Education Commons^™

Institutional Merit-Based Aid And Student Departure: A Longitudinal Analysis, Jacob P. K. Gross, Don Hossler, Mary B. Ziskin, Matthew S. Berry

Mary B. Ziskin

The use of merit criteria in awarding institutional aid has grown considerably and, some argue, is supplanting need as the central factor in awarding aid. Concurrently, the accountability movement in higher education has placed greater emphasis on retention and graduation as indicators of institutional success and quality. In this context, this study explores the relationship between institutional merit aid and student departure from a statewide system of higher education. We found that, once we account for self-selection to the extent possible, there was no significant relationship. By contrast, need-based aid was consistently related to decreased odds of departure.

Educational Jujitsu: How School Finance Lawyers Learned To Turn Standards And Accountability Into Dollars, Michael Heise

Michael Heise

No abstract provided.

Effects Of The Pre-K Program Of Kalamazoo County Ready 4s On Kindergarten Entry Test Scores: Estimates Based On Data From The Fall Of 2011 And The Fall Of 2012, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

This paper uses a regression discontinuity model to examine the effects on kindergarten entrance assessments of the Kalamazoo County Ready 4s (KC Ready 4s) program, a half-day pre-K program for four-year-olds in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. The results are based on test scores and other characteristics of up to 220 children participating in KC Ready 4s, with data coming from both 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 participants in the program. The estimates find consistently statistically significant effects of this pre-K program on improving entering kindergartners’ math test scores. Some estimates also suggest marginally statistically significant effects of KC Ready 4s on vocabulary test …

Earnings Benefits Of Tulsa's Pre-K Program For Different Income Groups, Timothy J. Bartik, William Gormley, Shirley Adelstein

Timothy J. Bartik

This paper estimates future adult earnings effects associated with a universal pre-K program in Tulsa, Oklahoma. These informed projections help to compensate for the lack of long-term data on universal pre-K programs, while using metrics that relate test scores to valued social benefits. Combining test-score data from the fall of 2006 and recent findings by Chetty et al. (forthcoming) on the relationship between kindergarten test scores and adult earnings, we generate plausible projections of adult earnings effects and a partial cost-benefit analysis of the Tulsa pre-K program. We find substantial projected earnings benefits for program participants who differ by income …

Distributional Effects Of Early Childhood Programs And Business Incentives And Their Implications For Policy, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

This is a draft of a chapter of a planned book, Preschool and Jobs: Human Development as Economic Development, and Vice Versa [subsequently published as Investing in Kids, 2011]. This book analyzes early childhood programs effects on regional economic development. This chapter considers the effects of early childhood programs and business incentives on the income distribution. A key issue is whether early childhood programs should be targeted on the poor, or made universally available for free. Relevant considerations in addressing this issue include how benefits of early childhood programs benefit with family income, and the political feasibility of targeted versus …

Economic Development Benefits Of Preschool Expansion In Kalamazoo County, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

This paper examines the effects of preschool expansion in Kalamazoo County on the county's economic development. Effects on the county's economic development are defined as effects on the employment and earnings of county residents. The estimated effects are found to be large relative to the costs. In addition to their relevance to Kalamazoo County, these simulations illustrate how the analysis presented in two previous papers (Bartik 2006, 2008) can be done for an individual county or metropolitan area. Such simulations may be of interest to other counties or metropolitan areas that are considering expansions in early childhood programs.

The Kalamazoo Promise As A Model For An American Promise, Timothy J. Bartik, Michelle Miller-Adams

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Why Universal Preschool Is Really A Labor Market Program, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Preschool And Prosperity, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Substantial research shows that high-quality early childhood education programs have a large economic payoff. This payoff is increased earnings for former child participants, increased earnings for parents, and increased earnings for all workers when average worker skills improve. A program package of universal pre-K, combined with child care and parenting support for all low-income families, would cost $80 billion annually. But each dollar invested in this package would yield future economic benefits of over 10 times as great.

Why Investing In Kids Makes Sense For Local Economies, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

How Policymakers Should Deal With The Delayed Benefits Of Early Childhood Programs, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

This is a draft of a chapter of a planned book, Preschool and Jobs: Human Development as Economic Development, and Vice Versa [subsequently published as Investing in Kids, 2011]. This chapter considers a problem with early childhood programs: their effects on earnings are mostly long-delayed. The delay occurs because most earnings effects are on former child participants. The chapter considers appropriate discounting of benefits and how the upfront costs of early childhood programs can be delayed or reduced. It also addresses how the long-run benefits of early childhood programs can be moved up or increased.

The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy J. Bartik, Marta Lachowska

Timothy J. Bartik

In order to study whether college scholarships can be an effective tool in raising students’ performance in secondary school, we use one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that resembles a quasi-experiment. The surprise announcement of the scholarship created a large change in expected college tuition costs that varied across different groups of students based on past enrollment decisions. This variation is arguably exogenous to unobserved student characteristics. We estimate the effects of this change by a set of “difference-in-differences” regressions where we compare the change in student outcomes in secondary school across time for different student “length of enrollment” groups. …

Preschool And Economic Development, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

The Short-Term Effects Of The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship On Student Outcomes, Timothy J. Bartik, Marta Lachowska

Marta Lachowska

In order to study whether college scholarships can be an effective tool in raising students’ performance in secondary school, we use one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that resembles a quasi-experiment. The surprise announcement of the scholarship created a large change in expected college tuition costs that varied across different groups of students based on past enrollment decisions. This variation is arguably exogenous to unobserved student characteristics. We estimate the effects of this change by a set of “difference-in-differences” regressions where we compare the change in student outcomes in secondary school across time for different student “length of enrollment” groups. …

A Second Look At Enrollment Changes After The Kalamazoo Promise, Brad J. Hershbein

Brad J. Hershbein

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Charter School Attendance On Student Achievement In Michigan, Randall W. Eberts, Kevin Hollenbeck

Randall W. Eberts

Proponents of school reform have argued that charter schools and vouchers can provide adequate market pressure to improve the performance of traditional public schools. While the number of charter schools and student enrollment have burgeoned, relatively little attention has been paid to their effects on student achievement. Proponents of charter schools suggest a direct effect on student achievement through the restructuring of teaching and learning processes and an indirect effect through peer effects on learning and through the market forces of competition. Of course, competitive pressures may result in higher achievement in traditional public schools as well. This paper focuses …

Mass Media Created Stereotypes: Influence On Student Learning, Nasser Razek, Ghada M. Awad

Nasser A Razek

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the case of Saudi students at Riversdale State University (a pseudonym) with regard to the influence of the stereotype threat (McGlone & Aronson, 2007) created by TV and newspaper coverage when presenting images of Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, or the Muslim world. The study also aims at revealing the effects that the perception of the aforementioned stereotype can have on the academic success, social integration, and persistence of Saudi students. The research follows the qualitative approach to reveal the human aspects of the case and the degree of intensity that …

Use And Effectiveness Of Formal Course And Career Planning Forms In Secondary Schools In The Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, Kevin Hollenbeck, Noyna Debburman

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

School-To-Work Programs To Facilitate Youth Employment And Learning, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

Development Of Core Indicators Of The Impact Of Career Preparation In The South Central Michigan Works! Region, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

The Returns To Education And Basic Skills Training For Individuals With Poor Health Or Disability, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel

Kevin Hollenbeck

This paper examines linkages between disability and health status and the returns to education and basic skills training. It bases analyses on two separate data sources: wave 3 from the 1993 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). The data sets have been used to estimate standard wage equations with education and basic skills training among the independent variables. The NALS data set allows us to control for prose, quantitative, and document literacy. The wage equations rely on Heckit corrections for labor force participation, and we stratify by sex. …

Impact Of Charter School Attendance On Student Achievement In Michigan, Randall W. Eberts, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

Proponents of school reform have argued that charter schools and vouchers can provide adequate market pressure to improve the performance of traditional public schools. While the number of charter schools and student enrollment have burgeoned, relatively little attention has been paid to their effects on student achievement. Proponents of charter schools suggest a direct effect on student achievement through the restructuring of teaching and learning processes and an indirect effect through peer effects on learning and through the market forces of competition. Of course, competitive pressures may result in higher achievement in traditional public schools as well. This paper focuses …

Does Charter School Attendance Improve Test Scores?: Comments And Reactions On The Arizona Achievement Study, Christopher Nelson, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

In a recent report, Solmon, Paark, and Garcia (2001) seek to identify the impact of attending charter schools on student achievement using data from Arizona. Based on a sophisticated statistical analysis, these authors report that charter school attendance increases test score gains of students. This note raises some questions about the interpretation of the results reported and some questions about the empirical approach and underlying data. First, the report relies on a 2-x-2 evaluation design with type of school (charter or traditional) attended in a base year as the rows and type of school in the ensuing year as the …

An Evaluation Of The Ohio Jobs Student Retention Program, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

Education And The Economy, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.

Contexto Del Desarrollo De La Educación Superior En América Latina, Roberto Rodríguez-Gómez

Roberto Rodríguez-Gómez

El ensayo discute los siguientes retos estructurales para las universidades de América Latina: a) la dinámica demográfica y el reto de la cobertura, b) la dinámica del empleo y el reto de la empleabilidad, c) la distribución del ingreso y el reto de la equidad, d) los nuevos retos de productividad y competitividad

Pedagogy Of The Dispersed: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of The African Diaspora Phenomenon Through The Human And Social Capital Lens, Charles Kivunja, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

With its origin in Greek where ‘diaspora’ as a noun means ‘a dispersion’ or as a verb means to ‘scatter about’, the term is used in this paper to refer to the dispersion or scattering of Africans from their original African homeland and now live in countries other than their own. Indeed some Africans have dispersed from their own countries to other countries in Africa. For the purposes of this paper our analysis focuses on Africans who live outside Africa. This paper explores the African diaspora phenomenon starting from the commercial extraction of Africans as resources to serve as inputs …

Performanc Pay For Teachers, A Policy Analysis.Docx, Joseph Hoelzle

Joseph Hoelzle

Group-Average Observables As Controls For Sorting On Unobservables When Estimating Group Treatment Effects: The Case Of School And Neighborhood Effects, Joseph G. Altonji, Richard K. Mansfield

Rick Mansfield

We consider the classic problem of estimating group treatment effects when individuals sort based on observed and unobserved characteristics. Using a standard choice model, we show that controlling for group averages of observed individual characteristics potentially absorbs all the across-group variation in unobservable individual characteristics. We use this insight to bound the treatment effect variance of school systems and associated neighborhoods for various outcomes. Across four datasets, our conservative estimates indicate that a 90th versus 10th percentile school system increases high school graduation and college enrollment probabilities by at least 0.047 and 0.11. Other applications include measurement of teacher value-added.

Lived Experiences Of Black Males: “I Am Sick And Tired Of Being Sick And Tired.”, Edward Earl Bell

Dr. Edward E. Bell

The words of Fannie Lou Hamer, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired,” might be the rallying call for some black males across America. Since the killing...