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Last updated October
12, 2006
The Best Evidence Encyclopedia
Education service providers (ESPs),
or education management organizations, are for-profit
or non-profit organizations that contract with
new or existing public, charter, or private schools
to help them implement comprehensive reforms.
Which of these ESPs have evidence that they help
children in elementary and secondary school of
positive effects on achievement? To find out,
this review summarizes evidence on student achievement
outcomes in schools managed by ESPs.
Education service providers offer
to schools and districts services such as the
following:
- Curriculum design
- Professional development
- Student assessments
- Financial and operational management
- Facilities management
- Human resources management
According to a survey cited in the
CSRQ report, in 2004-2005 there were 59 for-profit
ESPs managing 535 schools in 24 states and the
District of Columbia, of which 86% were charter
schools. The CSRQ report reviews research on the
seven largest of these, which collectively serve
350 schools.
| For
general findings, program ratings. and
contact information |
click
here |
| For
program ratings and contact information |
click
here |
| For
a description of review methods |
click
here |
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With the sole exception
of Edison Schools, there was very limited evidence
on student achievement outcomes in schools managed
by education service providers. Overall, 20 studies
(17 on Edison) were identified as eligible for
full review, and nine (all Edison) met standards.
Of these, seven were rated “conclusive,”
two “suggestive.” Table 1 lists the
programs in each category. The programs are listed
below in each category.
* Within categories, programs are listed in alphabetical
order
For its quantitative analyses of
overall achievement, CSRQ identified the education
service providers serving the largest numbers
of schools and districts. They then did an extensive
search for all types of studies that evaluated
these programs. The evaluations’ validity
was rated as inconclusive, suggestive, or conclusive.
Conclusive studies met the following criteria:
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Schools using
each program had to be compared to equivalent
control groups
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Schools had
to have pretest scores or other baseline measures
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The outcome
measures had to be reliable and valid
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The study duration
had to be at least one year
To be considered
“suggestive,” a study had to meet
the same standards, but could have up to two “non-critical
threats to validity.”
CSR programs were rated in terms
of their evidence of positive achievement effects
as follows:
CSRQ also looked at evidence in three additional
areas:
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Additional
student outcomes
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The model's
design based on research
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Services and
supports provided to schools
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