Tough School
More A's and I get to stay? How grading influences employment outcomes for contingent faculty
Veronica Sovero & Amanda Griffith
Education Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research has shown that changes in job security cause changes in grading behavior for lecturer faculty, but the impact of grading practices on future workload assignments is unknown. In this paper we use a detailed dataset of lecturers at a large public university to test the theory that awarding higher grades improves the probability of positive employment outcomes in the future. Lecturers that award higher grades receive significantly higher workload hours, are more likely to have their entitlement met and to receive repeat course assignments in the future, and these effects are larger for lecturers on contracts with more uncertainty.
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Evaluating the Impact of Preschool on Patience, Time Inconsistency and Commitment Demand
Amanda Chuan, Anya Samek & Shreemayi Samujjwala
University of California Working Paper, January 2024
Abstract:
We evaluate patience, time inconsistency and commitment demand among children. We first show that patience at ages 5-10 predicts reading scores up to 4 years later, even after controlling for prior cognition and executive function. Time inconsistency and commitment demand do not predict reading scores. Second, we evaluate whether preschool affects patience. We leverage a field experiment that randomized children to different preschool curricula. We find that the preschool curriculum focused on self-regulation improved patience overall relative to the control group. Further, preschool helps children use commitment devices to manage their time inconsistency, but does not affect time inconsistency directly.
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Non-cognitive peer effects in early education: The influence of children born to teenage mothers on peers' behavioral problems
Jessica Gagete-Miranda, Elena Meschi & Laura Pagani
Economics Letters, March 2024
Abstract:
This paper investigates the influence of early exposure to peers born to teenage mothers on young children's behavioral problems. We use data from a nationally representative sample of US children and exploit the quasi-random allocation of children across classes within schools during the first year of kindergarten to estimate causal effects. The results indicate that exposure to peers born to teenage mothers negatively impacts students' internalizing behavior and cognitive performance. This effect is mainly driven by peers with very young mothers. The internalizing behavior of peers from teenage mothers emerges as a possible mechanism for the observed impact.
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Early Warning for Whom? Regression Discontinuity Evidence From the Effect of Early Warning System on Student Absence
Yusuf Canbolat
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many schools across the United States use the Early Warning System (EWS) to identify chronically absent students on time and intervene. The prediction power of the EWS is well examined but more evidence is needed about their effectiveness at reducing student absence. This study examines the effect of EWS on student absence in a large urban school district using a multiple-cutoff regression discontinuity design. Findings indicate that EWS reduces chronic absence among socioeconomically advantaged students. However, it has no significant effect on chronic absence among socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Furthermore, EWS has no significant effect on moderate absence. These results suggest that schools should consider social and institutional barriers to improving attendance, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
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Making a Song and Dance About It: The Effectiveness of Teaching Children Vocabulary with Animated Music Videos
Ariel Kalil et al.
NBER Working Paper, February 2024
Abstract:
Programs that engage young children in movement and song to help them learn are popular but experimental evidence on their impact is sparse. We use an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of Big Word Club (BWC), a classroom program that uses music and dance videos for 3-5 minutes per day to increase vocabulary. We conducted a field experiment with 818 preschool and kindergarten students in 47 schools in three U.S. states. We find that treated students scored higher on a test of words targeted by the program (0.30 SD) after four months of use and this effect persisted for two months.
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Dual Language Immersion Programs and Student Achievement in Early Elementary Grades
Camila Morales
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper presents evidence of the effects of dual language immersion (DLI) programs on the academic outcomes of students in elementary grades. Leveraging enrollment lotteries from four cohorts of DLI applicants across 10 oversubscribed programs, analyses estimate the intent-to-treat effect of access to bilingual education on reading and math test scores. On average, native English-speaking students in Grades 1 through 4 who win access to a DLI program score higher in reading and math by 0.12 and 0.14 SDs, respectively. The achievement gains in test scores are realized as early as first grade.
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Student loan debt and the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts
Richard Paulsen
Journal of Cultural Economics, March 2024, Pages 95-115
Abstract:
This study looks to test the impact of student loan debt on the career choices of college graduates with majors in the arts in the USA. As earnings are on average lower and more variable for arts graduates when compared to graduates of many other fields, I hypothesize that student loan debt will decrease the likelihood arts graduates will work in jobs related to their major fields of study. National Survey of College Graduates data is used to test this hypothesis. I find that for arts graduates, owing on student debt decreases the likelihood of working in jobs closely related to their major fields by over 25% and decreases the likelihood they work as artists by over 30%. For all college graduates, the negative impact of student debt on working in closely related jobs to their major fields is only 3%. Student debt may have potential distributional impacts on who works as artists, as Black and Hispanic graduates and those whose parents did not attend college are more likely to have student debt and less likely to be working in jobs closely related to their major field of study. Policies that help to alleviate the debt burden on arts graduates, like debt relief, could help to mitigate these negative distributional impacts.
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Do college anti-plagiarism/cheating policies have teeth in the age of AI? Exploratory evidence from the Internet
Rajeev Goel & Michael Nelson
Managerial and Decision Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has challenged academic institutions to ensure ethical practices and reward/promote merit. Adding formal insights into the importance of maintaining academic integrity, this paper examines the association of anti-plagiarism/anti-cheating policies with resources that facilitate such behavior. Using unique internet search indices of policies and resources, we find that the two are positively associated. This association is robust when internet policies are restricted to news searches, and include course syllabi. The findings reinforce the view that policies to check plagiarism/cheating likely lack teeth and maybe a step behind the resources that facilitate unethical behavior.
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Six Years Later: Examining the Academic and Employment Outcomes of the Original and Reinstated Summer Pell
Vivian Yuen Ting Liu, Rachel Yang Zhou & Jordan Matsudaira
Education Finance and Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
The Pell Grant, while offering substantial financial support for low-income students pursuing higher education, historically covered only the costs of two full-time semesters per year and did not include assistance for summer courses. Research has consistently demonstrated that continuous enrollment throughout the academic year enhances college persistence and degree completion. In response to this understanding, the Summer Pell (SP) program was introduced in the summer of 2009, providing eligible low-income students with an additional grant to cover summer tuition and related expenses. However, after a brief period of operation, the SP program was discontinued in 2011, only to be reinstated in 2017. We utilize administrative data obtained from New York City in the context of differences-in-differences analyses spanning both program periods, and find that SP-eligible students exhibited a higher retention rate in the fall of their second year, achieved higher rates of associate's and bachelor's degree attainment, and experienced greater earnings gains up to nine years after college entry compared to SP-ineligible students. Our analysis of heterogeneity further underscores that the benefits of the SP program were pronounced among black students and older students.
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The Effect of the Prior Teacher on Value-Added
Michael Gilraine & Odhrain McCarthy
Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We show that teachers' value-added ('VA') depend on the VA of the teachers that preceded them. To do so, we use administrative data from North Carolina and find that a one-standard deviation increase in last grade's mean teacher VA causes a 0.08σ decrease in teacher VA. Controlling for prior teacher assignment eliminates this bias. Under a benchmark policy that releases teachers in the bottom five percent of the VA distribution, thirty-two percent of teachers are incorrectly released using traditional techniques. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating dynamic features of education production into the estimation of teacher quality.