Scholarship & Research
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Item The effect of air pollution on exam performance: a case study using California public high schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2018) Musser, Kyle James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Brock SmithThe California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and natural variation in ambient air quality are used to estimate the effect of pollution exposure on exam performance. Two regularly monitored air pollutants, particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 are used as measures of air pollution. A negative relationship between particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) exposure and decreased exam performance is found. The results, from models using school and year fixed effects, suggest high levels (two standard deviation increases from the mean) of PM2.5 and PM10 on exam days cause declines in average exam performance of roughly 2-6% of a standard deviation compared to exams taken during less polluted days. The estimated magnitude of these findings is slightly smaller, but within bounds of similar studies from high school aged students in Israel and the United Kingdom. This relationship is found to hold for students from both high and low socio-economic status and is not statistically different between students who are White, African American, Hispanic or Latino or Asian although results are not robust to the inclusion of district-by-year time trends for the math section of the exam. These findings highlight that pollution reduction efforts could have positive impacts to students and schools that are not traditionally considered in cost/benefit analyses.Item Redshirting and academic performance : evidence from NCAA student-athletes(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2014) Wilkes, Ethan Charles; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Randall R. RuckerRedshirting is common in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletics. Many student-athletes forgo playing time as true freshmen and extend their eligibility in order to develop physically before they suit up for their first game the following year. Although redshirting is widely used for athletic reasons, the academic effects of redshirting are unknown. Academic achievement is an area of interest for the NCAA. Student-Athletes in the 2007 cohort achieved a federal graduation rate (FGR) of 66 percent compared to the general student body's rate of 65 percent. Although student-athletes have a higher FGR than the general student body, athletes in the major revenue producing sports lag behind. Football players that attended Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools reached a FGR of 62 percent and athletes that played men's basketball at NCAA Division I schools earned an FGR of 47 percent. This paper uses individual-level data from SuperPrep Magazine and Montana State University (MSU) to examine the relationship between redshirting and academic performance. To address potential endogeneity, this thesis considers a propensity score matching (PSM) approach when using data from SuperPrep Magazine. PSM results indicate that selection bias is present in ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates, but that there are still substantial positive impacts of redshirting on graduation. OLS estimates using MSU data indicate there may be lagged benefits of redshirting on academic performance, although these results are not robust when a fixed-effects analysis is applied.Item Educational achievement in rural Montana high schools /:(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1974) Kimble, John WesleyItem The impact of the tribal college movement on Native American educational attainment(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2011) Reese, Mitchell Jordan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christiana Stoddard.This paper looks at the effects of tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) on Native American educational attainment. Using a difference-in-difference-in difference model, this paper attempts to isolate the effects of these schools on Native Americans living in states with TCUs. First, the results offer evidence that TCUs' effects are not evenly distributed across age groups or between the sexes. The findings show that these schools have significant positive effects on associate's degree attainment for older Native Americans, increasing associate's degree attainment by three percent for Native Americans 35 to 55 while not significantly increasing associate's degree attainment for 25 to 55 year olds. There is also evidence that TCUs lower bachelor's degree attainment levels for Native Americans. An additional TCU per 10,000 Native Americans per state lowers bachelor's degree attainment by 4 to 14 percent for 25 to 55 year olds and by 0 to 13 percent for 35 to 55 year olds. This negative effect appears to be disproportionately felt by Native American men. This paper also finds that TCUs do not appear to significantly increase or decrease the overall years of education for Native Americans in TCU states.