[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hka/wpaper/2024-007.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Heterogeneity and Endogenous Compliance: Implications for Scaling Class Size Interventions

Author

Listed:
  • Karun Adusumilli

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Francesco Agostinelli

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Emilio Borghesan

    (Princeton University)

Abstract
This paper examines the scalability of the results from the Tennessee Student- Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project, a prominent educational experiment. We explore how the misalignment between the experimental design and the econometric model affects researchers’ ability to learn about the intervention’s scalability. We document heterogeneity in compliance with class-size reduction that is more extensive than previously acknowledged and discuss its consequences for the evaluation of the experiment. Guided by this finding, we implement a new econometric framework incorporating heterogeneous treatment effects and endogenous class size determination. We find that the effect of class size on test scores differs considerably across schools, with only a small fraction of schools having significant benefits from reduced class sizes. We discuss the challenges this poses for the intervention’s scalability and conclude by analyzing targeted class-size interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Karun Adusumilli & Francesco Agostinelli & Emilio Borghesan, 2024. "Heterogeneity and Endogenous Compliance: Implications for Scaling Class Size Interventions," Working Papers 2024-007, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2024-007
    Note: ECI
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Adusumilli_Agostinelli_Borghesan_2024_hetero-endo-compliance-imp-scaling.pdf
    File Function: First version, April 2024
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Heckman & Anne Layne-Farrar & Petra Todd, 1995. "Does Measured School Quality Really Matter? An Examination of the Earnings-Quality Relationship," NBER Working Papers 5274, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Nathaniel Hilger & Emmanuel Saez & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach & Danny Yagan, 2011. "How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings? Evidence from Project Star," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(4), pages 1593-1660.
    3. Christopher Jepsen & Steven Rivkin, 2009. "Class Size Reduction and Student Achievement: The Potential Tradeoff between Teacher Quality and Class Size," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    4. Oriana Bandiera & Valentino Larcinese & Imran Rasul, 2010. "Heterogeneous Class Size Effects: New Evidence from a Panel of University Students," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(549), pages 1365-1398, December.
    5. Krueger, Alan B & Whitmore, Diane M, 2001. "The Effect of Attending a Small Class in the Early Grades on College-Test Taking and Middle School Test Results: Evidence from Project STAR," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(468), pages 1-28, January.
    6. Al-Ubaydli, Omar & Lee, Min Sok & List, John A. & Mackevicius, Claire L. & Suskind, Dana, 2021. "How can experiments play a greater role in public policy? Twelve proposals from an economic model of scaling," Behavioural Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 2-49, January.
    7. Evan K. Rose & Yotam Shem-Tov, 2021. "How Does Incarceration Affect Reoffending? Estimating the Dose-Response Function," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(12), pages 3302-3356.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cl'ement de Chaisemartin & Antoine Deeb, 2024. "Estimating and predicting treatment-effect heterogeneity across sites, in multi-site randomized experiments with few randomization units per site," Papers 2405.17254, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Graham McKee & Katharine Sims & Steven Rivkin, 2015. "Disruption, learning, and the heterogeneous benefits of smaller classes," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 1267-1286, May.
    2. Michael Gilraine & Hugh Macartney & Robert McMillan, 2018. "Estimating the Direct and Indirect Effects of Major Education Reforms," NBER Working Papers 24191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Koedel, Cory & Mihaly, Kata & Rockoff, Jonah E., 2015. "Value-added modeling: A review," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 180-195.
    4. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/5lge9h8e809258uvvpjn34ekm4 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Denis Fougère & Arthur Heim, 2019. "L'évaluation socioéconomique de l'investissement social," Working Papers hal-03456048, HAL.
    6. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5lge9h8e809258uvvpjn34ekm4 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Kedagni, Desire & Krishna, Kala & Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Zhao, Yingyan, 2021. "Does class size matter? How, and at what cost?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    8. Maximilian Bach & Stephan Sievert, 2019. "Birth Cohort Size Variation and the Estimation of Class Size Effects," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1817, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "Does class size influence student achievement?," Post-Print halshs-02522747, HAL.
    10. Han, Joseph & Ryu, Keunkwan, 2017. "Effects of class size reduction in upper grades: Evidence from Seoul, Korea," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 68-85.
    11. Matthew M. Chingos & Kenneth A. Couch, 2013. "Class Size and Student Outcomes: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 411-438, March.
    12. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "La taille des classes influence-t-elle la réussite scolaire ?," Post-Print hal-02453596, HAL.
    13. Mike Gilraine & Hugh Macartney & Rob McMillan, 2018. "Education Reform in General Equilibrium: Evidence from California's Class Size Reduction," Working Papers tecipa-594, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    14. Justman, Moshe, 2018. "Randomized controlled trials informing public policy: Lessons from project STAR and class size reduction," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 167-174.
    15. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "Does class size influence student achievement?," Post-Print halshs-02522747, HAL.
    16. Dieterle, Steven G., 2015. "Class-size reduction policies and the quality of entering teachers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 35-47.
    17. Eric P. Bettinger & Bridget Terry Long, 2018. "Mass Instruction or Higher Learning? The Impact of College Class Size on Student Retention and Graduation," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(1), pages 97-118, Winter.
    18. Jana Gross & Simone Balestra & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2017. "Class Size in Early Grades, Student Grit and Later School Outcomes," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0129, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Sep 2018.
    19. Adrien Bouguen & Julien Grenet & Marc Gurgand, 2017. "La taille des classes influence-t-elle la réussite scolaire ?," Post-Print hal-02453596, HAL.
    20. Bettinger, Eric & Doss, Christopher & Loeb, Susanna & Rogers, Aaron & Taylor, Eric, 2017. "The effects of class size in online college courses: Experimental evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 68-85.
    21. Giacomo De Giorgi & Michele Pellizzari & William Gui Woolston, 2012. "Class Size And Class Heterogeneity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 795-830, August.
    22. Stephen Machin & Sandra McNally & Martina Viarengo, 2018. "Changing How Literacy Is Taught: Evidence on Synthetic Phonics," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 217-241, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    scalability; treatment effects; heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2024-007. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jennifer Pachon (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mfichus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.