Tiffany Wu
@tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
810 followers 510 following 15 posts
Edpsych PhD & Stats dual master's @UMich | IES Predoc Fellow | #rstats enthusiast | Former teacher | @NorthwesternU & @UChicago alumna | 🇹🇼🇺🇸 Website: https://tiffany-wu.github.io/
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tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
Hello new friends! 👋 I’m Tiffany. I’m a PhD candidate at UMich interested in edpsych 🧠, early childhood 🎒, and machine learning 🖥️. I make pretty pictures using #rstats once in a while (👇). Looking forward to (re)building community & learning from + with y'all! #EduSky #introduction
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
aaronsojourner.org
We invest 9X less per child-year in care & education in the first 5 years of life than the next 13.

This gap in public investment is why K12 is free for parents & early care & education is expensive.
www.hamiltonproject.org/publication/...
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
annenberginstitute.bsky.social
📢 #EdWorkingPapers: How can we measure student behavior at scale?

@tiffanyxwu.bsky.social, @weilanch.bsky.social, @mattadiemer.bsky.social, Rebecca Unterman, @annakshapiro.bsky.social, & Thomas Staines use PCA and factor analysis to build behavior composites from admin data.

📄 bit.ly/4ofre5b
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
joshua-goodman.com
🔥What’s the only thing hotter than this week’s weather?🔥

Our new @wheelockpolicybu.bsky.social working paper:

“School Enrollment Shifts Five Years After the Pandemic”

In it, BU Wheelock PhD @abbyfrancis.bsky.social and I ask:

Has the pandemic permanently changed families' schooling choices?
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
paul-bruno.com
If we're heading into summer that means academic job market season is looming. As a reminder, my collected tips are here (along with my standing offer to set up time to chat with folks): www.paul-bruno.com/2021/07/tips...
Some Basic Tips About the Academic Job Market – Paul Bruno
www.paul-bruno.com
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
joshua-goodman.com
Re-upping my advice about how to write a good title and abstract for an academic paper, appropriately called:

"How to Write a Title and Abstract"

Feel free to share this thread, which will focus on titles.

#EconSky #AcademicSky
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
A special thank you to Christina Claiborne, @aizatnurshat.bsky.social ‬, and the the entire #EdWorkingPapers and #EdExchange teams at @annenberginstitute.bsky.social for featuring our study in their new series, and for creating such a valuable platform to connect research and practice!
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
Huge thanks to our research-practice partners at Boston Public Schools and Massachusetts Department of Education, and the team at EPI, without whom this work would not be possible.
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
Led by our fearless leader @weilanch.bsky.social, alongside amazing co-authors Rebecca Unterman, @annakshapiro.bsky.social‬, Shekinah Lightner, Thomas Staines, and Annie Taylor.
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
Compared to CTL group, TRT compliers were:
✅ More likely to remain enrolled in BPS throughout middle school
✅ More likely to apply to exam schools
✅ Less likely to be suspended in 7th grade
✅ More likely to complete Algebra I by the end of 8th grade
✅ Higher-performing on 7th grade math tests
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
We find that winning an oversubscribed seat in one of Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) high-quality Pre-K programs shaped students’ middle school trajectories in meaningful ways, despite nearly all control group children attending other preschool programs.
tiffanyxwu.bsky.social
🤔 What kind of Pre-K experience sets students up for long-term success?

Our new working paper offers important new evidence to help answer this question!

🔗 edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai25-1194.pdf

And 🧵👇
A screenshot of the abstract of the working paper Figure 1: School Enrollment Pathways for Lottery Winners and Control Group Students through 8th Grade. This figure represents school enrollment pathways across different school types (BPS, BPS Exam School, non-BPS district school, charter school, and other) for both lottery winners and the control group. The thickness of the lines represents the percentage of lottery winners/control group students that are enrolled in each type of school. Blue lines show the pathways taken by lottery winners, and BPS-specific school categories are highlighted in the light blue boxes. BPS = Boston Public Schools.
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
annenberginstitute.bsky.social
🚀 Launching the EdWorkingPapers Policy & Practice Series!

Too much good research never reaches the people making real decisions.

Our new series changes that. Each 2-pager highlights key findings from #EdWorkingPapers, made for busy leaders and policymakers.

📄 Read the first three: bit.ly/3Z1Kok2
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
weilanch.bsky.social
Using data from Michigan, we find that third grade retention for struggling readers may be a much less important component of the benefits of literacy reforms than previously understood.

(Thx, @annenberginstitute.bsky.social, for the dissemination bump!)
annenberginstitute.bsky.social
📢 #EdWorkingPapers: Flagged for retention, but not retained: Michigan’s 3rd-grade retention policy raised reading scores largely by triggering extra help, not holding kids back.

🔍Jordan Berne, Brian Jacob, @weilanch.bsky.social, Katharine Strunk

📄 edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1188
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
johnholbein1.bsky.social
Wow!

Each $1 spent on Universal Pre-Kindergarten generates between $3-$20 dollars in aggregate earnings.

That's enough to offset the costs of Universal Pre-Kindergarten through higher tax revenues.
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
andrew.heiss.phd
Thing I just learned in #rstats: unz() lets you connect to a .zip and load files from inside it without actually unzipping it (great for a file I'm working with that's 30 MB zipped and 1+ GB unzipped, with multiple CSVs in it)
# unz() lets you connect to a .zip and treat it like a mini file system, 
# and you can load files from inside it
one_zipped_csv_among_others <- readr::read_csv(
  unz("lotsa_zipped_csvs.zip"), "one_csv.csv"
)

# readr::read_csv() can read a .zip with a single CSV in it
one_zipped_csv <- readr::read_csv("big_zipped_file.zip")
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
chloergibbs.bsky.social
I hope it is not lost, in all of the chaos at the federal level, that there are many longstanding, discretionary programs that are on the Administration's chopping block, either directly or through the erosion of agency staff, expertise, and capacity. Programs enacted and reauthorized through...
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
vincentab.bsky.social
📚😅🎉

Yay!! I just submitted the complete manuscript of my upcoming book to the publisher!

Learn to easily and clearly interpret (almost) any stats model w/ R or Python. Simple ideas, consistent workflow, powerful tools, detailed case studies.

Read it for free @ marginaleffects.com

#RStats #PyData
Model to Meaning: How to interpret statistical models with marginaleffects for R and Python
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
andrew.heiss.phd
I’ve long used FiveThirtyEight’s interactive “Hack Your Way To Scientific Glory” to illustrate the idea of p-hacking when I teach statistics. But ABC/Disney killed the site earlier this month :(

So I made my own with #rstats and Observable and #QuartoPub ! stats.andrewheiss.com/hack-your-way/
Screenshot of the linked Quarto website, with input checkboxes to change different conditions for a regression model that predicts economic performance based on US political party, with a reported p-value
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
dynarski.bsky.social
If you have research dependent on these data here is my suggestion
1/N

Big picture:

Create a dataset of cell means (cells must be big enough to pass disclosure)

- load these cell means into many, many tables & put through review

-These cell means can then be used in OLS - which runs on means
andrewdeanho.bsky.social
Research with restricted-use data is more precise, powerful, and relevant. Faculty and staff will be working through the weekend to answer important research questions before we no longer can. This is not normal, necessary, or efficient.
aeraedresearch.bsky.social
AERA has just learned that all restricted-use NCES data licenses will be cancelled, possibly as early as March 20. We urgently request that all AERA members and others in the research community with restricted-use licenses take these two actions: www.aera.net/Research-Pol...
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
andrew.heiss.phd
New preprint! A general overview of stats in public policy research with this (oversimplified but still helpful) separation of methods into description, explanation, and prediction #policysky

HTML/PDF: stats.andrewheiss.com/snoopy-spring/
SocArXiv: doi.org/10.31235/osf...
This essay provides an overview of statistical methods in public policy, focused primarily on the United States. I trace the historical development of quantitative approaches in policy research, from early ad hoc applications through the 19th and early 20th centuries, to the full institutionalization of statistical analysis in federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies by the late 20th century. I then outline three core methodological approaches to policy-centered statistical research across social science disciplines: description, explanation, and prediction, framing each in terms of the focus of the analysis. In descriptive work, researchers explore what exists and examine any variable of interest to understand their different distributions and relationships. In explanatory work, researchers ask why does it exist and how can it be influenced. The focus of the analysis is on explanatory variables (X) to either (1) accurately estimate their relationship with an outcome variable (Y), or (2) causally attribute the effect of specific explanatory variables on outcomes. In predictive work, researchers as what will happen next and focus on the outcome variable (Y) and on generating accurate forecasts, classifications, and predictions from new data. For each approach, I examine key techniques, their applications in policy contexts, and important methodological considerations. I then consider critical perspectives on quantitative policy analysis framed around issues related to a three-part “data imperative” where governments are driven to count, gather, and learn from data. Each of these imperatives entail substantial issues related to privacy, accountability, democratic participation, and epistemic inequalities—issues at odds with public sector values of transparency and openness. I conclude by identifying some emerging trends in public sector-focused data science, inclusive ethical guidelines, open research practices, and future directions for the field. 	Description	Explanation	Prediction
General question	What exists?	Why does it exist? How can it be influenced?	What will happen next?
Focus of analysis	Focus is on any variable—understanding different variables and their distributions and relationships	Focus is on X —understanding the relationship between X and Y, often with an emphasis on causality	Focus is on Y —forecasting or estimating the value of Y based on X, often without concern for causal mechanisms
Names for variable of interest	—		Explanatory variable
	Independent variable
	Predictor variable
	Covariate		Outcome variable
	Dependent variable
	Response variable
Goal of analysis	Summarize and explore data to identify patterns, trends, and relationships	Estimation: Test hypotheses or theories and make inferences about the relationship between one or more X variables and Y
 
Causal attribution: A special form of estimating—make inferences about the causal relationship between a single X of interest and Y through credible causal assumptions and identification strategies	Generate accurate predictions; maximize the amount of explainable variation in Y while minimizing prediction error
Evaluation criteria	—	Confidence/credible intervals, coefficient significance, effect sizes, and theoretical consistency	Metrics like root mean square error (RMSE) and R^2; out-of-sample performance
Typical approaches	Univariate summary statistics like the mean, median, variance, and standard deviation; multivariate summary statistics like correlations and cross-tabulations	t-tests, proportion tests, multivariate regression models; for causal attribution, careful identification through experiments, quasi-experiments, and other methods with observational data	Multivariate regression models; more complex black-box approaches like machine learning and ensemble models Table of contents
Introduction
Brief history of statistics in public policy
Core methodological approaches
Description
Explanation
Prediction
The pitfalls of counting, gathering, and learning from public data
Future directions
References
Reposted by Tiffany Wu
bethschueler.bsky.social
It's that time of year to circulate this list of orgs for those seeking ed policy jobs/internships. Please let me know if there are opportunities/orgs I should add. Good luck out there! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The Unofficial List of Ed Policy Orgs for Job/Internship Seekers
docs.google.com