Think Again: Is Grade Retention Bad for Kids?
In this brief, we provide a review of recent literature on the causal effects of student grade retention and present three policy recommendations for those considering grade retention policies.
Umut Özek is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation who focuses on topics in economics of education. His recent research interests include immigrant students and English learners, implementation and consequences of educational accountability, K–12 remediation policies and their effects, and the design and effects of school choice programs. His previous research was funded by the Institutes of Education Sciences, National Science Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, and Smith Richardson Foundation, and was published or is forthcoming in the Review of Economic Studies, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Public Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Education Finance and Policy, and Economics of Education Review among others. Before joining RAND, he was a principal economist at the American Institutes for Research. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Florida.
Education
Ph.D. in economics, University of Florida; M.A. in economics, University of Colorado Denver; B.S. in electrical engineering, Middle East Technical University
Languages
Turkish; English
Selected Work
- David Figlio, Paola Giuliano, Riccardo Marchingiglio, Umut Özek, and Paola Sapienza, "Diversity in schools: Immigrants and the educational performance of U.S. born students.," Review of Economic Studies, 2023
- David Figlio and Umut Özek, "The Unintended Consequences of Test-Based Remediation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (forthcoming)
- Umut Özek, "Examining the Educational Spillover Effects of Severe Natural Disasters: The Case of Hurricane Maria," Journal of Human Resources, 2023
- Krzysztof Karbownik and Umut Özek, "Setting a good example? Examining sibling spillovers in education achievement using a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Human Resources, 2023
- Umut Özek, "The Effects of Middle School Remediation on Postsecondary Success: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Florida," Journal of Public Economics, 203, 2021
- David Figlio and Umut Özek, "An Extra Year to Learn English? Early Grade Retention and the Human Capital Development of English Learners," Journal of Public Economics, 186, 2020
- David Figlio, Paola Giuliano, Umut Özek, and Paola Sapienza, "Long Term Orientation and Educational Performance," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11(4), 2019
- David Figlio and Umut Özek, "Unwelcome Guests? The Effects of Refugees on the Educational Outcomes of Incumbent Students," Journal of Labor Economics, 37(4), 2019
Authored by Umut Ozek
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