The success of policy interventions is frequently stymied by the inability to induce take-up in target populations. In this article, I show that local advertising in combination with small financial lotteries increases the likelihood that low-income students apply for and receive state aid. I isolate causal impacts by estimating the change in…

We report findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation of the recently implemented US$5,000 retention bonus program for effective teachers in Tennessee's Priority Schools. We estimate the impact of the program on teacher retention using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design by exploiting a discontinuity in the probability of treatment…

This article exploits a natural experiment to estimate the effects of need-based aid policies on first-year college persistence rates. In fall 2006, Ohio abruptly adopted a new state financial aid policy that was significantly more generous than the previous plan. Using student-level data and very narrowly defined sets of students, I estimate a…

College graduation rates often lag behind college attendance rates. One theory as to why students do not complete college is that they lack key information about how to be successful or fail to act on the information that they have. We present evidence from a randomized experiment which tests the effectiveness of individualized student coaching.…

Studied the long-term outcomes and costs of the Success for All program using data from the Baltimore Public Schools, Maryland. Success for All students completed eighth grade at a younger age, with better achievement outcomes, fewer special education placements, fewer retentions, and at the same educational expense. (SLD)

Contingent valuation (CV) is used to obtain more complete estimates of the economic value of benefits of preschool education for handicapped children. A general approach for use of CV in cost-benefit analysis of educational programs and use of the CV interview with 80 parents of handicapped preschoolers are described. (SLD)

Techniques of cost-effectiveness analysis and their applications to educational policy are discussed. Recommendations are made to increase the capacity of evaluators, policy analysts, and decision makers to use these tools appropriately for resource allocation. (SLD)

Results from an evaluation of 11 academy programs in California high schools designed to reduce dropout rates in the state are reported for 1987-88. Results of the matched comparison study were generally positive, and the estimated net economic benefit from dropout prevention for 327 students was 1 to 1.3 million dollars. (SLD)

Alternative programs for students desiring to obtain secondary teacher certification were compared for cost-effectiveness and for instructional effects. Relative performance of education and non-education majors was judged by the cognitive gain made by their pupils during the student teaching experience. Costs were determined by a variety of…

Two approaches to math instruction were compared in the fifth grade of the Jordan (Utah) School District. For middle- to lower-socioeconomic-status (SES) pupils, the Goal-Based Educational Management System Proficiency Mathematics approach was substantially more cost-effective. For high-SES pupils, a more traditional text-oriented approach was…