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Equity
To The Mountaintop: Transforming Educational Equity as a School Leader
Topics: Teacher and Leader DevelopmentSchool leaders, particularly principals, can be true difference makers. Having a strong school leader can shape productive learning environments, give high-quality teachers the support they need, and influence student outcomes. This literature review synthesizes research on the role that school… more →
Unequal Foundations: Racial Disparities in School Building Conditions in New York State
Topics: Student Well-BeingSchool infrastructure is a critical yet often overlooked factor shaping student health, learning, and well-being. This study examines racial disparities in public school building conditions across New York State using data from building inspections linked to demographic and fiscal data. Schools… more →
The effects of third-grade retention on multilingual students: A gateway or a gatekeeper?
Topics: Student LearningThis paper estimates the effect of test-based grade retention on multilingual students classified as English Learners (ML-ELs). This policy could provide an opportunity for ML-ELs to develop English language proficiency and master academic content or put them at increased risk of worse academic… more →
The Value of School Social Climate Information: Evidence from Chicago Housing Transactions
Topics: School ChoiceIn this paper, I investigate how publicizing school social climate information is capitalized into the housing market and how it affects the sorting of homebuyers from different economic backgrounds. I first provide descriptive evidence on the novelty of school climate relative to other school… more →
Education and Climate Change: Synthesizing the Evidence to Guide Future Research
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceThe effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible across all aspects of the U.S. PreK-12 education system. Schools are both vulnerable to climate change and uniquely positioned to be part of the solution. We synthesize interdisciplinary research and data to illustrate the bi-… more →
Testing Away from One's Own School: Exam Location and Performance in High-Stakes Exams
High-stakes exams are often administered at designated test centers, requiring many students to test in unfamiliar environments. We investigate whether such arrangements impact students' test performance and, by extension, access to educational opportunities.
Portraying Governance: Demographic Misalignment in University Board Representation
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceHigher education governing boards are important bodies with far-reaching powers over the institutions they oversee. Yet little is known about individual board members, how the composition of boards varies across institutions, or whether boards are at all representative of their institutional… more →
Deeper Roots Before the Storm: Utilizing Machine Learning to Alert School Districts of Permanent School Closures
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceThe increasing rate of permanent school closures in U.S. public school districts presents unprecedented challenges for administrators and communities alike. This study develops an early-warning indicator model to predict mass closure events - defined as a district closing at least 10% of its… more →
Bridging Literacy Gaps: The Impact of AI-Driven Personalised Learning on Reading Skills and Educational Equity
Topics: Student LearningTags: Assessment, EquityPersistent literacy skills deficits hinder educational attainment, limit labour market opportunities, and exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. This paper evaluates the causal effect of an AI-driven Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) program implemented by the Government of Madrid, which features… more →
McCleary at Twelve: Examining Policy Designs Following Court-Mandated School Finance Reform in Washington State
All fifty U.S. state constitutions include language that guarantees residents’ access to a free public education. Plaintiffs in all but two states have brought litigation challenging state school finance systems, and in over half the cases, judges ruled the systems unconstitutional and mandated… more →
Closing the Gaps: An Examination of Early Impacts of Dallas ISD’s Opt-out Policy on Advanced Course Enrollment
While there is consensus that taking advanced coursework in high school is strongly related to subsequent academic outcomes, well-qualified Students of Color are less likely than White students to take advanced high school courses. K12 schools have sought strategies to encourage more qualified… more →
Education Governance and Race: An Analysis of School Board Discourse Using Large Language Models
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceDespite growing attention to school boards, it is unclear whether they primarily operate as bureaucratic forums, policy-making bodies, or arenas for contentious debate—particularly on issues of race. Recent controversies suggest increasing public engagement and conflict, but little evidence… more →
Disparate Teacher Effects, Comparative Advantage, and Match Quality
Topics: MethodsDoes student-teacher match quality exist? While prior research documents disparities in teachers' impacts across student types, it has not distinguished between sorting and causal effects as the drivers of these disparities. I develop a flexible disparate value-added model (DVA) and introduce a… more →
Unveiling Racism: A Systematic Review of Survey Measures of Racism in Education
Wendy Castillo, Rachel Renbarger, Sasha Mejia-Bradford, Christen Priddie, Juan Cruz, Brein Mosely, Katherine Aragon.Topics: Student Well-BeingEducation policy research aimed at eliminating racism necessitates methodological innovation that fosters both equity-centered approaches and robust empirical analysis of the systemic nature of racism. Most quantitative research in educational psychology omits the racist environment that… more →
The “Work” of Mobilizing, Advocating, and Organizing for Care in The School District Central Office
Topics: Student Well-BeingThis paper presents a case study of a caring school district located in a farmworker community composed largely of Latinx families. I examine how central office leaders create or maintain care supports under crisis conditions. Findings suggest that district-level care was multidimensional and… more →
From Passive Promises to Proactive Guarantees: The Efficacy of Financial Certainty Interventions Among Automatically (In-)Admissible Students
Low-income high-achieving students are less likely than high-income peers to enroll in selective colleges. Financial certainty interventions can address administrative burdens that stifle their enrollment, even when colleges are tuition-free for them. However, we do not know whether these… more →
Are School Discipline Practices Pushing Students Out…to Another School? A Longitudinal Analysis of School Transfers in Five Midwest Counties
Topics: Student LearningSociology of education scholars have positioned punitive discipline practices as factors that work to “push” unwanted students to drop out of school before graduating. However, limited research examines how punitive discipline practices may push students to transfer to another schools—… more →
Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceEquitably expanding technology access among K-12 students has long been viewed as critical for equalizing educational opportunities. But these interventions may influence students’ academic outcomes in unexpected ways. Prior research suggests key technological resources, like broadband Internet… more →
Count Me In? Identifying Factors That Predict Centers’ Application to Boston’s Mixed-Delivery Universal Pre-K Program
Topics: MethodsUniversal prekindergarten (UPK) programs often expand through mixed-delivery systems by offering seats in public schools and community-based centers (CBOs). Although this approach aims to meet varied family needs, little is known about potential systematic differences between CBOs that apply to… more →
Who Leads During and After a Crisis? The Pandemic’s Role in Diversifying School Leadership
Organizational crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, influence the appointment of leaders from underrepresented groups, including women and people of color. This study examines the relationship between the pandemic, school organizational characteristics, and the appointment of women and people… more →