Competing Risks Analysis of Dropout and Educational Attainment for Students with Disabilities

Abstract

We employ individual-level panel data on students with disabilities in Florida to determine the relationship between high school teacher quality and the likelihood a student drops out as well as the type of diploma they receive if they do finish high school. Our data include five cohorts of 9 th graders from 1998/99-2002/03 and link students to individual teachers for each class the students are enrolled in at every grade level. We use both a competing risks proportional hazard Cox model and a propensity score matching method to estimate the effect of teachers. We find some evidence of significant negative correlations between teacher experience and the likelihood of dropping out of high school and between drop out probabilities and teachers with advanced degrees. The competing risks analysis shows that special education certification for teachers of special education courses leads to both a higher hazard of obtaining a special education diploma and a lower hazard of obtaining a standard high school diploma. The estimated average treatment effect on the treated indicates that exposure to a high quality teacher during high school leads to a lower likelihood of dropout and a higher probability of graduating with a diploma.