EdWorkingPapers
Job Training Programs as Crime Deterrents? Evidence from a Low-Income Targeted Training Program RCT
… The primary goal of job training programs is to improve employment and earning outcomes of participants. However, effective job … a job training program in New Orleans that was implemented using a randomized controlled trial design. We find that …The primary goal of job training programs is to improve employment and earning outcomes of participants. However, effective job training programs may have potential secondary benefits, including in the form of reduced arrests. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of a job training program in New Orleans that was implemented using a randomized controlled trial design. We find that among those who… more →
A Bridge to Graduation: Post-Secondary Effects of an Alternative Pathway for Students Who Fail High School Exit Exams
… High school exit exams are meant to standardize the quality of public high schools and to ensure that students graduate with a set of basic …High school exit exams are meant to standardize the quality of public high schools and to ensure that students graduate with a set of basic skills and knowledge. Evidence suggests that a common perverse effect of exit exams is an increase in dropout for students who have difficulty passing tests, with a larger effect on minority students. To mitigate this, some states offer alternative, non-… more →
Elevating Education in Politics: How Teacher Strikes Shape Congressional Election Campaigns
… Teacher strikes have gained national attention with the “#RedforEd” movement. Such strikes are polarizing events … are costly to sponsors, consequential for voter behavior, and predictive of future legislative agendas. Using a …Teacher strikes have gained national attention with the “#RedforEd” movement. Such strikes are polarizing events that could serve to elevate education as a political priority or cast education politics in a negative light. We investigate this empirically by collecting original panel data on U.S. teacher strikes, which we link to congressional election campaign advertisements. Election ads provide… more →
The Populist-Burkean Dimension in U.S. Public Opinion
… Research has shown that a belief in popular sovereignty and a distrust of public officials are core components of populism. Its … should exercise their own judgment rather than pander to the public. A national probability sample of U. S. adults is …Scholars differ as to whether populist beliefs are a discourse or an ideology resembling conservatism or liberalism. Research has shown that a belief in popular sovereignty and a distrust of public officials are core components of populism. Its antithesis is defined as Burke’s claim that officials should exercise their own judgment rather than pander to the public. A national probability sample… more →
Trends in Children’s Academic Skills at School Entry: 2010 to 2017
… Students’ level of academic skills at school entry are a strong predictor of later academic success, and focusing on improving these skills during the preschool years has been a priority during the past ten …Students’ level of academic skills at school entry are a strong predictor of later academic success, and focusing on improving these skills during the preschool years has been a priority during the past ten years. Evidence from two prior nationally representative studies indicated that incoming kindergarteners’ math and literacy skills were higher in 2010 than 1998, but no national studies have… more →
Identifying Preferences for Equal College Access, Income, and Income Equality
… among commuting zones. We find that, ceteris paribus , the average income that individuals are willing to sacrifice … find that political affiliation is an important moderator of preferences for equality. While both Democrats and Republicans are willing to trade over $4,000 dollars to …Revealed preferences for equal college access may be due to beliefs that equal access increases societal income or income equality. To isolate preferences for those goods, we implement an online discrete choice experiment using social statistics generated from true variation among commuting zones. We find that, ceteris paribus, the average income that individuals are willing to sacrifice is (i… more →
English Learner Labeling: How English Learner Status Shapes Teacher Perceptions of Student Skills & the Moderating Role of Bilingual Instructional Settings
… (ECLS-K:2011), we use coarsened exact matching to estimate the effect of EL status on teachers’ perceptions of students’ skills in language arts, math, science, and social studies in kindergarten through second grade. We …Prior research has shown that EL classification is consequential for students, however, less is known about how EL classification impacts students’ outcomes. In this study, we examine one hypothesized mechanism: teacher perceptions. Using nationally-representative data (ECLS-K:2011), we use coarsened exact matching to estimate the effect of EL status on teachers’ perceptions of students’ skills… more →
The Effects of Full-day Pre-kindergarten: Experimental Evidence of Impacts on Children’s School Readiness
… This study is a randomized control trial of full- versus half-day pre-kindergarten in a school … pre-k that increased class time by over 600 hours. The offer of full-day pre-k produced substantial, positive … on teacher-reported measures of cognition, literacy, math, and physical development. At kindergarten entry, children …This study is a randomized control trial of full- versus half-day pre-kindergarten in a school district near Denver, Colorado. Four-year-old children were randomly assigned an offer of half-day (four days/week) or full-day (five days/week) pre-k that increased class time by over 600 hours. The offer of full-day pre-k produced substantial, positive effects on children’s receptive vocabulary skills… more →
General Equilibrium Effects of Recruiting High-Performing Teachers for School Turnaround: Evidence from Tennessee
… Many districts and states have begun implementing incentives to attract … that these incentives are effective. However, effects on the schools and students these teachers leave behind has not … This study focuses on the general equilibrium effects of recruiting effective teachers to Tennessee’s Innovation …Many districts and states have begun implementing incentives to attract high-performing teachers to low-performing schools. Previous research has found that these incentives are effective. However, effects on the schools and students these teachers leave behind has not been examined. This study focuses on the general equilibrium effects of recruiting effective teachers to… more →
From Statistical to Analytic Generalization: New Directions for Qualitative Research on Teacher Retention
… research has played a prominent role in studies and policies focused on teacher retention. However, the field would benefit from qualitative research that … distinguishes analytic generalization from other forms of theory and generalization (i.e., case-to-case …Quantitative research has played a prominent role in studies and policies focused on teacher retention. However, the field would benefit from qualitative research that utilizes analytic generalization, an approach where researchers generalize from empirical data by creating theoretical propositions about how, why, and under what conditions certain phenomena occur. This essay distinguishes… more →
U.S. Schools’ Proximity to Environmental Hazard Sites: A National Analysis
… We conduct a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites tracked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Superfund sites, …We conduct a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites tracked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Superfund sites, Brownfields, and Toxics Release Inventory facilities. Prior research documents a range of negative health and academic consequences for youth exposed to pollution and legacy contaminants released by these… more →
Effects of a non-traditional teacher preparation program on non-test outcomes: evidence from relay graduate school of education in New York City
… This study examines the effects of a non-traditional teacher preparation program, the Relay … school students in Grades 3–8. By controlling for student and school fixed effects, I use plausibly random variation in …This study examines the effects of a non-traditional teacher preparation program, the Relay Graduate School of Education, on non-test outcomes for New York City public school students in Grades 3–8. By controlling for student and school fixed effects, I use plausibly random variation in Relay teacher assignments within students over time to identify causal Relay program effects. Results indicate… more →
Introducing a High-School Exit Exam in Science: Consequences in Massachusetts
… Preparing students for science, technology, and engineering careers is an urgent state policy challenge. We examine the design and roll-out of a science testing requirement for high-school graduation …Preparing students for science, technology, and engineering careers is an urgent state policy challenge. We examine the design and roll-out of a science testing requirement for high-school graduation in Massachusetts. While science test performance has improved over time for all demographic subgroups, we observe rising inequality in failure rates and retest success. English learners, almost 8% of… more →
Exploring the Potentials of Outcomes-Based Contracting: Findings from Initial Implementations
… examines its implementation in tutoring services through the Southern Education Foundation pilot program. Interviews with district leaders and vendors reveal that OBC fosters collaboration, improves … However, financial risks for vendors and the complexity of implementation pose challenges. While OBC shows promise in …Outcomes-Based Contracting (OBC) ties vendor payments to performance metrics, aiming to enhance accountability in public education. This study examines its implementation in tutoring services through the Southern Education Foundation pilot program. Interviews with district leaders and vendors reveal that OBC fosters collaboration, improves service alignment with student needs, and enhances data… more →
Should College Be “Free”? Evidence On Free College, Early Commitment, and Merit Aid From An Eight-Year Randomized Trial
… ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. …We provide evidence about college financial aid from an eight-year randomized trial where high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. During high school, it increased students’ college expectations and low-cost effort, but not higher-cost… more →
Different methods for assessing pre-service teachers’ instruction: Why measures matter
… teacher (PST) skills to drive program improvement and provide targeted supports. Observational ratings are … little about how these measurement challenges play out in the PST context. Here we investigate the reliability and sensitivity of two observational measures. We find measures collected …Teacher preparation programs are increasingly expected to use data on pre-service teacher (PST) skills to drive program improvement and provide targeted supports. Observational ratings are especially vital, but also prone to measurement issues. Scores may be influenced by factors unrelated to PSTs’ instructional skills, including rater standards and mentor teachers’ skills. Yet we know little… more →
School-based Mentoring Relationships and Human Capital Formation
… informal mentoring relationships between students and school personnel. Using longitudinal data from a large, nationally representative sample of adolescents, we explore the frequency, nature, and consequences of school-based …We document a largely unrecognized pathway through which schools promote human capital development – by fostering informal mentoring relationships between students and school personnel. Using longitudinal data from a large, nationally representative sample of adolescents, we explore the frequency, nature, and consequences of school-based natural mentorships. Estimates across a range of fixed… more →
Spending More on the Poor? A Comprehensive Summary of State-Specific Responses to School Finance Reforms from 1990–2014
… Sixty-seven school finance reforms (SFRs), a combination of court-ordered and legislative reforms, have taken place since 1990; however, there is little empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of SFR effects. In this study, we estimate …Sixty-seven school finance reforms (SFRs), a combination of court-ordered and legislative reforms, have taken place since 1990; however, there is little empirical evidence on the heterogeneity of SFR effects. In this study, we estimate the effects of SFRs on revenues and expenditures between 1990 and 2014 for 26 states. We find that, on average, per pupil spending increased, especially in low-… more →
How Much Does Teacher Quality Vary Across Teacher Preparation Programs? Reanalyses from Six States
… programs (TPPs) accountable for teacher value-added to student test scores. Yet it is unclear whether teacher … practices can make differences between TPPs appear larger and more significant than they are. We reanalyze TPP … York, Louisiana, Missouri, Washington, Texas, and Florida—using appropriate methods implemented by our new caterpillar …At least sixteen US states have taken steps toward holding teacher preparation programs (TPPs) accountable for teacher value-added to student test scores. Yet it is unclear whether teacher quality differences between TPPs are large enough to make an accountability system worthwhile. Several statistical practices can make differences between TPPs appear larger and more significant than they are.… more →
An Evaluation of Credit Recovery as an Intervention for High School Students Who Fail Courses
… that high school students take after previously failing the course. Many have suggested that CR courses are helping … This study analyzes administrative data from the state of North Carolina to evaluate these claims using full data from public and private CR providers. Findings indicate that students who …Credit recovery (CR) refers to online courses that high school students take after previously failing the course. Many have suggested that CR courses are helping students to graduate from high school without corresponding increases in academic skills. This study analyzes administrative data from the state of North Carolina to evaluate these claims using full data from public and private CR… more →
An Experimental Evaluation of Arts Field Trips
… This paper presents results of a multi-visit, longitudinal experiment on the academic and social-emotional effects of arts-based field trips. We …This paper presents results of a multi-visit, longitudinal experiment on the academic and social-emotional effects of arts-based field trips. We randomly assign fourth and fifth grade students to receive arts-based field trips throughout the school year or to serve as a control. Treatment students express greater tolerance for people with different opinions and a desire to consume arts.… more →
Regulatory Arbitrage in Teacher Hiring and Retention: Evidence from Massachusetts Charter Schools
… by exploring how teacher retention varies with teacher and school quality in Massachusetts. Charters are more likely … licenses required for higher paying public sector jobs. The model suggests charter schools create positive … public schools by increasing the average quality of available teachers. … Charter Schools, Teacher Quality, …We study personnel flexibility in charter schools by exploring how teacher retention varies with teacher and school quality in Massachusetts. Charters are more likely to lose their highest and lowest value-added teachers. Low performers tend to exit public education, while high performers tend to switch to traditional public schools. To rationalize these findings, we propose a model in which… more →
Unequal Pay for Equal Work? Unpacking the Gender Gap in Principal Compensation
… We investigate the male–female gap in principal compensation in state and national data: detailed longitudinal personnel records from the state of Missouri and repeated cross-sections from the nationally …We investigate the male–female gap in principal compensation in state and national data: detailed longitudinal personnel records from the state of Missouri and repeated cross-sections from the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). In both data sets, we estimate substantively important compensation gaps for school leaders. In Missouri, female principals make approximately $… more →
Gender Stereotypes in the Classroom and Effects on Achievement
… We study the effect of elementary school teachers’ beliefs about gender roles on … teachers are prevented from self-selecting into schools, and conditional on school, students are allocated to teachers …We study the effect of elementary school teachers’ beliefs about gender roles on student achievement. We exploit a natural experiment where teachers are prevented from self-selecting into schools, and conditional on school, students are allocated to teachers randomly. We show that girls who are taught for longer than a year by teachers with traditional gender views have lower performance in… more →
Advisor Value-Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisors
… This paper provides the first causal evidence on the impact of college advisor quality on student outcomes. To do so, we … improves freshman year GPA, time to complete freshman year and four-year graduation rates. Additionally, higher advisor …This paper provides the first causal evidence on the impact of college advisor quality on student outcomes. To do so, we exploit a unique setting where students are randomly assigned to faculty advisors during their first year of college. We find that higher advisor value-added (VA) substantially improves freshman year GPA, time to complete freshman year and four-year graduation rates.… more →
How college credit in high school impacts postsecondary course-taking: the role of AP exams
… transcripts from in-state, public institutions and estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity … identical AP performance but who receive different offers of college credit. I find that female students who earn … of study, with no observed impacts for males. As a result, the male-female gap in STEM courses taken shrinks by roughly …This paper uses Advanced Placement (AP) exams to examine how receiving college credit in high school alters students’ subsequent human capital investment. Using data from one large state, I link high school students to postsecondary transcripts from in-state, public institutions and estimate causal impacts using a regression discontinuity that compares students with essentially identical AP… more →
Stress in Boom Times: Understanding Teachers’ Economic Anxiety in a High Cost Urban District
… to live comfortably where they work, we know little about the systematic impacts of affordability on teachers’ well-being, particularly in … Francisco Unified School District to identify the patterns and prevalence of economic anxiety among teachers and assess …Despite growing concern over teachers’ ability to live comfortably where they work, we know little about the systematic impacts of affordability on teachers’ well-being, particularly in high-cost urban areas. We use novel survey data from San Francisco Unified School District to identify the patterns and prevalence of economic anxiety among teachers and assess how this anxiety relates to teachers… more →
Conditional Hypothesis Generation for LLM-Based Text Analysis with Researcher-Specified Covariates
… A core goal of computational social science is to discover interpretable … through researchers' domain knowledge — that shape the data. When covariates are ignored, selected patterns can … subgroup may be underrepresented (stratum imbalance), and the direction of a difference may reverse across …A core goal of computational social science is to discover interpretable differences in how language varies across outcomes of interest, such as political affiliation or instructional quality. Recent LLM-based hypothesis generation methods describe such differences in natural language, but select for globally discriminative patterns without accounting for covariates — identified through… more →
Causal Mechanisms of Relative Age Effects on Adolescent Risky Behaviours
… are attracting growing attention in academic research and public policy, yet their underlying mechanisms remain … isolate relative age effects from absolute age and season-of-birth confounders. Relatively younger students are … analyses using data from a connected survey (i.e., the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs …Age differences between classmates are attracting growing attention in academic research and public policy, yet their underlying mechanisms remain understudied. We examine how relative age affects adolescents’ risky behaviors across Europe. Using Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey data and a two-stage least squares (2SLS) strategy, we provide causal estimates that isolate… more →
Discipline Beyond Suspensions: Racial/Ethnic Disparities Across the Spectrum of Disciplinary Actions
… Little research examines whether the alternatives to suspension reduce racial/ethnic … in the South, we investigate how schools use a range of disciplinary actions and the racial/ethnic gaps in their use. School leaders may …Little research examines whether the alternatives to suspension reduce racial/ethnic discipline disparities. Using unusually rich administrative data from a large district in the South, we investigate how schools use a range of disciplinary actions and the racial/ethnic gaps in their use. School leaders may respond to discipline incidents with a variety of guidance-based and punitive actions, but… more →
High School Effects on Civic Engagement
… young people for citizenship is a foundational purpose of public education, yet little is known about whether or how … schools impact civic engagement. Using education, birth, and voting records for nine cohorts of students in Indiana, I estimate and assess the validity of high school effects on voting. School effects …Preparing young people for citizenship is a foundational purpose of public education, yet little is known about whether or how K-12 schools impact civic engagement. Using education, birth, and voting records for nine cohorts of students in Indiana, I estimate and assess the validity of high school effects on voting. School effects on voting are significant and practically meaningful: a one… more →
The Expansion of Alternative Schools: Impact of Schools Targeting Lower Performing Students
… Despite rising high school graduation rates in the US, a substantial portion of students do not obtain a high school degree. Alternative … solution offering opportunities for credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Using variation in the timing and …Despite rising high school graduation rates in the US, a substantial portion of students do not obtain a high school degree. Alternative schools have emerged as a potential solution offering opportunities for credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Using variation in the timing and proximity of alternative school expansions in Chicago, we find that living within a mile of an alternative school… more →
The Language of Closure: Examining Racial Differences in How A Community Discusses School Closure Metrics
… p < 0.0001, V = 0.1439). Furthermore, an analysis of topic outliers revealed that White respondents were … that ”neutral” community engagement processes may obscure the specific concerns of marginalized groups, and highlight the utility of computational methods in …School closures in urban districts disproportionately affect marginalized communities, yet community input often goes unanalyzed or is reduced to simple frequency counts. This study applies BERTopic, a neural topic modeling approach, to analyze 4,159 suggestions from 2,006 community members regarding school closure metrics in a large urban district. Through extensive hyperparameter tuning across… more →
Online Tutoring, School Performance, and School-to-Work Transitions: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial
… effectively enhance school performance, yet their medium- and longer-term impacts on labor market outcomes remain less … with 839 secondary school students in Germany to examine the effects of an online tutoring program for low-performing students on …Tutoring programs for low-performing students, delivered in-person or online, effectively enhance school performance, yet their medium- and longer-term impacts on labor market outcomes remain less understood. To address this gap, we conduct a randomized controlled trial with 839 secondary school students in Germany to examine the effects of an online tutoring program for low-performing students… more →
Leveraging IEPs to Understand Special Education Services at Scale
… guide $14 billion in special education services. However, the content of IEPs remains unexplored, primarily because they have been … five settings, five service modalities, six group types, and five personnel types. This information helps understand …7.5 million (15%) U.S. public school students have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that guide $14 billion in special education services. However, the content of IEPs remains unexplored, primarily because they have been historically inaccessible to researchers at scale. In this study, we develop a coding taxonomy to categorize IEP services from digital IEP records for an entire state. We… more →
The Graduation Part II: Graduate Program Graduation Rates
… graduation rates using administrative data covering public and nonprofit graduate students in Texas. Despite … graduate students complete their programs, only 58 percent of who started their program in 2004 graduated within 6 years. Between the 2004 and 2013 entering cohorts, graduate student …This paper documents several facts about graduate program graduation rates using administrative data covering public and nonprofit graduate students in Texas. Despite conventional wisdom that most graduate students complete their programs, only 58 percent of who started their program in 2004 graduated within 6 years. Between the 2004 and 2013 entering cohorts, graduate student completion rates… more →
Beyond the silver bullet: Unveiling multiple pathways to school turnaround
… on school improvement has accumulated an extensive list of factors that facilitate turnarounds at underperforming … Given that contextual or resource constraints may limit the possibilities of putting all of these factors in place, an important question is what is necessary and sufficient to turn a school around. We use a qualitative …Research on school improvement has accumulated an extensive list of factors that facilitate turnarounds at underperforming schools. Given that contextual or resource constraints may limit the possibilities of putting all of these factors in place, an important question is what is necessary and sufficient to turn a school around. We use a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 77 Swedish… more →
The Effects of Teacher-Student Demographic Matching on Social-Emotional Learning
… A growing body of research shows that students benefit when they … use student-fixed effects to exploit changes over time in the proportion of teachers within a school grade who … effect on social-emotional measures, test scores, and behavioral outcomes. We find improvements for students in …A growing body of research shows that students benefit when they demographically match their teachers. However, little is known about how matching affects social-emotional development. We use student-fixed effects to exploit changes over time in the proportion of teachers within a school grade who demographically match a student to estimate matching's effect on social-emotional measures, test… more →
Beyond Prescriptive Reforms: An Examination of North Carolina’s Flexible School Restart Program
… While multiple studies have examined the impact of school turnaround, less is known about reforms under the … positive NCR effect can be explained by decreased teacher and principal turnover. These results provide evidence to …While multiple studies have examined the impact of school turnaround, less is known about reforms under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). To advance this literature, we examine North Carolina’s Restart (NCR) model. NCR aligns with ESSA by giving school leaders increased flexibility. Also, NCR differs from previous turnaround models by repackaging a traditionally sanction-based approach to… more →
Financial Deregulation, School Finance, and Student Achievement
… school spending impacts student achievement by exploiting the US interstate branching deregulation as state tax revenue … leads to an increase in per-pupil total revenue and expenditure. The rise in revenue is primarily attributed … increase is more prominent in low-income school districts. Using restricted-use student assessments from the Nation’s …This paper studies how school spending impacts student achievement by exploiting the US interstate branching deregulation as state tax revenue shocks. Leveraging school finance data from universal school districts, our difference-in-differences estimation reveals that deregulation leads to an increase in per-pupil total revenue and expenditure. The rise in revenue is primarily attributed to… more →
Strategic Disclosure of Test Scores: Evidence from US College Admissions
… The impact of test-optional college admissions policies depends on … We analyze individual applicants’ standardized test scores and disclosure behavior to 50 major US colleges for entry in fall 2021, when Covid-19 …The impact of test-optional college admissions policies depends on whether applicants act strategically in disclosing test scores. We analyze individual applicants’ standardized test scores and disclosure behavior to 50 major US colleges for entry in fall 2021, when Covid-19 prompted widespread adoption of test-optional policies. Applicants withheld low scores and disclosed high scores, including… more →
Teachers’ use of class time and student achievement
… teacher devotes more class time to individual practice and assessment. In contrast, students score higher in English … Class time allocation predicts test scores separate from the quality of the teacher’s instruction during the activities. These …We study teachers’ choices about how to allocate class time across different instructional activities, for example, lecturing, open discussion, or individual practice. Our data come from secondary schools in England, specifically classes preceding GCSE exams. Students score higher in math when their teacher devotes more class time to individual practice and assessment. In contrast, students score… more →
You Are Who You Eat With: Academic Peer Effects from School Lunch Lines
… which students frequently stand next to one another in the lunch line. I use this `revealed' friendship network to … where social connections exist, but the relative strength of these connections. Equally weighting all peers in a … group assumes that all peers are equally important and may bias estimates by underweighting important peers and …Using daily lunch transaction data from NYC public schools, I determine which students frequently stand next to one another in the lunch line. I use this `revealed' friendship network to estimate academic peer effects in elementary school classrooms, improving on previous work by defining not only where social connections exist, but the relative strength of these connections. Equally weighting… more →
Instructional Coaching Personnel and Program Scalability
… alternative to one-size-fits-all teacher training and development in part because it is purposefully … and implemented by an individual coach. But, how much of the benefit of coaching as an instructional improvement …Instructional coaching is an attractive alternative to one-size-fits-all teacher training and development in part because it is purposefully differentiated: programming is aligned to individual teachers’ needs and implemented by an individual coach. But, how much of the benefit of coaching as an instructional improvement model depends on the specific coach with whom a teacher works? Collaborating… more →
Tightening the Leaky Pipeline(s): The Role of Beliefs About Ability in STEM Major Choice
… To study beliefs about ability and STEM major choice, I conduct a field experiment where I … that they are above average in their top fields of study. I find that STEM students are more likely to switch … and that non-STEM students fail to switch into STEM at the same rates as other fields. I also find that learning you …To study beliefs about ability and STEM major choice, I conduct a field experiment where I provide students with information that they are above average in their top fields of study. I find that STEM students are more likely to switch out of their major and that non-STEM students fail to switch into STEM at the same rates as other fields. I also find that learning you are above average in your… more →
Do Refugee Students Affect the Academic Achievement of Peers? Evidence from a Large Urban School District
… examines whether attending school with refugees affects the academic outcomes of non-refugee students. Leveraging variation in the share of refugees within schools and across grades, I find that increasing the share of …Policy debate on refugee resettlement focuses on perceived adverse effects on local communities, with sparse credible evidence to ascertain its impact. This paper examines whether attending school with refugees affects the academic outcomes of non-refugee students. Leveraging variation in the share of refugees within schools and across grades, I find that increasing the share of grade-level… more →
Teacher Preparation Programs and Graduates' Growth in Instructional Effectiveness
… examined whether there are average differences in levels of teaching effectiveness among graduates from different … average levels of teaching effectiveness. This is the first study to examine whether there are average … growth, rather than levels, in teaching effectiveness, and to consider which features predict this growth. Examining …Many prior studies have examined whether there are average differences in levels of teaching effectiveness among graduates from different teacher preparation programs (TPPs); other studies have investigated which features of preparation predict graduates’ average levels of teaching effectiveness. This is the first study to examine whether there are average differences between TPPs in terms of… more →
Teacher-to-classroom assignment and student achievement
… We study the effects of counterfactual teacher-to-classroom assignments on average student achievement in elementary and middle schools in the US. We use the Measures of …We study the effects of counterfactual teacher-to-classroom assignments on average student achievement in elementary and middle schools in the US. We use the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) experiment to semiparametrically identify the average reallocation effects (AREs) of such assignments. Our findings suggest that changes in within-district teacher assignments could have appreciable… more →
Catching up or Falling Behind: Measuring Middle School Achievement Trajectories for College Readiness
… presents a framework that uses academic trajectories in the middle grades for identifying students in need of intervention and providing targeted support. We apply a set of academic …This study presents a framework that uses academic trajectories in the middle grades for identifying students in need of intervention and providing targeted support. We apply a set of academic college readiness benchmarks to rich longitudinal data for more than 360,000 students in 5900 schools across 49 states and the District of Columbia. In both math and reading, each student was assessed up to… more →
Teacher Turnover: Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It
… policies, U.S. teacher shortages are projected to grow in the coming years. Teacher turnover is an important source of these shortages. About 8% of teachers leave the profession … shortages, high turnover rates lower student achievement and are costly for schools. This report examines turnover …Without changes in current policies, U.S. teacher shortages are projected to grow in the coming years. Teacher turnover is an important source of these shortages. About 8% of teachers leave the profession each year, two-thirds of them for reasons other than retirement. Another 8% shift to different schools each year. In addition to aggravating teacher shortages, high turnover rates lower student… more →