EdWorkingPapers
Assessing Atlanta’s Placed-Based College Scholarship
… We investigate whether and how Achieve Atlanta’s college scholarship and associated … experiencing low household income. Qualifying for the scholarship of up to $5,000/year does not meaningfully change college …We investigate whether and how Achieve Atlanta’s college scholarship and associated services impact college enrollment, persistence, and graduation among Atlanta Public School graduates experiencing low household income. Qualifying for the scholarship of up to $5,000/year does not meaningfully change college enrollment among those near the high school GPA eligibility thresholds. However,… more →
Who Benefits From Attending Effective Schools?
… We estimate the longer-run effects of attending an effective high school (one that improves a … scores, survey measures of socio-emotional development, and behaviors in 9th grade) for students who are more versus …We estimate the longer-run effects of attending an effective high school (one that improves a combination of test scores, survey measures of socio-emotional development, and behaviors in 9th grade) for students who are more versus less educationally advantaged (i.e., likely to attain more years of education based on 8th-grade characteristics). All students benefit from attending effective schools… more →
College Field Specialization and Beliefs about Relative Performance: An Experimental Intervention to Understand Gender Gaps in STEM
… academic performance may shape field specialization and explain gender gaps in STEM enrollment, but little causal … in biased beliefs substantially and closes ten percent of the gender gap in subsequent STEM course-taking. The gap …Beliefs about relative academic performance may shape field specialization and explain gender gaps in STEM enrollment, but little causal evidence exists. To test whether these beliefs are malleable and salient enough to change behavior, I run a randomized controlled trial with 5,700 undergraduates across seven introductory STEM courses. Providing relative performance information shrinks gender… more →
Do students improve their academic achievement when assigned to a growth mindset teacher? Evidence from Census Data in Chile using a Student Fixed Effect Design
… Growing evidence shows that a student's growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is malleable) can benefit their … academic achievement. In this paper, we study the impact of teacher growth mindset on academic achievement for a nationwide sample of 8th and 10th grade students in Chile in 2017. Using a student …Growing evidence shows that a student's growth mindset (the belief that intelligence is malleable) can benefit their academic achievement. However, due to limited information, little is known about how a teachers’ growth mindset affects their students’ academic achievement. In this paper, we study the impact of teacher growth mindset on academic achievement for a nationwide sample of 8th and 10th… more →
The Effect of Course Shutouts on Community College Students: Evidence from Waitlist Cutoffs
… Open admissions policies, binding class size constraints, and heavy reliance on state funding may make this channel … especially salient at community colleges, which enroll 47% of U.S. undergraduates in public colleges and 55% of … … Finance … Inequality … Program and policy effects … The Effect of Course Shutouts on Community College Students: …One frequently cited yet understudied channel through which money matters for college students is course availability- colleges may respond to budgetary pressure by reducing course offerings. Open admissions policies, binding class size constraints, and heavy reliance on state funding may make this channel especially salient at community colleges, which enroll 47% of U.S. undergraduates in public… more →
Happy Together? The Peer Effects of Dual Enrollment Students on Community College Student Outcomes
… Nationally, 15% of first-time community college students were high school … percentage of DE peers in entry-level (gateway) math and English courses influences non-DE enrollees’ performance. … Inequality … Program and policy effects … Happy Together? The Peer Effects of Dual Enrollment Students on Community …Nationally, 15% of first-time community college students were high school dual enrollment (DE) students, which raises concerns about how high school peers might influence college enrollees. Using administrative data from a large state community college system, we examine whether being exposed to a higher percentage of DE peers in entry-level (gateway) math and English courses influences non-DE… more →
Ready to Lead on Day One: Predicting Novice Principal Effectiveness with Information Available at Time of Hire
… High rates of principal turnover nationally mean that school districts constantly are called on to recruit and select new principals. The importance of a school’s principal makes choosing …High rates of principal turnover nationally mean that school districts constantly are called on to recruit and select new principals. The importance of a school’s principal makes choosing candidates who will be effective paramount, yet we have little evidence linking information known to school districts at time of selection to principal’s future job performance. Using data from Tennessee, we… more →
The Effect of Increased Funding on Student Achievement: Evidence From Texas's Small District Adjustment
… We leverage an obscure set of rules in Texas’s school funding formula granting some districts additional revenue as a function of size and sparsity. We use variation from kinks and discontinuities … Operations … K-12 Education … School districts … Finance … The Effect of Increased Funding on Student Achievement: …We leverage an obscure set of rules in Texas’s school funding formula granting some districts additional revenue as a function of size and sparsity. We use variation from kinks and discontinuities in this formula to ask how districts spend additional discretionary funds, and whether these improve student outcomes. A $1,000 annual increase in foundation funding, or 10% increase in expenditures,… more →
Heat and Learning
… We demonstrate that heat inhibits learning and that school air-conditioning may mitigate this effect. … PSAT-retakers show hotter school days in years before the test reduce scores, with extreme heat being particularly … learning time. New nationwide, school-level measures of air-conditioning penetration suggest patterns …We demonstrate that heat inhibits learning and that school air-conditioning may mitigate this effect. Student fixed effects models using 10 million PSAT-retakers show hotter school days in years before the test reduce scores, with extreme heat being particularly damaging. Weekend and summer temperature has little impact, suggesting heat directly disrupts learning time. New nationwide, school-… more →
Why Are Bureaucrats More Left-Wing?
… often have policy beliefs that do not reflect those of the public. Civil servants are frequently more supportive … employment has no further effect on political attitudes, and even makes teachers more conservative on some indicators. …Government employees often have policy beliefs that do not reflect those of the public. Civil servants are frequently more supportive of redistribution, which critics attribute to a state that socializes employees to be self-interested. But left-leaning citizens may instead self-select into public jobs. We test these two explanations using the case of Brazilian teachers. Leveraging selection… more →
Let’s Chat: Leveraging Chatbot Outreach for Improved Course Performance
… study provides pre-registered, experimental evidence on the use of non-generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to … the chatbot messaging increased students’ final grades and engagement with academic supports, such as tutoring. …This study provides pre-registered, experimental evidence on the use of non-generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to support students in large-enrollment undergraduate courses. We find the chatbot messaging increased students’ final grades and engagement with academic supports, such as tutoring. Treatment effects were generally consistent across student demographics, with the exception… more →
Access is Not Enough: Human Support Improves Engagement with AI Tutoring
… instruction. Despite dedicated session time, nearly half of students in the control group never used the platform, and those who did averaged only 2-5 minutes per week. Working …AI tutoring platforms offer a promising path to scaling personalized instruction, but only if students use them. We report findings from two randomized controlled trials in which elementary students were assigned to use an AI literacy platform independently or with an in-person tutor focused on engagement, not direct instruction. Despite dedicated session time, nearly half of students in the… more →
"Feel" as a Determinant of College Choice: Evidence from Campus Tour Weather
… The feeling or impression that students get about enrolling … in a particular college may be an important determinant of their college application decision. Combining … are 10 percent less likely to apply when their tour is hot and 8 percent less likely when precipitation occurs during …The feeling or impression that students get about enrolling in a particular college may be an important determinant of their college application decision. Combining institutional records on college campus tour participants over the last decade with hourly weather information, we leverage tour weather as a plausibly exogenous shock to students’ "feel" for attending the toured college. We find that… more →
The Consequences of Cellphone Restrictions in Classrooms
… cellphones worldwide amid concerns about achievement and mental health, yet causal evidence on school-level bans … mixed. We examine cellphone restrictions in Chile before the pandemic, where teacher discretion over cellphone use … … Social and emotional learning … The Consequences of Cellphone Restrictions in Classrooms …Schools are increasingly restricting cellphones worldwide amid concerns about achievement and mental health, yet causal evidence on school-level bans remains mixed. We examine cellphone restrictions in Chile before the pandemic, where teacher discretion over cellphone use generated classroom-level variation. Using administrative and survey data, we exploit cross-cohort, within-teacher, and within… more →
Are Community College Students Increasingly Choosing High-Paying Fields of Study? Evidence from Massachusetts
… The labor-market payoff to workers with associate degrees in healthcare and STEM occupations is very high in Massachusetts. We examine whether this induced a growing proportion of students in MA community colleges (MACCs) to earn an …The labor-market payoff to workers with associate degrees in healthcare and STEM occupations is very high in Massachusetts. We examine whether this induced a growing proportion of students in MA community colleges (MACCs) to earn an associate degree (AD) in one of these fields. We do this by using multinomial logit analysis to compare trends across 12 cohorts of MACC entrants in the proportion of… more →
Should They Pay, or Should I Go? Differential Responses to Base Salary Increases
… This study uses administrative data from Oregon to estimate the extent to which base salary increases reduce teacher turnover and to investigate whether these effects are heterogeneous by teacher characteristics. Using multiple sets of fixed effects to isolate plausibly exogenous variation in …This study uses administrative data from Oregon to estimate the extent to which base salary increases reduce teacher turnover and to investigate whether these effects are heterogeneous by teacher characteristics. Using multiple sets of fixed effects to isolate plausibly exogenous variation in salaries across experience bands within a district, we find that increases in salary are associated with… more →
Cows Don't Give Milk: An Effort Model of College Graduation
… This paper estimates a dynamic model of college enrollment, progression, and graduation. A central feature of the model is student effort, which has a direct effect on …This paper estimates a dynamic model of college enrollment, progression, and graduation. A central feature of the model is student effort, which has a direct effect on class completion and an indirect effect mitigating risks on class completion and college persistence. The estimated model matches rich administrative data for a representative cohort of college students in Colombia. Estimates… more →
Is kindergarten ability group placement biased? New data, new methods, new answers
… Half of kindergarten teachers split children into higher and lower … with classroom fixed effects. In fall, test scores were the best predictors of group placement, but there was bias …Half of kindergarten teachers split children into higher and lower ability groups for reading or math. In national data, we predicted kindergarten ability group placement using linear and ordinal logistic regression with classroom fixed effects. In fall, test scores were the best predictors of group placement, but there was bias favoring girls, high-SES (socioeconomic status) children, and Asian… more →
Advanced Placement and Initial College Enrollment: Evidence from an Experiment
… courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 … more by low student preparation than teacher inexperience and by students’ matriculation decisions rather than …To evaluate how Advanced Placement courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in 23 schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no substantial AP course effects on students’ plans to enroll in college or on their college entrance exam scores. Yet AP course-takers enroll in less selective colleges than… more →
How has COVID-19 impacted FAFSA submissions?
… led colleges to brace for potential enrollment declines in the Fall, which would devastate budgets and potentially decrease the likelihood a student ever earns … to this crisis. We find that COVID did not affect most of California’s “traditional” high school graduates due to an …COVID has led colleges to brace for potential enrollment declines in the Fall, which would devastate budgets and potentially decrease the likelihood a student ever earns a degree. We take an early look at California’s FAFSA applications up through mid-June, to anticipate how students may be responding to this crisis. We find that COVID did not affect most of California’s “traditional” high school… more →
Elusive Longer-Run Impacts of Head Start: Replications Within and Across Cohorts
… Using an additional decade of CNLSY data, this study replicated and extended Deming’s (2009) evaluation of Head Start’s … skill formation impacts in three ways. Extending the measurement interval for Deming’s adulthood outcomes, we …Using an additional decade of CNLSY data, this study replicated and extended Deming’s (2009) evaluation of Head Start’s life-cycle skill formation impacts in three ways. Extending the measurement interval for Deming’s adulthood outcomes, we found no statistically significant impacts on earnings and mixed evidence of impacts on other adult outcomes. Applying Deming’s sibling… more →
Tracking to Retain Higher-Income Students: Evidence from the Addition of Advanced Courses
… tracks to attract or retain higher-income students. The role of intra-school policies in shaping higher-income families’ … demand for public schools has been underexplored. Using variation in the timing of advanced course …Public schools may introduce academic tracks to attract or retain higher-income students. The role of intra-school policies in shaping higher-income families’ demand for public schools has been underexplored. Using variation in the timing of advanced course introductions in Texas high schools, I find that adding an advanced course increases lower-income students’ share of higher-income classmates… more →
Impacts of Michigan Transitional Kindergarten Through Third Grade
… Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively new model of early childhood education, with little evidence on whether and how it affects children’s development. This study … provides new evidence using data from Michigan, which has the nation’s second-largest TK program. Using survey data …Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively new model of early childhood education, with little evidence on whether and how it affects children’s development. This study provides new evidence using data from Michigan, which has the nation’s second-largest TK program. Using survey data (N=171) from administrators in 2021-2022, the paper documents several program features that distinguish TK… more →
Beginning Teachers & Strategies for Asset-Based Pedagogy
… how they account for students’ cultural, ethnic/racial, and linguistic diversity. We qualitatively analyze robust … them by participant demographics. This illuminates both the predictive validity of our qualitative analyses as well as provides initial …Our study examines roughly 2,000 novice teachers’ responses about how they account for students’ cultural, ethnic/racial, and linguistic diversity. We qualitatively analyze robust open-ended survey responses to explore teachers’ reported strategies for how they integrate asset-based pedagogy (ABP). We identify codes related to these strategies and then investigate them by participant demographics… more →
Returns to School Spending in Rural America: Evidence from Wisconsin’s Sparsity Aid Program
… We study the effects of increased school spending in rural American school districts by leveraging the introduction and subsequent expansion of Wisconsin’s Sparsity Aid Program. …We study the effects of increased school spending in rural American school districts by leveraging the introduction and subsequent expansion of Wisconsin’s Sparsity Aid Program. We find that the program, which provides additional state funding to small and isolated school districts, increased spending in eligible districts by 2% annually and that districts primarily allocated funds to areas with… more →
Impacts of Publicly Funded Health Insurance for Adults on Children’s Academic Achievement
… Publicly funded adult health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had positive effects on … the ACA’s Medicaid expansions influenced child development and family functioning in low-income households. We use a … Communities … K-12 Education … Poverty … Multiple outcomes of education … Parents and communities … Program and policy …Publicly funded adult health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had positive effects on low-income adults. We examine whether the ACA’s Medicaid expansions influenced child development and family functioning in low-income households. We use a difference-in-differences framework that exploits cross-state policy variation and focus on children in low-income families from a… more →
The Impact of Natural Disasters on Human Capital
… student achievement, lower high school graduation rates, and decrease post-secondary attendance. We estimate that … cause at least $500 in per capita property damage reduce the net present value (NPV) of an affected county’s human capital by an average of $505 …We show that natural disasters affect a region’s aggregate human capital through at least four channels. In addition to causing out-migration, natural disasters reduce student achievement, lower high school graduation rates, and decrease post-secondary attendance. We estimate that disasters that cause at least $500 in per capita property damage reduce the net present value (NPV) of an affected… more →
Test Score Patterns Across Three COVID-19-impacted School Years
… The COVID-19 pandemic has been a seismic and on-going disruption to K-12 schooling. Using test scores … in math and reading achievement across the first two years of the pandemic. Average fall 2021 math test scores in grades …The COVID-19 pandemic has been a seismic and on-going disruption to K-12 schooling. Using test scores from 5.4 million U.S. students in grades 3-8, we tracked changes in math and reading achievement across the first two years of the pandemic. Average fall 2021 math test scores in grades 3-8 were .20-27 standard deviations (SDs) lower relative to same-grade peers in fall 2019, while reading test… more →
The Academic Origins of Economics Faculty
… We use roster data of 96 top U.S. economics departments to document the academic origins of their tenure-track faculty. Academic … origins may have implications for how undergraduate (B.A.) and doctoral (Ph.D.) students are trained and placed, as well …We use roster data of 96 top U.S. economics departments to document the academic origins of their tenure-track faculty. Academic origins may have implications for how undergraduate (B.A.) and doctoral (Ph.D.) students are trained and placed, as well as the type of research produced. We find that faculty educated at top-ranked Ph.D. universities are overrepresented; e.g., over half of our sample… more →
A Promise Unfulfilled? How Modern Federal Civil Rights Enforcement is Used to Address Racial Discrimination in School Discipline
… available data on all civil rights complaints submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights related to racial discrimination in discipline between 1999 and 2018, I provide the first systematic evidence on how …Using newly available data on all civil rights complaints submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights related to racial discrimination in discipline between 1999 and 2018, I provide the first systematic evidence on how modern federal civil rights enforcement is used to address racial discrimination in discipline. I find that less than 50 percent of complaints received… more →
Effects of Perceived Productivity on Study Effort: Evidence from a Field Experiment
… How does the perceived relationship between effort and achievement affect effort? To answer this question, I … assigning them to different information treatments, each of which provides factual information. Students update their …How does the perceived relationship between effort and achievement affect effort? To answer this question, I conduct a field experiment with a popular online learning platform. I exogenously manipulate students’ beliefs about returns to effort by assigning them to different information treatments, each of which provides factual information. Students update their beliefs towards the information… more →
Does Peer Motivation Impact Educational Investments? Evidence From DACA
… Despite the significant influence that peer motivation is likely to … observed. In this paper, I focus on the 2012 introduction of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to study a … origin students … Motivation … Returns to education and skills … Access and admissions … Inequality … Program and …Despite the significant influence that peer motivation is likely to have on educational investments during high school, it is difficult to test empirically since exogenous changes in peer motivation are rarely observed. In this paper, I focus on the 2012 introduction of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to study a setting in which peer motivation changed sharply for a subset of high… more →
Impacts of School Entry Age on Academic Growth through 2nd Grade: A Multi-State Regression Discontinuity Analysis
… The belief that additional time allows children to become more ready for school has affected public policy and individual practices. Prior studies estimated either … paper contributes novel causal evidence for the impacts of kindergarten entry age on academic growth in the first …The belief that additional time allows children to become more ready for school has affected public policy and individual practices. Prior studies estimated either associations between school entry age and academic growth or causal effects on achievement measured at one or two points. This paper contributes novel causal evidence for the impacts of kindergarten entry age on academic growth in the… more →
Push or Pull: School-Level Factors That Influence Teacher Mobility in Turnaround Schools
… Recruiting and retaining teachers can be challenging for many schools, … at higher rates. In this study, we examine three types of school-level attributes that may influence teachers’ … turnaround schools in Tennessee, we find that five of the seven most highly valued features of schools are …Recruiting and retaining teachers can be challenging for many schools, especially in low-performing urban schools in which teachers turn over at higher rates. In this study, we examine three types of school-level attributes that may influence teachers’ decisions to enter or transfer schools: malleable school processes, structural features of employment, and school characteristics. Using adaptive… more →
The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers
… We examine the long-run impacts of having a same-race teacher. First, we leverage data from … points (7%) more likely to graduate from high school and 4 percentage points (13%) more likely to enroll in …We examine the long-run impacts of having a same-race teacher. First, we leverage data from the Tennessee STAR class-size experiment to show that black students randomly assigned to a black teacher in grades K-3 are 5 percentage points (7%) more likely to graduate from high school and 4 percentage points (13%) more likely to enroll in college than their same-school, same-race peers not assigned… more →
Instability in Foster Care: How Transitions Into and Out of Foster Care Relate to School Discipline
… Students in the foster care system tend to have lower educational … However, few studies have explored how transitions into and out of foster care placements are associated with educational …Students in the foster care system tend to have lower educational outcomes than their peers, including more frequent disciplinary events. However, few studies have explored how transitions into and out of foster care placements are associated with educational outcomes. Using longitudinal data from four California school districts, this study investigated the dynamics of entering versus exiting… more →
Leveraging Item Parameter Drift to Assess Transfer Effects in Vocabulary Learning
… Longitudinal models of individual growth typically emphasize between-person … each person contributes only one point at each time to the model. In contrast, modeling growth with multi-item … when IPD is not accounted for, both parameter estimates and their standard errors can be affected. We illustrate with …Longitudinal models of individual growth typically emphasize between-person predictors of change but ignore how growth may vary within persons because each person contributes only one point at each time to the model. In contrast, modeling growth with multi-item assessments allows evaluation of how relative item performance may shift over time. While traditionally viewed as a nuisance under the… more →
Choosing Alone? Peer Similarity in High School Choices
… We provide a descriptive analysis of within-school and neighborhood similarity in high school … from prior work by examining similarity in applications to specific schools rather than preferences for school …We provide a descriptive analysis of within-school and neighborhood similarity in high school applications in New York City. We depart from prior work by examining similarity in applications to specific schools rather than preferences for school characteristics. We find surprisingly low similarity within schools and neighborhoods, but substantial variation by race and prior achievement. White and… more →
Online Tutoring by College Volunteers: Experimental Evidence from a Pilot Program
… A substantial body of experimental evidence demonstrates that in-person tutoring … achievement. However, such programs typically are costly and constrained by a limited local supply of tutors. In … conduct an experiment where volunteer tutors from all over the country meet 1-on-1 with middle school students online …A substantial body of experimental evidence demonstrates that in-person tutoring programs can have large impacts on K-12 student achievement. However, such programs typically are costly and constrained by a limited local supply of tutors. In partnership with CovEducation (CovEd), we conduct a pilot program that has potential to ease both of these concerns. We conduct an experiment where volunteer… more →
Comparative Cost Analyses of Community College Student Success Initiatives
… still ask: What does it cost? Can we afford it? I present the first comparative cost analyses of six student success initiatives: basic needs supports, … early alerts, embedded tutoring, retention/emergency aid, and first-year experience programming. Documenting annual, …Limited resources hinder community college completion. Even with strategies shown to improve outcomes, decisionmakers still ask: What does it cost? Can we afford it? I present the first comparative cost analyses of six student success initiatives: basic needs supports, college/career success courses, early alerts, embedded tutoring, retention/emergency aid, and first-year experience programming.… more →
A Longitudinal Study of External Contract Teacher Employment in Washington State School Districts
… This study examines the phenomenon of external teacher contracting in Washington State schools. … contract teachers are more often female, less experienced, and less likely to hold master’s degrees than their peers. …This study examines the phenomenon of external teacher contracting in Washington State schools. Using administrative data, we analyze shifting patterns of employment among external contract teachers. External contract teachers now represent a significant portion of the workforce in a few districts, but a very small portion statewide. These districts have formed robust online programs that may… more →
Tabling Debate: How Local Officials Use Agenda Control to Stifle Conflict
… policymaking by deciding which items receive attention and action — and which do not. Accounts from national … legislatures typically explain agenda control in terms of party leadership and discipline. But, do politicians exert … outside highly professionalized legislatures? We bring the agenda control discussion to U.S. school boards, which …Public officials influence policymaking by deciding which items receive attention and action — and which do not. Accounts from national legislatures typically explain agenda control in terms of party leadership and discipline. But, do politicians exert agenda control outside highly professionalized legislatures? We bring the agenda control discussion to U.S. school boards, which lack strong party… more →
What Impacts Should We Expect from Tutoring at Scale? Exploring Meta-Analytic Generalizability
… engaged in an unprecedented effort to expand tutoring in the wake of the pandemic. Broad-based support for scaling tutoring … an expanded meta-analysis of 282 randomized control trials and explore how estimates change when we better align our …U.S. public schools are engaged in an unprecedented effort to expand tutoring in the wake of the pandemic. Broad-based support for scaling tutoring emerged, in part, because of the large effects on student achievement found in prior meta-analyses. We conduct an expanded meta-analysis of 282 randomized control trials and explore how estimates change when we better align our sample with a policy-… more →
The Racial Gap in Friendships Among High-Achieving Students
… than their majority counterparts. Exploring patterns of friendship formation in the Add Health data, we find strong racial homophily in … Learning … K-12 Education … Equity … Race, ethnicity, and education … Inequality … Race, ethnicity and culture … …High-achieving minority students have fewer friends than their majority counterparts. Exploring patterns of friendship formation in the Add Health data, we find strong racial homophily in friendship formations as well as strong achievement homophily within race. However, we find that achievement matters less in cross-racial friendships. As a result, high-achieving Black students lose Black… more →
Which Colleges Increase Voting Rates?
… shape their students' voting habits by linking millions of SAT takers to their college-enrollment and voting histories. To begin, we show that the fraction of students from a particular college who vote …We study how colleges shape their students' voting habits by linking millions of SAT takers to their college-enrollment and voting histories. To begin, we show that the fraction of students from a particular college who vote varies systematically by the college's attributes (e.g. increasing with selectivity) but also that seemingly similar colleges can have markedly different voting rates. Next,… more →
Can a Commercial Screening Tool Help Select Better Teachers?
… selection is an important strategy for strengthening the quality of the teacher workforce. As districts adopt commercial … between Frontline Education’s TeacherFit instrument and newly hired teachers’ outcomes. We find that a one SD …Improving teacher selection is an important strategy for strengthening the quality of the teacher workforce. As districts adopt commercial teacher screening tools, evidence is needed to understand these tools’ predictive validity. We examine the relationship between Frontline Education’s TeacherFit instrument and newly hired teachers’ outcomes. We find that a one SD increase on an index of… more →
Impacts of state aid for non-traditional students on educational and labor market outcomes
… Up to three-fourths of college students can be classified as “non-traditional”, … typical policy interventions improves their education and labor market outcomes is understudied. I use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impacts of a state financial aid program aimed towards …Up to three-fourths of college students can be classified as “non-traditional”, yet whether typical policy interventions improves their education and labor market outcomes is understudied. I use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impacts of a state financial aid program aimed towards non-traditional students. Eligibility has no impacts on degree completion for students intending to… more →
Practice-Based, Online Modules for Expediting Teacher Skill Development
… The time available for preservice teacher education is … Teacher preparation programs must find innovative ways to develop teachers’ skills within contracted timeframes. One … In this study, we randomly assigned 149 teachers to one of two approaches to online modules: 1) the “business-as-usual” module of readings and reflection questions about skills, and 2) a …The time available for preservice teacher education is increasingly limited. Teacher preparation programs must find innovative ways to develop teachers’ skills within contracted timeframes. One approach is to cover content with online modules. However, most modules teach about skills but do not provide opportunities to practice doing the skills. In this study, we randomly assigned 149 teachers to… more →
Parent Perspectives on School Choice: Experimental Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample
… Parental attitudes and perspectives of student “success” will likely drive their educational … or homeschooling. However, little research has examined the importance of these attitudes on choice or how these …Parental attitudes and perspectives of student “success” will likely drive their educational choices, whether residentially assigned district public schools, alternative public schools, private schools, or homeschooling. However, little research has examined the importance of these attitudes on choice or how these attitudes may vary across parent characteristics. In this study, we conducted an… more →
Buying time: Financial aid allows college students to work less while enrolled
… able to test why. This study used administrative records of employment and earnings to get a more complete picture of students’ … New Jersey’s need-based Tuition Aid Grant (TAG). We used the eligibility cutoffs of TAG to identify groups of …Many empirical studies have found that financial aid improves college attainment. Few have been able to test why. This study used administrative records of employment and earnings to get a more complete picture of students’ finances during college and test one potential mechanism: financial aid buys students time by allowing them to work less in off-campus jobs. We studied recipients of New… more →