EdWorkingPapers
Closing the Gender Gap in STEM: Role of Performance Feedback and Advice
… The gender gap in STEM careers is shaped in part by … two interventions—absolute performance feedback and personalized advice— aiming at narrowing the gender … chose between a math or verbal task after receiving one of three treatments: performance feedback on prior tasks, …The gender gap in STEM careers is shaped in part by educational choices. This study investigates two interventions—absolute performance feedback and personalized advice— aiming at narrowing the gender disparities in investments in math skills. Using an online lab experiment, participants chose between a math or verbal task after receiving one of three treatments: performance feedback on prior… more →
Investing in College Readiness: Societal Benefits and Costs of the El Dorado College Promise Program
… A growing volume of research shows college promise programs increase the likelihood that students enroll in and complete college. Place-based promise programs provide a …A growing volume of research shows college promise programs increase the likelihood that students enroll in and complete college. Place-based promise programs provide a guaranteed college scholarship for students who attend a specified school district. We examine the societal benefits and costs of a place-based scholarship program in rural Arkansas, the El Dorado Promise. Our cost framework… more →
Framework for Evaluating & Reforming Education Finance Systems
… paper presents a comprehensive framework for evaluating and reforming education finance systems to ensure equity, … conceptual work, explaining our evolving understanding of the role and purpose of school finance systems, leading to …This paper presents a comprehensive framework for evaluating and reforming education finance systems to ensure equity, adequacy, and equal opportunity in publicly funded education. We summarize decades conceptual work, explaining our evolving understanding of the role and purpose of school finance systems, leading to our current framing that the purpose of these systems is to deliver the… more →
What Happens When We Pay Our Teachers More? Evidence from New Jersey Public Schools
… This paper examines the impact of increasing teacher salaries on student outcomes by … a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach and first show that the campaign raised salaries for all …This paper examines the impact of increasing teacher salaries on student outcomes by exploiting variation from the “50K The First Day” campaign that established a $50K salary floor for new teachers across New Jersey school districts. Using school-level data from 2003 to 2019, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) approach and first show that the campaign raised salaries for all… more →
Human Capital at Home: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in the Philippines
… Children spend most of their time at home in their early years, yet efforts to promote human capital at home in many low- and middle-income settings remain limited. We conduct a … gain 0.52 and 0.51 standard deviations relative to the control group on math and phonics tests, respectively …Children spend most of their time at home in their early years, yet efforts to promote human capital at home in many low- and middle-income settings remain limited. We conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an intervention which encourages parents and caregivers to foster human capital accumulation among their children between ages 3 and 5, with a focus on math and phonics skills.… more →
Public Good Perceptions and Polarization: Evidence from Higher Education Appropriations
… To understand the causes and consequences of polarized demand …To understand the causes and consequences of polarized demand for government expenditure, we conduct three field experiments in the context of public higher education. The first two experiments study polarization in taxpayer demand. We provide information to shape beliefs about social returns on investment. Our treatments narrow the political partisan gap in ideal policies---a reduction in… more →
Constrained Agency and the Architecture of Educational Choice: Evidence from New York City
… greater access to high-quality schools by weakening the link between residential location and school assignment. We leverage data on the school choices … and high-quality schools enroll smaller proportions of students from traditionally disadvantaged families. We …Many school districts consider family preferences in allocating students to schools. In theory, this approach provides traditionally disadvantaged families greater access to high-quality schools by weakening the link between residential location and school assignment. We leverage data on the school choices made by over 233,000 New York City families to examine the extent to which the city’s… more →
HBCU Enrollment and Longer-Term Outcomes
… data from nearly 1.2 million Black SAT takers, we estimate the impacts of initially enrolling in an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) on educational, economic, and financial …Using data from nearly 1.2 million Black SAT takers, we estimate the impacts of initially enrolling in an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) on educational, economic, and financial outcomes. We control for the college application portfolio and compare students with similar portfolios and levels of interest in HBCUs and non-HBCUs who ultimately make divergent enrollment decisions… more →
The Role of School Context in Explaining Racial Disproportionality in Special Education
… There has been an explosion of research on racial disproportionality in special education. Some recent research shifts the focus from the role of student characteristics alone to … literature using eight years of elementary student-and school-level data from NYC public schools, examining more …There has been an explosion of research on racial disproportionality in special education. Some recent research shifts the focus from the role of student characteristics alone to inquire whether school context moderates findings (e.g., is a Black student less likely than a White student to receive special education services as the proportion of a school’s Black students increases?). We… more →
Discipline Reform, School Culture, and Student Achievement
… Using a difference-in-differences framework, we exploit the sharp timing of the reform and natural variation in its impact to measure …Does relaxing strict school discipline improve student achievement, or lead to classroom disorder? We study a 2012 reform in New York City public middle schools that eliminated suspensions for non-violent, disorderly behavior, replacing them with less disruptive interventions. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we exploit the sharp timing of the reform and natural variation in its… more →
Second Time's the Charm? How Sustained Relationships from Repeat Student-Teacher Matches Build Academic and Behavioral Skills
… We examine the dynamic nature of student-teacher match quality by studying the effect of … teacher for more than one year. Using data from Tennessee and panel methods, we find that having a repeat teacher …We examine the dynamic nature of student-teacher match quality by studying the effect of having a teacher for more than one year. Using data from Tennessee and panel methods, we find that having a repeat teacher improves achievement and decreases absences, truancy, and suspensions. These results are robust to a range of tests for student and teacher sorting. High-achieving students benefit… more →
The Effect of Active Learning Professional Development Training on College Students’ Academic Outcomes
… Growing literature documents the promise of active learning instruction in engaging students in … of these programs is limited. Using administrative data and an individual fixed effects approach, we estimate the …Growing literature documents the promise of active learning instruction in engaging students in college classrooms. Accordingly, faculty professional development (PD) programs on active learning have become increasingly popular in postsecondary institutions; yet, quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of these programs is limited. Using administrative data and an individual fixed effects… more →
Segregating Gotham's Youngest: Racial/Ethnic Sorting and the Choice Architecture of New York City’s Pre-K for All
… New York City’s Pre-K for All (PKA) is the Nation’s largest universal early childhood initiative, … seat availability, site-level enrollment priorities, and the PKA algorithm that weighs these and other considerations. We find that a majority of PKA segregation lies within rather than between local …New York City’s Pre-K for All (PKA) is the Nation’s largest universal early childhood initiative, currently serving some 70,000 four-year-olds. Stemming from the program’s choice architecture as well as the City’s stark residential segregation, PKA programs are extremely segregated by child race/ethnicity. Our current study explores the complex forces that influence this segregation,… more →
Class Rank and Long-Run Outcomes
… This paper considers an unavoidable feature of the school environment, class rank. What are the long-run … third-grade academic rank, conditional on achievement and classroom fixed effects, have higher subsequent test …This paper considers an unavoidable feature of the school environment, class rank. What are the long-run effects of a student’s ordinal rank in elementary school? Using administrative data on all public-school students in Texas, we show that students with a higher third-grade academic rank, conditional on achievement and classroom fixed effects, have higher subsequent test scores, are more… more →
Examining the Educational Spillover Effects of Severe Natural Disasters: The Case of Hurricane Maria
… This study examines the effects of internal migration driven by severe natural disasters on host communities, and the mechanisms behind these effects, using the large …This study examines the effects of internal migration driven by severe natural disasters on host communities, and the mechanisms behind these effects, using the large influx of migrants into Florida public schools after Hurricane Maria. I find adverse effects of the influx in the first year on existing student test scores, disciplinary problems, and student mobility among high-performing… more →
More Than Shortages: The Unequal Distribution of Substitute Teaching
… Classroom teachers in the US are absent on average approximately six percent of a school year. Despite the prevalence of teacher absences, … substitute teachers. Using detailed administrative and survey data from a large urban school district, we …Classroom teachers in the US are absent on average approximately six percent of a school year. Despite the prevalence of teacher absences, surprisingly little research has assessed the key source of replacement instruction: substitute teachers. Using detailed administrative and survey data from a large urban school district, we document the prevalence, predictors, and variation of substitute… more →
Measuring Teaching Practices at Scale: A Novel Application of Text-as-Data Methods
… Valid and reliable measurements of teaching quality facilitate school-level decision-making … This approach is free of rater bias and enables the detection of three instructional factors that are well …Valid and reliable measurements of teaching quality facilitate school-level decision-making and policies pertaining to teachers, but conventional classroom observations are costly, prone to rater bias, and hard to implement at scale. Using nearly 1,000 word-to-word transcriptions of 4th- and 5th-grade English language arts classes, we apply novel text-as-data methods to develop automated,… more →
The Design of Clustered Observational Studies in Education
… effectiveness research. We present a design framework for the development and critique of COSs. The framework is built on the counterfactual model …Clustered observational studies (COSs) are a critical analytic tool for educational effectiveness research. We present a design framework for the development and critique of COSs. The framework is built on the counterfactual model for causal inference and promotes the concept of designing COSs that emulate the targeted randomized trial that would have been conducted were it… more →
Peeking into the Black Box of School Turnaround: A Formal Test of Mediators and Suppressors
… A growing body of research evaluates the effects of turnaround on … in Tennessee: the Achievement School District (ASD) and local Innovation Zones (iZones). Using difference-in-differences models within a mediational …A growing body of research evaluates the effects of turnaround on chronically low-performing schools. We extend this research to formally test factors that either mediate or suppress the effects of two turnaround initiatives in Tennessee: the Achievement School District (ASD) and local Innovation Zones (iZones). Using difference-in-differences models within a mediational framework, we… more →
Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead? Evaluating the Effects of Virginia's Workforce-Targeted Free College Program
… momentum as policymakers address rising college costs and workforce readiness. Despite their growing adoption, … discontinuity and difference-in-differences— to estimate the causal impact of Virginia’s Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3) …Tuition-free college programs are gaining momentum as policymakers address rising college costs and workforce readiness. Despite their growing adoption, limited research examines how workforce-focused eligibility criteria impact student outcomes beyond enrollment. This pre-registered study employs two within-study quasi-experimental designs—differencein- discontinuity and difference-in-… more →
Labor Market Strength and Declining Community College Enrollment
… U.S. college enrollments have triggered questions about the health of the postsecondary sector. Using institution-level data, we … many students are on the margin between community college and job opportunities. For-profit college enrollments are …Declining U.S. college enrollments have triggered questions about the health of the postsecondary sector. Using institution-level data, we make four points. First, such declines are driven not by the four-year sector but by two-year community colleges, which have apparently shrunk by over 30% since the peak of the Great Recession. Second, over one-third of this apparent decline is an artifact… more →
Can nudging mentors weaken student support? Experimental evidence from a virtual communication intervention
… This paper presents results from a randomized trial of a nudge intervention designed to encourage and enhance virtual student support. During the 2019-20 school year, randomly selected mentors in a …This paper presents results from a randomized trial of a nudge intervention designed to encourage and enhance virtual student support. During the 2019-20 school year, randomly selected mentors in a school-based mentoring program received monthly reminders with tips for communicating with youth via text, email, and phone. Unexpectedly, the results showed that although the informational… more →
Technology Apprenticeships and Labor Market Outcomes: Mixed-Methods Evidence from the LaunchCode Program
… We leverage employment and earnings data from a large credit bureau, program data … interviews with applicants and instructors to examine if the LaunchCode program leads to economic benefits, who is … score weights to balance applicants across a range of program participation levels. We find that both course and …We leverage employment and earnings data from a large credit bureau, program data from LaunchCode—a free technology education, and in-depth interviews with applicants and instructors to examine if the LaunchCode program leads to economic benefits, who is most likely to experience these benefits, and how this program produces these benefits. We first conduct an intent-to-treat analysis by… more →
Can Peer Group Design Improve Engagement in Online STEM Courses? The Role of Motivation to Lead
… Peer interaction is important for student engagement and success in higher education and becomes even more … factors for success in rigorous STEM coursework. Despite the widespread use of peer group activities to foster collaboration, there is …Peer interaction is important for student engagement and success in higher education and becomes even more critical in online STEM education, where limited interaction can undermine motivation and belonging—key factors for success in rigorous STEM coursework. Despite the widespread use of peer group activities to foster collaboration, there is limited understanding of how to effectively form… more →
Investing in Human Capital During Wartime: Experimental Evidence from Ukraine
… wartime by presenting evidence from three experiments of an online tutoring program for Ukrainian students amid … Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Conducted between early 2023 and mid-2024, the experiments reached nearly 10,000 students across all …This paper provides insights into human capital investments during wartime by presenting evidence from three experiments of an online tutoring program for Ukrainian students amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Conducted between early 2023 and mid-2024, the experiments reached nearly 10,000 students across all regions of Ukraine. The program offered three hours per week of small-group tutoring… more →
Creating Classes: Elementary school classroom assignments and their implications for student access to high-quality teaching
… We investigate the distribution of students across classrooms in North Carolina elementary schools. While tracking is ubiquitous and well-documented in secondary education, limited evidence …We investigate the distribution of students across classrooms in North Carolina elementary schools. While tracking is ubiquitous and well-documented in secondary education, limited evidence exists regarding cross-classroom clustering in elementary schools and its consequences. Consistent with qualitative evidence suggesting that educators seek to create demographically balanced classrooms, we… more →
The reliability of classroom observations and student surveys in non-research settings: Evidence from Argentina
… There is a growing consensus on the need to measure teaching effectiveness using multiple … in high-income countries. We study the reliability of classroom observations and student surveys conducted by practitioners in a …There is a growing consensus on the need to measure teaching effectiveness using multiple instruments. Yet, guidance on how to achieve reliable ratings derives largely from formal research in high-income countries. We study the reliability of classroom observations and student surveys conducted by practitioners in a middle-income country. Both instruments can achieve relatively high… more →
Increasing Applied STEM Curricular Opportunities in High School and Impacts on Early Post-Secondary Outcomes: The Effect of Project Lead the Way
… Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an applied STEM Career Technical Education … Using data from Missouri, we investigate the impact of PLTW course expansion on program participation and early post-secondary outcomes. Our identification …Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an applied STEM Career Technical Education program that has been adopted widely across the country. Using data from Missouri, we investigate the impact of PLTW course expansion on program participation and early post-secondary outcomes. Our identification strategies rely on within-school between-cohort variation in PLTW course availability. This serves as an… more →
The Effects of Early Childhood Science Educational Interventions on Children’s Science Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of Classroom-Based Studies
… The importance of providing children with more robust opportunities to access high-quality science instruction is a widely … We present the results of a meta-analysis of experimental and quasiexperimental research of the effects of …The importance of providing children with more robust opportunities to access high-quality science instruction is a widely recognized challenge. Unfortunately, science instruction is often neglected in the earliest school grades, meaning that many young children face opportunity gaps to learning science. We present the results of a meta-analysis of experimental and quasiexperimental research… more →
The Value of School Social Climate Information: Evidence from Chicago Housing Transactions
… school social climate information is capitalized into the housing market and how it affects the sorting of homebuyers from different economic backgrounds. I first …In this paper, I investigate how publicizing school social climate information is capitalized into the housing market and how it affects the sorting of homebuyers from different economic backgrounds. I first provide descriptive evidence on the novelty of school climate relative to other school characteristics. Next, using a plausibly exogenous shock of school climate information in Chicago, I… more →
Searching for the Queen’s Gambit: An Exploratory Analysis of Male-Female Ratings Gaps in U.S. Chess
… We examine the origin and evolution of male-female rating gaps for young chess players using two decades of data from the U.S. Chess Federation, the …We examine the origin and evolution of male-female rating gaps for young chess players using two decades of data from the U.S. Chess Federation, the national chess association that tracks competitive tournament play and provides ratings for U.S. chess players. An important feature of our research is that we examine male-female gaps across a broad range of chess ratings, from novice to expert.… more →
Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Tutoring Format and Tutors: Findings from an Early Literacy Tutoring Program
… This study presents the first within-program, within-tutor experimental evidence comparing the impact of in-person versus remote tutoring. Based on results from an … in-person tutoring exhibited higher attendance rates and tutors reported closer relationships with their in-person …This study presents the first within-program, within-tutor experimental evidence comparing the impact of in-person versus remote tutoring. Based on results from an early literacy tutoring initiative delivered by university students over Summer 2023, we find no statistically significant differences in students’ literacy outcomes by instructional modality. However, students receiving in-person… more →
The Learning Crisis: Three Years After COVID-19
… The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions to … significant learning losses, particularly in mathematics and science. Using data from TIMSS 2023, which assesses … 71 education systems, this study analyzes the impact of school closure duration on learning outcomes. Mixed-effect …The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread disruptions to education, with school closures affecting over one billion children. These closures, aimed at reducing virus transmission, resulted in significant learning losses, particularly in mathematics and science. Using data from TIMSS 2023, which assesses fourth and eighth-grade achievements across 71 education systems, this study analyzes the… more →
Reconstructing PhD Admissions Through Organizational Learning
… The goal of this study was to assess the outcomes of a grant-funded … intervention designed to provide comprehensive training and support for holistic admissions in 26 STEM PhD programs … analyze and redesign their admissions processes. Using a theoretical framework centered on organizational …The goal of this study was to assess the outcomes of a grant-funded intervention designed to provide comprehensive training and support for holistic admissions in 26 STEM PhD programs at five California research universities. This pilot intervention combined a flexible, research-based model of holistic review, training for faculty involved with admissions, and informal coaching in how to… more →
The relationship between student attendance and achievement, pre- and post-COVID
… We examine the relationship between absenteeism and achievement since the onset of COVID-19. Applying first-differences models to North …We examine the relationship between absenteeism and achievement since the onset of COVID-19. Applying first-differences models to North Carolina administrative data, we estimate that each absence was associated with a 0.0032 standard deviation (SD) decline in math achievement in 2022-23. As students averaged 3.3 more absences in 2022-23 than 2018-19, these results imply that returning absence… more →
Next-Generation Teacher Evaluation in Rural Missouri: Main and Moderated Effects on Student Achievement and Effects-to-Expenditure Ratios
… average effects on rural student achievement, identifying the settings where evaluation works, and incorporating evaluation expenditures. That the … is below the state average or the average teacher's years of experience are below the state average. … evaluation, …We extend teacher evaluation research by estimating a reformed evaluation system's plausibly causal average effects on rural student achievement, identifying the settings where evaluation works, and incorporating evaluation expenditures. That the literature omits these contributions is concerning as research implies it hinders evidence-based teacher evaluation policymaking for rural districts… more →
Weighting for Progressivity? An Analysis of Implicit Tradeoffs Associated with Weighted Student Funding in Tennessee
… We study the progressivity of state funding of school districts under Tennessee’s … in exposure to district per-pupil funding between poor and non-poor students. The realized progressivity of district …We study the progressivity of state funding of school districts under Tennessee’s weighted student funding formula. We propose a simple definition of progressivity based on the difference in exposure to district per-pupil funding between poor and non-poor students. The realized progressivity of district funding in Tennessee is much smaller—only about 17 percent as large—as the formula weights… more →
Are Friends of Schools the Enemies of Equity? The Interplay of Public School Funding Policies and Private External Fundraising
… School districts across the U.S. have adopted funding policies designed to distribute … We document the interaction between funding policies and fundraising efforts in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). We find that adoption of a weighted-student funding policy successfully reallocated …School districts across the U.S. have adopted funding policies designed to distribute resources more equitably across schools. However, schools are also increasing external fundraising efforts to supplement district budget allocations. We document the interaction between funding policies and fundraising efforts in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). We find that adoption of a weighted-student… more →
The Academic Effects of Moving to Middle School on Students with Disabilities Relative to their General Education Peers
… on general education students (GENs). We explore if and how the move to middle school differentially affects students … with disabilities (SWDs), a large and low-performing group of students. Using an instrumental variables strategy and NYC …Middle school transitions are increasingly required, despite documented negative effects on general education students (GENs). We explore if and how the move to middle school differentially affects students with disabilities (SWDs), a large and low-performing group of students. Using an instrumental variables strategy and NYC data on nine cohorts of students, we find the middle school… more →
The Effects of Early Literacy Policies on Student Achievement
… Given the importance of early literacy to long-term student success, by 2021, 41 states and the District of Columbia adopted early literacy policies …Given the importance of early literacy to long-term student success, by 2021, 41 states and the District of Columbia adopted early literacy policies to improve student literacy by the end of third grade. We use an event-study approach to examine the impact of these policies on high- and low-stakes test scores. Our results suggest that adopting an early literacy policy improves elementary… more →
Debt Moratoria: Evidence from Student Loan Forbearance
… We evaluate the effects of the 2020 student debt moratorium that paused payments for … payment pause led to a sharp drop in student loan payments and delinquencies for borrowers subject to the debt …We evaluate the effects of the 2020 student debt moratorium that paused payments for student loan borrowers. Using administrative credit panel data, we show that the payment pause led to a sharp drop in student loan payments and delinquencies for borrowers subject to the debt moratorium, as well as an increase in credit scores. We find a large stimulus effect, as borrowers substitute increased… more →
Out of the Gate, but Not Necessarily Teaching: A Descriptive Portrait of Early-Career Earnings for Those Who Are Credentialed to Teach
… in Washington State has shown that about two thirds of individuals who trained to become teachers between 2005 and 2015 and received a teaching credential did not enter the state’s public teaching workforce immediately after …Prior work on teacher candidates in Washington State has shown that about two thirds of individuals who trained to become teachers between 2005 and 2015 and received a teaching credential did not enter the state’s public teaching workforce immediately after graduation, while about one third never entered a public teaching job in the state at all. In this analysis, we link data on these teacher… more →
Latinx Community College Students Experiencing Financial Aid Income Verification: A Critical Race Analysis
… Every year millions of students seeking access to federal financial aid complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) … Race Theory, I contend the verification process reflects and upholds institutional racism within the financial aid …Every year millions of students seeking access to federal financial aid complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application which grants an estimated $234 billion in federal aid in the 2020-21 academic year. Upon receiving students’ FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education selects some students for income verification, a process in which educational institutions check the… more →
Variation in the Relationship between School Spending and Achievement: Progressive Spending Is Efficient
… The equity-efficiency tradeoff and cumulative return theories predict larger returns to … returns vary between counties with low and high levels of initial human capital (measured as birth weight), child …The equity-efficiency tradeoff and cumulative return theories predict larger returns to school spending in areas with higher previous investment in children. Equity – not efficiency – is therefore used to justify progressive school funding: spending more in communities with fewer financial resources. Yet it remains unclear how returns to school spending vary across areas by previous investment… more →
A Simple Nudge Increases Socioeconomic Diversity in Undergraduate Economics
… a light-touch intervention can increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in undergraduate Economics. We randomly … over 2,200 students a message with basic information about the Economics major; the basic message combined with an … major; or no message. Messages increased the proportion of first generation or underrepresented minority (URM) …We assess whether a light-touch intervention can increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in undergraduate Economics. We randomly assigned over 2,200 students a message with basic information about the Economics major; the basic message combined with an emphasis on the rewarding careers or financial returns associated with the major; or no message. Messages increased the proportion of first… more →
Labor Market Signaling and the Value of College: Evidence from Resumes and the Truth
… do college non-completers list schooling on their resumes? The negative signal of not completing might outweigh the positive signal of … related to schooling characteristics, such as selectivity and years of enrollment. We also find evidence of lying, and …How do college non-completers list schooling on their resumes? The negative signal of not completing might outweigh the positive signal of attending but not persisting. If so, job-seekers might hide non-completed schooling on their resumes. To test this we match resumes from an online jobs board to administrative educational records. We find that fully one in three job-seekers who attended… more →
For‐Profit Colleges in the United States: Insights from Two Decades of Research
… In this paper, I review the economics literature on for-profit college education in … assessing what we know about institutional behavior and student outcomes after two decades of research. The many studies reviewed here reveal some …In this paper, I review the economics literature on for-profit college education in the United States, assessing what we know about institutional behavior and student outcomes after two decades of research. The many studies reviewed here reveal some consistent patterns. It is clear that for-profits compete with institutions in other sectors, yet they behave differently than their public and… more →
Culture and Student Achievement: The Intertwined Roles of Patience and Risk-Taking
… Patience and risk-taking – two cultural traits that steer … in student achievement, we combine PISA tests with the Global Preference Survey. We find that opposing effects of patience (positive) and risk-taking (negative) together …Patience and risk-taking – two cultural traits that steer intertemporal decision-making – are fundamental to human capital investment decisions. To understand how they contribute to international differences in student achievement, we combine PISA tests with the Global Preference Survey. We find that opposing effects of patience (positive) and risk-taking (negative) together account for two-… more →
The Forgotten 20 Percent: Achievement and Growth in Rural Schools Across the Nation
… school, yet we know very little about achievement gaps and academic growth in rural schools. This study leverages a … longitudinal test scores for more than five million 3rd to 8th grade students in approximately 17,000 public schools across the 50 states, including 900,000 students attending 4,727 …Nearly one in five U.S. students attends a rural school, yet we know very little about achievement gaps and academic growth in rural schools. This study leverages a unique dataset that includes longitudinal test scores for more than five million 3rd to 8th grade students in approximately 17,000 public schools across the 50 states, including 900,000 students attending 4,727 rural schools. We… more →
Categorical Inequality in Black and White: Linking Disproportionality across Multiple Educational Outcomes
… We characterize the extent to which Black-White gaps for multiple educational … retention, classification into special education and Gifted and Talented, and Advanced Placement course-taking … and parent education are strikingly consistent predictors of these gaps, and districts with large gaps in one outcome …We characterize the extent to which Black-White gaps for multiple educational outcomes are linked across school districts in the United States. Gaps in disciplinary action, grade-level retention, classification into special education and Gifted and Talented, and Advanced Placement course-taking are large in magnitude and correlated. Racial differences in family income and parent education are… more →