The Education Exchange

In San Diego, one in ten students attends a magnet school, and because admission is sometimes determined by lottery, researchers have been able to study the impact of attending a magnet school on long-term outcomes. In this episode, Julian Betts of the University of California, San Diego joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research on magnet schools in San Diego. Betts is the co-author of "The Long-Term Effects of Public School Choice: Lottery Evidence from San Diego," with Sam M. Young, Andrew C. Zau and Karen Volz Bachofer, available at https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/conferences/learning-from-longterm-effects-2018/papers/panel-i-betts-et-al.pdf

Are graduates of private schools as active in the public sphere as graduates of public schools? David Sikkink, an associate professor of sociology at Notre Dame, finds that when it comes to volunteering and charitable giving, graduates of private religious schools are more likely to be engaged. He joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research. Read the full paper, co-written with Jonathan Schwartz, here: https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/conferences/learning-from-longterm-effects-2018/papers/panel-iii-sikkink.pdf

A new analysis by Education Next finds that the state that has raised its proficiency standards the most over the past 10 years is Tennessee. In this episode, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Candice McQueen joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how her state has raised its standards and made other changes to advance student learning. Read the full report here: http://educationnext.org/have-states-maintained-high-expectations-student-performance-analysis-2017-proficiency-standards/

Dan Hamlin, a postdoctoral fellow at the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at the Harvard Kennedy School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss their new article, "Have States Maintained High Expectations for Student Performance? An analysis of 2017 state proficiency standards." http://educationnext.org/have-states-maintained-high-expectations-student-performance-analysis-2017-proficiency-standards/

Schools are paying increasing attention to the problem of truancy, and many states are including an indicator measuring chronic absenteeism in their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act. In this episode, Paul E. Peterson talks with Peter Bergman about the phenomenon of joint absences, when students have a peer with whom they systematically skip class. Peter Bergman, Assistant Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, is the co-author, with Magdalena Bennett, of "Better Together? Social Networks in Truancy and the Targeting of Treatment," available at http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f104327/f104327.pdf

The Trump administration may undo regulations that punish for-profit colleges if their graduates are unable to earn enough money to repay their student loans. In this episode, Paul Peterson is joined by the authors of a new study that examines the impact on student enrollment in for-profit colleges and community colleges when the federal government cracks down on for-profit colleges with high rates of students defaulting on their loans. Stephanie R. Cellini and Lesley J. Turner, who are guests on the podcast, are the authors of "Where Do Students Go when For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?," along with Rajeev Darolia: http://papers.nber.org/conf_papers/f104339/f104339.pdf

A little over a decade ago, a new government in the United Kingdom issued a report recommending that early reading instruction include phonics. What has been the impact of that change in approach to teaching reading? Martina Viarengo, the author of a study on this topic, joins Paul Peterson to discuss her research. The study, "'Teaching to Teach' Literacy," was co-written with Stephen J. Machin and Sandra McNally. It is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2786039

After a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, thousands of Haitians moved to the U.S. and enrolled their children in school here. David Figlio, Dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his research on the impact these Haitian refugee students had on the non-refugee students who were already attending those schools. Read the full article, "Influx of Haitian Refugees in Florida Didn’t Hurt Student Outcomes," co-written with Umut Ozek, here: http://educationnext.org/influx-haitian-refugees-florida-didnt-hurt-student-outcomes/

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss efforts to bring education savings accounts and full-day kindergarten to his state.

Instead of just looking at the effect teachers have on the test scores of their students, researchers have expanded their focus to include the impact of teachers on student attendance and the long run outcomes of their students. Seth Gershenson joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the latest findings on the impact teachers have on their students.