Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Politics and Children’s Books: Evidence from School Library Collections (Working Paper: Updated 10/2/2023) (Accepted: American Educational Research Journal)

The recent spike in book challenges has put school libraries at the center of heated political debates. I investigate the relationship between local politics and school library collections using data on books with controversial content in 6,631 public school libraries. Libraries in conservative areas have fewer titles with LGBTQ+, race/racism, or abortion content and more Christian fiction and discontinued Dr. Seuss titles. This is true even though most libraries have at least some controversial content. I also find that state laws that restrict curricular content are negatively related to some kinds of controversial books. Finally, I present descriptive short-term evidence that book challenges in the 2021-22 school year have had “chilling effects” on the acquisition of new LGBTQ+ titles.

Immigrant Integration in the United States: The Role of Adult English Language Training*. (August 2023). American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. (w/Blake Heller)

While current debates center on whether and how to admit immigrants to the United States, little attention has been paid to interventions designed to help immigrants integrate after they arrive. Public adult education programs are the primary policy lever for building the language skills of the over 23 million adults with limited English proficiency in the United States. We leverage the enrollment lottery of a publicly-funded adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program in Massachusetts to estimate the effects of English language training on voting behavior and employer-reported earnings. Attending ESOL classes more than doubles rates of voter registration and increases annual earnings by $2,400 (56%). We estimate that increased tax revenue from earnings gains fully pay for program costs over time, generating a 6% annual return for taxpayers. Our results demonstrate the social value of post-migration investments in the human capital of adult immigrants.

The Effect of Charter School Openings on Traditional Public Schools in North Carolina and Massachusetts*. (May 2022). American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.

The rapid expansion of charter schools in the U.S. has fueled concerns about their impact on the traditional public schools. I estimate the effect of charter school openings on traditional public schools in Massachusetts and North Carolina by comparing schools near actual charter sites to those near proposed charter sites that were never ultimately occupied. I find that charter openings reduce public school enrollment by around 5 percent. I find no impact of charter openings on student achievement in math or ELA, and my 95 percent confidence interval rules out effects larger than 0.05 standard deviations in either direction. I find no effect of charter openings on attendance and suspensions.

*Links to prior versions of manuscript. Go to journal for most up-to-date version.

Working Papers

The Effect of Mississippi’s Test-Based Promotion Policy (w/Marcus Winters)

We apply a regression discontinuity design to investigate the effect of retention under Mississippi’s third grade test-based promotion policy on student outcomes through the sixth grade. Retention led to large improvements in ELA scores, though we find no significant impacts in math. The test score impacts are driven by Black and Hispanic students. Retention did not significantly impact attendance rate or the likelihood that a student is later classified as having a disability.

Civic Education, Civic Engagement, and K-12 Schools [In progress]

I am working on a series of project that consider how public schools contribute to civic engagement.  For these projects, I am linking together statewide K-12 education records to birth records and national voting records. My research will look at school- and teacher contributions to civic engagement, relationships between parental and child voting, and whether civic education classes and coursework relate to long-term voting behavior.

Who benefits from the GED? New regression discontinuity evidence from Massachusetts. (w/Blake Heller)

A mature body of research has examined the labor market returns to passing the GED, typically finding modest (or negligible) benefits for the individual. In this study, we use a regression discontinuity research design to estimate the impact of obtaining the GED on postsecondary outcomes for two self-selected groups of test-takers in Massachusetts: high school dropouts who do and do not enroll in publicly funded adult basic education (ABE) classes. In contrast with previous work, we find that earning a GED credential substantially increases enrollment and persistence in postsecondary education for ABE students who marginally pass the GED, but find no such effects for dropouts who do not participate in ABE. Specifically, our IV estimates indicate that earning a GED increases the likelihood that ABE participants ever enroll in college by 33.4-55.8 percentage points and increases enrollment for four or more quarters by 25.4-33.7 percentage points, depending on the specification. We hypothesize that although ABE students are negatively selected in terms of academic skills, they are positively selected on dimensions of non-cognitive skills and motivation relative to non-ABE test-takers. Our findings highlight a policy-relevant population of GED test-takers for whom earning a GED may be particularly beneficial and furthers our understanding of who does and does not benefit from this credential.

Policy Writing and Reports

New Evidence on Trickle-Down and Trickle-Up Influences in Civic Engagement. (2023). Sandra Day O’Connor Institute Policy Brief.

Politics and School Libraries: What Shapes Students’ Access to Controversial Content. (2023). Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard.

What Can State and Local Leaders Do for Immigrants in Their Communities Right Now? Center for Growth and Opportunity. (w/Blake Heller)

Charter School Authorizing in California. Technical Report. Getting Down to Facts II.  (2018). Policy Analysis for California Education, PACE. (w/Martin R. West)

Access to Postsecondary Schooling and the GED: New Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Massachusetts. 2017. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Policy Brief. (w/Blake Heller).