Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: The Impacts of Special Education Access on Student Outcomes

经济学博士论文研究：特殊教育机会对学生成绩的影响

• 批准号: 1824547
• 负责人: Scott Carrell
• 金额: $ 1.96万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-07-15 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1824547&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Economics; Impacts

This proposed research project will use data and policy change in Texas to study the long-term effects of special education (SE) on students. Even though about 13 percent of public school students in the US are in SE and large amounts of money is spent on it, very little is known about the long-term impact of SE. This research project fills the gap. In 2005, the Texas legislature introduced a district level SE enrollment cap of 8.5% at a time when the average district had SE enrolment rate was 13%. To be compliant, school districts sharply reduced SE enrollment. The proposed research will use this policy change to identify the short- and long-term effects of participation in SE. The results of this research will shed light on the benefits and costs of SE as well as provide policy inputs into the design and implementation of SE programs. The results of this research project will therefore improve the development of US human capital, and as a result, increase economic growth.This proposal will use an exogenous change in policy to identify the causal impact of SE on short-term and long-term student outcomes. The study will exploit a 2005 policy change that mandated SE enrolment in Texas school districts to not exceed 8.5% at a time when the average SE enrolment rate was 13%. This resulted in several districts sharply cutting back SE enrolment. Utilizing across district variation in distance from this enrolment cap and students' years of policy exposure, the PIs will construct an instrument that captures the strength of policy pressure to reduce SE enrollment. The IV estimates reflect a local average treatment effect (LATE) for students whose diagnosis could be altered by school district change, thus providing the causal impact for students on the margin of SE placement. The results of this research project will provide guidance on policies to improve special education and human capital formation in the US. In addition to the estimates, the research project will create a large data set on SE that will be used as other researchers will use it to study the effects of special education in the US.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该拟议研究项目将利用德克萨斯州的数据和政策变化来研究特殊教育 (SE) 对学生的长期影响。 尽管美国大约 13% 的公立学校学生就读于 SE，并且投入了大量资金，但人们对 SE 的长期影响却知之甚少。 该研究项目填补了国内空白。 2005年，得克萨斯州立法机构将地区级SE入学率上限设定为8.5%，而当时学区的SE平均入学率为13%。 为了遵守规定，学区大幅减少了 SE 的入学人数。拟议的研究将利用这一政策变化来确定参与社会经济的短期和长期影响。 这项研究的结果将揭示社会保障的收益和成本，并为社会保障计划的设计和实施提供政策投入。 因此，该研究项目的结果将改善美国人力资本的发展，从而促进经济增长。该提案将利用政策的外生变化来确定SE对短期和长期学生成绩的因果影响。该研究将利用 2005 年的一项政策变化，该政策要求德克萨斯州学区的 SE 入学率不得超过 8.5%，而当时 SE 的平均入学率为 13%。这导致几个地区大幅减少了SE的入学人数。 利用各学区与招生上限的差距以及学生接受政策的年限的差异，PI 将构建一个工具，以捕捉减少自雇入学人数的政策压力的强度。 IV 估计反映了学生的当地平均治疗效果 (LATE)，这些学生的诊断可能会因学区变化而改变，从而为处于 SE 安置边缘的学生提供因果影响。该研究项目的结果将为改善美国特殊教育和人力资本形成的政策提供指导。 除了估计之外，该研究项目还将创建一个有关 SE 的大型数据集，其他研究人员将使用该数据集来研究美国特殊教育的影响。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。