Tom Swiderski
LightNews LightNews
tswid.bsky.social
Tom Swiderski
@tswid.bsky.social
150 followers 200 following 40 posts
Researcher at the Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) at UNC studying how to improve high school to college & career transitions. Current work: COVID recovery, absenteeism, CTE/career skills, & teacher prep. Web: tswiderski.web.unc.edu
Posts Replies Media Videos
tswid.bsky.social
Recently I shared a new pub from me & colleagues on student absenteeism. To accompany this, we've also produced a one-pager to share key takeaways in brief!

Article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

One-pager: epic.unc.edu/wp-content/u...

@sarahcfuller.bsky.social @kevincbastian.bsky.social
October 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
tswid.bsky.social
In addition, we found that the relationship between absenteeism and achievement weakened immediately post-pandemic, but only temporarily. Each absence typically lowers student achievement by ~0.0055 SDs. In 2022-23 this number was only 0.0032 SDs. But in 2023-24 it jumped back to 0.0057.
Figure 4: Coefficient plot of first-differences estimates of effect of absenteeism on achievement. The chart depicts the point estimates and 95% confidence intervals of the estimated effect of days absent on achievement in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23, and 2023-24. The chart highlights that the three pre-pandemic estimates are all about 0.0055 SDs. In 2022-23, the estimate is only 0.0032 SDs. In 2023-24, the estimate is 0.0057 SDs. The confidence intervals for 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2023-24 all overlap with each other. The confidence interval for 2022-23 does not overlap with any other estimate.
September 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM
tswid.bsky.social
My study on ACT/SAT test requirements has been issued at EEPA! Using time-varying DID, I found that requiring 11th graders to take the ACT or SAT had small to null effects on postsec outcomes, with some variation btw effects on students vs states' institutions. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3...
Picture of abstract, which reads: "Twenty-nine states require or allow all 11th graders to take the ACT or SAT in school, for free, eliminating access to testing as a barrier to college entry. I examine whether this affects postsecondary outcomes using state-aggregated panel data and time-varying difference-in-differences methods. I find policy adoption led to 2% increases in selective 4-year enrollments by students from treated states. However, adoption had no effect on enrollments within adopting states' selective institutions, in part because institutions enrolled fewer students from out-of-state after adoption. I also find null but directionally negative effects on the number of graduates from state institutions. Therefore, impacts are small but positive for students from adopting states, but null or negative for adopting states' institutions."
August 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
tswid.bsky.social
New pub (open-access)! School absence rates have been above pre-pandemic levels for multiple years. We show how this is adding up for students over time, revealing that some students are experiencing especially deep and persistent levels of absenteeism. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
February 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM
tswid.bsky.social
I'm in ATL for APPAM! Friday at 10:15, I'll be presenting on this paper that started as a dissertation chapter and has since been published at Ed Finance & Policy! "The effect of Early College High Schools on STEM Bachelor's degree attainment: Evidence from North Carolina"

doi.org/10.1162/edfp...
November 8, 2023 at 11:09 PM