistic and academic proficiency of Texas’ Latino and LEP populations, separately and combined, taking into account school-level variables, such as program types; teacher quality; class size; and demographic composition across rural, urban, and suburban contexts.

“Staying in the Saddle: Texas College Choices, Persistence and Completion”  PI: Dr. Patricia Somers

Use descriptive and inferential regression and multi-level statistics to examine college choice, persistence, and completion. Use the data warehouse and federal data to consider disability, first-generation college student status, parents’ aid awards, and academic and other college experience factors in context. Some of the research questions include: What factors influence undergraduate and graduate student persistence? Do students go on to graduate schools, and what is their debt load? What measures of student preparedness predict persistence and graduation?

“Examining the Relationship Among Principal Attributes, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement in Texas”  PIs: Drs. Michelle Young and Ed Fuller

Employ sophisticated statistical tools to examine the individual attributes of principals that may be associated with measures of teacher quality and student achievement.

“A Bridge of the Elementary Science Gap for Urban Latino Students”  PI: Dr. Carol Fletcher

The goal of the Bridging the Gap in Science is to determine if the Bridging II TAKS model of professional development influences student achievement in elementary science, influences teacher practice in elementary science, and if contrasting models of professional development delivery by campus have differential effects on student achievement or teacher practice.

“Using Student Learning Data to Improve Title-I Performance in Texas Schools”  PI: Dr. Jeffrey Wayman

High-achieving, high-poverty schools will be identified through their state rating and Title I status. Three schools will be randomly selected that achieve the “Recognized” status and three that do not.  Study questions include: 1) How do educators in recognized Title I schools use student data for school improvement, and do these methods differ from educators in the comparison group? 2) What needs do educators in recognized Title I schools express regarding student data use, and are these needs different from educators in the comparison group?