Despite the significant influence that peer motivation is likely to have on educational investments during high school, it is difficult to test empirically since exogenous changes in peer motivation are rarely observed. In this paper, I focus on the 2012 introduction of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to study a setting in which peer…

Eliminating the Scholastic Aptitude Test for college admissions might seem a form of covert affirmative action. Although it is possible to design a workable admissions policy that excludes standardized tests (as 15 percent of colleges have done), banishing admissions tests to further a social-policy goal indirectly is unsound policy. (Contains 25…

In this paper, scores from the Department of Education's table, "State Education Statistics," are examined to see if they can be used for state-by-state comparisons to aid in the evaluation of educational policies that vary across states. (Author/LMO)

Since 2000, the "Measuring Up" report cards have evaluated the progress of the nation and individual states in providing Americans with education and training beyond high school through the bachelor's degree. The purpose of the series is to assist the nation and the states in improving higher education opportunity and effectiveness.…

Black progress is tied to the overriding national concern for economic development and the challenge of international competition. The experience of black colleges shows that unequally prepared students can be educated to high levels of performance. Some public policy initiatives are suggested. (MLW)

Analysis of the joint submission of Scholastic Aptitude Test scores by 10,704 high school seniors shows that relatively few colleges compete with each other in local student markets. This suggests that state and institutional policies for adapting to demographically induced enrollment declines will be severely constrained by the competitive…

This paper analyzes Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score declines of two decades--the 1960s and 1970s. The importance of pervasive societal influences is accepted. A variety of data suggests, however, that the increase in school retention rates of poorly prepared students and the resulting heterogeneity of the high school population is a unifying…