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ERIC Number: ED520282
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 0
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Is Gifted Education a Bright Idea? Assessing the Impact of Gifted and Talented Programs on Achievement. NBER Working Paper No. 17089
Bui, Sa A.; Craig, Steven G.; Imberman, Scott A.
National Bureau of Economic Research
In this paper we determine how the receipt of gifted and talented (GT) services affects student outcomes. We identify the causal relationship by exploiting a discontinuity in eligibility requirements and find that for students on the margin there is no discernable impact on achievement even though peers improve substantially. We then use randomized lotteries to examine the impact of attending a GT magnet program relative to GT programs in other schools and find that, despite being exposed to higher quality teachers and peers that are one standard deviation higher achieving, only science achievement improves. We argue that these results are consistent with an invidious comparison model of peer effects offsetting other benefits. Evidence of large reductions in course grades and rank relative to peers in both regression discontinuity and lottery models are consistent with this explanation.
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A