Rules vs. Discretion in the Use of Educational Testing

Join us as David Figlio, the Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester, a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, discusses “Rules vs. Discretion in the Use of Educational Testing.” In 2015, Florida changed its rules regarding student remediation in middle/high school from a system in which remediation was determined relatively strictly based on test score proficiency cutoffs to one with considerable educator discretion. We make use of a variety of causal research designs to demonstrate that students tend to have better long-run college outcomes (attendance, persistence, and success) when educators have discretion versus when they must follow proficiency-based rules, especially when educators have high value added. We also provide evidence that there is still value to remediation, and that discretion is not simply "less of a bad treatment". 11:30 AM lunch 11:45 AM - 12:50 PM speaker This event is free and open to the public!