Testing Above the Limit: Drinking Water Contamination and Test Scores / Michelle M. Marcus.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Marcus, Michelle M.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31564.

NBER working paper series no. w31564

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

This paper provides the first estimates of the contemporaneous effect of drinking water quality violations on students' academic achievement. Using student-level test score data with residential addresses, geographic information on water systems, and drinking water violations from North Carolina, I estimate the within-student impacts of poor water quality on student test scores. Exposure to a bacteria violation during the school year decreases math scores by about 0.037 standard deviations when the public is uninformed. Results suggest that poor water quality may impact retention or comprehension of material throughout the school year.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2023.