Discipline Reform, School Culture, and Student Achievement

Arbeitspapier

Does relaxing strict school discipline improve student achievement, or lead to classroom disorder? We study a 2012 reform in New York City public middle schools that eliminated suspensions for non-violent, disorderly behavior. Math scores of students in more-affected schools rose by 0.05 standard deviations over three years relative to other schools. Reading scores rose by 0.03 standard deviations. Only a small portion of these aggregate benefits can be explained by the direct impact of eliminating suspensions on students who would have been suspended under the old policy. Instead, test score gains are associated with improvements in school culture, as measured by the quality of student-teacher relationships and perceptions of safety at school. We find no evidence of trade-offs between students, with students benefiting even if they were unlikely to be suspended themselves.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 15906

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Public Sector Labor Markets
• Subject: education ; school suspension ; school discipline ; school safety ; human capital

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Craig, Ashley C ; Martin, David
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2023

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/272533
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET