Arkansas Department of Education

About: Arkansas Department of Education is a government organization based out in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: School choice & Voucher. The organization has 37 authors who have published 112 publications receiving 1325 citations. The organization is also known as: ADE.

Personality as a Predictor of Unit Nonresponse in Panel Data: An Analysis of an Internet-Based Survey

Abstract: Unit nonresponse or attrition in panel data sets is often a source of nonrandom measurement error. Why certain individuals attrite from longitudinal studies and how to minimize this phenomenon have been examined by researchers. However, this research has typically focused on data sets collected via telephone, postal mail, or face-to-face interviews. Moreover, this research usually focuses on using demographic characteristics such as educational attainment or income to explain variation in the incidence of unit nonresponse. We make two contributions to the existing literature. First, we examine the incidence of unit nonresponse in an internet panel, a relatively new, and hence understudied, approach to gathering longitudinal data. Second, we hypothesize that personality traits, which typically remain unobserved and unmeasured in many data sets, affect the likelihood of unit nonresponse. Using data from an internet panel that includes self-reported measures of personality in its baseline survey, we find that conscientiousness and openness to experience predict the incidence of unit nonresponse in subsequent survey waves, even after controlling for cognitive ability and demographic characteristics that are usually available and used by researchers to correct for panel attrition. We also test the potential to use paradata as proxies for personality traits. Although we show that these proxies predict panel attrition in the same way as self-reported measures of personality traits, it is unclear to what extent they capture particular personality traits versus other individual circumstances related to future survey completion. Our results suggest that obtaining explicit measures of personality traits or finding better proxies for them are crucial to more fully address the potential bias that may arise as a result of panel attrition.

Teacher Qualifications and Middle School Student Achievement

Abstract: Examines whether teacher licensure test scores and other teacher qualifications affect middle school student achievement.

Is Collegiate Political Correctness Fake News? Relationships between Grades and Ideology

Abstract: While considerable quantitative research demonstrates ideological liberalism among American professors, only qualitative work examines whether this affects undergraduate education. Using the HERI dataset surveying students in their first and fourth years in college (n=7,207), we use OLS regressions to test whether students’ political beliefs are associated with reported college grades and perceived collegiate experiences. We find that while standardized test scores are the best predictors of grade point average, ideology also has impacts. Even with controls for SES, demographics, and SAT scores, liberal students report higher college grades and closer relationships with faculty. Nevertheless, conservative students consistently show higher levels of satisfaction with college courses and experiences, and higher high school grades. We discuss implications.

Private School Choice and Character: More Evidence from Milwaukee

Abstract: We examine the effects of Milwaukee’s school voucher program on adult criminal activity and paternity suits. Using matched student-level data, we find that exposure to the program in 8th or 9th grade predicts lower rates of conviction for criminal activity and lower rates of paternity suits by ages 25 to 28. Specifically, exposure to the MPCP is associated with a reduction of around 53 percent in drug convictions, 86 percent in property damage convictions, and 38 percent in paternity suits. The program effects tend to be largest for males and students with lower levels of academic achievement at baseline.

The Fiscal Effects of Eliminating the Louisiana Scholarship Program on State Education Expenditures

Abstract: Eliminating the Louisiana Scholarship Program has been proposed as a way to reduce state education expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. Drawing upon Louisiana’s education funding formulas, we determine that the overall effect of removing the program will increase state education expenditures. It is true that the state would avoid $41.6 million of spending if the voucher program is eliminated. However, each current voucher student who returns to a public school increases the local district’s necessary education expenditures without increasing the local tax revenue for schools, obligating the state to provide increased funding to the district. While our results depend on which assumptions we use, our analysis generally indicates the net effect of eliminating the program is an increase in state funding to local districts. In particular, we find evidence of the need for additional funding in nearly all scenarios in which the program is eliminated unless at least 13.52% of current voucher users stay in private schools and pay tuition out of pocket or through other private means.