Education Working Paper No. 6  September 2004 The Teachability Index: Can Disadvantaged Students Learn? Quit Blaming the Kids by Jay Greene and Greg Forster, National Review Online, 9-13-04 Speakout: Colorado students soaring over obstacles by Jay Greene and Greg Forster, Rocky Mountain News, 9-13-04 Connecticut’s schools are worse than they look Hartford Courant, by Jay Greene and Greg Forster, 9-9-04 Yardstick lifts school ranking Oklahoma City Oklahoman, by Jay Greene and Greg Forster, 9-8-04 Wasting Away New York Sun, by Jay P. Greene, 9-8-04 Another View of Arizona students by Jay P. Greene and Greg Forster, Arizona Republic, 9-14-04 WHAT THE PRESS SAID: HEADLINE: WHAT'S HOLDING THEM BACK? Study of third-graders shows benefits of Florida law against social promotion, Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) February 18, 2005 New York City schools are falling apart and state leaders have ... The Journal News.com, NY, 11-21-04 Struggle continues despite court order for funding Press & Sun-Bulletin, NY, 11-20-04 Public education funding: Where we stand as a state The Desert-Mountain Times, TX Study Finds Value in School Choice Family News In Focus, CO, 10-12-04 Yes, a penny for schools Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA Study Finds Out-of-School Factors Less of a Hindrance Education Week, 9-15-04 Are Low Income Children's Lives Improving? Washington Post, 9-14-04 Press Release from House Committee on Education and the Workforce Iowa ranked low in school performance DesMoinesRegister.com, United States - 3 hours ago US students' well-being scrutinized USA Today, 9-8-04 State of excuses Providence Journal (subscription), 9-17-04 School connectedness may help students succeed, study finds DetNews.com, 9-9-04 Study: Students easier to teach than in 1970 Winston Salem Journal, 9-9-04 Report ranks SC school performance Charleston Post Courier (subscription), 9-9-04 Report praises Colorado for helping students overcome poverty, other woes, The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 9-9-04 Schools rank No. 2 at tackling barriers Rocky Mountain News, 9-8-04 Study: Iowa schools about 'on par' Des Moines Register, 9-8-04 Va. Schools Beat ‘Teachability’ Index Washington Post

EMAIL THIS | PRINTER FRIENDLY EWP 6 PDF (631 kb) WHAT THE PRESS SAID SUMMARY: Student “teachability”—the advantages and disadvantages that students bring to school—is often offered as an excuse for educational failure. Many claim that students are less teachable than they used to be, and that reforms cannot meaningfully improve student achievement due to problems like poverty and social dysfunction. This study measures student teachability by examining sixteen key social factors that affect learning. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Executive Summary About the Authors Acknowledgements About Education Working Papers Introduction Method Results Conclusion Endnotes Appendix Table 1: The Teachability Index Figure 1a: The Teachability Index Figure 1b: Component Indexes Figure 1c: Teachability, Spending, and Achievement Table 2: The Readiness Index Figure 2: The Readiness Index Table 3: The Economics Index Figure 3: The Economics Index Table 4: The Community Index Figure 4: The Community Index Table 5: The Health Index Figure 5: The Health Index Table 6: The Race Index Figure 6: The Race Index Table 7: The Family Index Figure 7: The Family Index Table 8: Teachability by State in 2001 Figure 8: Ranking of States by Teachability in 2001 Table 9: Validity of the Teachability Index Table 10: The School Performance Index for 2001 Figure 10: Ranking of States by School Performance Index in 2001 Table 11: The Effect of School Choice and Accountability on School Performance Table 12: The School Efficiency Index for 2001 Figure 12: Ranking of States by School Efficiency in 2001 Table 13: The Adjusted School Efficiency Index for 2001 Figure 13: Ranking of States by Adjusted School Efficiency in 2001