Social Studies
Monoka Venters, Meghan Hauptli & Lora Cohen-Vogel
Educational Policy, January 2012, Pages 35-57
Abstract:
Applying a Multiple Streams framework, the article documents the development and ultimate undoing of what became known as the national sales tax plan for education. The authors identify four factors that coalesced to lead the Nixon administration to propose replacing local property taxes with a federal value-added tax to finance K-12 education. They further delineate key supporters and opponents, along with their arguments for and against the plan, finding that intergovernmental tension between administration officials and state governors, opposition on Capitol Hill, public opinion, a supreme court ruling, and the Watergate scandal came together to unravel the plan before it could be formally introduced in Congress. Finally, the authors discuss what this case tells us about the complexity federalism brings to public school finance.
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Does Generosity Beget Generosity? Alumni Giving and Undergraduate Financial Aid
Jonathan Meer & Harvey Rosen
NBER Working Paper, February 2012
Abstract:
We investigate how undergraduates' financial aid packages affect their subsequent donative behavior as alumni. The empirical work is based upon micro data on alumni giving at an anonymous research university. We focus on three types of financial aid, scholarships, loans, and campus jobs. A novel aspect of our modeling strategy is that, consistent with the view of some professional fundraisers, we allow the receipt of a given form of aid per se to affect alumni giving. At the same time, our model allows the amount of the support to affect giving behavior nonlinearly. Our main findings are: 1) Individuals who took out student loans are less likely to make a gift, other things being the same. We conjecture that this phenomenon is caused by an "annoyance effect" - alumni resent the fact that they are burdened with loans. 2) Scholarship aid reduces the size of a gift, but has little effect on the probability of donating. The negative effect of receiving a scholarship on donations decreases in absolute value with the size of the scholarship. We do not find any evidence that scholarship recipients give less because they have relatively low incomes post graduation. 3) Aid in the form of campus jobs does not have a strong effect on donative behavior.
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Sports Participation and Happiness: Evidence from U.S. Micro Data
Haifang Huang & Brad Humphreys
Journal of Economic Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
We investigate the relationship between participation in physical activity and self reported happiness in the United States. IV estimates based on data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System between 2005 and 2009 and County Business Patterns indicate that individuals living in a county with greater access to sports facilities are more likely to participate in physical activity and also report higher life satisfaction. Both men and women gain happiness from participation, and men appear to benefit more from participation than women.
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Student Loans: Do College Students Borrow Too Much -- Or Not Enough?
Christopher Avery & Sarah Turner
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2012, Pages 165-192
Abstract:
Total student loan debt rose to over $800 billion in June 2010, overtaking total credit card debt outstanding for the first time. By the time this article sees print, the continually updated Student Loan Debt Clock will show an accumulated total of roughly $1 trillion. Borrowing to finance educational expenditures has been increasing - more than quadrupling in real dollars since the early 1990s. The sheer magnitude of these figures has led to increased public commentary on the level of student borrowing. We move the discussion of student loans away from anecdote by establishing a framework for considering the use of student loans in the optimal financing of collegiate investments. From a financial perspective, enrolling in college is equivalent to signing up for a lottery with large expected gains - indeed, the figures presented here suggest that college is, on average, a better investment today than it was a generation ago - but it is also a lottery with significant probabilities of both larger positive, and smaller or even negative, returns. We look to available - albeit limited - evidence to assess which types of students are likely to be borrowing too much or too little.
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Hyunkuk Cho, Paul Glewwe & Melissa Whitler
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many U.S. states and cities spend substantial funds to reduce class size, especially in elementary (primary) school. Estimating the impact of class size on learning is complicated, since children in small and large classes differ in many observed and unobserved ways. This paper uses a method of Hoxby (2000) to assess the impact of class size on the test scores of grade 3 and 5 students in Minnesota. The method exploits random variation in class size due to random variation in births in school and district catchment areas. The results show that reducing class size increases mathematics and reading test scores in Minnesota. Yet these impacts are very small; a decrease of ten students would increase test scores by only 0.04-0.05 standard deviations (of the distribution of test scores). Thus class size reductions are unlikely to lead to sizeable increases in student learning.
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Competitive Federalism and Race to the Top Application Decisions in the American States
Sean Nicholson-Crotty & Tucker Staley
Educational Policy, January 2012, Pages 160-184
Abstract:
The Race to the Top (RTTT) program, announced by the Obama Administration in 2009, represented the largest competitive grant in the history of U.S. education. Despite the amount of money available and the dire condition of most state budgets in that year, however, some states chose not to apply for funding and the remainder submitted applications of widely divergent character. We argue in this article that the frequency and competitiveness of applications offer insight into the factors that conditioned commitment to the administration's reform agenda within each state. We use competitive federalism theory to develop expectations about the influence of those factors and test those expectations with a variety of analytic techniques. The results suggest that application decisions within the states were influenced by the level of electoral credit that politicians expected to receive from education policy generally and the amount they could receive by adhering to the specific tenets of the administration's reform agenda. These factors affected state-level decision making to a much greater degree than the actual need for federal funding.
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Preschools Reduce Early Academic-Achievement Gaps: A Longitudinal Twin Approach
Elliot Tucker-Drob
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Preschools may reduce inequalities in early academic achievement by providing children from disadvantaged families with higher-quality learning environments than they would otherwise receive. In this study, longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of more than 600 twin pairs were used to estimate the contributions of genes, the shared environment, and the nonshared environment to cognition and achievement scores in children enrolled versus not enrolled in preschool. Attending preschool at age 4 was associated with reductions in shared environmental influences on reading and math skills at age 5, but was not associated with the magnitude of shared environmental influences on cognition at age 2. These prospective effects were mediated by reductions in achievement gaps associated with minority status, socioeconomic status, and ratings of parental stimulation of cognitive development. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with lower rates of preschool enrollment, which suggests that the very children who would benefit most from preschools are the least likely to be enrolled in them.
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The Public School as a Public Good: Direct and Indirect Pathways to Community Satisfaction
Zachary Neal & Jennifer Watling Neal
Journal of Urban Affairs, forthcoming
Abstract:
Individuals' satisfaction with their community can play an important role in urban politics, and the quality of public schools is a key predictor of community satisfaction. However, most discussions of public schools focus only on their educational and social benefits for children, although others expand the scope to consider benefits to their parents as well. In this paper, we take a broader view, arguing that local public schools are providers of public goods that potentially benefit all members of a community, including those without school-aged children. Using data from the Soul of the Community survey, we examine the relationship between public school quality and community satisfaction in 26 U.S. communities, and find no differences between individuals with and without school-aged children at home. Furthermore, for those without children, we find that the effect of schools on community satisfaction is partially mediated by community-based social capital, suggesting that public schools provide both direct and indirect pathways to community satisfaction. We conclude with a discussion of these findings, focusing on their implications for the maintenance and structure of public schools in American cities.
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Do College-Prep Programs Improve Long-Term Outcomes?
Kirabo Jackson
NBER Working Paper, February 2012
Abstract:
I analyze the longer-run effects of a college-preparatory program implemented in inner-city schools that included payments to eleventh- and twelfth- grade students and their teachers for passing scores on Advanced Placement exams. Affected students attended college in greater numbers, were more likely to remain in college beyond their first year, more likely to earn a college degree, more likely to be employed, and earned higher wages. This is the first credible evidence that implementing college-preparatory programs in existing urban schools can improve both the long-run educational and labor market outcomes of disadvantaged students.
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The Effect of Teacher-Student Gender Matching: Evidence from OECD Countries
Insook Cho
Economics of Education Review, June 2012, Pages 54-67
Abstract:
While some educators argue that teacher-student gender matching improves student performance, there is little empirical evidence to support this hypothesis. This paper assesses the impact of teacher-student gender matching on academic achievement across fifteen OECD countries using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). One attractive feature of TIMSS is that it provides information on test scores and teacher characteristics, including gender, for both math and science thereby allowing for student fixed effects estimation. The results provide little support for the conjecture that students benefit from teacher-student gender matching.
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What Is Academic Momentum? And Does It Matter?
Paul Attewell, Scott Heil & Liza Reisel
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, March 2012, Pages 27-44
Abstract:
The academic momentum perspective suggests that the speed with which undergraduates initially progress in college significantly affects their likelihood of completing a degree, an effect separate from those of high school academic preparation and family socioeconomic status. Growth curve modeling of undergraduate transcript data reveals that the number of credits attempted in the first semester of college sets a trajectory that influences later chances of degree completion. Several techniques addressing selection bias indicate that delay between high school and starting college, and also attempting a low course load in the first semester (part-time attendance), are associated with lower degree completion, while attending summer school after freshman year is associated with significantly better graduation chances. In sum, the central claims of momentum theory are supported.
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Angeline Lillard
Journal of School Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research on the outcomes of Montessori education is scarce and results are inconsistent. One possible reason for the inconsistency is variations in Montessori implementation fidelity. To test whether outcomes vary according to implementation fidelity, we examined preschool children enrolled in high fidelity classic Montessori programs, lower fidelity Montessori programs that supplemented the program with conventional school activities, and, for comparison, conventional programs. Children were tested at the start and end of the school year on a range of social and academic skills. Although they performed no better in the fall, children in Classic Montessori programs, as compared with children in Supplemented Montessori and Conventional programs, showed significantly greater school-year gains on outcome measures of executive function, reading, math, vocabulary, and social problem-solving, suggesting that high fidelity Montessori implementation is associated with better outcomes than lower fidelity Montessori programs or conventional programs.
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Flexible Response: Executive Federalism and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
Bryan Shelly
Educational Policy, January 2012, Pages 117-135
Abstract:
The federal government promised that it would limit waiver grants to states for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It largely kept that promise, but states did gain significant flexibility through amendments to accountability plans. OLS model estimates showed that larger, more affluent, and more Republican states submitted more amendment requests and the federal Department of Education approved the amendments of states that received more federal funding, had a more developed standardized testing system in place prior to NCLB, and voted Republican. These findings suggested new avenues of exploration for scholars of executive federalism.
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Matthew Ronfeldt
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, March 2012, Pages 3-26
Abstract:
This study is motivated by an ongoing debate about the kinds of schools that make for the best field placements during pre-service preparation. On the one hand, easier-to-staff schools may support teacher learning because they are typically better-functioning institutions that offer desirable teaching conditions. On the other hand, such field placements may leave new teachers unprepared to work in difficult-to-staff schools and with underserved student populations that need high quality teachers the most. Using administrative and survey data on almost 3,000 New York City teachers, their students, and their schools, this study finds that learning to teach in easier-to-staff field placement schools has positive effects on teacher retention and student achievement gains, even for teachers who end up working in the hardest-to-staff schools. The proportion of poor, minority, and low-achieving students in field placements is unrelated to later teacher effectiveness and retention suggesting something beyond student populations explain these results.
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Brian Carolan
Journal of Research on Adolescence, forthcoming
Abstract:
In an effort to enhance both adolescents' social capital and increase achievement, public school districts across the United States have created small high schools. Using data derived from a longitudinal and nationally representative study of U.S. high school students, the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, results show that when adolescents' parents know their friends' parents math achievement is significantly predicted. This association, however, is nonsignificant when conditioned on standard measures of prior achievement and family background, among others. In addition, while this relationship is also strong and significant within small high schools, it, too, is eliminated when conditioned on select confounding variables. These findings are discussed in terms of current efforts to improve achievement through reductions in school size.
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Stijn Broecke
Economics of Education Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper estimates the returns to university selectivity in the UK using administrative data on applications and admissions to university, linked to a survey of graduates three and a half years after graduation. It compares students who indicated preferences for, and were conditionally accepted to, the same universities - but who attended different ones because some failed to meet the conditions of their preferred offer. The results suggest that one standard deviation in selectivity leads to a 7% increase in earnings.
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Our Princess Is in Another Castle: A Review of Trends in Serious Gaming for Education
Michael Young et al.
Review of Educational Research, March 2012, Pages 61-89
Abstract:
Do video games show demonstrable relationships to academic achievement gains when used to support the K-12 curriculum? In a review of literature, we identified 300+ articles whose descriptions related to video games and academic achievement. We found some evidence for the effects of video games on language learning, history, and physical education (specifically exergames), but little support for the academic value of video games in science and math. We summarize the trends for each subject area and supply recommendations for the nascent field of video games research. Many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student achievement is slim. We recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative elements.
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The effect of tuition fees on student mobility: The UK and Ireland as a natural experiment
Paul Wakeling & Katie Jefferies
British Educational Research Journal, forthcoming
Abstract:
We exploit changes in student funding policies across the four UK nations and the Republic of Ireland to conduct a natural experiment investigating the marginal effect of differing tuition fee levels on students' enrolment behaviour. Whilst previous international research suggests increases in fees suppress demand and disincentivise cross-border educational migration, some studies in North America and Germany find an element of inelasticity of demand. In the UK, various commentators have predicted marked shifts in student mobility in response to variation in tuition fee prices by country, trends expected to sharpen following substantial planned rises in tuition fees from 2012. After outlining tuition fee policies in the UK and Ireland, we analyse data on student enrolment destinations across the five countries for the period 2000-2010. We find little evidence to support the notion that student mobility is driven by economic 'rationality'. Enrolment rates have risen despite increases in tuition fees and there is a long-term trend for students to stay at home. Students seem not to be 'pushed' out-of-country by higher fees, but may be discouraged from moving if fees are lower in-country. Student mobility within the UK and Ireland follows well-worn paths from and to specific countries and institutions. Finally, we consider the implications of our findings for student mobility in general and forthcoming changes to UK student funding policies in particular.
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The effects of a free school choice policy on parents' school choice behavior
Herbert Altrichter et al.
Studies In Educational Evaluation, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recently, European school systems have seen various attempts to 'modernise' their governance. Market and competition oriented reforms have not been central to governance innovation strategies in German speaking countries, however, their number and relevance is rising in recent years. A free school choice policy which abolishes "school districts" which legally define fixed school catchment areas was introduced in the school year of 2007/2008 in the Austrian city of Linz. The effects of the implementation of this policy on the primary school sector were studied by a standardised questionnaire administered to a representative sample of 3425 parents of five age groups of primary school children. The return rate was about 55%. By special measures during data collection a satisfactory representation of parents with migrant background was achieved. Three questions are discussed in the paper: (1) Is there a rise in segregation in schools as a result of free choice policy? (2) Is there a change in the composition of the student population in different schools as a result of free choice policy? (3) Is there a change in parent school choice behaviour of as a result of free choice policy? Our data indicates that segregation in primary schools with respect to ethnic and social family characteristics increases after the policy implementation, but the sample size is too small to find significant results. In addition, no significant change is observed in the social composition of schools. In accordance with the previous findings no significant modifications of choice behaviour occur for different ethnic or social groups after free choice. However changes in choice motives can be observed.