Journal articles:

Cohodes, Sarah, Sean P. Corcoran, Jennifer Jennings, and Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj. (Forthcoming). "When Do Informational Interventions Work? Experimental Evidence from New York City High School Choice." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

Mark, Nicholas D.E. (†), Sean P. Corcoran, and Jennifer L. Jennings. 2023. “Choosing Alone? Peer Continuity Disparities in Choice-Based Enrollment Systems.” Educational Researcher 52(6): 365-376.

Prescott, Melissa Pflugh(†), Judith A. Gilbride, Sean P. Corcoran, Brian Elbel, Kathleen Woolf, Roland O. Ofori, and Amy Ellen Schwartz. 2022. “The Relationship between School Infrastructure and School Nutrition Program Participation and Policies in New York City.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19(15): 9649.

Dixon, LaTanya L., Lam D. Pham(†), Gary T. Henry, Sean P. Corcoran, and Ron Zimmer. 2022. “Who Leads Turnaround Schools? Characteristics of Principals in Tennessee's Achievement School District and Innovation Zones.” Educational Administration Quarterly 58(2): 258-299.

Bitler, Marianne, Sean P. Corcoran, Thurston Domina, and Emily Penner. 2021. "Teacher Effects on Student Achievement and Height: A Cautionary Tale." Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 14(4): 900-924.

Latham, Scott, Sean P. Corcoran, Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, and Jennifer L. Jennings. Forthcoming. “Racial Disparities in Pre-K Quality: Evidence from New York City’s Universal Pre-K Program.” Educational Researcher.

Gill, Brian, Emilyn Whitesell, Sean Corcoran, Charles Tilley, Mariel Finucane, Liz Potamites, and Sean Corcoran. (2018). "Can Charter Schools Boost Civic Participation? The Impact of Democracy Prep Public Schools on Voting Behavior." American Political Science Review, 114(4): 1386-1392.

Sattin-Bajaj, Carolyn, Jennifer L. Jennings, Sean P. Corcoran, Elizabeth Christine Baker-Smith, and Chantal Hailey(†). 2018. "Surviving at the Street Level: How Counselor's Implementation of School Choice Policy Shapes Students' High School Destinations." Sociology of Education, 91(1): 46-71. 

Corcoran, Sean P. and Christy Baker-Smith(†). 2018. "Pathways to an Elite Education: Application, Admission, and Matriculation to New York City's Specialized High Schools." Education Finance and Policy 13(2): 256-279.

Corcoran, Sean P., and Jennifer L. Jennings. 2018. "The Gender Gap in Charter School Enrollment." Educational Policy 32(5): 635-663.

  • September 2014 version available as National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education Occasional Paper #223.

Corcoran, Sean P., Thomas Romer, and Howard Rosenthal. 2017. “The Twilight of the Setter? Local School Finance in a Time of Institutional Change,” Economics and Politics 29(1): 1-21.

Elbel, Brian, Sean P. Corcoran, and Amy Ellen Schwartz. 2016. "Neighborhoods, Schools, and Obesity: The Potential Role for Place-Based Approaches to Reduce Childhood Obesity." PLoS ONE 11(6): e0157479. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0157479 

Corcoran, Sean P., Brian Elbel, and Amy Ellen Schwartz. 2016. "The Effect of Breakfast in the Classroom on Obesity and Academic Performance: Evidence from New York City." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35(3): 509-532.

Corcoran, Sean P., Thomas Romer, and Howard Rosenthal. 2015. "Some Simple Tests of Rational Voting and Agenda Setting," Political Science Research and Methods 3(2): 155-168.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Dan Goldhaber. 2013. "Value-Added and its Uses: Where You Stand Depends on Where You Sit." Education Finance and Policy 8(3): 418-434.

Leos-Urbel, Jacob(†), Amy Ellen Schwartz, Meryle Weinstein, and Sean Corcoran. 2013. "Not Just for Poor Kids: The Impact of Universal Free School Breakfast on Meal Participation and Student Outcomes," Economics of Education Review 36: 88-107.

  • Sept 2011 version available as an SSRN working paper, #1923972, September 7, 2011.

Corcoran, Sean P., Amy Ellen Schwartz, and Meryle Weinstein. 2012. "Training Your Own: The Impact of New York City's Aspiring Principals Program on Achievement." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 34(2): 232-253.

Fairchild, Susan(†), Robert Tobias, Sean Corcoran, Christine Kovner, Maya Djukic(†), and Pedro Noguera. 2012. "White and Black Teachers' Job Satisfaction: Does Relational Demography Matter?" Urban Education 47(1): 170-197.

Kovner, Christine Tassone, Sean P. Corcoran, and Carol Brewer. 2011. "The Relative Geographic Immobility of New Registered Nurses: Calls for New Strategies to Augment That Workforce." Health Affairs 30(12): 2293-2300.

Rosenberg, Marie-Claire, Sean P. Corcoran, Christine Kovner, and Carol Brewer. 2011. "Commuting to Work: RN Travel Time to Employment in Rural and Urban Areas," Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice 12(1): 46-54.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Christiana Stoddard. 2011. "Local Demand for School Choice: Evidence from the Washington Charter School Referenda," Education Finance and Policy, 6(3): 323-353. Working paper version here.

  • February 2009 version available as National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education Occasional Paper #175.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2007. "Long-run Trends in the Quality of Teachers: Evidence and Implications for Policy," Education Finance and Policy 2(4): 395-407.

Stoddard, Christiana and Sean P. Corcoran. 2007. "The Political Economy of School Choice: Support for Charter Schools across States and School Districts," Journal of Urban Economics 62(1): 27-54.

  • February 2006 version available as National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education Occasional Paper #113.

Corcoran, Sean P., William N. Evans, and Robert M. Schwab. 2004. "Women, the Labor Market, and the Declining Relative Quality of Teachers," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 23(3): 449-470.

Corcoran, Sean P., William N. Evans, and Robert M. Schwab. 2004. "Changing Labor Market Opportunities for Women and the Quality of Teachers, 1957-2000," American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings of the American Economic Association 94(2): 230-235.

(†) = graduate student at time of authorship

Book sections:

Corcoran, Sean P. And Jennifer L. Jennings. 2019. “Information and School Choice.” In Handbook of Research on School Choice, 2nd edition, edited by Mark Berends, Ann Primus, and Matthew G. Springer. Routledge.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Sarah A. Cordes(†). 2017. "The Economics of School Choice." In Handbook of School Choice, edited by Robert Fox and Nina Buchanan. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2016. "Section I Discussion: How do Educators Use Student Growth Measures in Practice?'" in Student Growth Measures in Policy and Practice: Intended and Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Teacher Evaluations, Kimberly Kappler Hewitt and Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, Eds. Palgrave Macmillan.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2015. "Potential Pitfalls in the Use of Teacher Value-Added Data" in Making the Most of Multiple Measures: The Impacts and Challenges of Implementing Rigorous Teacher Evaluation Systems, Jason A. Grissom and Peter Youngs, Eds., Teachers College Press.

Corcoran, Sean P. and William N. Evans. 2015. “Equity, Adequacy, and the Evolving State Role in Education Finance,” Chapter 21 in Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy, 2nd edition, ed. Helen F. Ladd and Margaret E. Goertz, Routledge.

Corcoran, Sean P., Sarah Cordes(†), and Amy Ellen Schwartz. 2014. "State Education Expenditures," in Sustaining the States: The Fiscal Viability of American State Governments, Katherine G. Willoughby and Marilyn Ruby, Eds., Taylor and Francis.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Emilyn Ruble Whitesell(†). 2014. "Teacher Experience" and "Teacher Supply" in Encyclopedia of Education Economics and Finance, Dominic Brewer and Lawrence Picus, Eds., SAGE Publications.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2014. "Tiebout Sorting" in Encyclopedia of Education Economics and Finance, Dominic Brewer and Lawrence Picus, Eds., SAGE Publications.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Henry M. Levin. 2011. "School Choice and Competition in the New York City Schools," in Education Reform in New York City: Ambitious Change in the Nation's Most Complex School System, eds. Jennifer O'Day, Catherine Bitter, and Louis M. Gomez, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Invited chapter for the American Institute for Research.

Jennings, Jennifer L. and Sean P. Corcoran. 2011. "Beyond High Stakes: Teacher Effects on Multiple Educational Outcomes," in Assessing Teacher Quality: Understanding Teacher Effects on Instruction and Achievement, ed. S. Kelly, New York: Teachers College Press.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Jennifer L. Jennings. 2010. "Evaluation of Teachers Trained Through Different Routes to Certification," in Think Tank Research Quality: Lessons for Policy Makers, the Media, and the Public, ed. K.G. Welner, P. Hinchey, A. Molnar, and D. Weitzman, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Lawrence Mishel. 2010. "How Much are Public School Teachers Paid?" in Think Tank Research Quality: Lessons for Policy Makers, the Media, and the Public, ed. K.G. Welner, P. Hinchey, A. Molnar, and D. Weitzman, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2009. "Human Capital Policy and the Quality of the Teacher Workforce," in Creating a New Teaching Profession, ed. Jane Hannaway and Dan Goldhaber, Urban Institute Press.

Corcoran, Sean P. and William N. Evans. 2008. "The Role of Inequality in Teacher Quality," in Steady Gains and Stalled Progress: Inequality and the Black-White Test Score Gap, ed. Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel, Russell Sage Foundation.

Corcoran, Sean P., Howard Rosenthal, and Thomas Romer. 2008. "The Troubled Quest for Equality in School Finance," in What do we Owe Each Other? Rights and Obligations in Contemporary American Society, ed. Howard Rosenthal and David J. Rothman, Piscataway, NJ: Transaction.

Corcoran, Sean P. and William N. Evans. 2008. "Equity, Adequacy, and the Evolving State Role in Education Finance," in Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy, ed. Helen F. Ladd and Edward B. Fiske, Routledge.

Corcoran, Sean P., William Evans, Jennifer Godwin, Sheila Murray, and Robert Schwab. 2004. "The Changing Distribution of Education Finance, 1972-1997," in Social Inequality, ed. Kathryn M. Neckerman, Russell Sage Foundation.

Policy reports and commentary:

Pham, Lam D., Sean P. Corcoran, Gary T. Henry, and Ron Zimmer. 2022. "Over the Long-Haul: Examining the Long-Term Effects of School Turnaround." Policy brief, Tennessee Education Research Alliance.

Corcoran, Sean P., Gary Henry, Jason Miller, Lam Pham, and Ron Zimmer. 2022. "Implementing School Improvement in the iZone 2.0: A Case Study of Three Memphis Schools." Policy brief, Tennessee Education Research Alliance.

Gill, Brian P., Charles Tilley, Emilyn Whitesell, Mariel Finucane, Liz Potamites, and Sean P. Corcoran. 2019. A Life Lesson in Civics: How Democracy Prep Charter Schools Boost Student Voting. Education Next, 19(3).

Corcoran, Sean P. 2018. School Choice and Commuting: How Far New York City Students Travel to School. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Gill, Brian, Charles Tilley, Emilyn Whitesell, Mariel Finucane, Liz Potamites, and Sean Corcoran. 2018. "The Impact of Democracy Prep Public Schools on Civic Participation." Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

Blagg, Kristin, Matthew Chingos, Sean P. Corcoran, Sarah A. Cordes, Joshua Cowen, Patrick Denice, Betheny Gross, Jane Arnold Lincove, Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Amy Ellen Schwartz, and Jon Valant. 2018. "The Road to School: How Far Students Travel to School in the Choice-Rich Cities of Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington, DC." Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2016. Review of The School Choice Journey: School Vouchers and the Empowerment of Urban Families by Patrick J. Wolf and Thomas Stewart. Political Science Quarterly, 131(1): 205-206.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Christine Baker-Smith(†). 2015. "Pathways to an Elite Education: Exploring Strategies to Diversify NYC's Specialized High Schools," IESP and Research Alliance for New York City Schools.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2014. Review of The Economic Benefits of New York City's Public School Reforms, 2002-2013. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center.

Nathanson, Lori, Sean P. Corcoran, and Christine Baker-Smith(†). 2013. "High School Choice in New York City: A Report on the School Choices and Placements of Low-Achieving Students," Research Alliance for New York City Schools.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Grace Pai(†). 2013. "Unlocking New York City's High School Progress Report," New Visions for Public Schools.

Baker, Bruce D. and Sean P. Corcoran. 2012. "The Stealth Inequities of School Funding: How State and Local School Finance Systems Perpetuate Inequitable Student Spending," Center for American Progress.

Institute for Education Sciences. 2012. "Learning from Recent Advances in Measuring Teacher Effectiveness," contributing author.

New Jersey Department of Education. 2012. Education Funding Report: February 23, 2012. Submitted by Christopher D. Cerf, Acting Commissioner. Co-author and consultant.

Allegretto, Sylvia, Sean Corcoran, and Lawrence Mishel. 2011. The Teaching Penalty: An Update Through 2010, Issue Brief #298. Washington D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.

Corcoran, Sean P. 2010. "Can Teachers be Evaluated by Their Students' Test Scores? Should They Be?," Report for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Education Policy for Action Series, September 2010.

Jennings, Jennifer L. and Sean P. Corcoran. 2009. "Beware of Geeks Bearing Formulas: Reflections on Growth Models for Accountability," Phi Delta Kappan 90(9), 635-639.

Stoddard, Christiana and Sean P. Corcoran. 2008. "Charter Politics," Education Next 8(2), 72-78.

Allegretto, Sylvia, Sean P. Corcoran, and Lawrence Mishel. 2008. The Teaching Penalty: Teacher Pay Losing Ground, Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. PDF

Allegretto, Sylvia, Sean P. Corcoran, and Lawrence Mishel. 2008. "Down and Out: Economists Assess the Teacher Pay Disadvantage," California Public Employee Relations, 188: 13-21.

Corcoran, Sean P. and Jennifer Booher-Jennings. 2007. "Commentary: When Race Matters," Teachers College Record, August 22, 2007. PDF

Allegretto, Sylvia, Sean P. Corcoran, and Lawrence Mishel. 2004. How Does Teacher Pay Compare? Methodological Challenges and Answers, Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.

(†) = graduate student at time of authorship

Working Papers and Under Review:

Covelli, Lauren(†) and Sean P. Corcoran. (2023). “ACT Testing Policy in Tennessee: Effects on Test-Taking, Scores, and College Enrollment.” Tennessee Education Research Alliance Working Paper, August 10, 2023.

Corcoran, Sean P., Jennifer Jennings, Sarah R. Cohodes, and Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj. (2018). "Leveling the Playing Field for High School Choice: Results from a Field Experiment of Informational Interventions." NBER Working Paper #24471.

Pham, Lam D., Sean P. Corcoran, Gary T. Henry, and Ron Zimmer. 2022. "Do the Effects Last? An Examination of Long-Term Effects of School Turnaround."

Corcoran, Sean P. "The Manhattan/Hunter Science High School: Impact of an Early College Science Program."

Corcoran, Sean P. and Sarah Cordes(†). "The Continuing Impact of Democracy Prep Public Schools."

Corcoran, Sean P. and Jennifer L. Jennings (2012), "Teacher Effectiveness on High- and Low-Stakes Tests".

Corcoran, Sean P. and William N. Evans, "Income Inequality, the Median Voter, and the Support for Public Education." (2014).


Last updated: January 25, 2024