Understanding the Effects of Middle School Algebra
A Regression Discontinuity Approach
Published Oct 20, 2017
We identify California public middle schools that use a 7th grade achievement threshold to place students into 8th grade Algebra. These schools provide 439 opportunities to estimate regression discontinuity effects of 8th grade Algebra placement. We meta-analyze these effects and find small positive effects on students' high school math and English achievement, and substantial positive effects on high school math course-taking. Further, our analyses indicate substantial treatment effect heterogeneity across schools. Descriptive analyses suggest a positive relationship between treatment effects and average school student achievement and the location of the placement threshold, and a negative relationship with student poverty.
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Document Details
- Copyright: RAND Corporation
- Availability: Web-Only
- Year: 2017
- Pages: 59
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/WR1209
- Document Number: WR-1209
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McEachin, Andrew, Thurston Domina, and Andrew M. Penner, Understanding the Effects of Middle School Algebra: A Regression Discontinuity Approach, RAND Corporation, WR-1209, 2017. As of September 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR1209.html
McEachin, Andrew, Thurston Domina, and Andrew M. Penner, Understanding the Effects of Middle School Algebra: A Regression Discontinuity Approach. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2017. https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR1209.html.
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