The University of Texas at Austin
Beyond the Special Education Gap: Differences in Special Education Expenditures Between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools
Researchers and policymakers have long noted differences in disability enrollment and placement between charter schools and traditional public schools (TPSs), yet little is known about whether these differences correspond to special education expenditures. Using Texas administrative and… more →
High School College-Conduciveness and Its Association with the Top Ten Percent Students’ Academic Profiles
High school college-conducive resources shape students’ college readiness, which may explain the relative disadvantage racialized minority and low-income students face in accessing selective universities. Texas Top Ten Percent Plan (TTP) aims to bridge this gap by conditioning admission on class… more →
Superintendent (In)Stability and Student Achievement in the United States
Superintendents shape conditions for teaching and learning, yet the limited studies of their impact—concentrated in a few states and focused on superintendent turnover—find small or null effects on student achievement. Using more than 37,000 district-year records from national superintendents… more →
(How) Do We Teach Emotions?
Emotional intelligence constitutes a key component of human capital, shaped partially by educational materials. Using machine learning and generative AI tools, we examine emotional content in public-school textbooks and children’s literature. A stark mismatch emerges: text exposes children to a… more →
Does Fadeout Preclude Long-Run Adult Effects? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Educational Intervention Randomized Controlled Trials
A perplexing pattern has been observed in the intervention literature: although impacts on children’s skills often fade, some interventions still produce long-run impacts on adult outcomes. Existing developmental theory does not provide a straightforward explanation. This “fadeoutemergence… more →
What Drives Special Education Spending: Evidence from Texas School Districts
Special education finance systems rely on observable indicators such as disability classifications and educational placements to allocate resources, yet limited evidence exists regarding whether these indicators correspond to the expenditures districts incur serving students with disabilities.… more →
Can We Save Failing Schools? Evidence From Los Angeles
Can providing funding and support to failing schools help them improve? This paper studies this question using a natural experiment based on a 2017 lawsuit settlement that allocated substantial resources and support to the lowest-performing schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District… more →
More STEM Credentials at What Cost? Unpacking 2-Year Colleges’ Response to the STEM Incentive in Performance-Based Funding
Objective: Performance-based funding (PBF) has gained significant traction in US higher education over the past few decades. It aims to improve student outcomes by tying a portion of state funding to outcomes (e.g., graduation, retention). In recent years, an increasing number… more →
“A Ragtag Team of Like[-Minded] Individuals Who Are Willing to Help”: The Implementation and Evolution of Student Support Services at Community Colleges with Promise Programs
As promise programs have become increasingly popular at community colleges, these institutions have either created or repurposed student services for their promise students, in addition to covering their tuition and fees. Using a multiple case study design, we interviewed 32 community college… more →
Racial Status Threat and Anti-DEI Efforts in Local School Districts
This study draws on political science theory to analyze how perceived status threats to White social dominance influence local educational politics. We examine the relationship between racial status threat (RST) and the rise of anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideas (contentious… more →
Selling Student Success: A Critical Analysis of Predictive Analytics Vendors in Higher Education
As predictive analytics become increasingly embedded in higher education, commercial vendors offering these tools play a growing role in shaping institutional decision making, particularly through identifying students deemed “at risk.” In this qualitative study, we analyzed 132 publicly… more →
Let’s Chat: Leveraging Chatbot Outreach for Improved Course Performance
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… more →
The legacy of Plyler v. Doe: A critical window of inclusion
This study examines whether the 1982 Plyler v. Doe Supreme Court decision increased school participation among Latino K–12 students likely to be undocumented in Texas. The analysis asks whether removing tuition and enrollment barriers changed participation patterns relative to comparable states… more →
Understanding the Construction of Compliance with Anti-"DEI" Legislation
Despite documented harms of anti-“DEI” laws, little is known about the mechanisms that shape implementation to give these laws expanded and suppressive meaning. Guided by legal mobilization theory and repressive legalism, we examine how institutional actors implement legislation restricting… more →
Unpacking the Long-Term Impact of Holistic Supports for Community College Students
This paper presents longer-term findings from a randomized controlled trial of One Million Degrees (OMD), a comprehensive support program for community college students in the Chicago metro area that provides financial, academic, personal, and professional assistance. Results from an initial… more →
The Effect of Merit-Based Free Community College
Free community college is often promoted as a way to expand access and reduce student debt, but may have unintended consequences if it reduces bachelor’s degree completion for students diverted from better resourced four-year universities. By examining a meritbased free community college program… more →
Dual-Enrollment Dosage Design: Conceptualization and Measurement of Student Profiles and School Structures
Dual-enrollment (“DE”), in which students enroll in college-level courses and receive college credit in high school, has become one of the most prominent strategies for promoting college access and readiness. DE models range from a la carte options or "random acts of dual-enrollment" to highly… more →
Cheapskin Effects? The Heterogeneous Value of Industry-Recognized Certificates Earned by High School Students
Human capital theory and signaling models posit that educational credentials convey information about workers’ skills, producing discrete labor market returns beyond years of schooling. While extensive evidence documents these “sheepskin effects” for degrees, far less is known about industry… more →
COVID-19-Induced School Closures and Disadvantaged Children’s Post-COVID Academic Growth: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
This study draws on unique, repeated-measures data on a diverse (51% female; 53% Latine, 22% Black, 11% White), low-income cohort of children (N = 680) whose academic skills were assessed before and after COVID-19-induced school closures. Longitudinal models predicted changes in children’s… more →
Supportive Teacher Working Conditions as a Tool to Retain Non-Local Teachers in Rural Schools
Rural school administrators prefer hiring homegrown teachers because they are more likely to stay than non-local teachers; however, administrators need to hire non-local candidates to meet their staffing needs. Our examination of rural teachers’ preferences for local was guided by person… more →