Seasonal Change of Neighborhood Effects on Educational Achievement

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Division G Roundtable Session 3

Abstract

Summer learning scholars have long demonstrated that disparities in family socioeconomic status is the main driver of summer learning differences, but they fail to account for potential neighborhood effects on summer learning. Urban scholars consistently show that neighborhood context plays a crucial role in children’s students’ academic performance, but have rarely considered the seasonal change of neighborhood effects. I fill these gaps by bridging the two pieces of literature and assessing the neighborhood effects on student academic achievement. I analyze the summer reading achievement of elementary and middle school students through piecewise linear models with neighborhood characteristics incorporated. Results indicate that neighborhood concentrated disadvantage has a stronger impact on student reading outcomes over the summer than the academic year.

Author

• Jie Min, Rice University