Does the Labor Market Give Credit for Learning Online?
Team: Carolyn Heinrich, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education, International Education Policy and Management, Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Peabody College, and Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt University;
Annalee Good, Assistant Scientist and Co-Director, Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin–Madison;
Kristin Kappelman, Research Specialist, Department of Research, Assessment, and Data, Milwaukee Public Schools;
Will Luedtke, Extended Learning Opportunities, Credit Recovery Coordinator, Milwaukee Public Schools; and
Sandy Schroeder, Senior Manager, Extended Learning Opportunities, Milwaukee Public Schools.
Project: Assess the extent to which digital learning prepares students for postsecondary education and labor market success, and whether it reduces or increases gaps by race and socioeconomic status in longer-term outcomes. This is a potential concern given that 40 percent of Milwaukee public high school students take some online courses, and online course participation is increasing at a particularly high rate for African American and Hispanic students.
Leveraging Administrative Data to Increase Take-Up of SNAP and EITC
Team: Hilary Hoynes, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Haas Distinguished Chair in Economic Disparities, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley;
Jesse Rothstein, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of California, Berkeley;
Matt Unrath, Doctoral Candidate in Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley; and
Kim McCoy Wade, Bureau Chief, CalFresh, California Department of Social Services.
Project: Working with the California Department of Social Services to evaluate the use of text messages as behavioral nudges to encourage take-up of the recently expanded California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and track subsequent tax filing, EITC receipt, and work and program participation; and whether simplifying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP recertification requirements can reduce the rate at which families cycle on and off assistance, and increase their employment and earnings.