Research Papers:
with Monica Bhatt, Jon Guryan, Bhavya Mishra & Michael LaForest
High-dosage tutoring (HDT) is one of the most effective interventions to boost student learning, but cost and staffing remain barriers to scaling. We ran an RCT with ~4,000 students in two large districts (2018–19, 2019–20), testing a hybrid tutoring model where half of student time was spent with a tutor and half on computer-assisted learning (CAL). This reduced costs by ~30% relative to 2-to-1 tutoring, with math test score gains of 0.23 SD—nearly as large as those in prior HDT models. The findings suggest technology can help expand HDT while preserving effectiveness.
Learn more: Read NBER working paper or visit Saga Tech project page at Education Lab.
Policy Influence & Recognition: 2025 Economic Report of the President U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review; Evidence Based Policy; CommonWealth Beacon; K-12DIVE
with Monica Bhatt, Jon Guryan & James Kim
We evaluate Saga Education’s early-grade literacy tutoring program in CPS and a charter network. Approximately 300 first-grade students were randomized in 2016–17 and 2017–18. For Cohort 1, we find effects of ~0.19 SD on literacy, with mid-year gains persisting for two years but fading by year 3. These impacts are comparable to Project STAR and math-focused HDT studies. Classroom observation data show increases in time-on-task and instructional quality, consistent with scaffolding as a mechanism. Estimates may be conservative given that control group sizes declined as treatment students were pulled from classrooms.
Learn more: Saga Lit project page at Education Lab
Job Market Paper — Best Student Paper, AGEW 2021
This paper examines the long-term and intergenerational effects of Pakistan’s 1960s school construction program in rural Punjab. An additional girls’ school per 1,000 children raised primary completion by 4–5 percentage points (20–25%) and increased schooling by ~0.5 years, with no comparable impacts for boys. Maternal exposure improved children’s education but did not translate into better labor market or marriage outcomes, underscoring the limits of schooling gains in settings where social norms constrain women’s opportunities.
Learn more: Read the paper, watch a 2-minute video, or see the blog summary at CDPR.
This paper examines how labor demand shocks from the Great Recession affected schooling decisions of young cohorts. Using group-specific labor demand shocks at the metropolitan level, I show that cohorts more exposed to the recession increased their schooling investments more than others. This differential responsiveness can explain more than half of the observed convergence in high school dropout and college attendance rates across groups after the recession. The results underscore how changes in opportunity costs can shape human capital investment.
Long-Term Educational Effects of High-Dosage Tutoring
Following ~3,600 Chicago students over multiple years to measure the persistence of early HDT gains on later academic and postsecondary outcomes.
Genesys Works: School-to-Career Pathways
Evaluating a workforce development program providing internships, skills training, and college advising to low-income high school students in Chicago.
Elevate: Personalized Learning in CPS
RCT of a tech-enabled personalized learning model implemented in high schools, examining effects on math achievement and student engagement.
Lady Health Workers and Fertility
Using administrative and survey data to study how Pakistan’s community health worker program shaped fertility and reproductive health outcomes.