The Annenberg Institute at Brown University, in partnership with the SCALE Initiative at Stanford University, offers this national working paper series to provide open access to high-quality papers from multiple disciplines and from multiple universities and research organizations on a wide variety of topics related to education. EdWorkingPapers focuses particularly on research with strong implications for education policy. EdWorkingPapers circulates papers prior to publication for comment and discussion; these papers have not gone through a peer review process.
NEW EdWorkingPapers
The Prevalence of LGBTQ+ Teachers in the U.S.
Due to limited data, we know little about the prevalence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) educators. Using the American Community Survey and Census Pulse, we examine the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals in PK-12 teaching. We find that 3.3-3.5 percent of LGBTQ+ individuals are teachers; in contrast, 4.4-4.9 percent of non-LGBTQ+ individuals are teachers.
McCleary at Twelve: Examining Policy Designs Following Court-Mandated School Finance Reform in Washington State
All fifty U.S. state constitutions include language that guarantees residents’ access to a free public education. Plaintiffs in all but two states have brought litigation challenging state school finance systems, and in over half the cases, judges ruled the systems unconstitutional and mandated state legislators to provide more equitable and adequate funding. In 2012, state supreme court… more →
Remote Learning in 2020-21 and Student Attendance Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Student attendance declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. There is little evidence explaining the decline. This study examines the role of remote learning. In Michigan, compared to students never provided with remote-only learning in 2020-21, students provided with remote-only learning for 1-2 months had no decline in attendance post-pandemic, and… more →
Separation of Church and State Curricula? Examining Public and Religious Private School Textbooks
Curricula impart knowledge, instill values, and shape collective memory. Despite growing public funding for religious schools through U.S. school choice programs, little is known about what they teach. We examine textbooks from public schools, religious private schools, and home schools, applying computational methods -- including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools -- to measure the… more →
Impacts of Oversubscribed Boston Pre-K Programs through Middle School
In this pre-registered study, we explored the impacts of Boston Pre-K on children’s educational trajectories, school progress/engagement, and academic achievement in late elementary and middle school using lotteries for oversubscribed schools in 2007-2011 (N=3,092 students; 24% of all applicants). Importantly, the program was unique nationally in its strong supports for teachers and in its use… more →
Disentangle the Curriculum and Structural Effects of Math Pathway Reforms: Evidence from Maryland Community College System
This study evaluates the impact of Maryland's Mathematics Reform Initiative (MMRI), which sought to improve student success in developmental and college-level math through comprehensive curriculum and structural reforms. Launched in 2015, the MMRI developed and implemented non-algebra math pathways tailored to students’ chosen program of study. Using administrative data of Maryland community… more →