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Nick Ainsworth

@nick-ainsworth.bsky.social
160 followers 248 following 29 posts

phd student @UCIeducation | interested in ece and sped policy | former k-2 sped teacher | @vanderbiltu @unlv alum | he/him 🏳️‍🌈 | www.njainsworth.com

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Reposted by Nick Ainsworth
Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Interested in being funded under Arnold Ventures' K-12 State Policy RFP? Join our webinar next week to learn more about our priorities and have the opportunity to ask questions! arnoldventures.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
arnoldventures.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Arnold Ventures: Causal Research on the Impacts of K-12 School Policies RFP. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webi...
Arnold Ventures’ Evidence + Evaluation team is hosting an interactive 45-minute webinar to share more about our grant funding opportunities. The next several years present an important opportunity t...
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Dan Goldhaber @cedr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is a long one, folks: new CALDER working paper on the extent to which academic preparation predicts teacher workforce outcomes. We link college records from 3 WA public universities to who teaches, how effective they are, and who stays. 🧵 caldercenter.org/publications... 1/11
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Cam Arnzen @camarnzen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
📢 For all my fellow education politics and policy people: Josh Almes and I now have an @annenberginstitute.bsky.social working paper out detailing our new dataset of school district partisanship for all 13,000+ districts for the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections. edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1600
edworkingpapers.com
A National Measure of School District Partisanship for the 2016 to 2024 Presidential Elections
Scholars increasingly interested in the governance of local school districts, which invites curiosity about the partisanship of their voting constituencies. Presently, researchers have to translate pr...
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Happy Friday! 🎉
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Taylor Odle @taylorodle.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🚨 The Department of Educational Policy Studies at @uwmadison.bsky.social is searching for an Asst/Assoc Prof focused on education and the environment. Please share widely, send us your best candidates, and reach out with questions! wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UW_Madison/j...
wisconsin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant or Associate Professor in Educational Policy Studies - RISE Earth
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process. Job Category: Faculty Employment Type: Re...
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Laura Rogers @laurarogers.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Resharing: We are hiring a 9-month tenure track assistant or associate professor in my program, administration & supervision (education leadership) at UVA! If you're one of the 3 people who follows me on here, please share! I'm chairing the search and happy to talk. apply.interfolio.com/190669
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Mark Chin @mememedianmode.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Our department is hiring an assistant/associate professor of higher education policy!! I am not on the search committee this time, but am happy to chat with those who are interested about our amazing departmental community and Vanderbilt. Please help circulate! apply.interfolio.com/193891
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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C. Kirabo Jackson @kirabojackson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
If spending more on schools raises the earnings of the children who benefit, does it eventually make the whole economy richer? My new NBER paper examines this using school-finance reforms. 🧵 www.nber.org/papers/w35755
nber.org
The Macroeconomic Returns to School Finance Reforms: Micro-Calibrated Predictions Meet Causal Evidence
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
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Aaron Ainsworth @ajainsworth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I’m excited to share a new EdWorkingPaper with @andydebarros.bsky.social. Evaluations are an increasingly common way school systems globally are trying to help teachers improve, but is more always better? A 🧵 doi.org/10.26300/ms3...
doi.org
Evaluation Scores and Student Learning under Compulsory Teacher Re-Evaluation
We examine how lower-performing public school teachers respond to more frequent formative evaluations. A 2011 reform in Chile required teachers rated "basic" (the second-lowest category) to be re-eval...
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Jeremy Singer @jeremylsinger.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Job alert! @harbatkat.bsky.social and I are hiring a postdoc to help lead research on Michigan's Partnership Model of school and district turnaround. We're looking for qualitative or mixed-method researcher, and hoping to hire ASAP. Reach out with any questions! careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...
careers.umich.edu
RESEARCH FELLOW (Hybrid) | U-M Careers
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This week, we welcome Danielle Jeannite to our first cohort of SPARC scholars! 💫 Danielle's research takes a systems-level view, examining how leadership, working conditions for special education teachers, and institutional structures shape outcomes for students and staff.
A graphic featuring a headshot of Danielle Jeannite. She stands outdoors in front of tropical leaves, smiling. She has dark curly hair. She wears a purple shirt with a black blazer. Above the headshot reads: “Danielle Jeannite SPARC Scholar 2026-2027.” Below the headshot are text boxes with the SPARC logo, the SPARC website domain, and a text box reading “Doctoral Candidate in Special Education, University of Florida”.
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Beth Schueler @bethschueler.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Join our upcoming webinar on submitting conference proposals! To be held 9/21 1pm PT / 4pm ET. Sponsored by the @aefpweb.bsky.social Doctoral Student Community Group and conveniently in advance of the AEFP Oct. proposal deadline. Register here: upenn.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
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Annenberg Institute @annenberginstitute.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
📢 #EdWorkingPapers: Can schools sustain effective literacy tutoring across multiple years, at scale, and on a real budget? A 4-year RCT says yes. 🔍 @jilli-jung.bsky.social, @carlyrobinson.bsky.social, T. Ripma, K. Cortes, K. Kortecamp & @susanna-loeb.bsky.social 📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1548
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Gema Zamarro @gzamarro.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
We’re hiring! The University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform is seeking a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Education Policy. Come and work with us! uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UAF_Ex...
uasys.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Assistant Professor of Education Policy
Current University of Arkansas System employees, including student employees and graduate assistants, need to log in to Workday via MyApps.Microsoft.com, then access Find Jobs from the Workday search ...
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Brian Heseung Kim @brhkim.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Over the past six months, I've been teaching teams at places like Stanford, Penn, Northwestern, and many more how to start using AI responsibly+effectively in their work. Today, I'm starting to release my entire curriculum: for free, forever, for everyone!
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Ian Callen @iancallen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
New paper! w/ @edizonross.bsky.social, @cedr.bsky.social, Tom Kane, Andrew McEachin, and @ermorton.bsky.social. We know the pandemic hit student test scores hard. But what happened to attendance, discipline, and grades? Did ESSER-funded intervention programs affect students on these measures?
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CALDER Center @caldercenter.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New CALDER paper by @marylaski.com, Calen Clifton, & @cedr.bsky.social studies the impact of team teaching in AZ. Student achievement effects are mostly null overall, but middle school math improves. Teachers also see lower turnover & higher evaluation ratings. Read: caldercenter.org/publications...
Evidence on Team-Based Teaching Models in Arizona 
Mary Laski, Calen Clifton, & Dan Goldhaber 
CALDER Working Paper No. 343-0826 
August 2026 
Abstract: Strategic staffing models are scaling rapidly nationwide. We study the impacts of a team teaching model implemented in one large district in Arizona over several years. We exploit the staggered rollout over time in a difference-in-differences design to estimate effects on student test achievement. We find overall null impacts on student learning, but important heterogeneity by grade and subject. In particular, we find consistently positive effects on middle school math achievement across all specifications, but negative effects at the elementary level in some specifications. Across grades and subjects, teamed teachers also have significantly lower turnover rates and higher evaluation ratings, but the patterns of effects are not consistent with the achievement results. The student achievement findings are broadly consistent with the literature on teacher-level departmentalization and suggest that benefits to team teaching can emerge in contexts where teaming increases collaboration without disrupting established teacher-student relationships, such as in already-departmentalized middle school grades.
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Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 06/08/2026
Brown just opened a cluster hire for two tenure-track positions in Education Policy. Come join our vibrant community of scholars at @brownedudept.bsky.social & @annenberginstitute.bsky.social! apply.interfolio.com/190527 Please help spread the word.
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Federal data can help identify trends in #SpecialEducation teacher pathways. At our next webinar, our experts will explore Title II data across our partner states and how it can inform evidence-based decision-making in special education policy and practice: binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Promotional graphic for an upcoming SPARC Center webinar titled “Mapping Pathways: Trends in Special Education Teacher Preparation Over Time Across SPARC States.” The webinar will take place on August 19 at 2 p.m. ET and features Li Feng, SPARC Center Co-Principal Investigator, and Tuan Nguyen, SPARC Center Key Personnel, Quantitative Analysis Team. The graphic has a dark blue background with white text, circular speaker headshots, and SPARC branding at the bottom, including the website sparccenter.org. The SPARC logo appears at the bottom left.
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Mark Chin @mememedianmode.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
🧵 1/ Many of us tuned in to the World Cup finale. More households certainly watched Super Bowl LX this past winter. But did you know in 1977, a larger % of households tuned into the finale for a TV miniseries- on the transatlantic slave trade and the multigenerational impacts of racial injustice?
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
So glad to see this paper out at EFP! It makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on the effects of four day school weeks on teachers and staff. Check out Aaron’s thread and give the paper a read!
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Liz Bettini @lizbettini.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
If you want to read just an absolutely joyful celebration of teachers' work, check out this amazing study of students' perspectives on special education teaching quality, by @hannahmmathews.bsky.social, Audrey Milam, Flo Bason, & Maria Giani! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
I am excited to share that I was selected as a 2026 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellow! Thank you to my mentors at UC Irvine for guiding me throughout this process. I look forward to continuing my dissertation work on special education policy and learning from the fantastic NAEd/Spencer community.
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The 74 @the74.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Wealthy students are more likely to get disability accommodations, study finds www.the74million.org/article/weal...
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Very thoughtful coverage of our work on family income and disability identification in K-12 schools by Kevin Mahnken in @the74.bsky.social. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Check out the piece below! www.the74million.org/article/weal...
the74million.org
Wealthy Students More Likely to Get Disability Accommodations, Study Finds
Section 504 plans are one of the most important sources of disability services in schools. Why are well-off families their biggest beneficiaries?
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Paul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 09/05/2026
I've got a new report out about school district finances in California. It's part of the massive Getting Down to Facts III project out of the SCALE Initiative at Stanford University, and an update of my similar report in 2018. gettingdowntofacts.com/reports/dist...
gettingdowntofacts.com
District Dollars 3: Recent Patterns in California School District Finances, Trends in Teacher Compensation, and Within-District, Between-School Spending | Getting Down to Facts
This report provides a descriptive overview of California school district finances, updating prior analyses in the Getting Down to Facts series. It examines district resources, expenditures, financial...
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Paul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 30/04/2026
Wow, brings me back.
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Emily Penner @emilykpenner.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Interested in some highlights from our latest paper about the effects of Ethnic Studies while it scales district-wide? Our friends at EdWorkingPapers have you covered. edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
edworkingpapers.com
Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes
Ethnic Studies (ES) has emerged as a promising approach to address this challenge. By centering the histories, cultures, and lived experiences of communities of color, ES is designed to make learning ...
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Demography - the flagship journal of PAA @readdemography.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
In “Net Worth Poverty in Childhood,” Gibson-Davis, @lisagennetian.bsky.social et al. use @umpsid.bsky.social data to examine the “role of wealth deprivation across a child’s life course” & assoc. w/ HS graduation & college attendance. @duke-university.bsky.social read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...
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Lindsey Kaler @lindseykaler.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
New working paper alert! Our team developed a web crawler to study the accessibility of information related to special education on school district websites in four states (MA, RI, IN, and FL). Read the full WP here: edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1447 And check out Cam's thread below for more detail!
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Vanderbilt seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to support two grant-funded initiatives: the Improvement Scholars Network & the Network Health Project. Focuses on advancing improvement research & studying the development and effectiveness of education improvement networks. www.vanderbilt.edu/postdoc/pros...
vanderbilt.edu
Current Opportunities at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is committed to providing a meaningful, robust experience for postdocs. Below is a list of currently available postdoctoral opportunities. Postdocs interested in applying for a specific pos...
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David Houston @dmhouston.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
It’s a good thing when education policy ideas can garner big, bipartisan constituencies. Such reforms are more durable, widespread, and amenable to reflective, iterative updating. We should pursue and celebrate them. But… 1/5
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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
If any other intervention produced outcomes of this size - GPA improvements of .24SD & reductions in course failure of .14SD - districts would be desperate to implement it. Instead, because ethnic studies has been labeled as "woke," efforts to scale have slowed.
Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes
Biraj Bishthttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-4008-04101, Sade Bonillahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-23302, Grace (Ha Eun) Kim3, and Emily K. Pennerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4649-351X4
Abstract
Ethnic studies is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, evidence regarding the effectiveness of this curriculum at scale remains limited. This study evaluated the impact of districtwide implementation using a student-level difference-in-differences design with two-way fixed effects. We found that enrollment increased overall grade-point average by 0.17 points (0.24 SD), with the largest gains observed in math and science, and reduced course failure by 5.6 percentage points (0.14 SD). These benefits extended to all student groups, with stronger effects among academically vulnerable, male, Black and Latinx students and those with individualized education plans. Our findings suggest that well-implemented ethnic studies can be scaled effectively and can potentially reduce disparities in student outcomes.
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Emily Penner @emilykpenner.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Some good news: SFUSD's high school Ethnic Studies course has substantial academic benefits when implemented district-wide. New research by @birajbisht.bsky.social, Sade Bonilla, Grace Kim, and myself just out today in @aeraedresearch.bsky.social 🧵 doi.org/10.3102/0002...
doi.org
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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C. Kirabo Jackson @kirabojackson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Delighted to share our revised paper (w/ @juliaturner.bsky.social & @jacobbastian.bsky.social ) showing that Universal Pre-K has broad effects on local labor markets — effects well beyond only mothers. Larger effects for full-day programs. nber.org/papers/w33767 #EconSky #EarlyChildhood #ECE
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Really interesting paper on the impacts of special education services on student achievement. Huge effects! There is a lot to dig into here. Check out the thread and give the paper a read!
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Andy de Barros @andydebarros.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
New paper: Morocco's Pioneer Middle Schools—a government-led whole-school reform—improved socioemotional skills, tripled year-on-year learning, reduced dropout ~1/3. "Beyond Basics" w/ Campos Quintero, El Amrani Mida, Glewwe, Kumar, and Lépine de-barros.com/publication/... @cega-uc.bsky.social
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Paul Bruno @paul-bruno.com · 23/03/2026
IncreasED: How Court Rulings Impact Special Education Identification journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Chloe N East (she/her) @chloeneast.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
The “big beautiful bill” greatly expanded SNAP work requirements for parents In my paper with @jasonbcook.bsky.social, forthcoming at JPUBE, we ask what similar, existing requirements do SNAP work requirements for parents deny vulnerable parents SNAP benefits and do not increase their employment
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Christina Weiland @weilanch.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
POSTDOC OPENING! We are hiring a Postdoctoral Fellow for a mixed-methods project aimed at supporting and researching implementation of high-quality preschool curricula. The position is 1-2 years and can be in person or remote. More details here: edpolicy.umich.edu/what-we-do/j...
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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SPARC Center @sparccenter.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
SPARC Center experts are presenting at #AEFP2026 this week! Sessions are in the thread below, with 💥indicating sessions related to #SpecialEducation:`
Graphic announcing an upcoming conference: “Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP) 51st Annual Conference, March 19-21 in Chicago” displayed over a cityscape background. SPARC logo and sparccenter.org appear at the bottom.
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Andy de Barros @andydebarros.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
New paper on skill formation, with evidence from Zambia's foundational skills program (Teaching at the Right Level / Catch Up) Targeting Foundational Skills at Scale: Skill Specificity and Transfer w/ T. Lubozha Preprint & brief de-barros.com/publication/... Also @cesifo.org @cega-uc.bsky.social
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Christopher Cleveland @christocleve.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
@mattbarnum.bsky.social of @chalkbeat.org highlights our research about the relationship between students’ gifted and special education identification and family income. Higher income -> gifted education Lower income -> special education There’s a lot to ponder about why this happens.
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Emily Penner @emilykpenner.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Glad to see our work about special ed and gifted identification across the income distribution appear in this week's @chalkbeat.org
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Matt Barnum @mattbarnum.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Yep these numbers are incredibly striking. Full newsletter is here with additional tidbits on AI-cheating, state funding effort, and "zero-percent proficient" schools. cbnewsletters.chalkbeat.org/p/chalkbeat-...
cbnewsletters.chalkbeat.org
States made less of an effort to fund schools after federal COVID dollars surged — coincidence or crowd-out?
Plus quick hits on AI cheating, strikes, gifted ID, and time in class in this Chalkbeat Ideas roundup.
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Betsy Wolf @betsyjwolf.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
A stunning (yet unsurprising) graph of who gets identified for special versus gifted education in Oregon. Graph reported by @mattbarnum.bsky.social.
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Matthew A Kraft @matthewakraft.com · 10/03/2026
Out today, a short and accessible policy and practice summary of our new working paper "Is Teacher Effectiveness Fully Portable?" Via the @annenberginstitute.bsky.social edworkingpapers.com/policy-pract...
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Morgan Polikoff @mpolikoff.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Useful explainer on the crisis of the rising costs of childcare. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/u...
nytimes.com
Why Does Child Care Seem Less Affordable Than Ever?
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Emily Penner @emilykpenner.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Family income shapes educational opportunities: Students with disabilities edition. And, as we've said before, FRPM won't tell you the full story. Led by the wonderful @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social. See his thread for more details, a WP link, and our co-author team.
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Nick Ainsworth @nick-ainsworth.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Excited to share a new EdWorkingPaper on the relationship between family income and disability ID. 🧵 TLDR: Low-income students are much more likely to receive SPED services while high-income students are more likely to get 504 plan accommodations. edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1374
edworkingpapers.com
School-Based Disability Identification Varies by Student Family Income
Currently, 18 percent of K-12 students in the United States receive additional supports through the identification of a disability. Socioeconomic status is viewed as central to understanding who gets ...
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