I analyze the longer-run effects of a college-preparatory program implemented in inner-city schools that included payments to eleventh- and twelfth- grade students and their teachers for passing scores on Advanced Placement exams. Affected students attended college in greater numbers, were more likely to remain in college beyond their first year,…

By the end of fourth grade, African American and Latino students, are two years behind their wealthier, predominantly white peers in reading and math. By eighth grade, they have slipped three years behind, and by 12th grade, the gap is full four years. These are just two examples of the most alarming figures that threaten the educational equity of…

To many, it seems obvious which schools are failing--schools whose students perform poorly on achievement tests. But since evaluating schools on achievement mixes the effects of school and nonschool influences, achievement-based evaluation likely underestimates the effectiveness of schools that serve disadvantaged populations. In this article, the…

The public profiling of schools as "effective schools", based on Grade 12 results, has resulted in a jingoistic race by many public schools to get their names on the "public notice board" of effectiveness recognition. Besides creating a skewed perception of school effectiveness, this public profiling of schools as effective…