In this paper, we exploit the properties of a two-way fixed effects wage decomposition ‘a la AKM to disentangle the influence of parental background, beyond education, between individual level components and sorting across firms with different pay policies. We match Italian employer–employee administrative data with university records from a large public institution. Our findings indicate that approximately two-thirds of the background-related wage premium operates through firm assignment, while the remaining third reflects variation in individual returns. The sorting channel becomes increasingly relevant as workers progress in their careers. Moreover, the background channel weakens worker–firm positive assortative matching and plays a compensatory role: it is stronger both on firm allocation among low-wage workers and on individual fixed effects within low-paying firms.
{"title":"Background wage premia, beyond education: Firm sorting and unobserved abilities of graduates","authors":"Luca Bonacini , Fabrizio Patriarca , Edoardo Santoni","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102733","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102733","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we exploit the properties of a two-way fixed effects wage decomposition <em>‘a la</em> AKM to disentangle the influence of parental background, beyond education, between individual level components and sorting across firms with different pay policies. We match Italian employer–employee administrative data with university records from a large public institution. Our findings indicate that approximately two-thirds of the background-related wage premium operates through firm assignment, while the remaining third reflects variation in individual returns. The sorting channel becomes increasingly relevant as workers progress in their careers. Moreover, the background channel weakens worker–firm positive assortative matching and plays a compensatory role: it is stronger both on firm allocation among low-wage workers and on individual fixed effects within low-paying firms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102733"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-21DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102734
Abigail Francis, Joshua Goodman
The pandemic induced a substantial enrollment shift away from public schools in fall 2020 and a partial return of students in fall 2021, leaving longer-term impacts unclear. We use Massachusetts state- and district-level data to explore enrollment patterns five years after the pandemic’s onset. Relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2024 enrollment is down 2% in local public schools, up 16% in private schools, and up 50% in home schools. The highest income 20% of districts have lost more public school students than the other 80% combined, with these lower income districts having largely recovered. White and Asian public school enrollments have stabilized at levels 3% and 8% below pre-pandemic trends, while Black and Hispanic enrollments have more than fully recovered. Public school losses are almost entirely concentrated in middle grades (5-8), where enrollment is down 8%, suggesting families place particular weight on those ages when making post-pandemic schooling choices. Five years in, the pandemic has had sustained effects on the size and demographic composition of public schools. Many of the changes observed in Massachusetts appear in national data, suggesting these patterns are widespread.
{"title":"School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic","authors":"Abigail Francis, Joshua Goodman","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102734","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102734","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The pandemic induced a substantial enrollment shift away from public schools in fall 2020 and a partial return of students in fall 2021, leaving longer-term impacts unclear. We use Massachusetts state- and district-level data to explore enrollment patterns five years after the pandemic’s onset. Relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2024 enrollment is down 2% in local public schools, up 16% in private schools, and up 50% in home schools. The highest income 20% of districts have lost more public school students than the other 80% combined, with these lower income districts having largely recovered. White and Asian public school enrollments have stabilized at levels 3% and 8% below pre-pandemic trends, while Black and Hispanic enrollments have more than fully recovered. Public school losses are almost entirely concentrated in middle grades (5-8), where enrollment is down 8%, suggesting families place particular weight on those ages when making post-pandemic schooling choices. Five years in, the pandemic has had sustained effects on the size and demographic composition of public schools. Many of the changes observed in Massachusetts appear in national data, suggesting these patterns are widespread.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102734"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-14DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102728
Seth Walker , Scott Imberman , Katharine Strunk
This paper investigates the differential effectiveness of teachers across student populations, with a focus on gifted and talented (GT) students. Using data from Los Angeles, we estimate teacher effectiveness (proxied by value-added measures (VAMs) of teachers’ contributions to student achievement growth) for GT students and examine how they are matched to teachers. We additionally estimate VAMs for high- and low-testing students to explore whether GT students are assigned to teachers who are relatively more effective for GT students, or to teachers with broad effectiveness across student groups. Many teachers exhibit similar effectiveness across all subgroups, with particularly strong alignment between GT and high-testing VAMs. This suggests a strong overlap in instructional strengths for high-achieving students, regardless of GT classification. At the same time, a substantial share of teachers show meaningful differences in their relative effectiveness with GT students compared to low-testing students. GT students are consistently assigned to teachers with higher VAMs across all subgroups; however, this alignment is strongest with teachers who are most effective for GT and high-testing students. To a modest extent, GT students are also more likely to be matched to teachers with a relative advantage in teaching GT students compared to their effectiveness with low-testing students.
{"title":"Measuring teacher effectiveness for gifted and talented students","authors":"Seth Walker , Scott Imberman , Katharine Strunk","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102728","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102728","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the differential effectiveness of teachers across student populations, with a focus on gifted and talented (GT) students. Using data from Los Angeles, we estimate teacher effectiveness (proxied by value-added measures (VAMs) of teachers’ contributions to student achievement growth) for GT students and examine how they are matched to teachers. We additionally estimate VAMs for high- and low-testing students to explore whether GT students are assigned to teachers who are relatively more effective for GT students, or to teachers with broad effectiveness across student groups. Many teachers exhibit similar effectiveness across all subgroups, with particularly strong alignment between GT and high-testing VAMs. This suggests a strong overlap in instructional strengths for high-achieving students, regardless of GT classification. At the same time, a substantial share of teachers show meaningful differences in their relative effectiveness with GT students compared to low-testing students. GT students are consistently assigned to teachers with higher VAMs across all subgroups; however, this alignment is strongest with teachers who are most effective for GT and high-testing students. To a modest extent, GT students are also more likely to be matched to teachers with a relative advantage in teaching GT students compared to their effectiveness with low-testing students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102728"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102729
Xinjie Zhang , Lu Wang , Xiaoyang Ye
We experimentally evaluate the impact of a supply-side intervention—a targeted teacher training program in systematic phonics instruction—on students’ foundational learning. The intervention significantly improves student achievement by 0.112 standard deviations, with effects potentially driven by increased teacher subject knowledge, shifts in teaching beliefs and practices, and improvements in students’ learning attitudes. Our findings suggest that teacher training in instructional methods that directly enhances classroom instruction can play a critical role in improving educational outcomes. We discuss implications for education policy and teacher training reform.
{"title":"Combating Learning Poverty: Experimental Evidence on Improving Instruction Through Teacher Training","authors":"Xinjie Zhang , Lu Wang , Xiaoyang Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102729","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102729","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We experimentally evaluate the impact of a supply-side intervention—a targeted teacher training program in systematic phonics instruction—on students’ foundational learning. The intervention significantly improves student achievement by 0.112 standard deviations, with effects potentially driven by increased teacher subject knowledge, shifts in teaching beliefs and practices, and improvements in students’ learning attitudes. Our findings suggest that teacher training in instructional methods that directly enhances classroom instruction can play a critical role in improving educational outcomes. We discuss implications for education policy and teacher training reform.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102729"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We examine whether highlighting streaks—instances of repeated and consecutive behavior when completing learning tasks—encourages 4th to 6th grade students in Peru to increase their use of an online math platform and improve learning. 60,000 students were randomly assigned to receive messages that (i) highlighted streaks, (ii) provided personalized reminders with positive reinforcement, (iii) provided generic reminders, or (iv) to a control group. Highlighting streaks and providing personalized reminders significantly increased platform use compared to generic reminders and the control group, with streaks more effective on the intensive margin and personalized reminders more effective on the extensive margin. Highlighting streaks also significantly improved math achievement compared to the control group among the 1,500 students who took an endline test, although differences with other treatment arms were not significant.
{"title":"Streaks to success: The effects of highlighting streaks on student effort and learning","authors":"Raphaëlle Aulagnon , Julian Cristia , Santiago Cueto , Ofer Malamud","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102721","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102721","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine whether highlighting streaks—instances of repeated and consecutive behavior when completing learning tasks—encourages 4th to 6th grade students in Peru to increase their use of an online math platform and improve learning. 60,000 students were randomly assigned to receive messages that (i) highlighted streaks, (ii) provided personalized reminders with positive reinforcement, (iii) provided generic reminders, or (iv) to a control group. Highlighting streaks and providing personalized reminders significantly increased platform use compared to generic reminders and the control group, with streaks more effective on the intensive margin and personalized reminders more effective on the extensive margin. Highlighting streaks also significantly improved math achievement compared to the control group among the 1,500 students who took an endline test, although differences with other treatment arms were not significant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102721"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-08DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102730
Tales Rands, Bruno Barsanetti
We investigate the effects of an expansion of a tuition-free technical college on local high-school academic performance. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we exploit the staggered opening of new technical colleges in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which we compare with student grades on a no-stakes test taken in the last year of high school. We document that the opening of one such college has a positive effect of 0.106 of a standard deviation on the performance in the exam. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that local access to tuition-free colleges increases high-school students’ incentives to learn.
{"title":"College access spillover on high school performance: Evidence from college openings","authors":"Tales Rands, Bruno Barsanetti","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102730","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102730","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigate the effects of an expansion of a tuition-free technical college on local high-school academic performance. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, we exploit the staggered opening of new technical colleges in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which we compare with student grades on a no-stakes test taken in the last year of high school. We document that the opening of one such college has a positive effect of 0.106 of a standard deviation on the performance in the exam. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that local access to tuition-free colleges increases high-school students’ incentives to learn.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102730"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-08DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102722
Elena Ziege
This paper analyzes family spillovers of birthright citizenship in Germany. By using difference-in-differences and event study methodologies on large-scale survey datasets, I examine the direct impact of citizenship on immigrant children and its spillover effects on the educational achievements of their older siblings who were born before the reform. The findings reveal educational benefits for immigrant children, and positive spillover effects on their older siblings’ academic achievements. Children are 13 percentage points more likely, and their older siblings are 6 percentage points more likely, to complete secondary school with the highest degree. The spillovers can be attributed to a considerable increase in parental investments in the siblings’ education and increased naturalization of parents and older siblings. Consequently, this study suggests that previous evaluations of citizenship have underestimated its benefits.
{"title":"Passport to progress: The effects of birthright citizenship on siblings’ education","authors":"Elena Ziege","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper analyzes family spillovers of birthright citizenship in Germany. By using difference-in-differences and event study methodologies on large-scale survey datasets, I examine the direct impact of citizenship on immigrant children and its spillover effects on the educational achievements of their older siblings who were born before the reform. The findings reveal educational benefits for immigrant children, and positive spillover effects on their older siblings’ academic achievements. Children are 13 percentage points more likely, and their older siblings are 6 percentage points more likely, to complete secondary school with the highest degree. The spillovers can be attributed to a considerable increase in parental investments in the siblings’ education and increased naturalization of parents and older siblings. Consequently, this study suggests that previous evaluations of citizenship have underestimated its benefits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102722"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-05DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102726
Chris M. Herbst
Although it is widely acknowledged that high-skilled teachers are integral to service quality and young children’s well-being in child care settings, little is known about the qualifications and skills of the child care workforce. This paper combines data from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of individuals employed in the child care sector. I find that today’s workforce is relatively low-skilled: child care workers have less schooling than those in other occupations, they score substantially lower on tests of cognitive ability, and they are among the lowest-paid individuals in the economy. I also show that the relative skills of the child care workforce is declining, in part because higher-skilled individuals increasingly find the child care sector less attractive than other occupations. Furthermore, I provide evidence that at least three other factors are placing downward pressure on worker quality. First, the recent proliferation of community college programs offering child care-related certificates and degrees may divert students away from attending four-year schools. Second, those majoring in child care-related fields are negatively selected for their cognitive skills, thereby decreasing the quality of the child care labor pool. Third, I show that the increased availability of outside employment options for high-skilled women had a detrimental effect on the quality of the child care workforce.
{"title":"The declining relative quality of the child care workforce","authors":"Chris M. Herbst","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102726","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102726","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although it is widely acknowledged that high-skilled teachers are integral to service quality and young children’s well-being in child care settings, little is known about the qualifications and skills of the child care workforce. This paper combines data from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive assessment of the quality of individuals employed in the child care sector. I find that today’s workforce is relatively low-skilled: child care workers have less schooling than those in other occupations, they score substantially lower on tests of cognitive ability, and they are among the lowest-paid individuals in the economy. I also show that the relative skills of the child care workforce is declining, in part because higher-skilled individuals increasingly find the child care sector less attractive than other occupations. Furthermore, I provide evidence that at least three other factors are placing downward pressure on worker quality. First, the recent proliferation of community college programs offering child care-related certificates and degrees may divert students away from attending four-year schools. Second, those majoring in child care-related fields are negatively selected for their cognitive skills, thereby decreasing the quality of the child care labor pool. Third, I show that the increased availability of outside employment options for high-skilled women had a detrimental effect on the quality of the child care workforce.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102726"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102717
Marco Bertoni , Gabriel Heller-Sahlgren , Olmo Silva
We evaluate the impact of attending two secondary free schools in England – new autonomous state-funded start-ups – using admission lotteries and a distance-based regression discontinuity design. We characterise each school’s ethos through text analysis of vision statements: one follows a 'no excuses' paradigm common among US charter schools; the other adopts a 'classical liberal', knowledge-rich approach. These features distinguish them from each other and from counterfactual schools attended by rejected applicants. Despite pedagogical differences, both schools significantly improve test scores, reduce absences, and lower student mobility. Our findings support policies promoting horizontal differentiation in publicly funded education.
{"title":"Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England","authors":"Marco Bertoni , Gabriel Heller-Sahlgren , Olmo Silva","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102717","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102717","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We evaluate the impact of attending two secondary free schools in England – new autonomous state-funded start-ups – using admission lotteries and a distance-based regression discontinuity design. We characterise each school’s ethos through text analysis of vision statements: one follows a 'no excuses' paradigm common among US charter schools; the other adopts a 'classical liberal', knowledge-rich approach. These features distinguish them from each other and from counterfactual schools attended by rejected applicants. Despite pedagogical differences, both schools significantly improve test scores, reduce absences, and lower student mobility. Our findings support policies promoting horizontal differentiation in publicly funded education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102717"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-29DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102725
The Linh Bao Nguyen
This paper evaluates the impact of a nationwide affirmative action policy in Vietnam that exempts ethnic minority students from a high-stakes entrance exam. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that the policy increases high school enrollment among ethnic minorities and improves their subsequent labor market outcomes. While the policy benefits ethnic minorities overall, the effects are unevenly distributed by gender and wealth. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions alongside affirmative action to achieve equitable outcomes.
{"title":"Affirmative action, Education and Labor market outcomes in Vietnam","authors":"The Linh Bao Nguyen","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102725","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102725","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper evaluates the impact of a nationwide affirmative action policy in Vietnam that exempts ethnic minority students from a high-stakes entrance exam. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that the policy increases high school enrollment among ethnic minorities and improves their subsequent labor market outcomes. While the policy benefits ethnic minorities overall, the effects are unevenly distributed by gender and wealth. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions alongside affirmative action to achieve equitable outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102725"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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