Simple and Credible Value-Added Estimation Using Centralized Assignment
Many large urban school districts match students to schools using algorithms that incorporate an element of random assignment. We introduce two simple empirical strategies to harness this randomization for measuring the causal effects of individual schools. In applications to data from Denver and New York City, we find that our models yield highly reliable school effectiveness […]
More...What prioritizing worse-off minority groups for COVID-19 vaccines means quantitatively: practical, legal, and ethical implications
To help mitigate structural disadvantage, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) framework for equitably allocating COVID-19 vaccines proposed increasing allocations to worse-off minorities through the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). However, the extent of benefit is unknown. Moreover, since SVI includes a race variable and could face legal challenges, it is desirable to […]
More...Charter Schools and Suspensions: Evidence from Massachusetts Chapter 222
Mayara Felix evaluates the impact of Massachusetts Chapter 222—a policy that limited charter schools’ ability to suspend students—on student suspensions and test scores. Comparing charter attendance effects before vs. after Chapter 222, she find that Chapter 222 reduced charter suspensions by roughly 10 percentage points, but had no impact on charter learning. The author then […]
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