Research
Our research
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The Effects of Grade Retention in Indiana Schools
Analysis of the impacts of the threat of grade retention and retention itself in Indiana public schools.
Understanding ECE Workforce Needs in Massachusetts
Analysis of recent investments in ECE programs in Massachusetts. Shows that a stronger workforce is key to meeting demand.
Air Pollution and Learning
A policy brief highlighting new findings on the negative effects of air pollution on school learning and the discrepancy in who bears the brunt of the effects.
Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States
Special education serves more than one in seven U.S. students, yet its causal impact remains understudied. In this paper, we estimate the effect of individualized supports with an event-study design that tracks achievement around initial classification. The research shows students’ scores decline prior to placement and rise sharply afterward. Overall, individualized supports substantially increase learning productivity.
Examining Wage Growth in ECE Programs: Evidence from Massachusetts
Analysis of Massachusetts early educator wage growth. Review of changes in early educator wages over several years. Shows modest inflation-adjusted wage gains that are still significantly below ideal levels.
Declining Community College Enrollment & Labor Market Strength
Declining U.S. college enrollments have triggered questions about the health of the postsecondary sector. This project examines national data collected through the Department of Education's Institute for Education Sciences to better understand shifts in the sector and help situate trends within the context of broader economic and labor market context.
School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic
This research documents the changes in public school enrollment in one state and highlights shifts that may have broader implications for American schools.
Service Delivery Models: Impacts for Students With and Without Disabilities
This research study offers some of the field’s first causal evidence of how different service delivery models impact student achievement and behavior.
English Learners’ Access to Massachusetts Early College Programs
The authors of this study examined the extent to which English learners are participating in Massachusetts Early College programs.
Reclassifying English Learners
The authors of this study use data from Indiana to examine the causal effects of English learner reclassification on later student outcomes, including test scores and attendance rates.
Understanding Special Education Services at Scale Using IEP Data
Indiana requires schools to submit student Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) into a centralized database, making it possible to analyze IEPs on a statewide scale and uncover novel insights about their content. Using rigorous quantitative methods, WEPC researchers are identifying patterns related to IEP goals, services, placements, and more.
Examining the Supply of New Special Educators
Special education teacher shortages have been a consistent problem around the U.S. for decades and have only grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, reports of declining interest in special education among prospective teachers are especially concerning. The authors of this study examined the supply of new special education teachers into the workforce and the institutions that are supplying them, shedding light on the increasingly prominent role of for-profit alternative certification programs in the preparation of special education teachers.
Who Benefits from Remote Schooling?
To avoid pandemic-induced teacher shortages, Massachusetts implemented an emergency license, removing most traditional licensure requirements for individuals who wanted to become teachers. This study reports on the first cohort of teachers employed on the license.
Comparing Turnover Intentions and Actual Turnover in the Public Sector Workforce
When teachers choose to leave their jobs, it can be disruptive and costly for their school and district, affecting everything from student learning to the experiences of other teachers and staff. For this reason, policymakers have been worried by indications that many teachers are thinking about leaving the profession. But just how reliable are these warning signs that teachers are thinking of leaving? In this study, a group of researchers aimed to understand the relationship between teachers’ self-reported intentions to leave the profession or transfer schools and their actual turnover.
Deconstructing the EL Gap
Across U.S. schools, students classified as English learners (ELs) tend to achieve lower educational outcomes than their non-EL peers. What explains these differences? Are they a product of ELs’ developing English language proficiency and/or the services they receive at school, or do other factors play a role? The authors of this study attempt to deconstruct the “EL gap” in Massachusetts by examining the extent to which differences in outcomes between ELs and non-ELs can be attributed to factors that are unrelated to a student’s English proficiency or receipt of EL services.
Disparate Teacher Effects, Comparative Advantage, and Match Quality
A teacher who is effective with one group of students but ineffective with another could either reduce or exacerbate educational inequality. Understanding disparate impacts of teachers based on students’ race can help design policies and practices to improve the efficiency and equity of education systems.
The Stickiness of Pandemic-Driven Disenrollment from Public Schools
Using data from Michigan and nationally representative data, authors show how the pandemic affected families’ choices of school sector.
The Effect of Retention Under Mississippi’s Test-Based Promotion Policy
Study conducted by Boston University's Wheelock Educational Policy Center evaluating the impact of Mississippi’s test-based promotion policy - requiring students to demonstrate reading proficiency before moving on to the third grade. Results suggest positive results, particularly strong in reading, into the 6th grade for those who were retained.
Politics and Children’s Books: Evidence from School Library Collections
This study compiles data on the books in over 6,000 school libraries. With this unique look inside school library shelves, the study details important trends related to the collections based on various characteristics, including for instance the difference between high and low-income schools, the political leanings of surrounding areas and the effects of efforts to ban specific content.
Can a Commercial Screening Tool Help Select Better Teachers?
Do commercially available screening tools help schools and districts hire better teachers? Study from Olivia Chi and Matthew Lenard, suggests caution before making a big investment.