Andrew M. Penner | Lightnews

Andrew Penner

@andrewpenner.bsky.social

Professor of Sociology and administrative data infrastructure enthusiast at UC Irvine. My book (Schooled & Sorted) examines the role of categorization in education and how we can create more egalitarian categories.

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Education 29%

Political science 29%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · 5d

I love how this reframes what our goals are💜

A thing we have discussed in my classrooms recently is how LLMs don’t help us achieve these goals, which are what we want to focus on together. I haven’t been using the language of absolute goods to make this point, but am going to start doing so!

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · 11d

I have found myself thinking about this line a lot recently.

David Woodruff @dmwoodruff.bsky.social · Mar 27

A very old Soviet joke, from an especially dark time:

Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves.
Q: Why are you running away?
Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels.
Q: But you’re foxes!
Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · Mar 24

If you accept that non-citizens have no right to due process, you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary.

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Dec 22

Students from high income families get more 504 supports, while students from low income families are more likely to be in special education.

Working paper is available at:

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Dec 22

Full paper is available here

Gifted Identification Across the Distribution of Family Income

Students from families in the top income percentile are more than 5 times as likely to be identified for gifted programs as students from the bottom percentile.

www.census.gov

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Dec 22

In a new working paper, my collaborators and I show that which students are identified as gifted and talented varies substantially by family income, and that these differences remain even after accounting for students’ test scores.

Dani Sandler @dismalscientist86.bsky.social · Dec 20

Students from families in the top income percentile are more than 5 times as likely to be identified for gifted programs as students from the bottom percentile.

Currently, 6.1 percent of K-12 students in the United States receive gifted education. Using education and IRS data that provide information on students and their family income, we show pronounced differences in who schools identify as gifted across the distribution of family income. Under 4 percent of students in the lowest income percentile are identified as gifted, compared with 20 percent of those in the top income percentile. Income-based differences persist after accounting for student test scores and exist across students of different sexes and racial/ethnic groups, underscoring the importance of family resources for gifted identification in schools.

Notes. Identification rates are regression-adjusted means by income percentile (or ventile) estimated with models controlling for a linear trend in year. Panel A includes controls for sex and race/ethnicity. Panel B includes controls for grade and race/ethnicity. Panel C includes controls for grade and sex. Models are run separately by subgroup. Abbreviations are as follows: AIAN is American Indian/Alaska Native; API is Asian/Pacific Islander. DRB approval number: CBDRB-FY25-0309.

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

Dani Sandler @dismalscientist86.bsky.social · Dec 20

Students from families in the top income percentile are more than 5 times as likely to be identified for gifted programs as students from the bottom percentile.

Reposted by John McLaren, B. R. Mitchell, Lindsay M. Tedds , and 6 more John McLaren, B. R. Mitchell, Lindsay M. Tedds, Michael W. Kraus, Daniel E. Jones, Michael Müller, Lisa Diedrich, Andrew M. Penner, Meredith Farkas

Dr. Thrasher's The Overseer Class is now available for pre-order @thrasherxy.bsky.social · Nov 15

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

Black text on a yellow background - This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing.
Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin.
We need more stories about us and our culture.
You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Oct 1

Yet one more way that we are failing children.

Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · Sep 30

The accompanying editorial tells the sad truth that is largely being ignored
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Reposted by Ruairidh Milne, Andrew M. Penner

Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · Sep 30

The accompanying editorial tells the sad truth that is largely being ignored
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

Jack Schneider @jackschneider.bsky.social · Sep 25

New episode of @haveyouheard.bsky.social, featuring research by @t-h-a-d.bsky.social, @emilykpenner.bsky.social, and Andrew Penner.

#205 Schools as Sorting Machines

Play #205 Schools as Sorting Machines by Have You Heard on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.

m.soundcloud.com

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 24

We subsequently looked at a few of the images I have published, but none were deemed as cool as the Banff data🙃

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 24

Kiddo was incredulous and excited when I noted that making pictures to help people understand the world better was my job, and said I could publish this. Kiddo then suggested a division of labor where they would bring me other tidbits like this for me to publish😍

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 24

Baby’s first data visualization—was reading a book about the Banff wildlife crossings and wanted to understand the preferences of different animals.

Bar chart of Banff animal over and underpass crossing data.

Table from book that inspired figure (Banff animal over and underpass crossing data).

Reposted by Adam Gamoran, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Markus Klein , and 1 more Adam Gamoran, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Markus Klein, Andrew M. Penner

AERA @aeraedresearch.bsky.social · Aug 21

A new article in AERJ observed the relationship between school choice policy and school segregation, finding that White and Asian families disproportionately used the choice system to avoid schools with large concentrations of Black students. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...

Structuring Choice Policy, School Segregation and the Two-Staged School Choice Process - Deven Carlson, Thurston Domina, James Carter, Rachel M. Perera, Vitaly Radsky, Andrew McEachin, 2025

School choice is both an important tool for school desegregation policy and an enabler of racial segregation. In this paper, we used a two-stage model of comple...

journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · Aug 16

The Power of Attorney flourished when more Americans saw incarcerated people as more than their crimes.

Their career would be unthinkable today: Leaving prison under armed guards to play hundreds of concerts and record in major studios.

The Prison Soul Band That Opened for Stevie Wonder

The band The Power of Attorney flourished when more Americans saw incarcerated people as more than their crimes.

www.themarshallproject.org

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 7

For me as a graduate student, @isa-rc28.bsky.social modeled the kind of large-scale, big team, data intensive, methodologically rigorous, theoretically meaningful research that I aspired to do, and so it was especially meaningful to have our work recognized by this award!

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 7

It was such an honor to receive this award from @isa-rc28.bsky.social
on behalf of @oliviergodechot.bsky.social and other coauthors.

RC28 Social Stratification @isa-rc28.bsky.social · Aug 7

The winner of this year’s significant contribution award goes to

The great separation: Top earner segregation at work in advanced capitalist economies

O Godechot, et al
American Journal of Sociology 130 (2), 439-495, 2024

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

Reposted by Olivier Godechot

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 7

As @oliviergodechot.bsky.social notes, in some ways this could be seen as an example of "big" science:
coauthors: 29
years it took: 9
countries: 12
pages (w/ appendices): 111
observations: 1,164,687,821

But it can be summarized in one 5-word sentence: Top earners increasingly work together. PERIOD.

Reposted by Olivier Godechot

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Aug 7

So excited to receive this award on behalf of @oliviergodechot.bsky.social and 27 other coauthors!

Adam Gamoran @agamoran.bsky.social · Aug 7

Congrats to @andrewpenner.bsky.social and a host of co-authors on winning the award for significant scholarship from @isa-rc28.bsky.social, presented by RC president @jenniebrand.bsky.social.

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

Adam Gamoran @agamoran.bsky.social · Aug 7

Congrats to @andrewpenner.bsky.social and a host of co-authors on winning the award for significant scholarship from @isa-rc28.bsky.social, presented by RC president @jenniebrand.bsky.social.

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

RC28 Social Stratification @isa-rc28.bsky.social · Aug 7

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

Thad Domina @t-h-a-d.bsky.social · Feb 28

Attending #ESS2025 & interesting in donuts, education, and/ inequality?

Join us next Friday, 8AM for an author (me, @emilykpenner.bsky.social , @andrewpenner.bsky.social) meets critics (@rachelefish.bsky.social, @johndiamondphd.bsky.social, @jenjennings.bsky.social) discussion!

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · Apr 16

.@t-h-a-d.bsky.social @andrewpenner.bsky.social @emilykpenner.bsky.social's book argues for reclaiming absolute goods (vs positional goods) as the desired outcomes of public ed.

I've asked students to pick 2 domains to focus on & explain why. Truly moving responses. Will share when compiled.

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · Jul 27

Every jailhouse lawyer knows Dee Farmer’s name, even if they don’t know who she is.

What most of them don’t know is that the person who paved the road for them was a transgender woman who filed her suit from a federal prison cell, in an era when her gender identity was considered a mental illness.

In Prison, She Changed Constitutional Law. Meet the Trans Woman Behind the Case.

Farmer v. Brennan is one of the most cited Supreme Court cases of all time. Few people know just how revolutionary Dee Farmer was.

www.themarshallproject.org

Reposted by Efrén O. Pérez, Andrew M. Penner

Are Skeie Hermansen @aresherman.bsky.social · Jul 17

Short piece about our @nature.com paper on the immigrant-native pay gap in The Conversation! Also broad coverage in (so far) German, Dutch, and Spanish central news outlets today!

Immigrants in Europe and North America earn 18% less than natives – here’s why

Immigrants struggle to access higher-paying jobs, meaning their skills often go to waste.

theconversation.com

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Jul 16

And you can read more of our thoughts at The Conversation.

Immigrants in Europe and North America earn 18% less than natives – here’s why

Immigrants struggle to access higher-paying jobs, meaning their skills often go to waste.

theconversation.com

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Jul 16

The paper is available at Nature.

Immigrant–native pay gap driven by lack of access to high-paying jobs - Nature

Data from nine European and North American countries reveal that the disparity in earnings between immigrants and natives is largely a result of segregation of immigrant workers into lower-paying jobs...

www.nature.com

Reposted by Roddy Theobald

Andrew Penner @andrewpenner.bsky.social · Jul 16

Very excited for the latest paper from the international administrative data network I am a part of!

Led by @aresherman.bsky.social we show that 75% of pay differences between immigrants and native-born workers arise because of sorting into different jobs, with 25% due to unequal pay within jobs.

Reposted by Mark Williams, Olivier Godechot, Maria Abreu , and 3 more Mark Williams, Olivier Godechot, Maria Abreu, Patrick Präg, Andrew M. Penner, Anton Grau Larsen

Are Skeie Hermansen @aresherman.bsky.social · Jul 16

IN OTHER NEWS: check out our new COIN paper on immigrant--native pay gaps in advanced economies published in @nature.com this afternoon! Specifically, we study the relative contribution of within-job unequal pay vs between-job segregation to earnings disparities across immigrant generations. 1/9

Immigrant–native pay gap driven by lack of access to high-paying jobs - Nature

www.nature.com

Reposted by Andrew M. Penner

NBER @nber.org · May 31

Universal school masking reduced weekly COVID-19 deaths by 0.57 per 100k people. 50 percent of districts removed mask requirements by spring 2022 contributing to 9 percent of COVID deaths that year, from Guzman, Imberman, Filosa, Kilbride, and Malkus https://www.nber.org/papers/w33849

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