Charter Schools and the Road to College Readiness: The Effects on College Preparation, Attendance and Choice
Boston’s over-subscribed charter schools generate impressive gains on tests taken through the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). Lottery estimates show that each year spent at a charter middle school boosts MCAS scores by about a fifth of a standard deviation in English Language Arts (ELA) and more than a third of a standard deviation in …
More...A Structural Model of Charter School Choice and Academic Achievement
Lottery-based instrumental variables estimates show that Boston’s charter schools substantially increase test scores and close racial achievement gaps among their applicants. A key policy question is whether charter expansion is likely to produce similar effects on a larger scale. This paper uses a structural model of school choice and academic achievement to extrapolate from IV …
More...When Opportunity Knocks, Who Answers? New Evidence on College Achievement Awards
We evaluate the effects of academic achievement awards for first and second-year college students studying at a Canadian commuter college. The award scheme offered linear cash incentives for course grades above 70. Awards were paid every term. Program participants also had access to peer advising by upperclassmen. Program engagement appears to have been high but …
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