Abstract
In Project STAR, 11,571 students in Tennessee and their teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms within their schools from kindergarten to third grade. This article evaluates the long-term impacts of STAR by linking the experimental data to administrative records. We first demonstrate that kindergarten test scores are highly correlated with outcomes such as earnings at age 27, college attendance, home ownership, and retirement savings. We then document four sets of experimental impacts. First, students in small classes are significantly more likely to attend college and exhibit improvements on other outcomes. Class size does not have a significant effect on earnings at age 27, but this effect is imprecisely estimated. Second, students who had a more experienced teacher in kindergarten have higher earnings. Third, an analysis of variance reveals significant classroom effects on earnings. Students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classrooms in grades K-3-as measured by classmates' end-of-class test scores-have higher earnings, college attendance rates, and other outcomes. Finally, the effects of class quality fade out on test scores in later grades, but gains in noncognitive measures persist.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1593-1660 |
| Number of pages | 68 |
| Journal | Quarterly Journal of Economics |
| Volume | 126 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 1 2011 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics
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How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from project star. / Chetty, Raj; Friedman, John N.; Hilger, Nathaniel; Saez, Emmanuel; Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore; Yagan, Danny.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 126, No. 4, 01.11.2011, p. 1593-1660.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - How does your kindergarten classroom affect your earnings? Evidence from project star
AU - Chetty, Raj
AU - Friedman, John N.
AU - Hilger, Nathaniel
AU - Saez, Emmanuel
AU - Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore
AU - Yagan, Danny
PY - 2011/11/1
Y1 - 2011/11/1
N2 - In Project STAR, 11,571 students in Tennessee and their teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms within their schools from kindergarten to third grade. This article evaluates the long-term impacts of STAR by linking the experimental data to administrative records. We first demonstrate that kindergarten test scores are highly correlated with outcomes such as earnings at age 27, college attendance, home ownership, and retirement savings. We then document four sets of experimental impacts. First, students in small classes are significantly more likely to attend college and exhibit improvements on other outcomes. Class size does not have a significant effect on earnings at age 27, but this effect is imprecisely estimated. Second, students who had a more experienced teacher in kindergarten have higher earnings. Third, an analysis of variance reveals significant classroom effects on earnings. Students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classrooms in grades K-3-as measured by classmates' end-of-class test scores-have higher earnings, college attendance rates, and other outcomes. Finally, the effects of class quality fade out on test scores in later grades, but gains in noncognitive measures persist.
AB - In Project STAR, 11,571 students in Tennessee and their teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms within their schools from kindergarten to third grade. This article evaluates the long-term impacts of STAR by linking the experimental data to administrative records. We first demonstrate that kindergarten test scores are highly correlated with outcomes such as earnings at age 27, college attendance, home ownership, and retirement savings. We then document four sets of experimental impacts. First, students in small classes are significantly more likely to attend college and exhibit improvements on other outcomes. Class size does not have a significant effect on earnings at age 27, but this effect is imprecisely estimated. Second, students who had a more experienced teacher in kindergarten have higher earnings. Third, an analysis of variance reveals significant classroom effects on earnings. Students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classrooms in grades K-3-as measured by classmates' end-of-class test scores-have higher earnings, college attendance rates, and other outcomes. Finally, the effects of class quality fade out on test scores in later grades, but gains in noncognitive measures persist.
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U2 - 10.1093/qje/qjr041
DO - 10.1093/qje/qjr041
M3 - Article
VL - 126
SP - 1593
EP - 1660
JO - Quarterly Journal of Economics
JF - Quarterly Journal of Economics
SN - 0033-5533
IS - 4
ER -