Alma mater
Ova and Out: Using Twins to Estimate the Educational Returns to Attending a Selective College
Jonathan Smith
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research has shown that attending a relatively selective four-year college over a less selective alternative is positively related to bachelor's degree completion. This paper revisits that question with a novel dataset of over 11,000 sets of twins in the United States and information on colleges to which they apply, enroll, and potentially graduate. I show that a student's probability of bachelor's degree completion within four years increases by 5 percentage points by choosing an institution with a median SAT score 100 points higher than the alternative. Moreover, the estimated magnitude of impact is insensitive to several methodologies, including OLS, twin fixed effects, and controlling for the application portfolio. This suggests that in certain contexts, sources of bias perceived as barriers to obtaining causal estimates of the returns to college selectivity, such as unobserved family characteristics and student aspiration, may be of little concern.
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Scott Imberman & Michael Lovenheim
NBER Working Paper, June 2013
Abstract:
Value-added data are an increasingly common evaluation tool for schools and teachers. Many school districts have adopted these methods and released the results publicly. In this paper, we study the release of value-added data in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Times newspaper to identify how measured value-added is capitalized into housing prices. This analysis is the first in the school valuation literature to examine property value responses to a value-added information shock, which is of interest as this measure is less correlated with demographics than typical school quality measures. Unique to this setting as well is the release of both school and teacher-level value-added data, which allows us to examine how property values respond to both types of information. Using a difference-in-differences methodology surrounding the release, we find that neither school nor teacher value-added scores are capitalized into home prices. Our results suggest that, despite the contentiousness following these data releases, homeowners do not consider value-added models as currently constructed to be a relevant school quality measure on the margin.
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Joseph Merry
Sociology of Education, July 2013, Pages 234-252
Abstract:
Why does the United States lag behind so many other countries on international education assessments? The traditional view targets school-based explanations-U.S. schools attract poorer teachers and lack the proper incentives. But the U.S. educational system may also serve children with comparatively greater academic challenges as a result of poorer social conditions. One way of gaining leverage on this issue is to understand when U.S. students fall behind their international counterparts. I first compare reading/vocabulary test scores for U.S. and Canadian children (ages 4-5) using National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979-Children and Youth (NLSY79) and Canada's National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth (NLSCY). I then compare the magnitude of these differences to similar cohorts of students at ages 15 to 16 using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Findings indicate that while the Canadian advantage in PISA is substantial (0.30 standard deviation units), this advantage already existed at ages 4 to 5, before formal schooling had a chance to matter. I discuss the implications of this pattern for interpreting international test score rankings.
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The Long-Run Impacts of Early Childhood Education: Evidence from a Failed Policy Experiment
Philip DeCicca & Justin Smith
Economics of Education Review, October 2013, Pages 41-59
Abstract:
We investigate short and long-term effects of early childhood education using variation created by a policy experiment in British Columbia, Canada. Our findings imply being in kindergarten longer increases the probability of repeating the third grade, and decreases tenth grade math and reading scores. Effects are highest for low income students and males. Estimates suggest that more time in kindergarten may have a detrimental effect on future outcomes.
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Simon Burgess, Deborah Wilson & Jack Worth
Journal of Public Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We test the hypothesis that the abolition of school performance tables negatively affects school effectiveness. Our data allow us to implement a classic difference-in-difference analysis comparing outcomes in England and Wales, before and after the abolition of the tables in Wales. We find significant and robust evidence that this reform markedly reduced school effectiveness in Wales relative to England. There is significant heterogeneity across schools: schools in the top quartile of the league tables show no effect. We also report that the reform had no systematic significant impact on either sorting by ability or by socioeconomic status.
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The Effect of High School Exit Exams on Graduation, Employment, Wages and Incarceration
Olesya Baker & Kevin Lang
NBER Working Paper, June 2013
Abstract:
We evaluate the effects of high school exit exams on high school graduation, incarceration, employment and wages. We construct a state/graduation-cohort dataset using the Current Population Survey, Census and information on exit exams. We find relatively modest effects of high school exit exams except on incarceration. Exams assessing academic skills below the high school level have little effect. However, more challenging standards-based exams reduce graduation and increase incarceration rates. About half the reduction in graduation rates is offset by increased GED receipt. We find no consistent effects of exit exams on employment or the distribution of wages.
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Principal Turnover and Student Achievement
Ashley Miller
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
Principals have important management roles, including responsibilities for teachers, curricula and budgets. Schools change principals frequently; about 20% of public school principals in the United States leave their positions each year. Despite the significance of principals and the regularity of principal departures, little is known about how turnover affects schools. Using twelve years of administrative data from North Carolina public schools, this paper explores the relationship between principal turnover and student achievement. Principal departures follow a downturn in student performance. Achievement continues to fall in the two years following the installation of a new principal and then rises over the next three years. Five years after a new principal is installed, average academic performance is no different than it was five years before the new principal took over. Increases in student achievement following a principal transition may reflect mean reversion rather than a positive effect of principal turnover.
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School Tracking and Development of Cognitive Skills
Sari Pekkala Kerr, Tuomas Pekkarinen & Roope Uusitalo
Journal of Labor Economics, July 2013, Pages 577-602
Abstract:
We evaluate the effects of the school system on mathematical, verbal, and logical reasoning skills using data from the Finnish comprehensive school reform that abolished the two-track school system. We use a difference-in-differences approach that exploits the gradual implementation across the country. Cognitive skills are measured using test scores from the Finnish Army Basic Skills Test. The reform had small positive effects on verbal test scores but no effect on the mean performance in the arithmetic or logical reasoning tests. However, the reform significantly improved the scores of the students whose parents had less than a high school education.
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Public employees and public sector reform implementation
Hans Bonesrønning
Public Choice, July 2013, Pages 309-327
Abstract:
Conventional wisdom says that reforms that aim at improving the productivity of the public sector face opposition from public sector employees, and for this reason, tend to be poorly implemented. These claims are not backed by much hard evidence. This paper seeks to fill some of that gap by investigating why an educational reform containing explicit accountability elements is poorly implemented across Norwegian municipalities about four years after the reform has passed the parliament. The empirical analyses provide evidence that municipalities with a large share of public employees are less likely to implement the reform. The relationship seems to be causal. A reduced-form approach is applied, which prevents conclusions about the mechanisms through which the public employees exercise their influence. However, some preliminary analyses indicate that school leaders hold more negative attitudes towards the reform in municipalities with a large share of public employees, potentially indicating that regulatory capture is an issue: school leaders tend to sympathize more strongly with teachers in such environments.
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Identification of Peer Effects with Missing Peer Data: Evidence from Project STAR
Aaron Sojourner
Economic Journal, June 2013, Pages 574-605
Abstract:
This article studies peer effects on student achievement among first graders randomly assigned to classrooms in Tennessee's Project STAR. The analysis uses previously unexploited pre-assignment achievement measures available for 60% of students. Data are not missing at random, making identification challenging. This study develops and applies new ways to identify peer effects in the presence of missing data, which incorporate knowledge of how groups form. Estimates suggest sizeable positive effects of mean peer lagged achievement on average. Analysis of a common peer-effects estimator implies caution is warranted in interpreting many peer-effect estimates extant in the literature.
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Peer Effects and Academic Achievement: Regression Discontinuity Approach
Arna Vardardottir
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
In this paper, I study ability peer effects among teenagers. The identification relies on a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach where assignment into high-ability classes constitutes the source of identifying information. An important feature of this system is that both types of classes are taught by the same teachers, they follow a common curriculum and take the same exams. Students are in general unaware of the system prior to school start as it is unofficial. In cases where they are informed of the system's existence, they don't know where the threshold lies and school switching possibilities are limited. I find significant and sizable effect on the academic achievement of students around the assignment threshold. Being assigned to a high-ability class increases academic achievement, measured by year grade and spring exam results, by 0.47 and 0.32 standard deviations, respectively.
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A Major in Science? Initial Beliefs and Final Outcomes for College Major and Dropout
Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd Stinebrickner
NBER Working Paper, June 2013
Abstract:
Taking advantage of unique longitudinal data, we provide the first characterization of what college students believe at the time of entrance about their final major, relate these beliefs to actual major outcomes, and, provide an understanding of why students hold the initial beliefs about majors that they do. The data collection and analysis are based directly on a conceptual model in which a student's final major is best viewed as the end result of a learning process. We find that students enter school quite optimistic/interested about obtaining a science degree, but that relatively few students end up graduating with a science degree. The substantial overoptimism about completing a degree in science can be attributed largely to students beginning school with misperceptions about their ability to perform well academically in science.
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The Effects of Privileging Moral or Performance Character Development in Urban Adolescents
Scott Seider, Sarah Novick & Jessica Gomez
Journal of Early Adolescence, August 2013, Pages 786-820
Abstract:
This study compared the effects of emphasizing moral character development or performance character development at three high-performing, high-poverty urban middle schools. Performance character consists of the qualities that allow individuals to regulate their thoughts and actions in ways that support achievement in a particular endeavor. Moral character consists of the qualities relevant to striving for ethical behavior in one's relationships with other individuals and communities. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the authors found that early adolescents attending a school emphasizing moral character development through ethical philosophy programming demonstrated significantly higher levels of integrity over the course of the 2010 to 2011 academic year than their peers at two matched comparison schools (N = 544). However, the early adolescents attending the comparison schools - which emphasized performance character development through advisory programming - demonstrated significantly higher levels of perseverance and community connectedness over the course of the academic year. These divergent outcomes across the three schools offer useful implications to educators, researchers, and policy-makers about the different effects of privileging a particular dimension of character education.
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Li Feng & Tim Sass
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using statewide data from Florida, we analyze the impact of both pre-service and in-service training on the ability of teachers to promote academic achievement among students with disabilities. We find students with disabilities whose teacher is certified in special education have greater achievement in both math and reading than similar students whose teacher is not special-education certified. However, students without disabilities experience slightly lower achievement when taught by a special-education certified teacher. In-service professional development has no effect on the value-added of teachers in special education courses, but non-disabled students whose regular education teachers received special education training exhibit modestly higher achievement. Similarly, the gain in effectiveness associated with teacher experience is greater for teachers of regular education courses than for teachers of special education courses. Teachers with advanced degrees are more effective in boosting the math achievement of students with disabilities than are those with only a baccalaureate degree.
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University Board Composition: Causes and Consequences
William Brown
Managerial and Decision Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper examines the structure of university boards of trustees and the role of trustees in university governance. The analysis focuses on how trustees are selected at private universities, the role of trustees in representing stakeholder interests, and how these choices are related to institutional mission. A unique data set on board composition in 1968 and 2005 provides the opportunity to examine the empirical relationships between university characteristics, board structure, and performance. The results suggest that larger boards are not related to poorer performance and that having more trustees selected by the alumni may lead to better performance.
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Carol McDonald Connor et al.
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using a longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled design, we examined whether students' reading outcomes differed when they received 1, 2, or 3 years of individualized reading instruction from first through third grade, compared with a treated control group. More than 45% of students came from families living in poverty. Following students, we randomly assigned their teachers each year to deliver individualized reading instruction or a treated control condition intervention focused on mathematics. Students who received individualized reading instruction in all three grades showed the strongest reading skills by the end of third grade compared with those who received fewer years of such instruction. There was inconsistent evidence supporting a sustained first-grade treatment effect: Individualized instruction in first grade was necessary but not sufficient for stronger third-grade reading outcomes. These effects were achieved by regular classroom teachers who received professional development, which indicates that policies that support the use of evidence-based reading instruction and teacher training can yield increased student achievement.
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Differential Pricing in Undergraduate Education: Effects on Degree Production by Field
Kevin Stange
NBER Working Paper, June 2013
Abstract:
In the face of declining state support, many universities have introduced differential pricing by undergraduate program as an alternative to across-the-board tuition increases. This practice aligns price more closely with instructional costs and students' ability to pay post-graduation. Exploiting the staggered adoption of these policies across universities, this paper finds that differential pricing does alter the allocation of students to majors, though heterogeneity across fields may suggest a greater supply response in particularly oversubscribed fields such as nursing. There is some evidence that student groups already underrepresented in certain fields are particularly affected by the new pricing policies. Price does appear to be a policy lever through which state governments can alter the field composition of the workforce they are training with the public higher education system.
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Jacob Leos-Urbel et al.
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of the implementation of a universal free school breakfast policy on meals program participation, attendance, and academic achievement. In 2003, New York City made school breakfast free for all students regardless of income, while increasing the price of lunch for those ineligible for meal subsidies. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we derive plausibly causal estimates of the policy's impact by exploiting within and between group variation in school meal pricing before and after the policy change. Our estimates suggest that the policy resulted in small increases in breakfast participation both for students who experienced a decrease in the price of breakfast and for free-lunch eligible students who experienced no price change. The latter suggests that universal provision may alter behavior through mechanisms other than price, highlighting the potential merits of universal provision over targeted services. We find limited evidence of policy impacts on academic outcomes.
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Why do education vouchers fail at the ballot box?
Peter Bearse et al.
European Journal of Political Economy, December 2013, Pages 26-37
Abstract:
We compare a uniform voucher regime against the status quo mix of public and private education, focusing on the distribution of welfare gains and losses across households by income. We argue that the topping-up option available under uniform vouchers is not sufficiently valuable for the poorer households, so the voucher regime is defeated at the polls. Our result is robust to partial voter turnout and efficiency differences between public and private schools, but depends critically on the opting-out feature in the current system.