Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: David Card Author-X-Name-First: David Author-X-Name-Last: Card Author-Workplace-Name: UC Berkeley Author-Name: Alexandre Mas Author-X-Name-First: Alexandre Author-X-Name-Last: Mas Author-Workplace-Name: UC Berkeley Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Tipping and the Dynamics of Segregation in Neighborhoods and Schools Abstract: In a classic paper, Schelling (1971) showed that extreme segregation can arise from social interactions in preferences: once the minority share in a neighborhood exceeds a "tipping point", all the whites leave. We use regression discontinuity methods and Census tract data from the past four decades to test for the presence of discrete non-linearities in the dynamics of neighborhood racial composition. White mobility patterns in most cities exhibit tipping-like behavior, with a range of tipping points centered around a 13% minority share. These patterns are very pronounced during the 1970s and 1980s, and diminish but do not disappear in the 1990s. We find similar dynamic patterns in neighborhoods and in schools. A variety of specification checks rule out the possibility that the discontinuity in the initial minority share is driven by income stratification or other factors, and underscore the importance of white preferences over neighbors' race and ethnicity in the dynamic process of segregation. Finally, we relate the location of the estimated tipping points in different cities to measures of the racial attitudes of whites, and find that cities with more racially tolerant whites have higher tipping points. Creation-Date: 2006-10 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01c821gj81p/4/17aersrevised.pdf Number: 28 Classification-JEL: J15, A29 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:17a Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Albert Yoon Author-X-Name-First: Albert Author-X-Name-Last: Yoon Author-Workplace-Name: Northwestern University Title: Mismatch in Law School Abstract: An important criticism of race-based admissions preferences is that they may hurt minority students who are thereby induced to attend selective schools. We use two comparisons to identify so-called "mismatch" effects in law schools, with consistent results. There is no evidence of mismatch effects on graduation or bar passage rates of black students above the bottom quintile of the entering credentials distribution. The data are consistent with mismatch effects for bottom-quintile black students but do not demonstrate the importance of these effects, as sample selection bias is a potentially important confounding factor in this range. There is no evidence from any comparison of mismatch effects on employment outcomes. Creation-Date: 2006-06 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01ms35t8652/4/16ers.pdf Number: 29 Classification-JEL: I21, J15, K30 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:16a Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Cecilia E. Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Jane Hannaway Author-X-Name-First: Jane Author-X-Name-Last: Hannaway Author-Workplace-Name: Urban Institute Author-Name: Dan Goldhaber Author-X-Name-First: Dan Author-X-Name-Last: Goldhaber Author-Workplace-Name: University of Washington Author-Name: David Figlio Author-X-Name-First: David Author-X-Name-Last: Figlio Author-Workplace-Name: University of Florida and NBER Title: Feeling the Florida Heat? How Low-Performing Schools Respond to Voucher and Accountability Pressure Abstract: While numerous recent authors have studied the effects of school accountability systems on student test performance and school gaming of accountability incentives, there has been little attention paid to substantive changes in instructional policies and practices resulting from school accountability. The lack of research is primarily due to the unavailability of appropriate data to carry out such an analysis. This paper brings to bear new evidence from a remarkable five-year survey conducted of a census of public schools in Florida, coupled with detailed administrative data on student performance. We show that schools facing accountability pressure changed their instructional practices in meaningful ways. In addition, we present medium-run evidence of the effects of school accountability on student test scores, and find that a significant portion of these test score gains can likely be attributed to the changes in school policies and practices that we uncover in our surveys. Creation-Date: 2007-11 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01g158bh338/4/24ers.pdf Number: 1002 Classification-JEL: I21, I28, L38, I20, H75 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:24 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Victor Lavy Author-X-Name-First: Victor Author-X-Name-Last: Lavy Author-Workplace-Name: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, ULRH, CEPR and NBER Author-Name: Analia Schlosser Author-X-Name-First: Analia Author-X-Name-Last: Schlosser Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Mechanisms and Impacts of Gender Peer Effects at School Abstract: The consequences of gender social and learning interactions in the classroom are of interest to parents, policy makers, and researchers. However, little is known about gender peer effects in schools and their operational channels. In this paper, we estimate the effects of classroom gender composition on scholastic achievements of boys and girls in Israeli primary, middle, and high schools and identify the mechanisms through which these peer effects are enacted. In particular, we examine whether gender peer effects work through changes in classroom learning and social environment, teaching methods and pedagogy, and teacher burnout and work satisfaction. In assessing these mechanisms, we distinguish between the effects generated by changes in the classroom gender composition and those generated by changes in the behavior of students. To control for potentially confounding unobserved characteristics of schools and students that might be correlated with peer gender composition, we rely on idiosyncratic variations in gender composition across adjacent cohorts within the same schools. Our results suggest that an increase in the proportion of girls leads to a significant improvement in students' cognitive outcomes. The estimated effects are of similar magnitude for boys and girls. As important mechanisms, we find that a higher proportion of female peers lowers the level of classroom disruption and violence, improves inter-student and student-teacher relationships as well as students' overall satisfaction in school, and lessens teachers' fatigue. We find, however, no effect on individual behavior of boys or girls, which suggests that the positive peer effects of girls on classroom environment are due mostly to compositional change, namely due to having more girls in the classroom and not due to improved behavior of peers. Creation-Date: 2007-07 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01ks65hc24r/4/23ers.pdf Number: 1001 Classification-JEL: I21, J16, I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:23 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: Teacher Quality in Educational Production: Tracking, Decay, and Student Achievement Abstract: An emerging consensus holds that teacher quality is an extremely important determinant of student achievement and a promising lever by which educational outcomes can be improved. "Value-Added Models" (VAMs) attempt to distinguish good from bad teachers, using observational data to measure teachers' effects on student achievement. I develop falsification tests for the assumptions about student-to-teacher assignments on which VAMs rely, using the idea that teachers in later grades cannot have causal effects in students' test scores in earlier grades. A simple VAM indicates that 5th grade teachers have nearly as large "effects" on 4th grade gains as on 5th grade gains, implying that assignments are not ignorable. An extension of this test shows that VAMs that allow for tracking on the basis of students' permanent ability are similiarly misspecified: Teacher assignments evidently respond dynamicallt to year-to-year fluctuations in student achievement. I propose models of the assignment process that permit identification. Estimates that are consistant in the presence of (some forms of) dynamic tracking yield very different assessments of teacher quality than those obtained from common VAMs. VAMs need further development and validation before they can support causal interpretations or policy applications. Creation-Date: 2008-05 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01bc386j24j/1/25ers.pdf Number: 1058 Classification-JEL: H75, I21, J45, J24, J33 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:25 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Student Sorting and Bias in Value Added Estimation: Selection on Observables and Unobservables Abstract: Non-random assignments of students to teachers can bias value added estimates of teachers' causal effects. Rothstein (2008) shows that typical value added models indicate large counter-factual effects of 5th grade teachers on students' 4th grade learning, implying that assignments do not satisfy the imposed assumptions. This paper quantifies the resulting biases in estimates of 5th grade teachers' causal effects from several value added models, under varying assumprions about the assignment process. Under selection on observables, models for gain scores without controls or with only a single lagged score control are subject important bias, but models with controls for the full test score history are nearly free of bias. I consider several scenarios for selection on unobservables, using the across-classroom variance of observed variables to calibrate each. Results indicate that even well-controlled models may be substantially biased, with the magnitude of the bias depending on the amount of information available for use in classroom assignments. Creation-Date: 2008-06 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp016m311p33z/1/26ers.pdf Number: 1059 Classification-JEL: H75, I21, C12, C52, J33, J45 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:26 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lisa Barrow Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Barrow Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Author-Name: Lisa Markman Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Markman Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Cecilia Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: Technology's Edge: The Educational Benefits of Computer-Aided Instruction Abstract: We present results from a randomized study of a well-defined use of computers in schools: a popular instructional computer program for pre-algebra and algebra. We assess the program using a test designed to target pre-algebra and algebra skills. Students randomly assigned to computer-aided instruction score 0.17 of a standard deviation higher on pre-algebra/algebra tests than students randomly assigned to traditional instruction. We hypothesize that the effectiveness arises from increased individualized instruction as the effects appear larger for students in larger classes and in classes with high student absentee rates. Creation-Date: 2008-07 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp012v23vt42j/4/27ers.pdf Number: 1060 Classification-JEL: H75, I21, I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:27 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Cecilia Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Lisa Barrow Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Barrow Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Title: School Vouchers and Student Achievement: Recent Evidence, Remaining Questions Abstract: In this article, we review the empirical evidence on the impact of education vouchers on student achievement, and briefly discuss the evidence from other forms of school choice. The best research to date finds relatively small achievement gains for students offered education vouchers, most of which are not statistically different from zero. Further, what little evidence exists regarding the potential for public schools to respond to increased competitive pressure generated by vouchers suggests that one should remain wary that large improvements would result from a more comprehensive voucher system. The evidence from other forms of school choice is also consistent with this conclusion. Many questions remain unanswered, however, including whether vouchers have longer-run impacts on outcomes such as graduation rates, college enrollment, or even future wages, and whether vouchers might nevertheless provide a costneutral alternative to our current system of public education provision at the elementary and secondary school level. Creation-Date: 2008-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01z316q1622/4/28ers.pdf Number: 1103 Classification-JEL: I21, I22 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:28 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Stephanie Riegg Cellini Author-X-Name-First: Stephanie Author-X-Name-Last: Riegg Cellini Author-Workplace-Name: George Washington University Author-Name: Fernando Ferreira Author-X-Name-First: Fernando Author-X-Name-Last: Ferreira Author-Workplace-Name: University of Pennsylvania and NBER Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: The Value of School Facilities: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of voter-approved school bond issues on school district balance sheets, local housing prices, and student achievement. We draw on the unique characteristics of California's system of school finance to obtain clean identification of bonds? causal effects, comparing districts in which school bond referenda passed or failed by narrow margins. We extend the traditional regression discontinuity (RD) design to account for the dynamic nature of bond referenda, since the probability of future proposals depends on the outcomes of past elections. By law, bond revenues can be used only for school facilities projects. We find that bond funds indeed stick exclusively in the capital account, with no effect on current expenditures or other revenues. Our housing market estimates indicate that California school districts under-invest in school facilities: passing a referendum causes immediate, sizable increases in home prices, implying a willingness-to-pay on the part of marginal homebuyers of $1.50 or more for each $1 of facility spending. These effects do not appear to be driven by changes in the income or racial composition of homeowners, and the school bond impact on test scores cannot explain more than a small portion of the total housing price effect. Creation-Date: 2008-11 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01tb09j569s/4/29ers.pdf Number: 1104 Classification-JEL: C23, H21, H41, H71, H75, I22, R13 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:29 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lisa Barrow Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Barrow Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Author-Name: Lashawn Richburg-Hayes Author-X-Name-First: Lashawn Author-X-Name-Last: Richburg-Hayes Author-Workplace-Name: MDRC Author-Name: Cecilia E. Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Thomas Brock Author-X-Name-First: Thomas Author-X-Name-Last: Brock Author-Workplace-Name: MDRC Title: Paying for Performance: The Education Impacts of a Community College Scholarship Program for Low-income Adults Abstract: We evaluate the effect of performance-based incentive programs on educational outcomes for community college students from a random assignment experiment at three campuses. Incentive payments over two semesters were tied to meeting two conditions - enrolling at least half time and maintaining a C or better grade point average. Eligibility increased the likelihood of enrolling in the second semester after random assignment and total number of credits earned. Over two years, program group students completed nearly 40 percent more credits. We find little evidence that program eligibility changed types of courses taken but some evidence of increased academic performance and effort. Creation-Date: 2012-02 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01qz20ss53s/4/30ers.pdf Number: 1382 Classification-JEL: I200, I210, I230, J240 Keywords: education, incentives, college, community college, academic performance Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:30 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Joshua D. Angrist Author-X-Name-First: Joshua Author-X-Name-Last: Angrist Author-Workplace-Name: MIT and NBER Author-Name: Jonathan Guryan Author-X-Name-First: Jonathan Author-X-Name-Last: Guryan Author-Workplace-Name: University of Chicago and NBER Title: Does Teacher Testing Raise Teacher Quality? Evidence from State Certification Requirements Abstract: Most US states require public school teachers to pass a standardized test for licensure. Although any such entry barrier is likely to raise wages, the theoretical effects on teacher quality are ambiguous. Testing places a floor on measured skills, but imposes costs, which may especially deter high-quality applicants. Moreover, testing may disqualify applicants that schools would otherwise hire. Estimates using Schools and Staffing Survey data suggest state-mandated testing is associated with increases in teacher wages, though we find no evidence of a corresponding increase in quality as measured by educational background. Testing also appears to reduce the fraction of new teachers who are Hispanic. Creation-Date: 2007-05 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01v979v310x/4/21ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I21, J24, J44 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:21 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lisa Barrow Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Barrow Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Cecilia Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Financial Incentives and Educational Investment: The Impact of Performance-Based Scholarships on Student Time Use Abstract: Using survey data from a field experiment in the U.S., we test whether and how financial incentives change student behavior. We find that providing post-secondary scholarships with incentives to meet performance, enrollment, and/or attendance benchmarks induced students to devote more time to educational activities and to increase the quality of effort toward, and engagement with, their studies; students also allocated less time to other activities such as work and leisure. While the incentives did not generate impacts after eligibility had ended, they also did not decrease students’ inherent interest or enjoyment in learning. Finally, we present evidence suggesting that students were motivated more by the incentives provided than simply the effect of giving additional money, and that students who were arguably less time-constrained were more responsive to the incentives as were those who were plausibly more myopic. Overall these results indicate that well-designed incentives can induce post-secondary students to increase investments in educational attainment. Creation-Date: 2013-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01rf55z7823/3/32ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: D03, I20, J24 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:32 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Joanne W. Golann Author-X-Name-First: Joanne Author-X-Name-Last: Golann Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Kerstin Gentsch Author-X-Name-First: Kerstin Author-X-Name-Last: Gentsch Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Chang Y. Chung Author-X-Name-First: Chang Author-X-Name-Last: Chung Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Does the "Mismatch Hypothesis" Apply to Hispanic Students at Selective Colleges? Creation-Date: 2012-11 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01vt150j30r/6/31ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I23, I24 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:31 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Alfonso Flores-Lagunes Author-X-Name-First: Alfonso Author-X-Name-Last: Flores-Lagunes Author-Workplace-Name: University of Arizona Author-Name: Audrey Light Author-X-Name-First: Audrey Author-X-Name-Last: Light Author-Workplace-Name: Ohio State University Title: Interpreting Sheepskin Effects in the Returns to Education Abstract: Researchers often identify sheepskin effects by including degree attainment (D) and years of schooling (S) in a wage model, yet the source of independent variation in these measures is not well understood. We argue that S is negatively correlated with ability among degree-holders because the most able graduate the fastest, while a negative correlation exists among dropouts because the most able benefit from increased schooling. Using data from the NLSY79, we find that wages decrease with S among degree-holders and increase with S among dropouts. The independent variation in S and D needed for identification is not due to reporting error. Instead, we conclude that skill varies systematically among individuals with a given degree status. Creation-Date: File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01qj72p717z/4/22ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I26 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:22 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Albert H. Yoon Author-X-Name-First: Albert Author-X-Name-Last: Yoon Author-Workplace-Name: Northwestern University Title: Affirmative Action in Law School Admissions: What Do Racial Preferences Do? Abstract: The Supreme Court has held repeatedly that race-based preferences in public university admissions are constitutional. But debates over the wisdom of affirmative action continue. Opponents of these policies argue that preferences are detrimental to minority students—that by placing these students in environments that are too competitive, affirmative action hurts their academic and career outcomes. This article examines the so-called "mismatch" hypothesis in the context of law school admissions. We discuss the existing scholarship on mismatch, identifying methodological limitations of earlier attempts to measure the effects of affirmative action. Using a simpler, more robust analytical strategy, we find that the data are inconsistent with large mismatch effects, particularly with respect to employment outcomes. While moderate mismatch effects are possible, they are concentrated among the students with the weakest entering academic credentials. To put our estimates in context, we simulate admissions under race-blind rules. Eliminating affirmative action would dramatically reduce the number of black law students, particularly at the most selective schools. Many potentially successful black law students would be excluded, far more than the number who would be induced to pass the bar exam by the elimination of mismatch effects. Accordingly, we find that eliminating affirmative action would dramatically reduce the production of black lawyers. Creation-Date: 2007-03 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp0102870v90z/4/20ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I23, I24, J15 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:20 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Melissa Clark Author-X-Name-First: Melissa Author-X-Name-Last: Clark Author-Workplace-Name: Mathematica Policy Research Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach Author-X-Name-First: Diane Author-X-Name-Last: Whitmore Schanzenbach Author-Workplace-Name: University of Chicago Title: Selection Bias in College Admissions Test Scores Abstract: Data from the two leading college admissions tests—the SAT and the ACT—can provide a valuable measures of student achievement, but bias due to the non-representativeness of test takers is an important concern. We take advantage of a policy reform in Illinois that made the ACT a graduation requirement to identify the within- and across-school selectivity of ACT takers. In contrast to cross-sectional or time-differenced estimates, estimates based on the Illinois policy change indicate substantial positive selection into test participation both across and within schools. Despite this, school-level averages of observed scores are extremely highly correlated with average latent scores, as noise introduced by across-school variation in sample selectivity is small relative to the underlying signal. As a result, in most contexts the use of observed school mean test scores in place of latent means understates the degree of between school variation in average achievement but is otherwise unlikely to lead to misleading conclusions. Creation-Date: 2007-01 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp013t945q80s/4/19ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I23, C24, I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:19 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Cecilia Elena Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Constrained After College: Student Loans and Early Career Occupational Choices Abstract: In the early 2000s, a highly selective university introduced a no-loans policy under which the loan component of financial aid awards was replaced with grants. We use this natural experiment to identify the causal effect of student debt on employment outcomes. In the standard life-cycle model, young people make optimal educational investment decisions if they are able to finance these investments by borrowing against future earnings; the presence of debt has only income effects on future decisions. We find that debt causes graduates to choose substantially higher-salary jobs and reduces the probability that students choose low-paid public interest jobs. We also find some evidence that debt affects students academic decisions during college. Our estimates suggest that recent college graduates are not life-cycle agents. Two potential explanations are that young workers are credit constrained or that they are averse to holding debt. We find suggestive evidence that debt reduces students donations to the institution in the years after they graduate and increases the likelihood that a graduate will default on a pledge made during her senior year; we argue this result is more likely consistent with credit constraints than with debt aversion. Creation-Date: 2007-05 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp017h149p90s/4/18ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: D14, D91, I22, I23, D91, H52, I20, J24 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:18 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Susan Dynarski Author-X-Name-First: Susan Author-X-Name-Last: Dynarski Author-Workplace-Name: Harvard University and NBER Title: Building the Stock of College-Educated Labor Abstract: Half of college students drop out before completing a degree. These low rates of college completion among young people should be viewed in the context of slow future growth in the educated labor force, as the well-educated baby boomers retire and new workers are drawn from populations with historically low education levels. This paper establishes a causal link between college costs and the share of workers with a college education. I exploit the introduction of two large tuition subsidy programs, finding that they increase the share of the population that completes a college degree by three percentage points. The effects are strongest among women, with white women increasing degree receipt by 3.2 percentage points and the share of nonwhite women attempting or completing any years of college increasing by six and seven percentage points, respectively. A cost-benefit analysis indicates that tuition reduction can be a socially efficient method for increasing college completion. However, even with the offer of free tuition, a large share of students continue to drop out, suggesting that the direct costs of school are not the only impediment to college completion. Creation-Date: 2005-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01w9505049p/4/15ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I21, J24, I22, I28 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:15 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: David Figlio Author-X-Name-First: David Author-X-Name-Last: Figlio Author-Workplace-Name: University of Florida and NBER Author-Name: Cecilia E, Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: Do Accountability and Voucher Threats Improve Low-Performing Schools? Abstract: In this paper we study the effects of the threat of school vouchers and school stigma in Florida on the performance of "low-performing" schools using student-level data from a subset of districts. Estimates of the change in school-level high-stakes test scores from the first year of the reform are consistent with the early results used by the state of Florida to claim large-scale improvements associated with the threat of voucher assignment. However, we also find that much of this estimated effect may be due to other factors. While we estimate a small relative improvement in reading scores on the high-stakes test for voucher-threatened/stigmatized schools, we estimate a much smaller relative improvement on a lower-stakes, nationally norm-referenced, test. Further, the relative gains in reading scores are explained largely by changing student characteristics. We find more evidence for a positive differential effect on math test scores on both the low- and high stakes tests, however, the results from the lower-stakes test appear primarily limited to students in the high-stakes grade. Finally, we find some evidence that the relative improvements following the introduction of the A+ Plan by low-performing schools were more due to the stigma of receiving the low grade rather than the threat of vouchers. Creation-Date: 2004-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp0112579s28m/4/14ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I22 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:14 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Orley Ashenfelter Author-X-Name-First: Orley Author-X-Name-Last: Ashenfelter Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: William J. Collins Author-X-Name-First: William Author-X-Name-Last: Collins Author-Workplace-Name: Vanderbilt University Author-Name: Albert Yoon Author-X-Name-First: Albert Author-X-Name-Last: Yoon Author-Workplace-Name: Northwestern University Title: Evaluating the Role of Brown vs. Board of Education in School Equalization, Desegregation, and the Income of African Americans Abstract: In this paper we study the long-term labor market implications of school resource equalization before Brown and school desegregation after Brown. For cohorts born in the South in the 1920s and 1930s, we find that racial disparities in measurable school characteristics had a substantial influence on black males’ earnings and educational attainment measured in 1970, albeit one that was smaller in the later cohorts. When we examine the income of male workers in 1990, we find that southern-born blacks who finished their schooling just before effective desegregation occurred in the South fared poorly compared to southern-born blacks who followed behind them in school by just a few years. Creation-Date: 2005-05 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp014q77fr38k/4/13ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: J7, I28, N32 Keywords: Discrimination, Schooling , South , NAACP Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:13 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: David Card Author-X-Name-First: David Author-X-Name-Last: Card Author-Workplace-Name: University of California Berkeley and NBER Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: Racial Segregation and the Black-White Test Score Gap Abstract: Racial segregation is often blamed for some of the achievement gap between blacks and whites. We study the effects of school and neighborhood segregation on the relative SAT scores of black students across different metropolitan areas, using large microdata samples for the 1998-2001 test cohorts. Our models include detailed controls for the family background of individual test-takers, school-level controls for selective participation in the test, and city-level controls for racial composition, income, and region. We find robust evidence that the black-white test score gap is higher in more segregated cities. Holding constant family background and other factors, a shift from a fully segregated to a completely integrated city closes about one-quarter of the raw black-white gap in SAT scores. Specifications that distinguish between school and neighborhood segregation suggest that neighborhood segregation has a consistently negative impact but that school segregation has no independent effect (though we cannot reject equality of the two effects). We find similar results using Census-based data on schooling outcomes for youth in different cities. Data on enrollment in honors courses suggest that within-school segregation increases when schools are more highly integrated, potentially offsetting the benefits of school desegregation and accounting for our findings. Creation-Date: 2006-02 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp018g84mm29g/1/12ers_revised.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I21, J15, H73, I20, J18, J24 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:12a Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lisa Barrow Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Barrow Author-Workplace-Name: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Author-Name: Cecilia E. Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Title: Do Returns to Schooling Differ by Race and Ethnicity? Creation-Date: 2005-01 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01j098zb13b/4/11ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I21, J15, J24, J31 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:11 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Does Competition Among Public Schools Benefit Students and Taxpayers? A Comment on Hoxby Creation-Date: 2004-12 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01ns064605m/4/10ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: H73, I21, L33, H70, I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:10 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Alan B. Krueger Author-X-Name-First: Alan Author-X-Name-Last: Krueger Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Jesse Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Sarah Turner Author-X-Name-First: Sarah Author-X-Name-Last: Turner Author-Workplace-Name: University of Virginia and NBER Title: Race, Income and College in 25 Years: The Continuing Legacy of Segregation and Discrimination Abstract: The rate at which racial gaps in pre-collegiate academic achievement can plausibly be expected to erode is a matter of great interest and much uncertainty. In her opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger, Supreme Court Justice O'Connor took a firm stand: "We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary ..." We evaluate the plausibility of Justice O'Connor’s forecast, by projecting the racial composition and SAT distribution of the elite college applicant pool 25 years from now. We focus on two important margins: First, changes in the black-white relative distribution of income, and second, narrowing of the test score gap between black and white students within family income groups. Other things equal, progress on each margin can be expected to reduce the racial gap in qualifications among students pursuing admission to the most selective colleges. Under plausible assumptions, however, projected economic progress will not yield nearly as much racial diversity as is currently obtained with race-sensitive admissions. Simulations that assume additional increases in black students’ test scores, beyond those deriving from changes in family income, yield more optimistic estimates. In this scenario, race-blind rules approach the black representation among admitted students seen today at moderately selective institutions, but continue to fall short at the most selective schools. Maintaining a critical mass of African American students at the most selective institutions would require policies at the elementary and secondary levels or changes in parenting practices that deliver unprecedented success in narrowing the test score gap in the next quarter century. Creation-Date: 2004-11 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01sj139197s/4/9ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I20, J15, J70 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:9 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Roy Roy Author-X-Name-First: Roy Author-X-Name-Last: Roy Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Impact of School Finance Reform on Resource Equalization and Academic Performance: Evidence from Michigan Abstract: The state of Michigan radically altered its school finance system in 1994. This was a legislature-led reform that took place somewhat unexpectedly and without the intervention of any courts. The new plan, called Proposal A, significantly increased state aid to the lowest spending districts. I investigate the impact of Proposal A on distribution of resources and educational outcomes in Michigan. In the process this paper offers a first detailed look at the effectiveness of a legislature-led school finance reform. I find that Proposal A was successful in reducing inter-district spending disparities. The effect on academic performance is more modest, though there is evidence of significant gains by the lowest spending districts in state tests. Creation-Date: 2004-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01x920fw884/1/8ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: H4, H7, I2 Keywords: School Finance, Inequality a nd Redistribution, Academic Performance, Michigan Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:8 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Lisa Sonbonmatsu Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Sonbonmatsu Author-Workplace-Name: NBER Author-Name: Kling R. Kling Author-X-Name-First: Kling Author-X-Name-Last: Kling Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Greg J. Duncan Author-X-Name-First: Greg Author-X-Name-Last: Duncan Author-Workplace-Name: Northwestern University Author-Name: Jeanne Brooks-Gunn Author-X-Name-First: Jeanne Author-X-Name-Last: Brooks-Gunn Author-Workplace-Name: Columbia University Title: Neighborhoods and Academic Achievement: Results From the Moving to Opportunity Experiment Abstract: Families originally living in public housing were assigned housing vouchers by lottery, encouraging moves to neighborhoods with lower poverty rates. Although we had hypothesized that reading and math test scores would be higher among children in families offered vouchers (with larger effects among younger children), the results show no significant effects on test scores for any age group among over 5000 children ages 6 to 20 in 2002 who were assessed four to seven years after randomization. Program impacts on school environments were considerably smaller than impacts on neighborhoods, suggesting that achievement-related benefits from improved neighborhood environments are small. Creation-Date: 2004-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp011z40ks860/4/7ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I28; I38 Keywords: neighborhood effects; social experiment; education Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:7 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Walling L. Walling Author-X-Name-First: Walling Author-X-Name-Last: Walling Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Espenshade J. Espenshade Author-X-Name-First: Espenshade Author-X-Name-Last: Espenshade Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Chang Y. Chung Author-X-Name-First: Chang Author-X-Name-Last: Chung Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Broadening the Context of Affirmative Action: The Role of Athletics and Legacy in College Admission Decisions Abstract: This study proposes a wider view of affirmative action than the one generally given in the literature on college admission. While discussions of affirmative action tend to focus solely on race, there are other characteristics of college applicants that could also fall under the rubric of affirmative action because of the "bonus" they confer. Our study examines the ways in which two important factors in college admission decisions, athletics and legacy, give an advantage to particular students. It is widely accepted that admission officers give preference to recruited athletes and to those who are members of a family line at a particular institution. This paper quantifies the extent of this advantage. It also asks which applicants are benefiting most from these preferences. Logistic regression analyses of admission decisions at three selective universities show that the advantages given by athletic talent and legacy status are differentially available among otherwise similarly qualified students. Creation-Date: 2003-03 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01js956f85c/1/6.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I23, I24, I28, J15, L83 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:6 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Cecilia E. Rouse Author-X-Name-First: Cecilia Author-X-Name-Last: Rouse Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Alan B. Krueger Author-X-Name-First: Alan Author-X-Name-Last: Krueger Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Lisa Markman Author-X-Name-First: Lisa Author-X-Name-Last: Markman Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Putting Computerized Instruction to the Test: A Randomized Evaluation of a "Scientifically-based" Reading Program Abstract: Although schools across the country are investing heavily in computers in the classroom, there is surprisingly little evidence that they actually improve student achievement. In this paper we present results from a randomized study of a well-defined use of computers in schools: a popular instructional computer program, known as Fast For Word, which is designed to improve language and reading skills. We assess the impact of the program using four different measures of language and reading ability. Our estimates suggest that while use of the computer program may improve some aspects of students’ language skills, it does not appear that these gains translate into a broader measure of language acquisition or into actual reading skills. Creation-Date: 2003-04 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp015q47rn76x/1/5ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I21, I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:5 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Alan B. Krueger Author-X-Name-First: Alan Author-X-Name-Last: Krueger Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Author-Name: Pei Zhu Author-X-Name-First: Pei Author-X-Name-Last: Zhu Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Rejoinder to Peterson and Howell Creation-Date: 2003-10 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01f4752g762/1/4ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I22 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:4 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Jesse M. Rothstein Author-X-Name-First: Jesse Author-X-Name-Last: Rothstein Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Good Principals or Good Peers? Parental Valuation of School Characteristics, Tiebout Equilibrium, and the Incentive Effects of Competition among Jurisdictions Abstract: School choice policies aim to improve school productivity by rewarding administrators of schools that parents prefer. Parental choice may not create incentives for effective administration if parents prefer schools with desirable peer groups to those with inferior peers but better policies and instruction. I examine families revealed preferences in Tiebout choice residential location markets for evidence on the importance of school effectiveness to parental choices. In a multicommunity-style model, wealthy parents cluster together in any Tiebout equilibrium, and cluster near effective schools if effectiveness is an important component of school desirability. Moreover, decentralization of educational governance choice among several local school districts facilitates this residential sorting. Thus, if parents strongly prefer effective schools, average income correlates with school effectiveness in high-choice-market equilibrium. I use a large sample of SAT-takers to examine the joint distribution of student background and outcomes across schools within metropolitan housing markets that differ in the structure of educational governance. I find strong evidence that choice facilitates residential sorting, but little evidence of the sorting that is predicted if parents choose neighborhoods for school characteristics other than peer groups. Moreover, average SAT scores are no higher in high-choice than in low-choice markets. These results suggest caution about the potential to induce improvements in educational productivity through expansions of parental choice. Creation-Date: 2003-10 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01f7623c618/4/3ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: H73, I21, I28 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:3 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Katharine G. Abraham Author-X-Name-First: Katharine Author-X-Name-Last: Abraham Author-Workplace-Name: University of Maryland Author-Name: Melissa A. Clark Author-X-Name-First: Melissa Author-X-Name-Last: Clark Author-Workplace-Name: Mathematica Policy Research Title: Financial Aid and Students' College Decisions: Evidence from the District of Columbia's Tuition Assistance Grant Program Abstract: The District of Columbia s Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG), instituted in 1999, allows DC residents to attend public colleges and universities throughout the country at considerably lower in-state tuition rates. We use the sharp decline in the price of public colleges and universities faced by residents of the District of Columbia under DCTAG to estimate the effects of price on students college application and enrollment decisions. Using a sample of students from nearby large cities as a control group, we find that the number and share of DC residents applying to four-year colleges increased substantially under the program, and students were considerably more likely to apply to colleges that were eligible for the subsidy. Freshmen enrollments of DC residents also increased substantially at eligible institutions, although the effect on overall freshmen enrollments of DC residents was fairly modest, suggesting that in its first year the subsidy had more of an impact on where students chose to attend than on whether they chose to attend college at all.The District of Columbia s Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG), instituted in 1999, allows DC residents to attend public colleges and universities throughout the country at considerably lower in-state tuition rates. We use the sharp decline in the price of public colleges and universities faced by residents of the District of Columbia under DCTAG to estimate the effects of price on students college application and enrollment decisions. Using a sample of students from nearby large cities as a control group, we find that the number and share of DC residents applying to four-year colleges increased substantially under the program, and students were considerably more likely to apply to colleges that were eligible for the subsidy. Freshmen enrollments of DC residents also increased substantially at eligible institutions, although the effect on overall freshmen enrollments of DC residents was fairly modest, suggesting that in its first year the subsidy had more of an impact on where students chose to attend than on whether they chose to attend college at all. Creation-Date: 2003-08 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01k0698753h/4/2_ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:2 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Krueger, Alan B. Author-X-Name-First: Krueger, Alan B. Author-X-Name-Last: Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University and NBER Author-Name: Zhu, Pei Author-X-Name-First: Zhu, Pei Author-X-Name-Last: Author-Workplace-Name: Princeton University Title: Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment Abstract: This paper reexamines data from the New York City school choice program, the largest and best implemented private school scholarship experiment yet conducted. In the experiment, low-income public school students in grades K-4 were eligible to participate in a series of lotteries for a private school scholarship in May 1997. Data were collected from students and their parents at baseline, and in the Spring of each of the next three years. Students with missing baseline test scores, which encompasses all those who were initially in Kindergarten and 11 percent of those initially in grades 1-4, were excluded from previous analyses of achievement, even though these students were tested in the follow-up years. In principle, random assignment would be expected to lead treatment status to be uncorrelated with all baseline characteristics. Including students with missing baseline test scores increases the sample size by 44 percent. For African American students, the only group to show a significant, positive effect of vouchers on achievement in past studies, the difference in average follow-up test scores between the treatment group (those offered a voucher) and control group (those not offered a voucher) becomes statistically insignificant at the .05 level and much smaller if the full sample is used. In addition, the effect of vouchers is found to be sensitive to the particular way race/ethnicity was defined. Previously, race was assigned according to the racial/ethnic category of the child's mother, and parents who marked "other" and wrote in Black/Hispanic were typically coded as non-Black and non-Hispanic. If children with a Black father are added to the sample of children with a Black mother, the effect of vouchers is small and statistically insignificant at conventional levels. Creation-Date: 2003-04 File-URL: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/jspui/bitstream/88435/dsp01pk02c976w/4/1_ers.pdf Number: Classification-JEL: I20 Handle: RePEc:pri:edures:1