Student Outcomes, K-20

Analysis of Student MCAS Outcomes

How governance of K-12 education influences policy outputs and student outcomes in the United States

Even though K-12 education policy has become an increasingly salient topic in the United States, few individuals understand the diverse arrangements states have devised to govern America's schools. Describing that variability and then using it to explain student academic success and state policy production is this paper’s empirical goal. That focus provides a new test of institutional theories ...

Predicting Student Outcomes Using Discriminant Function Analysis

Most California community colleges collect copious amounts of data on entering students, most often through the assessment process. However, many times, the data are underutilized: only a few of the data elements captured are used for assessment purposes and the data are not used outside of placement. I have made several attempts to utilize the data, including an attempt to identify variables t...

Assessment, Accountability, and Student Learning Outcomes

In the last fifteen years two trends have gained prominence throughout higher education: assessment and accountability. For various historical reasons, and the source of considerable confusion, both are erroneously referred to as "assessment." The first, "assessment for excellence," is an information feedback process to guide individual students, faculty members, programs, and schools in improv...

Student Loan Debt and Economic Outcomes

This policy brief advances the growing literature on how student loan debt affects individuals’ other economic decisions. Specifically, it examines the impact of student loan liabilities on individuals’ homeownership status and wealth accumulation. The analysis employs a rich set of financial and demographic control variables that are not available in many of the existing studies that use credi...