IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v82y2021ics0272775721000182.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sorting it Out: The Effects of Charter Expansion on Teacher and Student Composition at Traditional Public Schools

Author

Listed:
  • Sorensen, Lucy C.
  • Holt, Stephen B.

Abstract

Since their introduction in the 1990s, charter schools have grown from a small-scale experiment to a ubiquitous feature of the public education landscape. The current study uses the legislative removal of a cap on the maximum number of charters in North Carolina as a natural experiment to assess the impacts of charter school growth on teacher quality and student composition in traditional public schools (TPS) at different levels of local market penetration. Using an instrumental variable difference-in-differences approach to account for endogenous charter demand, we find that intensive local charter entry reduces the inflow of new teachers at nearby TPS, leading to a more experienced and credentialed teaching workforce on average. However, we find that the entry of charters serving predominantly White students leads to reductions in average teacher experience, effectiveness, and credentials at nearby TPS. Overall these findings suggest that the composition of the teacher workforce in TPS will continue to change as charter schools further expand, and that the spillover effects of future charter expansion will vary by the types of students served by charters.

Suggested Citation

  • Sorensen, Lucy C. & Holt, Stephen B., 2021. "Sorting it Out: The Effects of Charter Expansion on Teacher and Student Composition at Traditional Public Schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:82:y:2021:i:c:s0272775721000182
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102095
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775721000182
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102095?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caroline Minter Hoxby, 2003. "School Choice and School Productivity. Could School Choice Be a Tide that Lifts All Boats?," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of School Choice, pages 287-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Winters, Marcus A. & Clayton, Grant & Carpenter, Dick M., 2017. "Are low-performing students more likely to exit charter schools? Evidence from New York City and Denver, Colorado," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 110-117.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & EJohn F. Kain & Steven G. Rivkin, 2004. "Why Public Schools Lose Teachers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    4. Milton Friedman, 1997. "Public Schools: Make Them Private," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 341-344.
    5. Harris, Douglas N. & Sass, Tim R., 2011. "Teacher training, teacher quality and student achievement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 798-812, August.
    6. Papay, John P. & Kraft, Matthew A., 2015. "Productivity returns to experience in the teacher labor market: Methodological challenges and new evidence on long-term career improvement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 105-119.
    7. Cook, Jason B., 2018. "The effect of charter competition on unionized district revenues and resource allocation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 48-62.
    8. repec:mpr:mprres:6955 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Caroline M. Hoxby, 2003. "The Economics of School Choice," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number hox03-1.
    10. repec:mpr:mprres:7380 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Matthew Ridley & Camille Terrier, 2018. "Fiscal and Education Spillovers from Charter School Expansion," NBER Working Papers 25070, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Helen F. Ladd, 2019. "How Charter Schools Threaten The Public Interest," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(4), pages 1063-1071, September.
    13. Jackson, C. Kirabo, 2012. "School competition and teacher labor markets: Evidence from charter school entry in North Carolina," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 431-448.
    14. Zimmer, Ron & Gill, Brian & Booker, Kevin & Lavertu, Stéphane & Witte, John, 2012. "Examining charter student achievement effects across seven states," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 213-224.
    15. Booker, Kevin & Gilpatric, Scott M. & Gronberg, Timothy & Jansen, Dennis, 2008. "The effect of charter schools on traditional public school students in Texas: Are children who stay behind left behind?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 123-145, July.
    16. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    17. Bruhn, Jesse & Imberman, Scott & Winters, Marcus, 2022. "Regulatory arbitrage in teacher hiring and retention: Evidence from Massachusetts Charter Schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    18. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2014. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2593-2632, September.
    19. Helen F. Ladd & Lucy C. Sorensen, 2017. "Returns to Teacher Experience: Student Achievement and Motivation in Middle School," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 12(2), pages 241-279, Spring.
    20. Philip M. Gleason, 2019. "Let The Search Continue: Charter Schools And The Public Interest," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(4), pages 1054-1062, September.
    21. repec:mpr:mprres:6956 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Winters, Marcus A., 2012. "Measuring the effect of charter schools on public school student achievement in an urban environment: Evidence from New York City," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 293-301.
    23. Seth Gershenson & Cassandra M. D. Hart & Joshua Hyman & Constance A. Lindsay & Nicholas W. Papageorge, 2022. "The Long-Run Impacts of Same-Race Teachers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 300-342, November.
    24. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 1, number 1, June.
    25. Sass, Tim R. & Hannaway, Jane & Xu, Zeyu & Figlio, David N. & Feng, Li, 2012. "Value added of teachers in high-poverty schools and lower poverty schools," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 104-122.
    26. Thomas S. Dee, 2005. "A Teacher Like Me: Does Race, Ethnicity, or Gender Matter?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 158-165, May.
    27. Holt, Stephen B. & Papageorge, Nicholas W., 2016. "Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectationsAuthor-Name: Gershenson, Seth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 209-224.
    28. Joshua Angrist & Eric Bettinger & Erik Bloom & Elizabeth King & Michael Kremer, 2002. "Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1535-1558, December.
    29. Tuttle, Christina Clark & Gleason, Philip & Clark, Melissa, 2012. "Using lotteries to evaluate schools of choice: Evidence from a national study of charter schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 237-253.
    30. Imberman, Scott A., 2011. "The effect of charter schools on achievement and behavior of public school students," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7-8), pages 850-863, August.
    31. Peter Bergman & Isaac McFarlin Jr., 2018. "Education for All? A Nationwide Audit Study of School Choice," NBER Working Papers 25396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    32. Clotfelter, Charles T. & Ladd, Helen F. & Vigdor, Jacob, 2005. "Who teaches whom? Race and the distribution of novice teachers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 377-392, August.
    33. Camille Terrier & Matthew W. Ridley, 2018. "Fiscal and Education Spillovers from Charter Expansion," NBER Chapters, in: Trans-Atlantic Public Economics Seminar 2018, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Carruthers, Celeste K., 2012. "New schools, new students, new teachers: Evaluating the effectiveness of charter schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 280-292.
    35. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2009. "Student Demographics, Teacher Sorting, and Teacher Quality: Evidence from the End of School Desegregation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(2), pages 213-256, April.
    36. Will Dobbie & Roland G. Fryer, 2011. "Are High-Quality Schools Enough to Increase Achievement among the Poor? Evidence from the Harlem Children's Zone," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 158-187, July.
    37. Steele, Jennifer L. & Pepper, Matthew J. & Springer, Matthew G. & Lockwood, J.R., 2015. "The distribution and mobility of effective teachers: Evidence from a large, urban school district," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 86-101.
    38. repec:mpr:mprres:6676 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. repec:mpr:mprres:6210 is not listed on IDEAS
    40. Dee, Thomas S. & Fu, Helen, 2004. "Do charter schools skim students or drain resources?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 259-271, June.
    41. Michael Gilraine & Uros Petronijevic & John D. Singleton, 2021. "Horizontal Differentiation and the Policy Effect of Charter Schools," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 239-276, August.
    42. Tim R. Sass, 2006. "Charter Schools and Student Achievement in Florida," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 91-122, January.
    43. Ron Zimmer & Brian Gill & Kevin Booker & Stephane Lavertu & Tim Sass & John Witte, "undated". "Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 6f5b31366ca2499e87ac2c1d0, Mathematica Policy Research.
    44. Dennis Epple & Richard Romano & Ron Zimmer, 2015. "Charter Schools: A Survey of Research on Their Characteristics and Effectiveness," NBER Working Papers 21256, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    45. Donald Boyd & Pamela Grossman & Hamilton Lankford & Susanna Loeb & James Wyckoff, 2006. "How Changes in Entry Requirements Alter the Teacher Workforce and Affect Student Achievement," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 1(2), pages 176-216, April.
    46. Robert Bifulco & Helen F. Ladd, 2006. "The Impacts of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: Evidence from North Carolina," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 50-90, January.
    47. Sarah R. Cohodes & Elizabeth M. Setren & Christopher R. Walters, 2021. "Can Successful Schools Replicate? Scaling Up Boston's Charter School Sector," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 138-167, February.
    48. repec:mpr:mprres:7293 is not listed on IDEAS
    49. Richard K. Mansfield, 2015. "Teacher Quality and Student Inequality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(3), pages 751-788.
    50. Atila Abdulkadiroğlu & Joshua D. Angrist & Susan M. Dynarski & Thomas J. Kane & Parag A. Pathak, 2011. "Accountability and Flexibility in Public Schools: Evidence from Boston's Charters And Pilots," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(2), pages 699-748.
    51. repec:mpr:mprres:6720 is not listed on IDEAS
    52. Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2010. "Teacher Credentials and Student Achievement in High School: A Cross-Subject Analysis with Student Fixed Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 45(3).
    53. Wiswall, Matthew, 2013. "The dynamics of teacher quality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 61-78.
    54. Li Feng, 2010. "Hire Today, Gone Tomorrow: New Teacher Classroom Assignments and Teacher Mobility," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 5(3), pages 278-316, July.
    55. Robert Bifulco & Randall Reback, 2014. "Fiscal Impacts of Charter Schools: Lessons from New York," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(1), pages 86-107, January.
    56. Steven Glazerman & Jeffrey Max, "undated". "Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to the Highest-Performing Teachers?," Mathematica Policy Research Reports b5869da6f9a54ef09fcd97be7, Mathematica Policy Research.
    57. Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), 2006. "Handbook of the Economics of Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 2, number 2, June.
    58. Philip Gleason & Melissa Clark & Christina Clark Tuttle & Emily Dwoyer, 2010. "The Evaluation of Charter School Impacts (Presentation)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 770e250b2ef343a3b1ec8c932, Mathematica Policy Research.
    59. Celeste K. Carruthers, 2012. "The Qualifications and Classroom Performance of Teachers Moving to Charter Schools," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 7(3), pages 233-268, July.
    60. Ni, Yongmei, 2009. "The impact of charter schools on the efficiency of traditional public schools: Evidence from Michigan," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 571-584, October.
    61. Joshua D. Angrist & Susan M. Dynarski & Thomas J. Kane & Parag A. Pathak & Christopher R. Walters, 2010. "Inputs and Impacts in Charter Schools: KIPP Lynn," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 239-243, May.
    62. Melissa A. Clark & Philip M. Gleason & Christina Clark Tuttle & Marsha K. Silverberg, 2015. "Do Charter Schools Improve Student Achievement?," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 9c032c5141694169bd9b23012, Mathematica Policy Research.
    63. Helen F. Ladd & Charles T. Clotfelter & John B. Holbein, 2017. "The Growing Segmentation of the Charter School Sector in North Carolina," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 12(4), pages 536-563, Fall.
    64. Helen F. Ladd & John D. Singleton, 2020. "The Fiscal Externalities of Charter Schools: Evidence from North Carolina," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 191-208, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Figlio, D. & Karbownik, K. & Salvanes, K.G., 2016. "Education Research and Administrative Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    2. Bruhn, Jesse & Imberman, Scott & Winters, Marcus, 2022. "Regulatory arbitrage in teacher hiring and retention: Evidence from Massachusetts Charter Schools," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    3. Dennis Epple & Richard Romano & Ron Zimmer, 2015. "Charter Schools: A Survey of Research on Their Characteristics and Effectiveness," NBER Working Papers 21256, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ridley, Matthew & Terrier, Camille, 2018. "Fiscal and education spillovers from charter school expansion," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 91700, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. John D. Singleton, 2019. "Incentives and the Supply of Effective Charter Schools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(7), pages 2568-2612, July.
    6. Sarah A. Cordes, 2018. "In Pursuit of the Common Good: The Spillover Effects of Charter Schools on Public School Students in New York City," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(4), pages 484-512, Fall.
    7. Helen F. Ladd & John D. Singleton, 2020. "The Fiscal Externalities of Charter Schools: Evidence from North Carolina," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 191-208, Winter.
    8. Tobin, Zachary, 2024. "How do public schools respond to competition? Evidence from a charter school expansion," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    9. Chen, Feng & Harris, Douglas N., 2023. "The market-level effects of charter schools on student outcomes: A national analysis of school districts," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    10. Eric Isenberg & Jeffrey Max & Philip Gleason & Matthew Johnson & Jonah Deutsch & Michael Hansen, "undated". "Do Low-Income Students Have Equal Access to Effective Teachers? Evidence from 26 Districts (Final Report)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports ce9ae6b49ff34e388113f31ca, Mathematica Policy Research.
    11. Chakrabarti, Rajashri & Roy, Joydeep, 2016. "Do charter schools crowd out private school enrollment? Evidence from Michigan," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 88-103.
    12. Sarah R. Cohodes & Elizabeth M. Setren & Christopher R. Walters, 2021. "Can Successful Schools Replicate? Scaling Up Boston's Charter School Sector," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 138-167, February.
    13. Hermann, Zoltán & Horváth, Hedvig, 2022. "Tanári eredményesség és tanár-diák összepárosítás az általános iskolákban. Empirikus mintázatok három magyarországi tankerület adatai alapján [Teacher effectiveness and teacher-student matching in ," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(11), pages 1377-1406.
    14. Gershenson, Seth, 2021. "Identifying and Producing Effective Teachers," IZA Discussion Papers 14096, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Cook, Jason B., 2018. "The effect of charter competition on unionized district revenues and resource allocation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 48-62.
    16. Carruthers, Celeste K., 2012. "New schools, new students, new teachers: Evaluating the effectiveness of charter schools," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 280-292.
    17. Joshua M. Cowen & Marcus A. Winters, 2013. "Do Charters Retain Teachers Differently? Evidence from Elementary Schools in Florida," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 8(1), pages 14-42, January.
    18. Fabre, Anaïs & Straub, Stéphane, 2019. "The Impact of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Infrastructure, Health and Education: A Review," TSE Working Papers 19-986, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Sep 2021.
    19. Michael Bates & Michael Dinerstein & Andrew C. Johnston & Isaac Sorkin, 2022. "Teacher Labor Market Equilibrium and Student Achievement," CESifo Working Paper Series 9551, CESifo.
    20. Johnston, Andrew C., 2021. "Preferences, Selection, and the Structure of Teacher Pay," IZA Discussion Papers 14831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:82:y:2021:i:c:s0272775721000182. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.