Challenging Education
The Effect of Charter Schools on Identification, Service Provision, and Achievement of Students with Disabilities
Scott Imberman & Andrew Johnson
Education Finance and Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Students with disabilities (SWDs) encompass a sizable share of charter students and have an array of individualized needs. Charter schools may operate differently than traditional public schools with respect to SWDs and special education (SPED), as funding incentives may induce charter schools to underserve SWDs. Nonetheless, there is little empirical evidence regarding how enrollment in charter schools affects SWDs' educational environments and outcomes. We use data from Michigan to estimate charter impacts using a heterogeneous difference-indifferences model that compares students who enter charters to students who have not yet but will eventually enter charters. We find that charters are slightly more likely to identify students as SWDs after charter entry. While assignments to SPED programs increase comparably, there is a significant reduction and subsequent reversion in time spent in SPED-specific environments and services provided. Despite these changes, SWDs realize achievement and attendance gains after charter entry at similar levels to non-SWDs.
Student Debt and the Cinderella Effect
Jess Cornaggia et al.
Pennsylvania State University Working Paper, November 2025
Abstract:
Unexpected intercollegiate athletic success generates a variety of changes at universities -- including increased salience and status of sports-oriented activities among students, known colloquially as the "Cinderella effect". By linking data on athletic contest outcomes, betting lines, student debt default rates, and post-college earnings data, we find that Cinderella events disrupt human capital development among incumbent students and adversely affect their financial outcomes. Following such events, treated students exhibit higher default rates and lower earnings. This effect strengthens with treatment exposure (results are larger for freshmen than seniors) and is concentrated in low-ranked universities. These institutions show no changes in revenues or expenditures, suggesting that resource-driven explanations are unlikely to be the primary driver. In contrast, students at high-ranked universities have marginally lower default rates and higher earnings, as these schools receive more applications, increase selectivity, and have marginally higher revenues and expenditures. Overall, our results suggest that athletic success shifts students' preferences away from academic focus. More broadly, our results show that university environment affects human capital development, as distinct from selection effects that reflect assortive matching between students and universities.
Decriminalizing or reassembling schools? Implications of removing police from schools for racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice system contact
Catalina Valdez, Benjamin Fisher & Abigail Beneke
Social Problems, forthcoming
Abstract:
Calls to remove school-based law enforcement (SBLE) have grown in tandem with widespread SBLE presence. Central to these calls are issues of equity, with the hope that removing SBLE will reduce racial/ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. However, little research has examined the extent to which removing SBLE shapes outcomes related to criminal justice system contact or attendant disparities for students of color. This study examines the impact of removing SBLE on racial/ethnic disparities in criminal justice system contact. We draw on the Civil Rights Data Collection, a biennial census of U.S. public schools, to construct a two-wave longitudinal dataset and identify schools that removed or did not remove SBLE. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we compared changes in two measures of criminal justice system contact-arrests and referrals to law enforcement-in schools that removed SBLE to changes in schools that did not. Removing police was largely unrelated to changes in arrest and referral rates, with increases for some racial/ethnic groups. Findings were mostly consistent, regardless of school racial/ethnic composition. These results suggest schools must consider strategies beyond simply removing police to dismantle systems of surveillance that perpetuate racial/ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system.
Discipline Reform, School Culture, and Student Achievement
Ashley Craig & David Martin
Economic Journal, forthcoming
Abstract:
Does relaxing strict school discipline improve student achievement, or lead to classroom disorder? We study a 2012 reform in New York City public middle schools that eliminated suspensions for non-violent, disorderly behaviour. Math scores of students in more-affected schools rose by 0.05 standard deviations over three years relative to other schools. Reading scores rose by 0.03 standard deviations. Only a small portion of these aggregate benefits can be explained by the direct impact of eliminating suspensions on students who would have been suspended under the old policy. Instead, test score gains are associated with improvements in school culture, as measured by the quality of student-teacher relationships and perceptions of safety at school. We find no evidence of trade-offs between students, with students benefiting even if they were unlikely to be suspended themselves.
Does Personalized Pricing Increase Competition? Evidence from NIL in College Football
Ivan Li & Tim Derdenger
Management Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
We investigate the impact of personalized pricing through Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights within college athletics on the recruitment of high school football players by college programs. We focus on whether the new policy disrupts competitive balance by increasing the concentration of talent among top-ranked institutions. Using a data set that encompasses pre- and post-NIL recruitment patterns to examine the distribution of 3, 4, and 5* recruits at college football programs, we find a notable increase in the dispersion of talent. Contrary to the hypothesis that NIL would lead to a "rich get richer" dynamic, we observe a tendency for lower-ranked football programs to attract higher-quality recruits post-NIL, especially among 5- and lower ranked 4* athletes. Furthermore, we show that post-NIL 3* recruits are sacrificing schooling for NIL money and are attending colleges that are less selective and have lower SAT class averages and whose graduates earn a lower midcareer income. We also do not find evidence that schools that spend more money on football are attracting better talent post-NIL. Competitiveness improves post-NIL as sportsbooks set smaller point differentials even after controlling for talent, performance, and the transfer portal. Ultimately, this study offers a comprehensive examination of NIL's short-term effects on competitive balance and sets the stage for ongoing research into the long-term consequences of this landmark policy change.
Sit Still or Move More? The Impact of Fidgeting on Creativity
Marily Oppezzo et al.
Journal of Educational Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many modern classrooms impose constraints on student movement, both physical (e.g., stable, upright chairs) and psychological (e.g., norms that "being still" signals paying attention). We conducted two separate studies with 32 sixth-grade (11- to 12-year-old) and 43 seventh-grade (12- to 13-year-old) students. Study 1 was a within-subject design and compared students' creative ideation on the alternate uses test and a verbal memory task through two conditions: sit still (on a regular chair with instructions to not move) or freedom to move (on a wiggle stool with ability to move as they wanted). There was a significant effect of condition on novel ideas, as well as number of novel ideas/total ideation (creativity ratio). There was no significant difference by condition on the verbal memory task. Study 2 was a within-subject design. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, each student completed two of three conditions: sit still, freedom to move, and sit as usual (on a regular chair with instructions to sit as if they were paying attention in class). This study compared students' creative ideation and a focused attention task instead of Study 1's memory task. There was a significant effect of condition on novel ideas and creativity ratio, but pairwise comparisons were not statistically significant. There was no condition effect on focused attention. The freedom to move effects appear selective only for creative ideation. Implications for future research and small classroom changes to support natural movement are discussed.
Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead? Evaluating the Effects of Virginia's Workforce-Targeted Free College Program
Sade Bonilla & Daniel Sparks
University of Pennsylvania Working Paper, October 2025
Abstract:
Tuition-free college programs are gaining momentum as policymakers address rising college costs and workforce readiness. Despite their growing adoption, limited research examines how workforce-focused eligibility criteria impact student outcomes beyond enrollment. This pre-registered study employs two within-study quasi-experimental designs -- difference-in-discontinuity and difference-in-differences -- to estimate the causal impact of Virginia's Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead (G3) initiative on financial aid and academic outcomes for community college students. Launched as a pandemic recovery effort, G3 aimed to reverse enrollment declines and address labor shortages by leveraging simplified 'free college' messaging and offering last-dollar scholarships and additional advising support for students in high-demand workforce programs. We find that G3 significantly increased FAFSA completion, total financial aid, and grant aid, with gains concentrated among middle-income students. The program also reduced student borrowing, consistent with crowd-out by grant aid. Certificate completion rose by 5.1 to 6.6 percentage points, and higher enrollment translated these gains into a net increase in the number of students earning certificates in targeted fields. These findings suggest workforce-targeted tuition-free programs can expand financial aid access, increase the supply of certified workers in priority fields, and better align higher education with workforce demands.