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Nanette Shaw
School choice and class size — two controversial topics in the education field — will be the subjects of a CUNY Graduate Center Educational Policy Symposium on Friday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. The symposium is a key feature of "Frontiers in Educational Policy Research: What the Data Show," a day-long series of events which are part of The Graduate Center’s celebration of its new campus in the historic B. Altman building at 365 Fifth Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets. "Celebrating the Center," from April 3 to 7, will offer a week of conferences, concerts, readings, films, and exhibitions. As with all the week’s events, the symposium is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, fist-served basis. For further information, call 1-212-817-8215 or e-mail continuinged@gc.cuny.edu. Headlining the education symposium are four nationally known researchers who will present their empirical findings on the two policy issues. They include Kim K. Metcalf, professor of education, University of Indiana; John F. Witte, professor of political science, University of Wisconsin; Eric A. Hanushek, professor of economics and political science, University of Rochester; and Larry V. Hedges, professor of education, University of Chicago. Professor Metcalf, who has had a major role in the evaluation of the Cleveland voucher program, will describe the methods used in this project, and discuss findings and conclusions drawn from data collected in the first three years of the program. Dr. Witte, nationally known for his research on the Milwaukee voucher program, is author of "The Market Approach to Education, An Analysis of America’s First Voucher Program," published this winter. Professor Hanushek and Professor Hedges will debate the relationship between class size and academic achievement. Dr. Hanushek will provide a critical analysis of the relationship between class size and achievement in his speech, titled "Wasted Dollars and Needed Improvement: Is Class Size Reduction the Answer?" Dr. Hedges, well-known for his synthesis of the research findings on class size, is the author of "Does Money Matter? A Meta-Analysis of Studies of the Effects of Differential School Inputs on Student Outcomes." The Graduate Center is the doctorate-granting institution of the largest urban university in the U.S. The only consortium of its kind in the nation, it draws its faculty of more than 1,600 members mainly from the CUNY senior colleges and cultural and scientific institutions throughout New York City. Established in 1961, the CUNY Graduate Center has grown to an enrollment of nearly 4,000 students in 31 doctoral programs and seven master's degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The Graduate Center also houses 24 research centers and institutes and administers the CUNY Baccalaureate Program. According to a recent National Research Council report, more than a third of The Graduate Center’s rated programs rank among the nation's top 20 at public and private institutions, nearly a quarter are among the top ten when compared to publicly supported institutions alone, and more than half are among the top five programs at publicly supported institutions in the northeast. Further information on The Graduate Center's programs and activities can be found on its Web site at: www.gc.cuny.edu. |