The number of low-performing schools has drastically increased since COVID-19. During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 488 low-performing schools (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2024). The number increased to 736 schools during the 2023- 2024 school year, a 50.8% increase (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,…

This dissertation consists of three essays that use and develop econometric methods to causally investigate topics in education and development economics. In the first chapter, I develop an econometric framework to correctly and efficiently draw inference in models where estimated value-added (VA) is an explanatory variable (and models where it…

SAE for All was adopted by the National Council for Ag Education in 2015 and North Carolina launched the model through statewide professional development in 2019. As part of a larger study on implementation, this 2022 qualitative study sought to understand the barriers teachers were facing in implementing the SAE for All model and sought to…

Measuring teacher effectiveness has been debated and studied for numerous years. While some progress has been made, consensus has yet to be reached regarding what it means to be an effective teacher and how to measure effectiveness. This study uses administrative data from North Carolina to assess the relationship between school principal…

As state and federal governments place an increasing emphasis on academic outcomes, should they be used to determine adequate funding for students with disabilities (SWD)? Although adequacy is determined through a political process, it requires an understanding of cost -- the expenditure required to reach a specific outcome. Therefore, with the…

Panel or grouped data are often used to allow for unobserved individual heterogeneity in econometric models via fixed effects. In this paper, we discuss identification of a panel data model in which the unobserved heterogeneity both enters additively and interacts with treatment variables. We present identification and estimation methods for…

Many graduate public affairs programs offer both residential and online options for students. One of the challenges for multi-format programs is creating a sense of belonging among online students who may never set foot on campus. In 2017, the MPA program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed an "immersion" course…

Peer assessment can be a more effective pedagogical method when reviewers provide quality feedback. But what makes feedback helpful to reviewees? Other studies have identified quality feedback as focusing on detecting problems, providing suggestions, or pointing out where changes need to be made. However, it is important to seek students'…

This paper reports on the results of a research-practice partnership that included a U.S. university research team and a state-funded grants program that supports informal science education. The goal of the 2-year partnership was to develop an empirically-tested model for collaboration and capacity-building (CCB) in support of collective…

This article examines the role of the Great Depression in shaping the intergenerational mobility of some of the most upwardly mobile cohorts of the twentieth century. Using newly linked census and vital records from the Longitudinal, Intergenerational Family Electronic Micro-database, we examine the occupational and educational mobility of more…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation case study on the impact of standards-based grading in a North Carolina school district. The implementation procedures and end products of grading reform were assessed using the CIPP model. Data from teacher questionnaires, principal implementation checklists, interviews, and…

Although research advocates for comprehensive cross-sector youth violence prevention efforts, mobilizing across sectors to translate scientific recommendations into practice has proven challenging. A unifying framework may provide a foundational step toward building a shared understanding of the risk and protective factors that impact youth…

Preparing students for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is one of the United States' K-12 educational concerns (Gandhi et al., 2016). Despite the National Science Foundation's (NSF) report that the number of students participating in STEM fields continues to increase, the number of underrepresented students…

Home visiting connects expectant parents, new caregivers, and their young children with a support person, called a home visitor. The home visitor meets regularly with the family, develops a relationship with them, and supports them to achieve their goals and meet their needs. To reach the thousands of additional families who could benefit from…

Developmental education is critical in the future of higher education and for the large numbers of college and university students entering higher education. Developmental education sometimes carries a negative connotation, one that is misappropriated to developmental education itself, the students, and the colleges or universities they attend.…