State strategies for welfare reform: The Wisconsin story

Wisconsin is commonly cited as exemplar of the capability of states for reforming welfare. Wisconsin's welfare and caseload declined 22.5 percent between 1986 and 1994. I argue that the decline resulted from restriction of eligibility and benefits, a strong state economy, and large expenditures on welfare-to-work programs encouraged by an exceptional fiscal bargain with the federal government. Continued reduction of welfare utilization by means other than denying access are jeopardized by proposed changes in federal cost-sharing, a prospective state deficit, and the growing share of the caseload accounted for by residents of Milwaukee. Wisconsin Works, the state's plan for public assistance in a post-block grant world, continues benefit reduction and eligibility restriction but expands emphasis on employment. The special circumstances enjoyed by Wisconsin are unlikely to be duplicated elsewhere.     

The performance of charter schools in Wisconsin

How have charter schools in Wisconsin performed relative to traditional public schools? Two analyses provide an answer: First, a comparison of achievement test scores for students in Milwaukee charter and traditional schools from 1998 to 2002 for grades 3 through 10 finds a relative advantage for charter school students using fixed effects and first difference specifications. Second, a methodological approach new to the debate over performance in choice schools assesses schoollevel standardized tests in the fourth and eighth grades for 2000–01 and 2001–02. The results for fourth grade are generally favorable for charter schools; those for eighth grade are mixed. Overall, the results from these two analyses suggest that charter schools in Wisconsin are performing somewhat better than the traditional public schools from which they draw students. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

The effect of drinking age laws and alcohol-related crashes: Time-series evidence from Wisconsin

The imposition of a national 21-year minimum drinking age has sparked considerable controversy in recent years. Critics have contended that the perceived “successes” of the increased drinking age are actually due to underlying trends toward fewer alcohol-related crashes among teenagers, and would have occurred in the absence of an increased drinking age. I use monthly Wisconsin time-series data from 1976 to 1993 to estimate the effects of increased minimum drinking ages on alcohol-related crashes involving teenagers. I find that raising the drinking age has resulted in substantially lower alcohol-related crash rates involving teenagers. In addition, I find evidence that crashes increased in years in which Wisconsin's drinking age was lower than those of its neighbors, suggesting that “border hopping” resulted from interjurisdictional policy differences.     

The Effect of English Language Learner Reclassification on Student ACT Scores,High School Graduation,and Postsecondary Enrollment: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Wisconsin

The recent increase in the number of students classified as English language learners (ELLs) has focused significant attention on reclassification policy, which governs the process by which ELLs move toward, and are deemed to reach, full English proficiency. In this paper, we draw on a data set containing annual individual‐level records for every Wisconsin student ever classified as an ELL between the 2006–07 and 2012–13 school years to estimate the effects of being reclassified at the end of 10th grade—a crucial period on the pathway to postsecondary education—on several measures related to students’ postsecondary attainments. We estimate these effects in a regression discontinuity framework, exploiting Wisconsin's policy rule that automatically reclassifies ELLs who score above a specified cutoff on the state's English language proficiency exam. Our analysis indicates that being reclassified as fully English proficient in 10th grade has a positive effect on students’ ACT scores. It also provides some evidence of a positive effect on high school graduation and the probability of enrolling in a postsecondary institution the fall after graduation. Together, our analyses provide evidence on the effects of a policy directly relevant to the country's fastest growing student population, and we close the paper with a discussion of the implications for research and policy.