We use nearly 430 million standardized test scores, including test scores from more than 6,500 rural school districts, to describe educational opportunity in rural America. Although we find modest differences in outcomes between rural and nonrural students overall, these disparities are larger for specific socioeconomic, racial-ethnic, and…

This paper investigates to what extent socioeconomic status (SES)-based affirmative action in college admissions can produce racial diversity. Using simulation models, we investigate the racial and socioeconomic distribution of students among colleges under the use of race- or SES-based affirmative action policies, or targeted, race-based…

This paper simulates a system of socioeconomic status (SES)-based affirmative action in college admissions and examines the extent to which it can produce racial diversity in selective colleges. Using simulation models, we investigate the potential relative effects of race- and/or SES-based affirmative action policies, alongside targeted,…

In the first systematic study of gender achievement gaps in U.S. school districts, we estimate male-female test score gaps in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for nearly 10,000 school districts in the U.S. We use state accountability test data from third through eighth grade students in the 2008-09 through 2014-15 school years. The average…

How are California's students doing? And are all groups of students receiving the same opportunities for educational success? How do patterns of educational outcomes in California compare to those in other states, and how have they changed in the last decade? In this study, the authors seek to provide a portrait of the state of educational…

In this article, we describe patterns of Hispanic students' math skill development during elementary school using data from a nationally representative sample of Hispanic students assessed in math skills from kindergarten through 5th grade. Several robust patterns are evident. First, Hispanic students enter kindergarten with average math skills…

Data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) are used to examine the relationship between minimum competency testing and dropout rates. Proponents of such testing have argued that minimum competency tests provide incentives for schools and students, but opponents have argued that such tests lead to a low-level basic skills…

A number of public school districts in the United States have adopted income-based integration policies--policies that use measures of family income or socioeconomic status--in determining school assignment. Some scholars and policymakers contend that such policies will also reduce racial segregation. In this article this assumption is explored by…

This paper considers the effect of high stakes promotion tests on early high school dropout patterns. Analysis of data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988, a nationally representative survey of 8th grade students in the United States, indicates that the presence of an 8th grade promotion test requirement is strongly…

Socioeconomic achievement gaps have long been a central focus of educational research. However, not much is known about how (and why) between-district gaps vary among states, even though states are a primary organizational level in the decentralized education system in the United States. Using data from the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA),…

We use data from the Stanford Education Data Archive to describe district-level trends in average academic achievement between 2009 and 2019. Although on average school districts' test scores improved very modestly (by about 0.001 standard deviations per year), there is significant variation among districts. Moreover, we find that average test…

This paper provides the first population-based evidence on how much standardized test scores vary among public school districts within each state and how segregation explains that variation. Using roughly 300 million standardized test score records in math and ELA for grades 3 through 8 from every U.S. public school district during the 2008-09 to…

To date, no studies have documented how much early childhood experiences have changed over time. In the current study, researchers use two large, nationally representative datasets of kindergarten entrants to document the following: (1) How have children's early childhood experiences changed between 1998 and 2010?; (2) To what extent have…

There are nearly 14,000 school districts in the United States. Of these districts, there is very little information about the size of academic achievement gaps between whites and blacks and white and Hispanic students. This study was interested in district-level achievement patterns across the almost 14,000 school districts in the country because…

We use data from multiple national surveys to describe trends in private elementary school enrollment by family income from 1968 to 2013. We find several important trends. First, the private school enrollment rate of middle-income families declined substantially over the past five decades while that of high-income families remained quite stable.…