In addition to the evaluation criteria set forth above with respect to both RRIF and TIFIA projects, both statutes sets forth
certain additional evaluation criteria with respect to DOT policy goals.
Although this
additional flexibility may help
certain «high - risk» states retain their waivers, Washington state, which recently lost its waiver, and other states with laws that do not conform to the department's requirements for teacher
evaluation will not benefit.
Many of those
evaluations — in New York City, Dayton, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., as well as in the states of Florida, Minnesota, and Louisiana — reported a modest increase or neutral impact on student achievement and graduation rates.9 The findings of some of these studies, however, have more recently been called into question as methodological flaws were discovered when adding
additional years or replicating the study.10 As a result, recent voucher program
evaluations employ more rigorous research methods such as experimental and quasi-experimental designs and refine their use of
certain variables.