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Aug 17, 2021
acx

Kids Can Recover From Missing Even Quite A Lot Of School

33 min • 4,494 words • 460 comments • 102 likes • podcast (29 min)
Scott Alexander argues that missing a year or two of school is unlikely to have significant long-term effects on children's education, presenting evidence and critiquing contrary studies. Longer summary
Scott Alexander argues that missing a year or two of school due to COVID-19 or other reasons is unlikely to have significant long-term effects on children's education. He presents evidence from various studies and experiments, such as the Benezet experiment, unschooling, and different countries' school hours, to support his claim. Scott also critiques studies that show negative effects of school absences, arguing they are often correlational and fail to account for confounders. He acknowledges some potential non-academic benefits of schooling and provides his confidence levels on various predictions about the effects of missing school. Shorter summary
TracingWoodgrains and Michael Pershan analyze the effectiveness of ability grouping, acceleration, and personalization software in serving advanced students in the education system. Longer summary
This post is an entry to the Adversarial Collaboration Contest by TracingWoodgrains and Michael Pershan, discussing whether the education system adequately serves advanced students. It examines three main approaches: ability grouping, acceleration, and personalization software. The authors review research on each approach, discuss their pros and cons, and explore the tensions between different educational goals. They conclude with practical advice for parents, educators, and educational reformers. Shorter summary
Feb 28, 2015
ssc

Early Intervention: You *Might* Get What You Pay For

9 min • 1,128 words • 289 comments
Scott Alexander examines a study showing positive effects of early intervention on at-risk children, but questions its policy implications due to high costs. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a study on early intervention programs for at-risk children, which showed positive effects on various outcomes at age 25. The study, a randomized controlled trial, found that intensive interventions costing $60,000 per child reduced the odds of developing psychiatric disorders, substance abuse problems, and engaging in criminal behavior. While the results are scientifically interesting, Scott points out some limitations and questions the cost-effectiveness from a policy perspective. He notes that the intervention didn't affect all outcomes equally and that the high cost might not justify the benefits when compared to existing educational spending. Shorter summary