Abstract Credential stacking occurs when individuals earn multiple postsecondary credentials within a fixed period of time. Adult workers, in particular, can stack as a way to transition into and out of the labor market as they seek to develop new knowledge, skills, and competencies in response to shifting labor market dynamics, employer demand, and technological change. In this paper, we estimate the effects of subbaccalaureate credential stacking among adult workers in New Jersey for cohorts that straddle the Great Recession. We find that stacking boosts earnings by about $700 per quarter—an increase of 6 percent—and increases labor supply along the intensive margin by 3 percent. Benefits of stacking accrue largely to stackers who are female or Black, seek an associate’s degree as their second credential, or work in health care fields. These results suggest that organic credential stacking, even in the absence of prescriptive policy pathways, has meaningful economic benefits.
Abstract The efficacy of remedial education has long been debated, leading to comprehensive, structural reform nationwide. Between 2013 and 2017, California passed various remedial education reforms, first changing the methodology of remedial education placement, and later effectively removing remedial education mandates altogether. The latter reforms increased direct access to transfer-level courses, allowing students to bypass remedial education requirements. I exploit the timing of these reforms to explore how students, at different levels of college readiness, progress in community college without completing remedial education. Focusing on newly graduated high school students, I find that after increasing direct access to transfer-level courses, students at all academic levels were more likely to enroll and pass transfer-level English and math at similar rates before any policy reform, except for students considered to be the least academically prepared. These results, along with observed declines in average GPA and persistence to the next year, suggest that, despite short-run benefits, there is still space for additional academic support and policies to help improve long-run college completion rates.
Abstract Past efforts aimed at improving chronically low-performing schools have leaned on prescriptive turnaround models to improve student outcomes, but flexible reform models are becoming more common under the Every Student Succeeds Act. One such policy, North Carolina's Restart (NCR) model, gives principals of persistently low-performing schools increased autonomy to implement reforms that suit their school-specific needs. However, the policy does not clearly define how much autonomy principals have in cases when their desired reforms conflict with pre-existing policies within their school district. Using structure–agency theory, we leverage interviews with principals to examine how NCR principals navigate this expansion in their discretionary authority. We find that principals played an active part in defining how much autonomy they ultimately had to override district regulations. We also find that the interaction between principals’ and districts’ level of commitment, capacity, and coordination helps to explain how principals experienced NCR. Our results contribute important insights for educational leaders and policymakers to consider when designing and implementing reform models that rely on increased principal autonomy.
Abstract The four-day school week (4DSW) is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional five-day week schedule, particularly in rural school districts. While most districts initially adopted the shortened schedule to reduce operational costs and improve student attendance, many recent adopters view it as a potential solution to concerns about teacher shortages and retention that have intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief synthesizes new evidence from Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, and Oregon examining the impacts of 4DSWs on teacher recruitment and retention. Our review reveals that, counter to proponents’ claims, 4DSWs do not consistently improve these outcomes. These findings contribute to the growing evidence that, despite widespread support for 4DSWs in the communities that use them, they often fail to deliver the benefits districts hope to see from adopting them and can have negative impacts on student achievement. Addressing staffing challenges in rural schools may require adapting evidence-based solutions from urban schools and testing new, promising strategies that intervene at various points along the teacher pipeline. In the meantime, districts using or considering the 4DSW should proceed with caution, and states should consider policies that monitor and/or restrict the implementation of 4DSWs to track and prevent negative impacts on students.
Abstract More than 50 public research universities have adopted responsibility center management (RCM) budget models that are designed to encourage units within universities to become more entrepreneurial and efficient. I compiled a longitudinal dataset of RCM announcements and implementations to examine whether universities that adopted RCM changed their portfolio of master’s degree programs. There was no evidence of changes in the number or types of programs or total degrees awarded following the adoption of RCM, suggesting limits to the incentives that these budget models provide to unit leaders.
