Tom Swiderski

Education researchers: Learn how to write for non-academic audiences through @AnnenbergInst's EdResearch for Action writing fellowship program, which I direct! ***New this year: not just for K-12 researchers anymore.*** Apps due by Friday, November 15. edresearchforaction.org/writers-fellow…

Very excited to have been awarded an inaugural SUMI research grant! Through the work funded by this grant, we'll be learning more about the workforce skills that students are developing in high school and how those skills relate to their college & early career outcomes

{new} One graph that changed my understanding of the student attendance problem: eduprogress.org/unpacking-the-… via @StudentSuccess @BrookingsEd @tswid_phd @SarahCFuller1 @kevin_c_bastian

In this post, @SarahCFuller1 @kevin_c_bastian and I examine student attendance patterns since the onset of the pandemic. Our results show meaningful variation in the severity & duration of absenteeism across students, adding support to the call for multi-tiered policy responses.

Here's a look at NC students' total days absent over the first 3 post-pandemic years vs last 3 pre. The distribution shifted up at all points, but much more so at the top. The 95th pctile student missed 111 days of school over those 3 years, or 37/year! epic.unc.edu/wp-content/upl…

From my latest work: nearly 8% of elementary and middle school students in NC were chronically absent *every year* over the first three years after pandemic onset, 3x more than pre-pandemic. epic.unc.edu/wp-content/upl…

This report nicely echoes a core argument we make in Off the Mark: one of the key functions of grades and tests (since to the 1840s!) has been to communicate to audiences near (eg parents) and far (eg colleges). If the communication function breaks down, you have a big problem.

New work out by @SarahCFuller1 & I on the Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard today! "Student GPA and test score gaps are growing--and could be slowing pandemic recovery" @EPIC_UNC brookings.edu/articles/stude…

Hey folks, I'd be happy to take a blue sky invite code if anyone has one!

Hey, @aefpweb First Gen/Doc Students! BOO!👻 No, just kidding :) Join us and this pleasant panel on Oct 30 to learn how to navigate the job market. @WaltEcton @skabourek @TatiVelasco @gema_zamarro Register here: bit.ly/3F6boo2 @_ajmoran @Quintero05Diana @tswid_phd

We are hiring a Data Systems Analyst whose role will be to process, clean, and build foundational datasets; manage the exchange of data with partners; and contribute to project-specific data builds and analyses. See here for the posting and please forward! unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/264624

Thanks to Jamya Davis and The Fordham Institute (@educationgadfly) for this excellent review of my recently published study on Early College High Schools in North Carolina! fordhaminstitute.org/national/comme…

The increase in chronic absenteeism (missing 10% or more school days) across the country is concerning, and this research and reporting is important. Here is a (slightly) deep(er) dive into Michigan's numbers, using data from @mieducation mischooldata.org🧵

🖐️hey @aefpweb First Gen scholars🤓 @tswid_phd & I are working on developing programming for our community group & would love to hear your voice📢 Please consider taking 2-3 mins to share your thoughts on community mtg topics & mtg timing! utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7R…

Several recent studies have examined the teacher education pipeline and the role of community colleges in that pipeline. New work by @tswid_phd, @kevin_c_bastian, and @SarahCFuller1 adds to this work in NC. epic.unc.edu/wp-content/upl…

(And as a technical note, I use PS methods that are based on very strong admin data, in a context where within-study comparisons have validated PS for other outcomes, and where a confound would need to explain not so much STEM attainment as changes in within-STEM major choice!)

I originally wrote this paper for my dissertation, so I am very grateful to my committee, as well as to @EPIC_UNC for continued support and an excellent review process at EFP that led to very positive changes to the paper.

New paper accepted at EFP! I show that Early College High Schools in NC increase STEM degree attainment, though growth is not equal across all STEM fields. direct.mit.edu/edfp/article-a…