Being Educated
It Takes a Village: The Economics of Parenting with Neighborhood and Peer Effects
Francesco Agostinelli et al.
Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
During adolescence, peer interactions become increasingly central to children’s development, whereas the direct influence of parents wanes. Nevertheless, parents can continue to exert leverage by shaping their children’s peer groups. We construct and estimate a model of parenting with peer and neighborhood effects where parents intervene in peer formation and show that the model captures empirical patterns of skill accumulation, parenting style, and peer characteristics among US high school students. We find that interventions that move children to better neighborhoods lose impact when they are scaled up, because parents’ equilibrium responses push against successful integration with the new peer group.
The Importance of Student-Teacher Matching: A Multidimensional Value-Added Approach
Tom Ahn, Esteban Aucejo & Jonathan James
Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We propose a framework for value-added models that flexibly characterizes heterogeneous teacher productivity based on multidimensional student characteristics. We show that teacher effectiveness heavily depends on the specific attributes of their students. For example, the difference in value-added between well-matched and poorly matched students for the average teacher is approximately 0.1 standard deviations in test scores. Notably, these matching effects are particularly pronounced among low-achieving students. In language arts, the standard deviation in teacher value-added is one-third larger for low-achieving students compared to high-achieving students.
The Economics of Scaling Early Childhood Programs: Lessons from The Chicago School
John List
Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many ideas show remarkable returns in small-scale trials but often disappoint when scaled to broader populations and contexts. Using early childhood investment as a case study, this study develops a dynamic human capital formation model that integrates complementary skill investment with “Option C thinking” on scaling challenges. The model is stylized in the Chicago tradition: micro-founded with optimizing agents, dynamic skill production, and a policymaker evaluating scaling decisions. It formalizes how naive extrapolation from pilot studies systematically overestimates policy efficacy by ignoring “voltage drops” -- declining treatment effects due to unrepresentativeness at scale. The model demonstrates that optimal scaling policy requires mechanism-based design that anticipates these failures through backward induction from implementation realities.
A national randomized controlled trial of the impact of public Montessori preschool at the end of kindergarten
Angeline Lillard et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 28 October 2025
Abstract:
Although seminal studies from the early 1960s suggested quality preschool can have lasting positive effects, agreement is lacking on the efficacy of different preschool models. The Montessori model is longstanding but lacks rigorous impact studies; prior random lottery studies included just one or two schools, among other compromises. Here, we report on end-of-kindergarten (age 5 to 6) impacts from a national study of public Montessori preschool. We compared children offered a Montessori seat via competitive lottery admission processes at one of 24 public Montessori schools at age 3 (n = 242) to children not offered a seat (n = 346), estimating Montessori impacts with intention-to-treat and complier average causal effect models. Roughly half of the treatment sample still attended Montessori for kindergarten. Although there were no notable impacts at the end of PK3 or PK4, at the end of kindergarten, controlling for baseline scores and demographics, Montessori children had significantly higher reading, short-term memory, theory of mind, and executive function scores. Intention-to-treat effect sizes exceeded a fifth of a SD, considered large in field-based school research [M. A. Kraft, Educ. Res. 49, 241–253 (2020)]. This contrasts sharply with the more typical finding, where impacts of preschool are observed immediately following the program but disappear by the end of kindergarten. Further, a cost analysis suggested three years of public Montessori preschool costs less per child than traditional programs, largely due to Montessori having higher child:teacher ratios in PK3 and PK4. Although sensitivity and robustness analyses yielded similar results, important limitations of the study should be noted.
Do Test Scores Misrepresent Test Results? An Item-by-Item Analysis
Jesse Bruhn et al.
NBER Working Paper, November 2025
Abstract:
Much of the data collected in education is effectively thrown away. Students answer individual test questions, but administrators and researchers only see aggregate performance. All the item-level data are lost. Ex ante it is not clear this destroys much useful information, since the aggregate might be a sufficient statistic. Using data from Texas for 5 million students and 1.31 billion student-item responses, we show that in fact aggregation does destroy a great deal of valuable information in education: (1) Even conditional on a summary test measure, there is additional information in the item-level data; (2) This additional information is relevant for the student outcomes that education decisions seek to optimize; and (3) This information can be made practically useful for schools. Given how inexpensive storing, transmitting and analyzing such data would be, large gains could be had in education by simply using all the data we currently collect.
Administrative Expansion in Public Schools: The Role of Unions in Resource Allocation and Student Performance
Corey DeAngelis & Christos Makridis
Politics & Policy, December 2025
Abstract:
Why have student outcomes deteriorated so much in the United States? This paper explores the role of unions in educational resource allocation. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and the American Community Survey (ACS), we estimate the relationship between unionization and staffing patterns, controlling for a wide array of local demographic and economic characteristics and year fixed effects. We find a robust positive relationship between union density and staff-to-student ratios, as well as a negative effect of right-to-work (RTW) laws on these ratios, driven largely by the expansion of administrative and support roles, rather than teachers. Furthermore, the expansion of these ratios also predicts the deterioration in math and reading scores, particularly among 8th graders, across states over time.
Why Does Education Increase Voting? Evidence from Boston’s Charter Schools
Sarah Cohodes & James Feigenbaum
Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Americans with more education vote more, but we know little about whether this effect on civic participation arises from educational quality or quantity. Using admissions lotteries at Boston charter schools, we find that charter attendance boosts voter participation, substantially increasing voting in the first presidential election after a student turns 18 by six percentage points from a baseline of 35 percent. This effect operates through increased turnout, as there is no increase in registration. Rich data enable us to explore multiple potential channels of this voting impact. Our evidence suggests that charters increase voting by increasing noncognitive skills.
The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida
David Figlio & Umut Özek
NBER Working Paper, October 2025
Abstract:
Cellphone bans in schools have become a popular policy in recent years in the United States, yet very little is known about their effects on student outcomes. In this study, we try to fill this gap by examining the causal effects of bans on student test scores, suspensions, and absences using detailed student-level data from Florida and a quasi-experimental research strategy relying upon differences in pre-ban cellphone use by students, as measured by building-level Advan data. Several important findings emerge. First, we show that the enforcement of cellphone bans in schools led to a significant increase in student suspensions in the short-term, especially among Black students, but disciplinary actions began to dissipate after the first year, potentially suggesting a new steady state after an initial adjustment period. Second, we find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period. Third, the findings suggest that cellphone bans in schools significantly reduce student unexcused absences, an effect that may explain a large fraction of the test score gains. The effects of cellphone bans are more pronounced in middle and high school settings where student smartphone ownership is more common.
Exercise Improves Academic Performance
Alexander Cappelen et al.
Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
In a randomized controlled trial, we test whether removal of a barrier to exercise can improve academic performance. We find strong support for this hypothesis: University students who were provided with a free gym card exercised more and had a significant improvement in academic performance. The treated students were less likely to drop out of classes and to fail at the exam. We provide evidence showing that exercise caused a healthier lifestyle and increased perceived self-control, which ultimately improved academic performance. The study demonstrates that removing barriers to physical activity can be an important tool for improving educational achievements.
College Canceled: What Happened to California’s High School Graduating Class of 2020?
Scott Carrell et al.
Educational Researcher, December 2025, Pages 528-539
Abstract:
Using individual-level administrative data from California linked to survey data, this study explores how and why recent high school graduates’ college trajectories may have been altered by the pandemic. We find sizable negative effects on college enrollment for the California high school graduating class of 2020. Similar to national trends, we find these enrollment declines were largest in the community college sector and for underrepresented minority students, low-income students, and students from high schools with low college-sending rates. At the same time, enrollment in the highly selective University of California system increased. These enrollment gains were concentrated among Asian and White students and those who attended high schools that historically send a large share of their graduates to college. Thus, the pandemic appears to have worsened inequalities not only in overall college enrollment but also in access to more elite institutions.
Can States Sustain and Replicate School District Improvement? Evidence from Massachusetts on Multilevel Governance
Beth Schueler, Liz Nigro & John Wang
American Educational Research Journal, December 2025, Pages 1133-1172
Abstract:
Limited scholarship has examined school districtwide turnaround reforms beyond the first few years of implementation or efforts to replicate successes in new contexts. We studied Massachusetts, home to a state takeover of the Lawrence school district that led to academic gains in early reform years and where state leaders attempted to replicate this success in three additional communities. We used statewide student-level data (2006–7 to 2018–19) and event study methods to estimate medium-term impacts on student outcomes. We found that improvements were largely sustained in Lawrence. We observed evidence of successful replication in the Springfield Empowerment Zone but not Holyoke or Southbridge. Cases with positive outcomes struck a unique balance between both state and local decision-making authority, suggesting that multilevel governance can provide one pathway for effective state-led school district improvement.