Helen Ladd - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Helen Ladd
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), Feb 1, 2015
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also has the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors such as suspensions, fights, and offenses reportable to law enforcement. Further, this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students, who are the most likely to be left behind.
The decades-long resistance to federally imposed school desegregation entered a new phase at the ... more The decades-long resistance to federally imposed school desegregation entered a new phase at the turn of the new century, when federal courts adopted a color-blind approach in judging local school districts' assignment plans. Using data from one of the first states to come under this dictum, we examine the ways in which households and policymakers took actions that reduced the amount of interracial contact in K-12 schools across counties in North Carolina between 1998 and 2016. We divide these reductions in interracial contact into portions due to the private school and charter school sectors, the existence of multiple school districts, and racial disparities between schools within districts and sectors. For most counties, the last of these proves to be the biggest, though in some counties private schools, charter schools, or multiple districts played a deciding role. In addition, we decompose segregation in metropolitan areas, finding that more than half can be attributed to racial disparities inside school districts. We also measure segregation by economic status, finding that it, like racial segregation, increased in the largest urban counties, but elsewhere changed little over the period.
Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015
Managers need relevant information to help them make decisions and manage the decisionmaking proc... more Managers need relevant information to help them make decisions and manage the decisionmaking process. For any particular decision there will be some costs that are relevant and others that are not relevant. The management accountant separates the relevant from the non-relevant and presents the information in a way that helps the manager see the expected consequences of a decision. Part 2 explains how management accounting helps answer questions of the following type: l Can we make a profit from this new business proposal? l What is the lowest price that we should charge for the service provided by our business? l Should we close down an activity that appears to be making losses? l What are the costs and benefits of investing in a new production process? l Will the proposed investment in fixed assets earn a return that is higher than the cost of capital? l If finance is scarce, which investment proposal will be our first choice? Chapter 9 introduces the basic methods of break-even analysis for short-term decision making. This allows you to calculate the contribution to fixed cost and profit, find the break-even point and apply these techniques to examples of short-term decisions. Chapter 10 explains relevant costs in more detail, describes how pricing decisions are related to costs and explains how uncertainty is introduced into calculations for decision making. Chapter 11 moves into long-term decisions by explaining the basic methods of investment appraisal for capital budgeting. Chapter 12 applies these methods in illustrating applications of capital budgeting. Part 2 DECISION MAKING Chapter 9 Short-term decision making Chapter 11 Capital investment appraisal Chapter 10 Relevant costs, pricing and decisions under uncertainty LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 Chapter 12 Capital budgeting applications Chapter 9 Short-term decision making This case study shows a typical situation in which management accounting can be helpful. Read the case study now but only attempt the discussion points after you have finished studying the chapter.
Social Science Research Network, 2015
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also has the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors such as suspensions, fights, and offenses reportable to law enforcement. Further, this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students, who are the most likely to be left behind.
A defining characteristic of charter schools is that they introduce a strong market element into ... more A defining characteristic of charter schools is that they introduce a strong market element into public education. In this paper, we examine through the lens of a market model the evolution of the charter school sector in North Carolina between 1999 and 2012. We examine trends in the mix of students enrolled in charter schools, the racial imbalance of charter schools, patterns in student match quality by schools' racial composition, and the distributions of test score performance gains compared to those in traditional public schools. In addition, we use student fixed effects models to examine plausibly causal measures of charter school effectiveness. Our findings indicate that charter schools in North Carolina are increasingly serving the interests of relatively able white students in racially imbalanced schools and that despite improvements in the charter school sector over time, charter schools are still no more effective on average than traditional public schools.
Elsevier eBooks, 2010
... Motivation and human behaviour. In Taylor-Gooby, P. (ed.) Risk, Trust and Welfare, pp 3150. ... more ... Motivation and human behaviour. In Taylor-Gooby, P. (ed.) Risk, Trust and Welfare, pp 3150. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Hamilton, L., Berends, M., and Stecher, B.(2005). Teachers' responses to standards-based accountability. Working Paper, RAND Corporation. Page 370. ...
Economics of Education Review, Jun 1, 2017
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of this form of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also appears to have the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors. Further, we find some evidence that this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students: those who are the most likely to be left behind.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), Jun 1, 2018
CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working paper... more CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working papers. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders.
School segregation in the era of immigration, school choice and color-blind jurisprudencethe case... more School segregation in the era of immigration, school choice and color-blind jurisprudencethe case of North Carolina We document patterns and trends in school segregation by racial/ethnic group and by family income in North Carolina between 1998 and 2016, a period of rapid immigration, decline in federal oversight, and growth of charter schools. Accounting for students in both public and private schools, we find that segregation generally increased over the period, with the increase concentrated in urban areas. In addition, low-income students became more segregated from other students during the period. We measure and decompose segregation in metropolitan areas, finding that more than half can be attributed to racial disparities inside school districts, but in some counties private schools, charter schools, or multiple districts played a deciding role. We also find that segregation between white and Hispanic students increased sharply. We note several policy levers available at the local and state level.
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2020
We are very grateful to our commentators for their kind words, for their careful attention and fo... more We are very grateful to our commentators for their kind words, for their careful attention and for the opportunity their comments have given us both to clarify some of our arguments and positions and to develop our thinking further. The book was not written for philosophers, it was not written exclusively by philosophers, and-although we spent many years writing it-it was always intended to be quite short (which is partly why it took so long). It would be convenient if these considerations could excuse all its failures fully to defend, or perhaps sometimes even adequately to convey, the various philosophical claims we put forward. Between them, they certainly explain why those claims are set out in such a simplified and summary fashion-and why they are asserted rather than argued for. But we do not pretend that our responses to the comments and criticisms will be simply a matter of explaining what we had in mind all along. Many of the challenges and suggestions are penetrating and insightful; they have got us thinking new thoughts. Space will not allow us to reply to every point, so we have chosen to focus on common themes and suggestions that strike us as particularly important and/or interesting.
Race and Social Problems, 2021
Sass, and participants at the Sanford School social policy workshop for helpful comments and disc... more Sass, and participants at the Sanford School social policy workshop for helpful comments and discussions and to Jessica Wilkinson for valuable research assistance. This research was supported by the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), which is funded by a consortium of foundations. For more information about CALDER funders, see www.caldercenter.org/about-calder. All opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or the institutions to which the authors are affiliated. CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working papers. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders.
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), Feb 1, 2015
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also has the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors such as suspensions, fights, and offenses reportable to law enforcement. Further, this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students, who are the most likely to be left behind.
The decades-long resistance to federally imposed school desegregation entered a new phase at the ... more The decades-long resistance to federally imposed school desegregation entered a new phase at the turn of the new century, when federal courts adopted a color-blind approach in judging local school districts' assignment plans. Using data from one of the first states to come under this dictum, we examine the ways in which households and policymakers took actions that reduced the amount of interracial contact in K-12 schools across counties in North Carolina between 1998 and 2016. We divide these reductions in interracial contact into portions due to the private school and charter school sectors, the existence of multiple school districts, and racial disparities between schools within districts and sectors. For most counties, the last of these proves to be the biggest, though in some counties private schools, charter schools, or multiple districts played a deciding role. In addition, we decompose segregation in metropolitan areas, finding that more than half can be attributed to racial disparities inside school districts. We also measure segregation by economic status, finding that it, like racial segregation, increased in the largest urban counties, but elsewhere changed little over the period.
Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015
Managers need relevant information to help them make decisions and manage the decisionmaking proc... more Managers need relevant information to help them make decisions and manage the decisionmaking process. For any particular decision there will be some costs that are relevant and others that are not relevant. The management accountant separates the relevant from the non-relevant and presents the information in a way that helps the manager see the expected consequences of a decision. Part 2 explains how management accounting helps answer questions of the following type: l Can we make a profit from this new business proposal? l What is the lowest price that we should charge for the service provided by our business? l Should we close down an activity that appears to be making losses? l What are the costs and benefits of investing in a new production process? l Will the proposed investment in fixed assets earn a return that is higher than the cost of capital? l If finance is scarce, which investment proposal will be our first choice? Chapter 9 introduces the basic methods of break-even analysis for short-term decision making. This allows you to calculate the contribution to fixed cost and profit, find the break-even point and apply these techniques to examples of short-term decisions. Chapter 10 explains relevant costs in more detail, describes how pricing decisions are related to costs and explains how uncertainty is introduced into calculations for decision making. Chapter 11 moves into long-term decisions by explaining the basic methods of investment appraisal for capital budgeting. Chapter 12 applies these methods in illustrating applications of capital budgeting. Part 2 DECISION MAKING Chapter 9 Short-term decision making Chapter 11 Capital investment appraisal Chapter 10 Relevant costs, pricing and decisions under uncertainty LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 Chapter 12 Capital budgeting applications Chapter 9 Short-term decision making This case study shows a typical situation in which management accounting can be helpful. Read the case study now but only attempt the discussion points after you have finished studying the chapter.
Social Science Research Network, 2015
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also has the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors such as suspensions, fights, and offenses reportable to law enforcement. Further, this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students, who are the most likely to be left behind.
A defining characteristic of charter schools is that they introduce a strong market element into ... more A defining characteristic of charter schools is that they introduce a strong market element into public education. In this paper, we examine through the lens of a market model the evolution of the charter school sector in North Carolina between 1999 and 2012. We examine trends in the mix of students enrolled in charter schools, the racial imbalance of charter schools, patterns in student match quality by schools' racial composition, and the distributions of test score performance gains compared to those in traditional public schools. In addition, we use student fixed effects models to examine plausibly causal measures of charter school effectiveness. Our findings indicate that charter schools in North Carolina are increasingly serving the interests of relatively able white students in racially imbalanced schools and that despite improvements in the charter school sector over time, charter schools are still no more effective on average than traditional public schools.
Elsevier eBooks, 2010
... Motivation and human behaviour. In Taylor-Gooby, P. (ed.) Risk, Trust and Welfare, pp 3150. ... more ... Motivation and human behaviour. In Taylor-Gooby, P. (ed.) Risk, Trust and Welfare, pp 3150. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Hamilton, L., Berends, M., and Stecher, B.(2005). Teachers' responses to standards-based accountability. Working Paper, RAND Corporation. Page 370. ...
Economics of Education Review, Jun 1, 2017
In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind ... more In this paper we examine how failing to make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the accountability pressure that ensues, affects various non-achievement student behaviors. Using administrative data from North Carolina and leveraging a discontinuity in the determination of school failure, we examine the causal impact of this form of accountability pressure both on student behaviors that are incentivized by NCLB and on those that are not. We find evidence that, as NCLB intends, pressure encourages students to show up at school and to do so on time. Accountability pressure also appears to have the unintended effect, however, of increasing the number of student misbehaviors. Further, we find some evidence that this negative response is most pronounced among minorities and low performing students: those who are the most likely to be left behind.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2018
National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), Jun 1, 2018
CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working paper... more CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working papers. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders.
School segregation in the era of immigration, school choice and color-blind jurisprudencethe case... more School segregation in the era of immigration, school choice and color-blind jurisprudencethe case of North Carolina We document patterns and trends in school segregation by racial/ethnic group and by family income in North Carolina between 1998 and 2016, a period of rapid immigration, decline in federal oversight, and growth of charter schools. Accounting for students in both public and private schools, we find that segregation generally increased over the period, with the increase concentrated in urban areas. In addition, low-income students became more segregated from other students during the period. We measure and decompose segregation in metropolitan areas, finding that more than half can be attributed to racial disparities inside school districts, but in some counties private schools, charter schools, or multiple districts played a deciding role. We also find that segregation between white and Hispanic students increased sharply. We note several policy levers available at the local and state level.
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2020
We are very grateful to our commentators for their kind words, for their careful attention and fo... more We are very grateful to our commentators for their kind words, for their careful attention and for the opportunity their comments have given us both to clarify some of our arguments and positions and to develop our thinking further. The book was not written for philosophers, it was not written exclusively by philosophers, and-although we spent many years writing it-it was always intended to be quite short (which is partly why it took so long). It would be convenient if these considerations could excuse all its failures fully to defend, or perhaps sometimes even adequately to convey, the various philosophical claims we put forward. Between them, they certainly explain why those claims are set out in such a simplified and summary fashion-and why they are asserted rather than argued for. But we do not pretend that our responses to the comments and criticisms will be simply a matter of explaining what we had in mind all along. Many of the challenges and suggestions are penetrating and insightful; they have got us thinking new thoughts. Space will not allow us to reply to every point, so we have chosen to focus on common themes and suggestions that strike us as particularly important and/or interesting.
Race and Social Problems, 2021
Sass, and participants at the Sanford School social policy workshop for helpful comments and disc... more Sass, and participants at the Sanford School social policy workshop for helpful comments and discussions and to Jessica Wilkinson for valuable research assistance. This research was supported by the National Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER), which is funded by a consortium of foundations. For more information about CALDER funders, see www.caldercenter.org/about-calder. All opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or the institutions to which the authors are affiliated. CALDER working papers have not undergone final formal review and should be cited as working papers. They are intended to encourage discussion and suggestions for revision before final publication. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders.