by Lewis Zhu

Abstract 

Motivated by a historic decline in standardized test scores among US students, this paper investigates whether exclusionary discipline—specifically out-of-school suspensions (OSS)— contributes to changes in academic performance. Drawing on administrative data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center, which span a period marked by substantial discipline policy reform, I assess whether OSS rates are associated with school-level achievement and estimate the effect of OSS on individual student outcomes. I find that these relationships vary over time. As statewide suspension rates have declined in recent years, the negative association between school-level OSS rates and achievement has weakened, while the effect of OSS on
individual student outcomes has grown more negative. One interpretation is that, as suspensions
become less common, being suspended is a stronger negative signal for the child, possibly
inducing stigma and differential treatment which worsen outcomes. Another possibility is that
suspensions have become more targeted, such that those who are still suspended may have
engaged in more serious misbehavior associated with worse outcomes. Meanwhile, school-level
estimates may appear less negative as suspensions now target a smaller group of (on average)
more disruptive students.

Professor Jason Baron, Faculty Advisor
Professor Duncan Thomas, Faculty Advisor

JEL Codes: H75; I21; I24; I28
Keywords: Suspension; Discipline policy reform; Test scores; Student achievement

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