Elizabeth Dhuey

How Important are School Principals in the Production of Student Achievement

As school leaders, principals can influence student achievement in a number of ways, such as: hiring and firing teachers, monitoring instruction, and maintaining student discipline, among others. We measure the effect of individual principals on gains in student math and reading achievement between grades four and seven. We estimate that a one standard deviation improvement in principal quality can boost student performance by approximately 0.2 standard deviations in both math and reading. We also show that principal experience does not exert a significant influence on student performance. Our results imply that isolating the most effective principals and allocating them accordingly between schools can have a significant positive effect on reducing achievement gaps.

Who Benefits From Kindergarten? Evidence From the Introduction of State Subsidization

Over the past 70 years, all states in the United States began to publicly subsidize kindergarten using state revenue. The variation in adoption dates across states allows for a unique opportunity to measure the effectiveness of the largest early education program implemented in recent history. The significant, immediate increase in the availability of kindergarten within a state is used to identify the effect of enrollment in kindergarten. Hispanic children, non-English speakers, children from immigrant households, and children of low socioeconomic status benefit the most from the increased availability of kindergarten. Hispanic children with access to kindergarten are 17% less likely to be below grade for their age and earn wages 5% higher as adults.

Funding Special Education by Capitation: Evidence from State Finance Reforms

This study examines responses to state capitation policies for special education finance between 199192 and 20034. Capitation refers to distributing funds based on the entire student enrollment. We find that disability rates tended to fall following capitation reforms, primarily in subjectively diagnosed categories and in early and late grades. The association appears immediately in less severe categories but gradually in severe categories. More frequent program exiting partly accounts for falling disability rates among high school students. Capitation also is associated with a rising local share and a falling state share of funding. The evidence supports an increased use of outside school placements among severe disabilities, consistent with an incentive-based response. We find weaker evidence of a relationship between capitation and higher request rates for dispute resolution. Finally, we present evidence of differential effects based on both the pre-reform funding system and the presumed strength of the policy change.

Middle school or junior high? How grade‐level configurations affect academic achievement

Does the gradelevel configuration of a school affect academic achievement? This research examines the effect of attending a middle/junior high school on academic outcomes in British Columbia, Canada, relative to attending a school from kindergarten through grade 8. Using an OLS strategy, I find that attending a middle/junior high school reduces grades 4 to 7 achievement gains in math and reading by 0.1250.187 and 0.0550.108, respectively. Similarsized estimates are found for math using a 2SLS strategy. Finally, large negative effects on grade 10 and grade 12 English exams are also found.

Funding Special Education by Total District Enrollment: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Policy Considerations.

Several states and the federal government distribute aid for special education programs based primarily on total district enrollment and a fixed aid amount per student, a method called census funding. In this policy brief, we address three questions to help policy makers, educators, and researchers better understand census-funding models and special education finance policies in general. The first question is, what are the key advantages and disadvantages of census-funding models? The second and third questions relate to aspects of policy implementation, in the event a state legislature should choose to adopt the approach. First, we examine what options are available to mitigate concerns about the equity of funding under a census funding model. Second, we examine what other options exist for helping states and districts to contain special education costs while maintaining a high level of quality.