TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Coffey, Stephanie
AU  - Goodman, Joshua
AU  - Schwartz, Amy Ellen
AU  - Stiefel, Leanna
AU  - Winters, Marcus A.
AU  - Yoon, Yunee H.
        TI  - Special Education Substantially Improves Learning: Evidence from Three States
        PY  - 2026/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18531
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18531
        AB  - Special education serves more than one in seven U.S. students yet its causal impact remains understudied. Using longitudinal data from Massachusetts, Indiana, and Connecticut, we estimate the effect of individualized supports with an event-study design that tracks achievement around initial classification. Students’ scores decline prior to placement and rise sharply afterward, yielding a consistent V-shaped pattern. Within three years, achievement is 0.2–0.4σ higher than counterfactual trends imply. Gains are similar across disability categories and subgroups, are not driven by testing accommodations, and remain under conservative assumptions. Individualized supports substantially increase learning productivity.
        KW  - special education
KW  - human capital
KW  - treatment effects
KW  - education policy
        ER  -