Angela K. Dills

Do Parents Value Changes in Test Scores? High Stakes Testing in Texas

Abstract Texas evaluates, accredits, and financially rewards schools based on student test scores. Test scores increased dramatically following this implementation of high stakes testing. This paper examines whether homebuyers valued these test score increases. The results show little or no relation between changes in test scores and changes in total housing value in a district. Strikingly, improved performance on college entrance exams is associated with increased total housing value. Using the college entrance exams as a benchmark, the results on the state test suggest that high stakes testing failed to increase perceived school quality.

NEGATIVE PUBLICITY AND CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Between 1990 and 2007, the number of Catholic schools in the United States decreased by 14% and enrollment diminished by 7%. We generate two measures of publicity of sexual abuse at the diocesan level - public disclosure and news coverage. Dioceses with higher rates of negative publicity had a larger decline in both the number of Catholic schools and overall Catholic school enrollment. We estimate that publicity arising from sexual offenders within the Church explains 5% of the decline in the availability of Catholic schooling.

A Comparative Look at Private and Public Schools' Class Size Determinants.

This paper tests three theories of class size determination: that schools assign better‐behaved students, higher quality teachers, or higher‐achieving students into larger classes. Furthermore, we estimate how these methodologies differ between public and private schools. Using a nationally representative sample from the USA, we show that, within public schools, third‐grade class size is correlated with first‐grade ability and, to a lesser extent, first‐grade behavior. Private schools, however, appear to assign teachers reporting greater control over school policy to larger classes and teachers with more experience to smaller classes. Class size determination is due to uniquely different processes within public and private schools.

Transfer College Quality and Student Performance

We examine how students who transfer credit for an introductory-level course from schools of varying quality perform in a subsequent intermediate-level course, holding constant many student characteristics. We measure college quality by the percent of students admitted, the student faculty ratio, listed tuition, the percentage of professors with Ph.D.s, and SAT scores. Students taking introductory courses at higher quality institutions earn higher grades in their intermediate courses than students transferring from lower quality institutions. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that, for the average student, the benefit from attending a higher quality institution is more than worth the higher tuition. Eastern Economic Journal (2008) 34, 172–189. doi:10.1057/palgrave.eej.9050010

Trends in the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement

Family background has repeatedly proven to be a strong predictor of academic achievement. Using data from three large-scale nationally representative surveys of high school seniors, this paper seeks to document whether the gap between students from high and low socioeconomic situations changed between 1972 and 1992. The analysis avoids some of the disadvantages in the literature on the intergenerational transmission of income by using large-scale studies and by using education as a measure of permanent income. As expected, I find that students from the bottom quartile consistently perform below students from the top quartile of socioeconomic status. More importantly, the gap in standardized test scores between student types increased during the 1970s. Though this gap also increased in the 1980s, how much of that increase is due to increased income inequality is unclear.

Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime

The advent of smart-phone based, ride-sharing applications has revolutionized the vehicle for hire market. Advocates point to the ease of use, lower prices, and shorter wait times compared to hailing a taxi or prearranging limousine service. Others argue that proper government oversight is necessary to protect ride-share passengers from driver error or vehicle parts failures and violence from unlicensed strangers. Using U.S. county-level data from 2007 through 2015, we investigate whether the introduction of the ride-sharing service Uber is associated with changes in fatal vehicle crashes and crime. We find that Uber s entry lowers the rate of DUIs and fatal accidents. For some specifications, we also find declines in arrests for assault and disorderly conduct. Conversely, we observe an increase in vehicle thefts.The advent of smart‐phone based, ride‐sharing applications has revolutionized the vehicle for hire market. Advocates point to the ease of use, lower prices, and shorter wait times compared to hailing a taxi or prearranging limousine service. Others argue that proper government oversight is necessary to protect ride‐share passengers from driver error or vehicle parts failures and violence from unlicensed strangers. Using U.S. county‐level data from 2007 through 2015, we investigate whether the introduction of the ride‐sharing service Uber is associated with changes in fatal vehicle crashes and crime. We find that Ubers entry lowers the rate of DUIs and fatal accidents. For some specifications, we also find declines in arrests for assault and disorderly conduct. Conversely, we observe an increase in vehicle thefts.

Effects of state contraceptive insurance mandates

HIGHLIGHTSFrom 1998 to 2009, many U.S. states adopted contraceptive insurance mandates.Lower out‐of‐pocket costs likely increase use, doctor contact, and sexual activity.These mechanisms may affect birth rates, wantedness, and selection into motherhood.Young Hispanic women reduce births post‐mandate.Mandates likely increase pregnancy wantedness and change selection into motherhood. ABSTRACT Using U.S. Natality data for 1996 through 2009 and an event analysis specification, we investigate the dynamics of the effects of state insurance contraceptive mandates on births and measures of parental investment: prenatal visits, non‐marital childbearing, and risky behaviors during pregnancy. We analyze outcomes separately by age, race, and ethnicity. Among young Hispanic women, we find a 4% decline in the birth rate. There is evidence of a decrease in births to single mothers, consistent with increased wantedness. We also find evidence of selection into motherhood, which could explain the lack of a significant effect on birth outcomes.

The Peculiarities of Public and Private Production: Within School Sorting of Pupils

Economists predict inefficiencies in public relative to private production. This paper examines whether public and private institutions similarly sort students and teachers within schools. We use two nationally representative samples, covering high school and early elementary school. Public schools determine class size by ability and, to a lesser extent, by behavior. Private schools, however, primarily sort teachers, assigning teachers reporting greater control over discipline to larger classes. The endogeneity of class size due to non-random matching of students and teacher within institutions is due to uniquely different processes within public and private schools.

Classroom Diversity and Academic Outcomes

This paper tests how the race and ethnicity of ones college classmates affect academic performance. Incoming students at a Catholic college are assigned to their first semester, team-taught, required course. Statistical tests support that this assignment is uncorrelated with a variety of student characteristics. Controlling for team fixed effects and student characteristics, I find evidence of racial peer effects that differ for white students and students of color. White students earn higher grades in classes with more students of color. Students of color with more nonwhite classmates earn lower grades; these effects occur exclusively among those with lower SAT scores. (JEL I21, I28)

Class Size, Learning, and Knowledge Decay

Students may suffer from learning loss between the spring and fall semesters, an experience often called ‘summer learning loss’ or ‘knowledge decay.’ Although many studies examine knowledge decay in K-12, only a few examine college students. This study expands the literature by examining whether varying class sizes aggravate or dampen the loss of knowledge. We utilize a dataset on college students to analyze how class size affects knowledge decay using paired prerequisite and follow-on courses. We find that when a student takes larger prerequisite classes waiting longer to take the follow-on course raises grades. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that students learn less in larger class sections, leaving them with less knowledge to decay. The analysis also provides novel estimates of the relationship between class size and learning: holding the number of terms between courses constant, students enrolled in larger prerequisite classes earn similar grades in subsequent courses.