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College readiness
How college credit in high school impacts postsecondary course-taking: the role of AP exams
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… more →
Nudges Don’t Work When the Benefits Are Ambiguous: Evidence from a High-Stakes Education Program
Dual-credit courses expose high school students to college-level content and provide the opportunity to earn college credits, in part to smooth the transition to college. With the Tennessee Department of Education, we conduct the first randomized controlled trial of the effects of dual-credit… more →
Explaining the Gender Gap in STEM Attainment: Factors from Primary School to STEM Degree Completion
We investigate the determinants of high school completion and college attendance, the likelihood of taking science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) courses in the first year of college and the probability of earning a degree in a STEM field. The focus is on women, who tend to be… more →
Realizing Your College Potential? Impacts of College Board’s RYCP Campaign on Postsecondary Enrollment
The College Board sought to reduce barriers in the college application process by minimizing information aggregation costs, encouraging a broad application portfolio, and providing an impetus to start the search process. Some students were offered additional encouragements, such as text message… more →
Can Light-Touch College-Going Interventions Make a Difference? Evidence From a Statewide Experiment in Michigan
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… more →
Take Two! SAT Retaking and College Enrollment Gaps
Only half of SAT-takers retake the exam, with even lower retake rates among low income and underrepresented minority (URM) students. We exploit discontinuous jumps in retake probabilities at multiples of 100, driven by left-digit bias, to estimate retaking’s causal effects. Retaking… more →