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High schools
Remediation or Roadblock? The Effects of Failing Virginia's Accountability Exams
Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) system requires students to pass end-of-course exams to earn verified credits needed for high school graduation. Scoring below the passing cutoff may create a barrier to completing a high school degree, but it also triggers state-mandated remediation, which… more →
Ethnic Studies Courses Across California High Schools: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Teacher-Intended Curricula
Jomar Lopes, Olivia Woolsey, Courtney Quach, D. Adams, D. Henderson, Isabel Kim, M. McGlothan, Fernando Millsap, Kenyon Pitts, J. Rinke, Andrew Penner, Emily K. Penner.Ethnic Studies courses, which center the counternarratives of racialized communities, are rapidly expanding across California in advance of a high school graduation requirement for the class of 2029-30. However, content and pedagogical guidance for practitioners remains limited. To learn how… more →
The Role of Career Advising in High School in Shaping the Aspirations of First-Generation Students
College aspirations often form by 8th grade, yet first-generation students—those whose parents lack post-secondary education—miss out on resources continuing-generation peers use to make informed decisions about their futures. School-based career advising can help fill this gap. Using 2018 PISA… more →
Translating Policy into Opportunity: School Counselors and the Implementation of CTE-Focused Dual Enrollment Pathways
Dual enrollment programs have expanded rapidly in the United States as a mechanism to improve college readiness, accelerate time to credential, and support postsecondary transitions. Yet empirical research on dual enrollment has largely centered on academic coursework offered through community… more →
Unpacking Treatment Effect Heterogeneity in a Large-Scale Dropout-Prevention Experiment
Tags: High schools, Student supportsTimely high school completion is a critical step in successful transitions to post-secondary schooling and the labor market. This randomized controlled trial, deployed in two urban, disadvantaged school districts, tests the effectiveness of a mature and comprehensive student-support program on… more →
Tracking to Retain Higher-Income Students: Evidence from the Addition of Advanced Courses
Topics: School ChoicePublic 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… more →
The Role of Course Delivery Modality in Dual Enrollment
Dual enrollment, or college courses offered in high school, can be delivered using a variety of modalities. Conducted in North Carolina, this study uses a statewide dataset to examine participation in and outcomes for three different delivery modalities for general academic courses and Career… more →
Boosting Dual Enrollment Participation by Simplifying Access for High School Students
Despite the promise of dual enrollment to expand college access, racial disparities in participation persist, and limited research examines policies designed to reduce access barriers. Using statewide student-level data from 2013–14 to 2021–22 and difference-in-differences approaches, I estimate… more →
The Effects of Capped Piece-Rate Teacher Bonuses: Evidence from Advanced Placement
I study a proficiency-based incentive program that rewards Advanced Placement (AP) teachers a piece-rate for each student scoring 3 or higher on the standardized exam. Using student-course-level administrative data and exploiting both withinand across-teacher variation, I find the program… more →
Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes
Ethnic Studies is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness at scale remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of district-wide implementation using a student-… more →
The Expansion of Alternative Schools: Impact of Schools Targeting Lower Performing Students
Despite rising high school graduation rates in the US, a substantial portion of students do not obtain a high school degree. Alternative schools have emerged as a potential solution offering opportunities for credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Using variation in the timing and proximity of… more →
Geographic and Community Influences on College Savings: Evidence from the Universe of Pennsylvania 529 Account Holders
Topics: Families and CommunitiesFamilies’ college savings behaviors are important determinants of students’ postsecondary enrollment and degree attainment. While prior work has examined how economic and sociological aspects of families shape savings behaviors, no study has examined how geographic or community-level factors… more →
The Effects of An Automatic Notification Tool to Increase Participation in Advanced High School Courses: Results from a Large-Scale Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Taking advanced courses in high school is associated with many positive high school and college outcomes. States and school districts are increasingly interested in more systematic approaches to identify qualified students for advanced course work. We developed an automatic notification tool,… more →
Math coursetaking trajectories in high school during the COVID-19 disruptions to schooling
Topics: Student LearningUsing student-level transcript data and information about instructional mode among public high school students in Massachusetts, this study examines the impact of disruptions to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ math coursetaking trajectories. We find that rates of… 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 →
Scaling High-Touch College Advising: Causal Evidence and Program Design Insights from Tennessee
College advising can raise postsecondary enrollment, but few programs prove effective at scale. We leverage the rollout of a statewide, professionally staffed, and centrally coordinated college advising program (Advise TN) across 33 communities to estimate causal impacts on enrollment,… more →
Bulwark or Barrier? The Effect of Academic Criteria-Based Reclassification on the High School Outcomes of Multilingual Learners in Texas
Topics: Student LearningEnglish learner (EL) classification can provide multilingual students (MLs) with key supports while simultaneously limiting access to important educational opportunities. To determine when students are ready to exit EL status, some states require students to meet academic criteria in addition to… more →
Childhood Interventions and Life Course Development
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceTags: Early childhood education, Elementary schools, High schools, Human capital, Returns to education and skillsA paradox has perplexed researchers studying childhood interventions: although program impacts on children’s skills often fade, some interventions have nonetheless produced long-run impacts on adult outcomes. Existing developmental theory does not provide a straightforward explanation. The… more →
Ready for What? School and District Responses to State College and Career Readiness Accountability in Tennessee
Tags: College readiness, High schoolsTennessee’s K-12 accountability system incorporates three distinct measures of college and career readiness (CCR) for state and federal accountability. Each of these indicators applies its own set of metrics and performance benchmarks, but they all consistently draw upon similar components… more →
Removing Barriers to College Credits: Where and for Whom AP Exam Fee Waivers Work
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceDo policies that broaden educational access also foster success? We study this question in the context of North Carolina’s universal Advanced Placement (AP) exam fee waiver policy. Using student-course level administrative data, we exploit within-student variation on a sample of students who… more →