Inside Education
The Private School Network: Recruiting Visits to Private High Schools by Public and Private Universities
Ozan Jaquette, Crystal Han & Irma Castañeda
Research in Higher Education, September 2024, Pages 1269-1315
Abstract:
Scholarship on nonresident enrollment by public research universities has developed in isolation from scholarship on linkages between private high schools and selective private universities. We argue that these literatures are part of a broader story about the competition for students from affluent schools and communities. This manuscript analyzes off-campus recruiting visits to private high schools made by a convenience sample of 15 public research universities and 14 selective private universities. An off-campus recruiting visit indicates a social relationship between a school and a university. Therefore, we utilize social network methods to examine the recruiting networks of public and private universities. With respect to scale (research question 1), universities in our sample made a disproportionate number of visits to private high schools. With respect to overlap (RQ2), simple network analyses and community detection methods reveal substantial overlap in the recruiting networks of public and private universities. RQ3 assesses the characteristics of visited schools. Both public and private universities tended to visit private schools in their home geographic region and also in the South, where private school enrollment growth has been strongest. Visited private schools enroll a much larger share of white students than visited public schools. Surprisingly, several public research universities visited sectarian private high schools at a rate similar to sectarian private universities.
The Impact of Working Memory Training on Children’s Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills
Eva Berger et al.
Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Working memory (WM) capacity is a key component of a wide range of cognitive and noncognitive skills, such as fluid IQ, math, reading, or inhibitory control -- but can WM training
improve these skills? Here, we examine the causal impact of WM training embedded in regular school teaching based on a randomized educational intervention with 6–7y old children. We find substantial gains in WM capacity, and document positive spillover effects on geometry, fluid IQ, and inhibitory control. Three years later, treated children are 16 percentage points more likely to enter an advanced secondary school track.
What Do We Know About the Extent of Teacher Shortages Nationwide? A Systematic Examination of Reports of U.S. Teacher Shortages
Tuan Nguyen, Chanh Lam & Paul Bruno
AERA Open, September 2024
Abstract:
Teachers are critical to student learning, but adequately staffing classrooms has been challenging in many parts of the country. Though teacher shortages are widely reported, they are poorly understood, particularly in terms of the magnitude and variation of the shortages, and reported figures are often localized and anecdotal. To address this gap, we systematically examine news reports, Department of Education data, and publicly available information on teacher shortages for every U.S. state. We characterize the data landscape and find there are at least 39,700 vacant positions along with at least 288,000 positions being held by underqualified teachers, both of which are conservative estimates of the extent of teacher shortages nationally. We discuss the implications of our findings for improving data systems, including more specific and consistent reporting of shortage, as well as implications for teacher preparation and education policy.
Associations Between Administrative Burden and Children’s ECE Stability During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Karen Babbs Hollett
Educational Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
The Covid-19 pandemic caused widespread closures of early care and education (ECE) facilities that negatively impacted children’s socioemotional, behavioral, and academic development. Policies permitting child care centers to remain open by obtaining waivers from closure directives involved varying levels of administrative burden. This study examined administrative burden within waiver policies and its association with ECE stability, as measured by children’s enrollment in waiver-obtaining child care centers. I found Black children were significantly less likely than White children to be enrolled in a waiver-obtaining center, and also far less likely to have a center that obtained a waiver very early on in the pandemic. Analyses showed rates of enrollment in waiver-obtaining centers were far lower among children whose centers experienced more administrative burden, and suggested racial disparities in ECE stability were driven by Black children’s concentrated residence in communities where the waiver application process was more burdensome.
The Causes and Consequences of U.S. Teacher Strikes
Melissa Arnold Lyon, Matthew Kraft & Matthew Steinberg
NBER Working Paper, August 2024
Abstract:
The U.S. has witnessed a resurgence of labor activism, with teachers at the forefront. We examine how teacher strikes affect compensation, working conditions, and productivity with an original dataset of 772 teacher strikes generating 48 million student days idle between 2007 and 2023. Using an event study framework, we find that, on average, strikes increase compensation by 8% and lower pupil-teacher ratios by 0.5 students, driven by new state revenues. We find little evidence of sizable impacts on student achievement up to five years post-strike, though strikes lasting 10 or more days decrease math achievement in the short-term.
Putting the “A” in AP: The effect of advanced placement state policies on student participation and performance
Ian Callen & Christiana Stoddard
Economics of Education Review, October 2024
Abstract:
Advanced courses prepare high school students for college material and the associated exams provide a low cost way to earn college credit. The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program is the most common in the United States, with about 40 percent of graduating seniors taking at least one AP exam in recent years. However, these opportunities are not equal across high school students due to variation in school offerings and potentially limiting exam fees. We examine the effects of two state-level policies designed to provide greater access to this program: the first mandates a minimum number of AP courses to be offered in each high school and the second waives exam fees for all students for at least one exam. Our event study and two-way fixed effect estimates suggest that mandating the provision of AP courses raises the percent of high school graduates taking AP exams by 4 to 5 percentage points, while exam fee waivers increase participation by about 1.5 percentage points. At the same time, pass rates fell after implementation of the two policies, indicating that marginal exam takers are less proficient on the exams. We find both policies have minimal effects on the percent of graduates who passed at least one AP exam or on the number of passing exams per high school student.
Positive Feedback as a Lever to Boost Students’ STEM Outcomes
Lora Park et al.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Although many college students intend to major in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), dropout from these fields is high, especially among members of historically underrepresented groups, such as women and racial-ethnic minorities. We propose a minimal, yet potentially powerful intervention to broaden participation in STEM: giving positive feedback to students in STEM. Studies 1 and 2 found that giving positive feedback is less normative in math (vs. English) courses, and instructors’ feedback-giving practices and students’ experiences mirror these norms. However, students who received positive (vs. only objective) feedback on introductory-level college calculus exams showed greater belonging and self-efficacy in math, which predicted better STEM outcomes (i.e., increased interest in STEM and higher final math course grades, respectively, Study 3). These findings were especially strong for racial-ethnic minority students. Giving positive (vs. only objective) feedback is thus a potentially transformative tool that boosts student outcomes, especially for underrepresented groups.
Can Technical Education in High School Smooth Postsecondary Transitions for Students with Disabilities?
Eric Brunner, Shaun Dougherty & Stephen Ross
NBER Working Paper, August 2024
Abstract:
Participation in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs has been proposed as a valuable strategy for supporting transition to independence among students with disabilities. We exploit a discontinuity created by admissions thresholds from a statewide system of CTE high schools. Our findings suggest attending CTE high schools has large positive effects on completing high school on time, employment, and earnings, including for individuals 22 years or older. Attending CTE schools also results in more time spent with non-disabled peers and higher 10th grade test scores. These results appear concentrated among male students, but the sample of female students is too small to support strong conclusions about outcomes. Notably, these estimates are for a system of CTE high schools operating at scale and serving students across a wide spectrum of disabilities, and the estimated effects appear broad based over disability type, time spent with non-disabled peers in 8th grade and previous academic performance.
How are first-generation students doing throughout their college years? An examination of academic success, retention, and completion rates
Shelby Weisen et al.
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Previous research suggests that first-generation (first-gen) students may be at risk for lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and lower graduation rates compared to their continuing-generation (continuing-gen) peers. The current study analyzes academic success (average yearly GPA) and retention/completion rates (cumulative dropouts and graduates) for four successive (2011–2014) entering first-year cohorts at a large Midwestern Research 1 University. Across all cohorts, academic success varied by first-gen status, with continuing-gen students having significantly higher GPAs each year. A significantly greater percentage of first-gen students dropped out each year. First-gen status was also negatively related to graduation rates at 4, 5, and 6 years after college entry. Additional analyses disaggregated the data by seven colleges of admission with semi-independent admissions policies. First-gen status was more strongly related to academic success and retention for students in the following colleges: education, biological sciences, liberal arts, and science and engineering. Overall, findings suggest that first-gen students are at higher risk of low performance and completion than their continuing-gen peers. Institutions need to examine why and how they are contributing to less successful outcomes for first-gen students, and if programming could lessen these group differences.
Artificial Intelligence Enhances Children’s Science Learning From Television Shows
Ying Xu et al.
Journal of Educational Psychology, October 2024, Pages 1071-1092
Abstract:
Educational television programs are important learning resources for young children, especially those from underresourced households. These programs’ potential can be amplified if children are given the opportunity to meaningfully interact with media characters during their video watching. In this project, we partnered with PBS KIDS to develop interactive science-focused videos in which the main character, powered by artificial intelligence, engaged in dialogic interactions with children by asking them questions and providing responsive feedback. The children who watched the interactive videos performed better on a science posttest than children who watched the broadcast version of the video (without any interaction) or a pseudointeractive version (in which the media character asks children the same questions and gives generic feedback after a fixed amount of time). The artificial intelligence character’s responsiveness positively influenced both the quantity and quality of children’s verbalizations during video watching, compared to the pseudointeractive condition. This article sheds light on the feasibility and effectiveness of using conversational technologies to support active learning in children through educational programs.