Julie Trivitt | University of Arkansas (original) (raw)
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Papers by Julie Trivitt
Economics of Education Review, 2010
An important criticism of high-stakes testing policies -policies that reward or sanction schools ... more An important criticism of high-stakes testing policies -policies that reward or sanction schools based on their students' performance on standardized tests -is that they provide schools with an incentive to focus on those subjects that play a role in the accountability system while decreasing attention to those subjects that are not part of the program. This paper utilizes a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impact of Florida's high-stakes testing policy on student proficiency in the low-stakes subject of science. We confirm prior results that students in schools facing more immediate sanctions under the policy made substantial gains in the high-stakes subjects of math and reading. Contrary to the crowding-out hypothesis, we find that students in these schools made substantial achievement gains in the low-stakes subject of science as well.
Kyklos, 2007
This paper explores the nexus between youth-employment, youth-crime, and socialization in the con... more This paper explores the nexus between youth-employment, youth-crime, and socialization in the context of the child labor debate in economics. The analysis draws upon both economics and sociology and suggests that neglect of the socializing benefits of youth (and perhaps child) employment in the economics literature is a potentially important lacuna. The sociology literature contains evidence that youth-labor reduces criminal propensity. If this effect extends to the youth who are the subject of the economics child-labor literature, potentially large private and external benefits of some-types of child-labor have been ignored. After presenting evidence of the linkage between youth-socialization, youth-employment, and youth-crime we consider possible implications for child-labor policies.
Education Finance and Policy, 2011
Widespread disappointment with the outcomes of many public school districts in the U.S. has led t... more Widespread disappointment with the outcomes of many public school districts in the U.S. has led to a litany of reform proposals and public discourse on how best to improve the performance of our nation's public schools. One broad category of proposals includes school choice policies designed to reduce the monopoly power of local public schools and make them more responsive to the educational preferences of the parents and pupils they serve. Milton supported public funding for education where parents are able to choose among several schools for their children to attend. A subset of the school choice policies includes tuition vouchers which cover part or all of the private school tuition costs incurred by participants. Tuition vouchers enhance competition by making private schools a viable option for students who would not be able to attend them without the voucher. When faced with increased alternatives, public schools should, in theory, compete by better meeting the needs of parents and students in order to maintain enrollment and public funding. The exact degree to which public schools respond to competition is an unresolved empirical question, but many researchers have found evidence that public schools do alter their performance when faced with competition from private schools or other public schools .
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Bruce Dixon, Robert Costrell and Ryan Marsh for their va... more Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Bruce Dixon, Robert Costrell and Ryan Marsh for their valuable comments. All remaining errors are our own. 2 Abstract:
Peabody Journal of Education, 2008
Over the last 3 decades student achievement has remained essentially unchanged in the United Stat... more Over the last 3 decades student achievement has remained essentially unchanged in the United States, but not for a lack of spending. Over the same period a myriad of education reforms have been suggested and per-pupil spending has more than doubled. Since the 1990s the education reform attempts have frequently included judicial decisions to revise state school finance systems. Invoking
Economics of Education Review, 2010
An important criticism of high-stakes testing policies -policies that reward or sanction schools ... more An important criticism of high-stakes testing policies -policies that reward or sanction schools based on their students' performance on standardized tests -is that they provide schools with an incentive to focus on those subjects that play a role in the accountability system while decreasing attention to those subjects that are not part of the program. This paper utilizes a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impact of Florida's high-stakes testing policy on student proficiency in the low-stakes subject of science. We confirm prior results that students in schools facing more immediate sanctions under the policy made substantial gains in the high-stakes subjects of math and reading. Contrary to the crowding-out hypothesis, we find that students in these schools made substantial achievement gains in the low-stakes subject of science as well.
Kyklos, 2007
This paper explores the nexus between youth-employment, youth-crime, and socialization in the con... more This paper explores the nexus between youth-employment, youth-crime, and socialization in the context of the child labor debate in economics. The analysis draws upon both economics and sociology and suggests that neglect of the socializing benefits of youth (and perhaps child) employment in the economics literature is a potentially important lacuna. The sociology literature contains evidence that youth-labor reduces criminal propensity. If this effect extends to the youth who are the subject of the economics child-labor literature, potentially large private and external benefits of some-types of child-labor have been ignored. After presenting evidence of the linkage between youth-socialization, youth-employment, and youth-crime we consider possible implications for child-labor policies.
Education Finance and Policy, 2011
Widespread disappointment with the outcomes of many public school districts in the U.S. has led t... more Widespread disappointment with the outcomes of many public school districts in the U.S. has led to a litany of reform proposals and public discourse on how best to improve the performance of our nation's public schools. One broad category of proposals includes school choice policies designed to reduce the monopoly power of local public schools and make them more responsive to the educational preferences of the parents and pupils they serve. Milton supported public funding for education where parents are able to choose among several schools for their children to attend. A subset of the school choice policies includes tuition vouchers which cover part or all of the private school tuition costs incurred by participants. Tuition vouchers enhance competition by making private schools a viable option for students who would not be able to attend them without the voucher. When faced with increased alternatives, public schools should, in theory, compete by better meeting the needs of parents and students in order to maintain enrollment and public funding. The exact degree to which public schools respond to competition is an unresolved empirical question, but many researchers have found evidence that public schools do alter their performance when faced with competition from private schools or other public schools .
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Bruce Dixon, Robert Costrell and Ryan Marsh for their va... more Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Bruce Dixon, Robert Costrell and Ryan Marsh for their valuable comments. All remaining errors are our own. 2 Abstract:
Peabody Journal of Education, 2008
Over the last 3 decades student achievement has remained essentially unchanged in the United Stat... more Over the last 3 decades student achievement has remained essentially unchanged in the United States, but not for a lack of spending. Over the same period a myriad of education reforms have been suggested and per-pupil spending has more than doubled. Since the 1990s the education reform attempts have frequently included judicial decisions to revise state school finance systems. Invoking