TY  - JOUR
AU  - Davis,Billie
AU  - Engberg,John
AU  - Epple,Dennis N.
AU  - Sieg,Holger
AU  - Zimmer,Ron
TI  - Evaluating the Gifted Program of an Urban School District using a Modified Regression Discontinuity Design
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16414
PY  - 2010
Y2  - September 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16414
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16414.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Billie Davis
Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper School of Business
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA  15213
E-Mail: billie@cmu.edu

John Engberg
Rand Corporation
4570 5th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
E-Mail: engberg@rand.org

Dennis N. Epple
Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
Posner Hall, Room 257B
Pittsburgh, PA  15213
Tel: 412/268-1536
Fax: 412/268-7357
E-Mail: epple@cmu.edu

Holger Sieg
Department of Economics
University of Pennsylvania
3718 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: 215 898 7194
Fax: 215-573-2057
E-Mail: holgers@econ.upenn.edu

Ron Zimmer
Erickson Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
E-Mail: rzimmer@msu.edu
AB  - This paper examines the impact of a gifted program on retention in an urban school district using a regression discontinuity design. Gifted programs often employ IQ thresholds for admission, with those above the threshold being admitted. One common problem with the RD design arises if the forcing variable (the IQ score) is manipulated, thus invalidating the standard research design. We proposed a modified RD estimator that deals with manipulation in the forcing variable.  Once we properly correct for manipulation of test scores around the cut-off points, we find evidence that the gifted program offered by the district has a positive effect on retention of higher income students.
ER  -