Scott Imberman
Professor
Education expert and economist, focusing on policy issues in K-12 and higher education
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Scott Imberman is economist who specializes in the economics of education and education policy. His research focuses on issues in domestic education and he has recently studied charter schools, classroom peer-effects, accountability, bilingual education, gifted education, teacher incentive pay, in-school breakfast and school uniforms. Currently he is researching the labor market returns to higher education, the economic determinants and implications of autism, and the economics of educating students ... with disabilities. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
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University of Maryland: Ph.D.,
Selected Press
Michigan's online-only districts catch flak for holding 'virtual snow day'
The Detroit News | 2021-02-16
At least five Michigan online-only school districts gave students a “virtual snow day” even though most teachers, staff members and students could work Tuesday from the safety of their homes. Since school districts have six snow days available each year, they may be weighing the pros and cons of using those days rather than allowing them to lapse, said Scott Imberman, professor of economics and education policy at Michigan State University. But the overriding concern likely were the teachers and students who have to travel for wireless access, Imberman said. "That, I think, is a particularly practical, important issue in making these determinations," he said.
Why gifted education may not be a smart idea
The Globe and Mail | 2018-05-03
Is gifted education a bright idea?
Research by University of Houston economists Sa Bui, Steven G. Craig, and Scott Imberman, presented at the recent Society of Labor Economists meeting in Vancouver, suggests that sometimes it isn't.
The authors study a large urban school district in the American south west - "LUSD-SW" - with a gifted program similar to that found in many Canadian school districts.
Why majoring in business can nearly double your earnings potential
MarketWatch | 2017-07-19
Students who major in business, which for years has topped lists of most popular majors, earn between 81% and 130% more 12 years out of college than similarly talented students who don’t major in the field, according to a working paper distributed this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based research group.
Do Gifted Programs Improve Learning?
The Atlantic | 2013-12-19
'But the positive effects of talented and gifted programs may be overstated, according to a recent study in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Scott Imberman, Sa A. Bui, and Steven G. Craig analyzed the standardized test scores of more than 14,000 fifth-graders in an urban school district in the United States. They focused on students who just barely made the threshold for their schools’ gifted and talented programs—and those who just barely missed it. The goal was to compare how students of roughly the same abilities do when they’re in gifted classes with how they do in regular classes. If the gifted and talented programs are effective, then the marginal students should end up with higher test scores than the marginal students in regular classes. If they’re not effective, then both sets of students would have around the same scores...'
