Working Paper: NBER ID: w20453
Authors: David Card; Laura Giuliano
Abstract: Education policy makers have struggled for decades with the question of how to best serve high ability K‐12 students. As in the debate over selective college admissions, a key issue is targeting. Should gifted and talented programs be allocated on the basis of cognitive ability, or a broader combination of ability and achievement? Should there be a single admission threshold, or a lower bar for disadvantaged students? We use data from a large urban school district to study the impacts of assignment to separate gifted classrooms on three distinct groups of fourth grade students: non-disadvantaged students with IQ scores ≥130; subsidized lunch participants and English language learners with IQ scores ≥116; and students who miss the IQ thresholds but scored highest among their school/grade cohort in state-wide achievement tests in the previous year. Regression discontinuity estimates based on the IQ thresholds for the first two groups show no effects on reading or math achievement at the end of fourth grade. In contrast, estimates based on test score ranks for the third group show significant gains in reading and math, concentrated among lower-income and black and Hispanic students. The math gains persist to fifth grade and are also reflected in fifth grade science scores. Our findings suggest that a separate classroom environment is more effective for students selected on past achievement - particularly disadvantaged students who are often excluded from gifted and talented programs.
Keywords: gifted education; student achievement; regression discontinuity
JEL Codes: I21; I24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| assignment to separate gifted classrooms (C90) | reading achievement (nondisadvantaged students with IQ scores above 130) (I24) |
| assignment to separate gifted classrooms (C90) | math achievement (nondisadvantaged students with IQ scores above 130) (C12) |
| placement in gifted classrooms (I24) | math scores (non-gifted high achievers from lower-income and minority backgrounds) (I24) |
| placement in gifted classrooms (I24) | reading scores (non-gifted high achievers from lower-income and minority backgrounds) (I24) |
| past achievement selection (C52) | effectiveness of separate classroom environment (I24) |