EdWorkingPapers
Beyond Chronic Absenteeism: The Dynamics and Disparities of Class Absences in Secondary School
… Student absenteeism is often conceptualized and quantified in a static, uniform manner, providing an incomplete understanding of this important phenomenon. Applying growth curve models to … steadily throughout a school year and over grades, while the growth of excused absences remain essentially unchanged. …Student absenteeism is often conceptualized and quantified in a static, uniform manner, providing an incomplete understanding of this important phenomenon. Applying growth curve models to detailed class-attendance data, we document that secondary school students' unexcused absences grow steadily throughout a school year and over grades, while the growth of excused absences remain essentially… more →
Signals, Information, and the Value of College Names
… alluring names. We study how this affects college choice and labor market performance of college graduates. Administrative data show name-changing … choice, for-profits, vendors) … Signals, Information, and the Value of College Names …Colleges can send signals about their quality by adopting new, more alluring names. We study how this affects college choice and labor market performance of college graduates. Administrative data show name-changing colleges enroll higher-aptitude students, with larger effects for alluring-but-misleading name changes and among students with less information. A large resume audit study suggests a… more →
Not the Great Equalizer? Local Economic Mobility and Inequality Effects for the Establishment of U.S. Universities
… to test whether universities increase economic mobility and equality. We use "runner-up’" counties that were strongly … to explain this seeming paradox: universities hollow out the local labor market and provide greater opportunities to achieve top incomes, both of which increase cross-sectional inequality, and increase …We exploit historical natural experiments to test whether universities increase economic mobility and equality. We use "runner-up’" counties that were strongly considered to become university sites but were not selected for as-good-as-random reasons as counterfactuals for university counties. University establishment causes greater intergenerational income mobility but also increases cross-… more →
Documenting Their Decisions: How Undocumented Students Enroll and Persist in College
… The absence of federal support leaves undocumented students reliant on … newly eligible for California’s state aid program, using detailed application data to compare them to similar … peers. In this context, undocumented students who apply and are eligible for the program use grant aid to attend …The absence of federal support leaves undocumented students reliant on state policies to financially support their postsecondary education. We descriptively examine the postsecondary trajectories of tens of thousands of undocumented students newly eligible for California’s state aid program, using detailed application data to compare them to similar peers. In this context, undocumented students… more →
When expectation isn’t reality: Racial disparities in overestimation and STEM attrition among first-year students in college
… than their represented peers to persist in STEM, raising the question of factors that may contribute to racial disparities in STEM … race-based differences in what students expect to receive and their actual grades in introductory STEM college courses, …Existing research indicates that racially minoritized students with similar academic preparation are less likely than their represented peers to persist in STEM, raising the question of factors that may contribute to racial disparities in STEM participation beyond academic preparation. We extend the current literature by first examining race-based differences in what students expect to receive… more →
Accountability-Driven School Reform: Are There Unintended Effects on Younger Children in Untested Grades?
… less effective teachers into untested early grades and more effective teachers to tested grades. In this paper, … its lowest performing schools reproduced a similar pattern of assigning teachers and unintended, negative effects on the outcomes of younger students in untested grades. Using a …Test-based accountability pressures have been shown to result in transferring less effective teachers into untested early grades and more effective teachers to tested grades. In this paper, we evaluate whether a state initiative to turnaround its lowest performing schools reproduced a similar pattern of assigning teachers and unintended, negative effects on the outcomes of younger students in… more →
How Does Minority Political Representation Affect School District Administration and Student Outcomes?
… leveraging close school board elections to investigate how the racial and ethnic composition of California school boards affects school district …We employ a regression discontinuity design leveraging close school board elections to investigate how the racial and ethnic composition of California school boards affects school district administration and student achievement. We find some evidence that increases in minority representation lead to cumulative achievement gains of approximately 0.1 standard deviations among minority students by… more →
Using a Text-as-Data Approach to Understand Reform Processes: A Deep Exploration of School Improvement Strategies
… a given program, they often have limited ability to reveal the mechanisms by which complex interventions achieve their … text data from thousands of school improvement planning and implementation reports from Washington State, deploying … achievement. We lastly discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of using novel text data to study reform processes. …Although program evaluations using rigorous quasi-experimental or experimental designs can inform decisions about whether to continue or terminate a given program, they often have limited ability to reveal the mechanisms by which complex interventions achieve their effects. To illuminate these mechanisms, this paper analyzes novel text data from thousands of school improvement planning and… more →
The Challenge of Capturing Higher-Order Thinking Skills at Scale
… important for K-12 students’ long-term success. However, the lack of widely administered assessments designed to capture this … Language Arts exams for over two decades (2001 to 2023) and pair this with a novel coding which flags whether an item …Higher-order thinking skills are important for K-12 students’ long-term success. However, the lack of widely administered assessments designed to capture this construct has made it difficult to measure higher-order skills at scale. This paper examines the measurement properties of an approach to capturing higher-order skills using extant statewide standardized testing data. We use item-level data… more →
The Remarkable Unresponsiveness of College Students to Nudging And What We Can Learn from It
… results from a five-year effort to design promising online and text-message interventions to improve college achievement … through several distinct channels. From a sample of nearly 25,000 students across three different campuses, we … interventions on mental health and study time, but none of the interventions we evaluate significantly influences …We present results from a five-year effort to design promising online and text-message interventions to improve college achievement through several distinct channels. From a sample of nearly 25,000 students across three different campuses, we find some improvement from coaching-based interventions on mental health and study time, but none of the interventions we evaluate significantly… more →
A randomized controlled trial of HighScope’s teacher professional learning on preschoolers' executive function skills
… has been shown to promote children’s language, literacy, and social-emotional functioning - however, less is known … about its impact on children’s executive function. In the present study, we employed a randomized controlled trial … receive any training or coaching. Results from a sample of 317 children enrolled in publicly funded preschools …Teacher professional learning has been shown to promote children’s language, literacy, and social-emotional functioning - however, less is known about its impact on children’s executive function. In the present study, we employed a randomized controlled trial to understand whether HighScope’s teacher professional learning workshops and coaching can promote children’s executive function… more →
COVID-19, School District Operations, and Student Academic Performance in Virginia
… We use longitudinal student-level data and interrupted time series methods to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mathematics achievement among …We use longitudinal student-level data and interrupted time series methods to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mathematics achievement among 3rd-8th grade students in Virginia, a state that offered particularly low levels of access to in-person learning in the school reopening period. We find notably large negative initial effects on math in 2020-21, much greater in magnitude than… more →
Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes
… is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, … points (0.24 SD), with the largest gains observed in Math and Science, and reduces course failure by 5.6 percentage …Ethnic Studies is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness at scale remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of district-wide implementation using a student-level difference-in-differences design with two-way fixed effects. We find that enrollment increases… more →
The Effects of An Automatic Notification Tool to Increase Participation in Advanced High School Courses: Results from a Large-Scale Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
… high school is associated with many positive high school and college outcomes. States and school districts are … 9 students to increase advanced course participation. The tool was embedded in the Course Planner of a student information system used in thousands of schools …Taking advanced courses in high school is associated with many positive high school and college outcomes. States and school districts are increasingly interested in more systematic approaches to identify qualified students for advanced course work. We developed an automatic notification tool, which used universal screening and a behavioral nudge for Grade 9 students to increase advanced course… more →
Exploring Factors Influencing Administrative Spending in Higher Education
… Despite increasing financial challenges facing much of higher education, relatively little is known about how … I used detailed personnel spending data from HelioCampus and less granular functional expenditure data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to …Despite increasing financial challenges facing much of higher education, relatively little is known about how institutions allocate resources to different activities, particularly in areas other than instruction. In this research, I used detailed personnel spending data from HelioCampus and less granular functional expenditure data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to… more →
Capturing Voter Turnout at the School District Level: Validating a Geospatial Strategy
… School boards are critical sites of education policymaking, yet scholarship on these … data limitations. We introduce a geospatial strategy and open-source R package, called “Query, Overlay, Recover” … North Carolina and Washington (2013-2022). We illustrate the value of these data by addressing two substantive …School boards are critical sites of education policymaking, yet scholarship on these institutions is scarce because of severe data limitations. We introduce a geospatial strategy and open-source R package, called “Query, Overlay, Recover” (QOR), that generates high-quality estimates of voter turnout in school board elections overall and for voter subgroups. We describe this process and gather… more →
Beyond the Classroom: Impact of a High-Dosage Tutoring Program on Student Literacy Achievement
… This study examines the impact of a high-dosage tutoring program, characterized by low … high-dosage tutoring interventions to student needs and suggest that differentiated implementation may be …This study examines the impact of a high-dosage tutoring program, characterized by low tutor-to-student-ratio, on the literacy achievement of students in grades two through five in a midsized suburban school district in the southeastern United States. Using a student-level randomized controlled trial, 333 students were randomly assigned to either receive tutoring during the intervention period of… more →
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 …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. This new… more →
The Politics of Pandemic School Operations for Reopening and Beyond: Evidence from Virginia
… learning modality, but did it predict other aspects of educational operations? We study the role of Republican vote share, race, markets, and public health in predicting a range of operations—from …Post COVID, is education losing its special status as a policy domain more insulated from partisan politics than other policy areas? Indeed, a community’s political makeup influenced its’ schools’ pandemic learning modality, but did it predict other aspects of educational operations? We study the role of Republican vote share, race, markets, and public health in predicting a range of operations—… more →
Does School Context Moderate the Relationship between Student Mobility and Academic Performance? Longitudinal Evidence from Missouri
… Student mobility is highly prevalent in the United States and has negative impacts on students’ academic performance. … be especially disruptive. However, research on the impacts of within-year mobility is limited, and less is known how …Student mobility is highly prevalent in the United States and has negative impacts on students’ academic performance. Within-year mobility may be especially disruptive. However, research on the impacts of within-year mobility is limited, and less is known how impacts may vary across different geographies, such as differences between urban and suburban/rural areas. Thus, this study leverages… more →
Peer Income Exposure Across the Income Distribution
… Children from families across the income distribution attend public schools, making schools and classrooms potential sites for interaction between more- … However, limited information exists regarding the extent of economic integration in these contexts. We merge …Children from families across the income distribution attend public schools, making schools and classrooms potential sites for interaction between more- and less-affluent children. However, limited information exists regarding the extent of economic integration in these contexts. We merge educational administrative data from Oregon with measures of family income derived from IRS records to… more →
How are Institutions Positioned on the Brink of the Enrollment Cliff?: Evidence from Ohio
… Since 2018, institutions of higher education have been aware of the "enrollment cliff" which refers to expected declines in … 2012-2022, we analyze trends in enrollment, revenues, debt and staffing across Ohio's nine largest public universities. …Since 2018, institutions of higher education have been aware of the "enrollment cliff" which refers to expected declines in future enrollment. This paper attempts to describe how prepared institutions in Ohio are for this future by looking at trends leading up to the anticipated decline. Using IPEDS data from 2012-2022, we analyze trends in enrollment, revenues, debt and staffing across Ohio's… more →
Early Life Health Conditions and Racial Gaps in Education
… However, there is surprisingly limited evidence regarding the long-term consequences of these disparities. Using novel linked administrative data from Texas and the shift to Medicaid Managed Care (MMC), I show that …Racial disparities in infant health conditions have persisted for decades. However, there is surprisingly limited evidence regarding the long-term consequences of these disparities. Using novel linked administrative data from Texas and the shift to Medicaid Managed Care (MMC), I show that MMC-driven declines in infant health worsened cognitive and noncognitive outcomes for Black children, while… more →
How State Takeovers of School Districts Affect Education Finance, 1990 to 2019
… State takeover of school districts—a form of political centralization that … decision-making power from locally elected leaders to the state—has increased in recent years, often with the … throughout the U.S. since the first takeover in 1988 and is most common in larger districts and communities …State takeover of school districts—a form of political centralization that shifts decision-making power from locally elected leaders to the state—has increased in recent years, often with the purported goal of improving district financial condition. Takeover has affected millions of students throughout the U.S. since the first takeover in 1988 and is most common in larger districts and… more →
Local Political Party Voting Context Moderates Public School Principals’ Levels of Racial/Ethnic Discrimination
… Correspondence audits document causal evidence of racial/ethnic discrimination in many contexts. However, … examine heterogeneity in racial/ethnic discrimination by the county-level Republican vote share with a correspondence … as parents considering a move to the school district and requesting a meeting. We find evidence that the …Correspondence audits document causal evidence of racial/ethnic discrimination in many contexts. However, few studies have examined whether local political party voting context influences individuals to engage in “stakeholder-centric” discrimination on behalf of or in response to expectations of others. We examine heterogeneity in racial/ethnic discrimination by the county-level Republican vote… more →
A Framework for Motivating Teacher-Student Relationships
… Few question the value of teacher-student relationships (TSRs) for educational … TSRs are positively associated with students’ achievement and engagement, as well as teachers’ well-being. Building and …Few question the value of teacher-student relationships (TSRs) for educational outcomes. TSRs are positively associated with students’ achievement and engagement, as well as teachers’ well-being. Building and maintaining these crucial classroom relationships, however, is not easy. Drawing on prominent motivation theories in educational psychology, I present the Motivating Teacher-Student… more →
On the Threshold: Impacts of Barely Passing High-School Exit Exams on Post-Secondary Enrollment and Completion
… high-school exit examinations to assess students’ career and college readiness in core subjects. We find meaningful consequences of barely passing the mathematics examination in Massachusetts, as opposed to …Many states use high-school exit examinations to assess students’ career and college readiness in core subjects. We find meaningful consequences of barely passing the mathematics examination in Massachusetts, as opposed to just failing it. However, these impacts operate at different educational attainment margins for low-income and higher-income students. As in previous work, we find that barely… more →
U.S. Middle School Mathematics Instruction, 2016
… analyzed 93 lessons recorded by a national random sample of middle school mathematics teachers. We find that lesson quality varies, with the typical lesson containing some elements of mathematical reasoning and sense-making, but also teacher-directed instruction with …In recent decades, U.S. education leaders have advocated for more intellectually ambitious mathematics instruction in classrooms. Evidence about whether more ambitious mathematics instruction has filtered into contemporary classrooms, however, is largely anecdotal. To address this issue, we analyzed 93 lessons recorded by a national random sample of middle school mathematics teachers. We find… more →
Unintended Consequences of Expanding Teacher Preparation Pathways: Does alternative licensure attenuate new teacher pay?
… five years, this policy change resulted in over half the state’s new teachers being alternatively licensed. Using a series of first difference models, this study examines the … between the increased supply of new teachers in Texas and new teacher salaries prior to the policy change and in …Texas reduced new teacher preparation requirements in 2001 to allow more alternate paths to licensure. Within five years, this policy change resulted in over half the state’s new teachers being alternatively licensed. Using a series of first difference models, this study examines the relationship between the increased supply of new teachers in Texas and new teacher salaries prior to the policy… more →
Comparing Turnover Intentions and Actual Turnover in the Public Sector Workforce: Evidence from Public School Teachers
… sector employees’ reported career intentions instead of measuring actual turnover, but research does not clearly … how these variables relate to one another. We develop and test three ways in which measures of employee intentions … might relate to one another: (a) intention may measure the same underlying construct as turnover; (b) intention may …Many studies rely on public sector employees’ reported career intentions instead of measuring actual turnover, but research does not clearly document how these variables relate to one another. We develop and test three ways in which measures of employee intentions and turnover might relate to one another: (a) intention may measure the same underlying construct as turnover; (b) intention may be… more →
Understanding Newcomer English Learner Students’ English Language Development: Comparisons and Predictors
… An important subgroup of English learner-classified (EL) students immigrate to the U.S., entering U.S. schools upon their arrival. Using growth models and statewide data, this study asks first, how newcomers’ …An important subgroup of English learner-classified (EL) students immigrate to the U.S., entering U.S. schools upon their arrival. Using growth models and statewide data, this study asks first, how newcomers’ English proficiency status and growth compare to those of non-newcomer EL students; and second, what characteristics are associated with differences in English language growth patterns among… more →
Teachers’ Knowledge about and Preparedness for Retirement: Results from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey
… Adequately saving for retirement requires both planning and knowledge about available retirement savings options. Teachers participate in a complex set of different plan designs and benefit tiers, and many do not … Social Security. While teachers represent a large part of the public workforce, relatively little is known regarding …Adequately saving for retirement requires both planning and knowledge about available retirement savings options. Teachers participate in a complex set of different plan designs and benefit tiers, and many do not participate in Social Security. While teachers represent a large part of the public workforce, relatively little is known regarding their knowledge about and preparation for retirement.… more →
Spread Too Thin: The Effects of Teacher Specialization on Student Achievement
… Although the majority of elementary school teachers are in self-contained classrooms and teach all major subjects, a growing number of teachers specialize in teaching fewer subjects to higher numbers of students. We use administrative data …Although the majority of elementary school teachers are in self-contained classrooms and teach all major subjects, a growing number of teachers specialize in teaching fewer subjects to higher numbers of students. We use administrative data from Indiana to estimate the effect of teacher specialization on teacher and school effectiveness in elementary schools. We find that teacher specialization… more →
Equal Time for Equal Crime? Racial Bias in School Discipline
… Well-documented racial disparities in rates of exclusionary discipline may arise from differences in … student behavior or bias, in which treatment for the same behavior varies by student race or ethnicity. We … variation in disciplinary outcomes across White and under-represented minority students. The second employs …Well-documented racial disparities in rates of exclusionary discipline may arise from differences in hard-to-observe student behavior or bias, in which treatment for the same behavior varies by student race or ethnicity. We provide evidence for the presence of bias using statewide administrative data that contain rich details on individual disciplinary infractions. Two complementary empirical… more →
Does Where Students Come From Affect Where Teachers Go?
… We show that fade out biases value-added estimates at the teacher-level. To do so, we use administrative data from North Carolina and show that teachers' value-added depend on the quality of the teacher that preceded them. Value-added estimators …We show that fade out biases value-added estimates at the teacher-level. To do so, we use administrative data from North Carolina and show that teachers' value-added depend on the quality of the teacher that preceded them. Value-added estimators that control for fade out feature no such teacher-level bias. Under a benchmark policy that releases teachers in the bottom five percent of the value-… more →
A Strengths-Based, Culturally Responsive Family Intervention Improves Latino Kindergarteners’ Vocabulary and Approaches to Learning
… age = 67 months) from 13 schools, this study investigated the impact of a four-week family program designed to capitalize on food … vocabulary (especially food-related) at end-of-treatment and the five-month follow-up, and suggestive evidence of …Food routines play a special role in Latino families. Using a cluster randomized trial with 248 children (M age = 67 months) from 13 schools, this study investigated the impact of a four-week family program designed to capitalize on food routines in improving Latino kindergarteners’ outcomes in the U.S. There were moderate-to-large impacts on child vocabulary (especially food-related) at end-of-… more →
Examining STEM Performance within a Comprehensive College Transition Program
… We examine the impact of the Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC), a … of majors, on students’ science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related outcomes. We use an explanatory … the quantitative analyses and uses qualitative analyses to contextualize and explain our quantitative findings. …We examine the impact of the Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC), a comprehensive college transition program serving students with a variety of majors, on students’ science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related outcomes. We use an explanatory mixed-methods design, which prioritizes the quantitative analyses and uses qualitative analyses to contextualize and explain our… more →
Can Light-Touch College-Going Interventions Make a Difference? Evidence From a Statewide Experiment in Michigan
… are mailed a letter encouraging them to consider college and providing them with the web address of a college information website. I find that very …I conduct a statewide experiment in Michigan with nearly 50,000 high-achieving high school seniors. Treated students are mailed a letter encouraging them to consider college and providing them with the web address of a college information website. I find that very high-achieving, low-income students, and very high-achieving, minority students are the most likely to navigate to the website. Small… more →
Early Algebra Affects Peer Composition
… research suggests that students benefit on a range of outcomes when they enroll in early algebra classes, policy … for this apparent contradiction often emphasize the potential role of teacher and peer effects, which could create positive effects for …Although existing research suggests that students benefit on a range of outcomes when they enroll in early algebra classes, policy efforts that accelerate algebra enrollment for large numbers of students often have negative effects. Explanations for this apparent contradiction often emphasize the potential role of teacher and peer effects, which could create positive effects for individual… more →
College Major Restrictions and Student Stratification
… earning degrees in relatively less-lucrative fields of study since the mid-1990s. A decomposition reveals that this widening gap … four public research universities' student transcripts and employing a staggered difference-in-difference design …Underrepresented minority (URM) college students have been steadily earning degrees in relatively less-lucrative fields of study since the mid-1990s. A decomposition reveals that this widening gap is principally explained by rising stratification at public research universities, many of which increasingly enforce GPA restriction policies that prohibit students with poor introductory grades from… more →
Is Reputational Pressure Enough to Create Competitive School Choice Effects? Evidence from Seoul’s School Choice Policy
… During the pandemic, a number of states instituted hold-harmless funding policies to … the achievement of students attending traditional public and private schools. The effect of APHSs is identified by …During the pandemic, a number of states instituted hold-harmless funding policies to protect school district financially from declining enrollments (Center for Public Education, 2021). In addition, some school choice policies have protected traditional public schools financially from declining enrollments. Together, these policies raise the question of whether competitive effects can exist in a… more →
Count Me In? Identifying Factors That Predict Centers’ Application to Boston’s Mixed-Delivery Universal Pre-K Program
… mixed-delivery systems by offering seats in public schools and community-based centers (CBOs). Although this approach … and administrative data from 223 licensed centers during the first 2 years of Boston UPK expansion. We included a geospatial approach to …Universal prekindergarten (UPK) programs often expand through mixed-delivery systems by offering seats in public schools and community-based centers (CBOs). Although this approach aims to meet varied family needs, little is known about potential systematic differences between CBOs that apply to UPK programs and those that do not. We examined whether applier and nonapplier CBOs differ in capacity… more →
Does State-Mandated Third-Grade Reading Retention Policy Improve Achievement? Evidence from a Staggered-Adoption Difference-in-Differences Design
… This paper investigates whether the state-mandated third-grade reading retention policy … Difference-in-Differences design, as per Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021), to assess heterogeneous treatment … states implementing retention mandates observe an increase of approximately 0.07–0.10 standard deviations in …This paper investigates whether the state-mandated third-grade reading retention policy autonomously enhances student achievement or depends on broader literacy reforms. Using district-level data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (2010–2019), I employ a staggered-adoption Difference-in-Differences design, as per Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021), to assess heterogeneous treatment effects… more →
The Effects of Immigration Enforcement on Student Outcomes in a New Era of Immigration Policy in the United States
… This study presents the first evidence, to our knowledge, of the effects of the surge in interior immigration … enforcement reduced test scores for both U.S.-born and foreign-born Spanish-speaking students while also …This study presents the first evidence, to our knowledge, of the effects of the surge in interior immigration apprehensions in 2025 in the United States on student academic performance using detailed student-level administrative records from Florida. We find evidence that immigration enforcement reduced test scores for both U.S.-born and foreign-born Spanish-speaking students while also reducing… more →
Estimating Compensating Wage Differentials for Public School Teachers in High-Poverty and High-Minority Schools: Evidence from U.S. National Data, 1988–2018
… wage differentials (CWDs) for teachers in high-poverty and/or high-minority schools, drawing on thirty years of nationally representative data from the School and Staffing Surveys (SASS), National Teacher and …Using a hedonic wage framework, this paper estimates compensating wage differentials (CWDs) for teachers in high-poverty and/or high-minority schools, drawing on thirty years of nationally representative data from the School and Staffing Surveys (SASS), National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), and Common Core of Data (CCD), 1988–2018. We also examine CWDs for teachers with STEM BA degrees… more →
The Effects of High School Remediation on Long-Run Educational Attainment
… This study examines the effects of remedial courses in high school on postsecondary outcomes using a regression discontinuity design and explores the mechanisms behind these effects. I find that …This study examines the effects of remedial courses in high school on postsecondary outcomes using a regression discontinuity design and explores the mechanisms behind these effects. I find that being placed in the remedial schedule and taking an additional remedial course in high school reduces the likelihood of attaining a 2- or 4-year college degree by 20 percent. The findings also suggest… more →
Who may enter? Qualification and ranking in centralized admission systems to higher education
… what choices are available to whom. Policy makers and institutions must balance multiple, often conflicting, … are more eligible applicants than seats available? Using the framework in combination with examples and ongoing policy … discussions, we offer key insights into the complexities of admission systems. … qualification, ranking, higher …Admission systems play a critical role in shaping educational opportunities by determining what choices are available to whom. Policy makers and institutions must balance multiple, often conflicting, goals which requires trade-offs between competing values. In this paper, we present core values for admission to higher education alongside a novel framework for centralized admission systems,… more →
The Peer Effects of Grade Retention
… We study the peer effects of grade retention in the context of Indiana’s statewide … for two cohorts: rising fourth graders who lose a peer and rising third graders who gain a peer. We identify peer …We study the peer effects of grade retention in the context of Indiana’s statewide third-grade retention policy. When a retention occurs, it changes the peer group for two cohorts: rising fourth graders who lose a peer and rising third graders who gain a peer. We identify peer effects in both cohorts by leveraging plausibly exogenous variation in cohort-level retention rates caused by a… more →
Do Students Respond to Sticker-Price Reductions?: Evidence from the North Carolina Promise
… The North Carolina Promise is a state-level policy that reduced the cost of tuition for all students who attended one of three … System starting in fall of 2018. We use IPEDS data and a synthetic control approach to examine how this tuition …The North Carolina Promise is a state-level policy that reduced the cost of tuition for all students who attended one of three campuses in the University of North Carolina System starting in fall of 2018. We use IPEDS data and a synthetic control approach to examine how this tuition reduction affected enrollment and persistence at these campuses. We find that NC Promise did not increase… more →
OK Boomer: Generational Differences in Teacher Quality
… We document that recent generations of elementary school teachers are significantly more … generations. Measuring teachers’ value-added for Black and white students separately, the improvements in teaching for Black students are …We document that recent generations of elementary school teachers are significantly more effective in raising student test scores than those from earlier generations. Measuring teachers’ value-added for Black and white students separately, the improvements in teaching for Black students are significantly larger than those seen for white students. The race-specific improvements in teacher quality… more →