Rice University
Supplanting or Supplementing? The Stickiness of Title I Revenues in Post-Adequacy Era
This paper examines how school districts respond to federal Title I funding in the postadequacy era. I find that fiscal adjustment occurs through capital investment rather than operating budgets. Using a regression discontinuity design centered on the Title I Concentration Grant eligibility… more →
School Finance in the US
This chapter provides an overview of K-12 public school finance in the United States by tracing how funding systems changed over time, how they operate today, and how well they advance core policy goals. Section 2 documents the long-run shift from local property tax finance toward larger state… more →
Computational Language Analysis Reveals that Process-Oriented Thinking About Belonging Aids the College Transition
Inequality in college has both structural and psychological causes; these include the presence of self-defeating beliefs about the potential for growth and belonging. Such beliefs can be addressed through large-scale interventions in the college transition (Walton & Cohen, 2011; Walton et al… more →
EMERGEing Educational Opportunities: The Effects of Social Capital and Nudging on Selective College Outcomes
There is a growing debate in social science and education policy research on how to improve college access for high-performing students from low-income or first-generation backgrounds. While some studies suggest that providing information to students impacts college access, other studies do not… more →
Beyond Traditional Academic Degrees: The Labor Market Returns to Occupational Credentials in the United States
Occupational credentials provide an additional—and, at times, alternative—path other than traditional academic degrees for individuals to increase productivity and demonstrate their abilities and qualifications to employers. These credentials take the form of licenses and certifications.… more →
Direct and Spillover Effects of Limiting Minority Student Access to Special Education
Black students are about 1.5 times more likely to be receiving special education (SpEd) services relative to white students. While there is concern that this implies some black students are inappropriately placed in SpEd, the impacts of the disproportionate representation of minority students in… more →