Becoming Useful
The Effects of Charter High Schools on Academic Achievement and College Enrollment: Evidence from Los Angeles
Sarah Reber, Dennis Rünger & Mitchell Wong
Education Finance and Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper estimates the causal effects of enrollment in one of five oversubscribed high-quality Los Angeles charter schools using a lottery design. Enrolling in a charter school increased 11th-grade standardized test scores and enrollment and persistence in four-year colleges substantially, but had no effect on high school GPA. Charter students took more advanced coursework, were less likely to skip class, were more likely to apply to a four-year college, and reported more teacher support for college-going. The increase in four-year persistence appears to be driven by more enrollment and persistence in University of California (UC) campuses, which have higher graduation rates than the likely alternatives. This suggests that the effects of charter schools could depend on the availability of high graduation rate colleges.
Taken by Storm: The Effects of Hurricane Katrina on Medium-Term Student Outcomes in New Orleans
Douglas Harris & Matthew Larsen
Journal of Human Resources, September 2023, Pages 1608-1643
Abstract:
Hurricane Katrina was one of the nation’s worst natural disasters. It also triggered one of the nation’s most intense market-based school reforms, in which almost all traditional public schools were turned into charter schools. We study the effects of these combined events on students who attended New Orleans public schools before and after the storm. Using matched difference-in-differences, we find that student test scores, high school graduation, college attendance, and college graduation all rose sharply. Most racial and income gaps in outcomes declined. The school reforms appear to have been the main mechanism.
The Stubborn Unresponsiveness of Youth Voter Turnout to Civic Education: Quasi-Experimental Evidence From State-Mandated Civics Tests
Jilli Jung & Maithreyi Gopalan
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
Youth voter turnout remains stubbornly low and unresponsive to civic education. Rigorous evaluations of the effects of adopting civics tests for high school graduation by some states on youth voter turnout remain limited. We estimate the impact of a recent, state-mandated civics test policy-the Civics Education Initiative (CEI)-on youth voter turnout by exploiting spatial and temporal variation in the adoption of CEI across states. Using nationally representative data from the 1996 to 2020 Current Population Survey and a difference-in-differences analysis, we find that CEI does not significantly affect youth voter turnout. Our null results, largely insensitive to a variety of alternative specifications and robustness checks, provide evidence regarding the lack of efficacy of civics test policies when it comes to youth voter participation.
No Revenge for Nerds? Evaluating the Careers of Ivy League Athletes
Natee Amornsiripanitch et al.
NBER Working Paper, October 2023
Abstract:
This paper compares the careers of Ivy League athletes to those of their non-athlete classmates. Combining team-level information on all Ivy League athletes from 1970 to 2021 with resume data for all Ivy League graduates, we examine both post-graduate education and career choices as well as career outcomes. In terms of industry choice, athletes are far more likely to go into business and Finance related jobs than their non-athlete classmates. In terms of advanced degrees, Ivy League athletes are more likely to get an MBA and to receive it from an elite program, although they are less likely to pursue an M.D., a Ph.D., or an advanced STEM degree. In terms of career outcomes, we find that Ivy League athletes outperform their non-athlete counterparts in the labor market. Athletes attain higher terminal wages and earn cumulatively more than non-athletes over the course of their careers controlling for school, graduation year, major, and first job. In addition, they attain more senior positions in the organizations they join. We also find that athletes from more socioeconomically diverse sports teams and from teams that have lower academic admissions thresholds have higher career outcomes than non-athletes. Collectively, our results suggest that non-academic human capital developed through athletic participation is valued in the labor market and may support the role that prior athletic achievement plays in admissions at elite colleges.
Measurement and Development of Non-Cognitive Skills in Adolescence: Evidence from Chicago Public Schools and the OneGoal Program
Tim Kautz & Wladimir Zanoni
Journal of Human Capital, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using administrative data, we develop measures of non-cognitive skills and evaluate OneGoal, an intervention designed to help disadvantaged students complete college by teaching non-cognitive skills. To do so, we (1) compare the outcomes of participants and non-participants with similar characteristics and (2) use a difference-in-difference approach that exploits that OneGoal was introduced into different schools at different times. We estimate that OneGoal increases college enrollment by 10–20 percentage points for males and females and reduces arrest rates by 5 percentage points for males. Through a mediation analysis, we find that improvements in non-cognitive skills account for 13–32 percent of these effects.
From Retributive to Restorative: An Alternative Approach to Justice
Anjali Adukia, Benjamin Feigenberg & Fatemeh Momeni
NBER Working Paper, September 2023
Abstract:
School districts historically approached conflict-resolution from a zero-sum perspective: suspend students seen as disruptive and potentially harm them, or avoid suspensions and harm their classmates. Restorative practices (RP) -- focused on reparation and shared ownership of disciplinary justice -- are designed to avoid this trade-off by addressing undesirable behavior without imparting harm. This study examines Chicago Public Schools' adoption of RP. We identify decreased suspensions, improved school climate, and find no evidence of increased classroom disruption. We estimate a 19% decrease in arrests, including for violent offenses, with reduced arrests outside of school, providing evidence that RP substantively changed behavior.
The Impact of Teacher Strikes on High School Students in the United States
Dustin White et al.
University of Nebraska Working Paper, September 2023
Abstract:
Teacher strikes reduce the number of school days and interrupt instruction, yet there is scarce evidence on how teacher strikes impact observable measures of students’ performance. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 and information gathered about teacher strikes from the 2009-10 to 2012-13 school years, we find that each day of school missed due to teacher strikes is associated with a 0.015-point decline in GPA for affected students. The typical strike corresponds to a 0.158-point GPA drop for affected students. Low-performing students are also significantly less likely to graduate after a strike. We leverage information on parent and student expectations of their educational attainment to show that those expectations are unaffected by strikes, suggesting that omitted variables are unlikely to cause the observed changes in GPA and graduation rates.