Working Paper: NBER ID: w18197
Authors: Aimee Chin; Meltem Daysal; Scott A. Imberman
Abstract: Texas requires a school district to offer bilingual education when its enrollment of limited English proficient (LEP) students in a particular elementary grade and language is twenty or higher. Using school panel data, we find a significant increase in the probability that a district offers bilingual education above this 20-student cutoff. Using this discontinuity as an instrument for district bilingual education provision, we find that bilingual education programs do not significantly impact the standardized test scores of students with Spanish as their home language (comprised primarily of ever-LEP students). However, there are significant positive spillover effects to their non-LEP peers.
Keywords: Bilingual Education; Limited English Proficient Students; Regression Discontinuity; Educational Policy
JEL Codes: I21; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Provision of bilingual education (I28) | Standardized test scores of non-LEP students (I24) |
| Provision of bilingual education (I28) | Passing rates of non-LEP students (I24) |
| Provision of bilingual education (I28) | Educational outcomes for LEP students (I24) |
| Provision of bilingual education (I28) | Academic performance of non-LEP peers (I24) |