Mar 2023
Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes Among Adolescents
Read our academic paper on the early Saga studies published in the American Economic Review.
Improving academic outcomes for economically disadvantaged students has proven challenging, particularly for children at older ages. We present two large-scale randomized controlled trials of a high-dosage tutoring program delivered to secondary school students in Chicago. One innovation is to use paraprofessional tutors to hold down cost, thereby increasing scalability. Participating in math tutoring increases math test scores by 0.18 to 0.40 standard deviations and increases math and non-math course grades. These effects persist into future years. The data are consistent with increased personalization of instruction as a mechanism. The benefit-cost ratio is comparable to many successful early-childhood programs.
Latest Updates
A restorative approach to student discipline shows promise in reducing suspensions and arrests
Suspensions are a common form of official discipline implemented in American schools, but can alternative approaches prove effective in reducing harmful student behavior?
UChicago Education Lab leaders on NAEP scores: It’s worse than you think but there is a solution
The latest NAEP scores are devastating—but as bad as they are, the real problem is even bigger. Test scores have been declining since 2013 and then got exponentially worse during the pandemic. What is going on?
Jens Ludwig: Parents of private school students like the Lab School are also worried about the future of education
Education Lab faculty co-director Jens Ludwig pens and op-ed about parents’ concerns with America’s public schools.
