Research

Working Papers

• The Effects of School Phone Bans: National Evidence from Lockable Pouches
  With Hunt Allcott, E. Jason Baron, Thomas Dee, Angela L. Duckworth and Matthew Gentzkow  ·  NBER Working Paper 35132, 2026
• Did COVID-19 Shift the 'Grammar' of Schooling?
  With Cristina Stanojevich  ·  EdWorkingPaper 24-1021, 2024
  R&R at the Journal of Educational Change
• Who Chooses Career Technical Education, and Why? Disentangling Student Preferences from Program Availability
  With Michael Ricks  ·  NBER Working Paper 31756, 2023
  R&R at the Journal of Human Resources

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Impacts of Michigan Transitional Kindergarten through Third Grade
  With J. Berne, K.C. Garcia, T. Musaddiq, A. Shapiro and C. Weiland  ·  Child Development, 2026
• Education Governance and Race: An Analysis of School Board Discourse Using Large Language Models
  With Kylie Anglin, Alvin Christian and John Singleton  ·  Forthcoming, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis
• Assessing the Impact of Grade Retention: A Cautionary Tale of Exclusion Restriction Violations
  With J. Berne, C. Weiland and K. Strunk  ·  Journal of Public Economics, 253, 2026
• Loopholes and the Incidence of Public Services: Evidence from Funding Career & Technical Education
  With Thomas Goldring, Daniel Kreisman and Michael Ricks  ·  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 45(1):1–13, 2026
• Transitional Kindergarten: The New Kid on the Early Learning Block
  With J. Berne, K.C. Garcia, T. Musaddiq, S. Owusu, A. Shapiro and C. Weiland  ·  Educational Researcher, 54(4):177–187, 2025
• Forging a Path to College Persistence: An Experimental Evaluation of the Detroit Promise Path Program
  With Stacey L. Brockman, Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija, Alyssa Ratledge, Rebekah O'Donoghue and Micah Y. Baum  ·  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 47(2):549–576, 2025
• School Board Elections Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
  AERA Open, 10, 2024
• Assessing School District Decision-Making: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic
  With Alvin Christian and John Singleton  ·  Education Finance and Policy, 20(2):344–377, 2024
• The Effect of Early Childhood Programs on Third-Grade Outcomes: Evidence from Transitional Kindergarten in Michigan
  With Jordy Berne, Anna Shapiro and Christina Weiland  ·  American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 114:480–485, 2024
• The Psychosocial Effects of the Flint Water Crisis on School-Age Children
  With Samuel Trejo and Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado  ·  Science Advances, 10(11), 2024
• Lottery-Based Evaluations of Early Education Programs: Opportunities and Challenges
  With C. Weiland, R. Unterman, S. Dynarski, R. Abenavoli, B. Braga, A.M. Faria, E.H. Greenberg, J.A. Lincove, K. Manship, M. McCormick, M. Miratix, T.E. Monarrez, P. Morris-Perez, A. Shapiro, J. Valant and L. Weixler  ·  AERA Open, 10, 2024
• The Value of Student Debt Relief and the Role of Administrative Barriers: Evidence from the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program
  With Damon Jones and Benjamin Keys  ·  Journal of Labor Economics, 42(S1), 2024
• Racial Differences in Parent Response to COVID Schooling Policies
  With Micah Baum  ·  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(3), 2024
• Pretrial Juvenile Detention
  With Jason Baron and Joseph Ryan  ·  Journal of Public Economics, 217:104798, 2023
• The COVID Cash Transfer Study: The Impacts of an Unconditional Cash Transfer on the Wellbeing of Low-Income Families
  With Natasha Pilkauskas, Elizabeth Rhodes, Katherine Richard and Luke Shaefer  ·  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 42(3):771–795, 2023
• Online Course-Taking and Expansion of Curricular Options in High Schools
  With C.M.D. Hart, R. Linden and S. Loeb  ·  Peabody Journal of Education, 2023
• The COVID Cash Transfer Study II: The Impacts of an Unconditional Cash Transfer on the Wellbeing of Low-Income Families
  With Natasha Pilkauskas, Elizabeth Rhodes, Katherine Richard and Luke Shaefer  ·  National Tax Journal, 75(3), 2022
• The Return to Hours Worked Within and Across Occupations: Implications for Measuring the Gender Wage Gap
  With Jeffrey T. Denning, Lars Lefgren and Christian von Lehn  ·  Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 75(5), 2022
• Economics of Foster Care
  With Anthony Blad, Joseph Doyle and Max Gross  ·  Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36(2):223–46, 2022
• How Does an Accountability Program that Targets Achievement Gaps Affect Student Performance
  With Steven Hemelt  ·  Education Finance and Policy, 15(1):45–74, 2020
• The Causes and Consequences of Test Score Manipulation: Evidence from the New York State Regents Exam
  With Thomas S. Dee, Will Dobbie and Jonah Rockoff  ·  American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(3):382–423, 2019
• Online Learning, Offline Outcomes: Online Course Taking and High School Performance
  With Cassandra Hart, Dan Berger, Susanna Loeb and Michael Hill  ·  AERA Open, 5(1), 2019
• The Impact of the Michigan Merit Curriculum on High School Course-Taking
  With Soobin Kim, Susan Dynarski, Kenneth Frank and Barbara Schneider  ·  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 41(2), 2019
• Teacher Applicant Hiring and Teacher Performance: Evidence from DC Public Schools
  With Jonah Rockoff, E. Taylor, B. Lindy and R. Rosen  ·  Journal of Public Economics, 166:81–97, 2018
• The Effect of Labor Market Information on Community College Students' Major Choice
  With Rachel Baker, Eric Bettinger and Ioana Marinescu  ·  Economics of Education Review, 65:18–30, 2018
• How Important Are Fixed Effects and Time Trends in Estimating Returns to Schooling?
  With Susan Dynarski and Daniel Kreisman  ·  Journal of Applied Econometrics, 33(7), 2018
• Early Exposure to Child Maltreatment and Educational Outcomes
  With Joseph P. Ryan, Max Gross, Brian E. Perron, Andrew Moore and Sharlyn Ferguson  ·  Child Maltreatment, 2018
• College as Country Club: Do Colleges Cater to Students' Preferences for Consumption?
  With Brian McCall and Kevin Stange  ·  Journal of Labor Economics, 36(2):309–348, 2018
• Are Expectations Alone Enough? Estimating the Effect of a Mandatory College-Prep Curriculum in Michigan
  With Susan Dynarski, Kenneth Frank and Barbara Schneider  ·  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(2), 2017
• When Evidence is Not Enough: Findings from a Randomized Evaluation of Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction
  Labour Economics, 45:5–16, 2017
• The Measurement of Student Ability in Modern Assessment Systems
  With Jesse Rothstein  ·  Journal of Economic Perspectives, 30(3):85–108, 2016
• The Impact of Housing Assistance on Child Outcomes: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Lottery
  With Max Kapustin and Jens Ludwig  ·  Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(1):465–506, 2015
• Does Pre-Service Preparation Matter? Examining an Old Question in New Ways
  With Matthew Ronfeldt and Nathaniel Schwartz  ·  Teachers College Record, 116(10):1–46, 2014
• New Evidence on Teacher Labor Supply
  With Mimi Engel and Chris Curran  ·  American Educational Research Journal, 51(1):36–72, 2014
• The Effect of Employment Protection on Worker Effort: Evidence from Public Schooling
  Journal of Labor Economics, 31(4):727–761, 2013
• The Effects of Housing and Neighborhood Conditions on Child Mortality
  With Jens Ludwig and Douglas Miller  ·  Journal of Health Economics, 32(1):195–206, 2013
• The Effects of No Child Left Behind on Education Finance and Practice
  With Thomas S. Dee and Nathaniel L. Schwartz  ·  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 35(2):252–279, 2013
• Pre-notification, Incentives and Survey Modality: An Experimental Test of Methods to Increase Survey Response Rates of School Principals
  With Robin T. Jacob  ·  Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 5(4):401–420, 2012
• Rational Ignorance in Education: A Field Experiment in Student Plagiarism
  With Thomas S. Dee  ·  Journal of Human Resources, 47(2):397–434, 2012
• The Effects of Housing Assistance on Labor Supply: Evidence from a Voucher Lottery
  With Jens Ludwig  ·  American Economic Review, 102(1):272–304, 2012
• The Short-Term and Localized Effect of Gun Shows: Evidence from California and Texas
  With Mark Duggan and Randi Hjalmarsson  ·  Review of Economics and Statistics, 93(3):786–799, 2011
• The Impact of No Child Left Behind on Student Achievement
  With Thomas S. Dee  ·  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 30(3):418–446, 2011
• Do Principals Fire the Worst Teachers?
  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(4):403–434, 2011
• The Impact of NIH Postdoctoral Training Grants on Scientific Productivity
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Research Policy, 40(6):864–874, 2011
• The Impact of Research Grant Funding on Scientific Productivity
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Journal of Public Economics, 95(9–10):1168–1177, 2011
• What's in a Rating?
  With Elias Walsh  ·  Economics of Education Review, 30(3):434–448, 2011
• Can You Recognize an Effective Teacher When You Recruit One?
  With Jonah Rockoff, Thomas Kane and Douglas Staiger  ·  Education Finance and Policy, 6(1):43–74, 2011
• The Impact of No Child Left Behind on Students, Teachers and Schools
  With Thomas S. Dee  ·  Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2010:149–207
• The Persistence of Teacher-Induced Learning Gains
  With Lars Lefgren and David Sims  ·  Journal of Human Resources, 45(4):915–943, 2010
• The Effect of Grade Retention on High School Completion
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3):33–58, 2009
• Using Technology to Explore Social Networks and Mechanisms Underlying Peer Effects in Classrooms
  With Jonathan Guryan, Eric Klopfer and Jennifer Groff  ·  Developmental Psychology, 44(2):355–364, 2008
• Principals as Agents: Subjective Performance Assessment in Education
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Journal of Labor Economics, 26(1):101–136, 2008
• What Do Parents Value in Education? An Empirical Investigation of Parents' Revealed Preferences for Teachers
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(4):1603–1637, 2007
• The Dynamics of Criminal Behavior: Evidence from Weather Shocks
  With Lars Lefgren and Enrico Moretti  ·  Journal of Human Resources, 42(3):489–527, 2007
• The Effect of School Choice on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomized Lotteries
  With Julie Cullen and Steven Levitt  ·  Econometrica, 74(5):1191–1230, 2006
• Accountability, Incentives and Behavior: Evidence from School Reform in Chicago
  Journal of Public Economics, 89(5–6):761–796, 2005
• The Impact of School Choice on Student Outcomes: An Analysis of the Chicago Public Schools
  With Julie Cullen and Steven Levitt  ·  Journal of Public Economics, 89(5–6):729–760, 2005
• Public Housing, Housing Vouchers and Student Achievement: Evidence from Public Housing Demolitions in Chicago
  American Economic Review, 94(1):233–258, 2004
• Remedial Education and Student Achievement: A Regression-Discontinuity Analysis
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Review of Economics and Statistics, LXXXVI(1):226–244, 2004
• The Impact of Teacher Training on Student Achievement: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from School Reform Efforts in Chicago
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  Journal of Human Resources, 39(1):50–79, 2004
• Are Idle Hands the Devil's Workshop? Incapacitation, Concentration and Juvenile Crime
  With Lars Lefgren  ·  American Economic Review, 93(5):1560–1577, 2003
• Rotten Apples: An Investigation of the Prevalence and Predictors of Teacher Cheating
  With Steven Levitt  ·  Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(3):843–877, 2003
• The Impact of High-Stakes Testing in Chicago on Student Achievement in the Promotional Gate Grades
  With Melissa Roderick and Anthony Bryk  ·  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(4):333–357, 2002
• Where the Boys Aren't: Non-Cognitive Skills, Returns to School and the Gender Gap in Higher Education
  Economics of Education Review, 21:589–598, 2002
• Getting Tough? The Impact of Mandatory High School Graduation Exams on Student Achievement and Dropout Rates
  Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2):99–122, 2001
• Defining 'Culture' in Multicultural Education: Community, Competition and Cultural Hierarchy at Heritage High
  American Journal of Education, 103:339–376, 1995

Book Chapters & Other Publications

• A Comment on Hoxby's 'Skill Desert' Chapter
  Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2021
• The Changing Federal Role in School Accountability
  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36(2):469–477, 2017
• The Potential and Limits of Federal Policy: A Response to Ladd
  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36(2):480–483, 2017
• Measuring Instructor Effectiveness in Higher Education
  With Pieter De Vlieger and Kevin Stange  ·  In Productivity in Higher Education, eds. Hoxby and Stange, 2017
• Can Technology Help Promote Equality of Educational Opportunities?
  With D. Berger, Cassandra Hart and S. Loeb  ·  Russell Sage Foundation Journal, 2(5):242–271, 2016
• Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations and Teacher Assignments
  With Jonah Rockoff  ·  The Hamilton Project, Brookings Institution, 2011
• Educational Expectations and Attainment
  With Tamara Wilder  ·  In Whither Opportunity?, eds. Duncan and Murnane. Russell Sage Press, 2011
• Family Income, Neighborhood Poverty and Crime
  With Sara Heller and Jens Ludwig  ·  In Making Crime Control Pay, eds. Cook, Ludwig and McCrary. NBER, 2011
• Educational Interventions: Their Effects on the Achievement of Poor Children
  With Jens Ludwig  ·  In Neighborhood and Life Chances, eds. Newburger, Birch and Wachter. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011
• Improving Educational Outcomes for Poor Children
  With Jens Ludwig  ·  In Changing Poverty, eds. Cancian and Danziger. Russell Sage Publications, 2009
• Is Gaining Access to a Selective Elementary School Gaining Ground? Evidence from Randomized Lotteries
  With Julie Cullen  ·  In An Economics Perspective on the Problems of Disadvantaged Youth, ed. Gruber. University of Chicago Press, 2008
• The Challenges of Staffing Urban Schools with Effective Teachers
  The Future of Children, 17(1):129–154, 2007
• Do High School Exit Exams Influence Educational Attainment or Labor Market Performance?
  With Thomas S. Dee  ·  In Standards-Based Reform and the Poverty Gap, ed. Gamoran. Brookings University Press, 2007
• The Effects of School Size on Parental Involvement and Social Capital
  With Thomas S. Dee and W. Ha  ·  In Brookings Papers on Education Policy 2006, eds. Loveless and Hess. Brookings Institution Press, 2006
• Can the Federal Government Improve Education Research?
  With Jens Ludwig  ·  In Brookings Papers on Education Policy 2005, ed. Ravitch. Brookings Institution Press, 2005
• Catching Cheating Teachers: The Results of an Unusual Experiment in Implementing Theory
  With Steven Levitt  ·  In Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2003, eds. Gale and Pack. Brookings Institution Press, 2003
• Getting Inside Accountability: Lessons from Chicago
  In Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2003, eds. Gale and Pack. Brookings Institution Press, 2003
• A Closer Look at Achievement Gains under High-Stakes Testing in Chicago
  In No Child Left Behind? The Politics and Practice of School Accountability, eds. Peterson and West. Brookings Institution, 2003
• Summer in the City: Achievement Gains in Chicago's Summer Bridge Program
  With Melissa Roderick and Anthony Bryk  ·  In Summer Learning: Research, Policies and Programs, eds. Borman and Boulay. Erlbaum, 2004
• Evaluating Chicago's Efforts to End Social Promotion
  With Melissa Roderick and Anthony Bryk  ·  In Governance and Performance: New Perspectives, eds. Lynn and Heinrich. Georgetown University Press, 2001

Resting Papers

Papers no longer under active revision but available upon request.

• The Lasting Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on K-12 Schooling: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey
  EdWorkingPaper 24-1020, 2024
• Estimating the Effects of a Large For-Profit Charter School Operator
  With Susan Dynarski, Daniel Hubbard and Silvia Robles  ·  NBER Working Paper 24428, 2018
• Labor Market Returns to Community College Awards: Evidence from Michigan
  With Peter Bahr et al.  ·  Working Paper, 2015
• Teacher Attitudes on Pay for Performance: A Pilot Study
  With M.G. Springer  ·  National Center on Performance Incentives Working Paper 2007-06. Vanderbilt University, 2007
• Test-Based Accountability and Student Achievement: An Investigation of Differential Performance on NAEP and State Assessments
  NBER Working Paper 12817, 2006