Understanding the Racial Disparity in Graduation Rates at a Large Ivy League University

This paper examines the graduation rate disparity between members of underrepresented minority groups (African Americans and Hispanics) and their white and Asian peers at a large Ivy League university. To accomplish this, we use data from a variety of sources, including confidential institutional data on admissions and financial aid as well as publicly available data from the National Center for Educational Statistics and the College Board. We examine the extent to which high school and neighborhood characteristics may be responsible for the disparity. Specifically, we are interested in how the presence of members of a person’s own racial group in high school affects his or her college-level performance, especially for blacks and Hispanics. We find that these own-race effects do not play a significant role in determining graduation probability. We also find that neighborhood characteristics such as the poverty rate and school characteristics such as per-pupil expenditure are not significant. However, it is shown that the institution’s opportunity program plays an important role in fostering the academic success of black students, and a modest role in ensuring that they graduate. We also show that students who are financial aid recipients tend to have a slightly lower graduation rate than nonai

Full Lead Service Line Replacement: A Case Study of Equity in Environmental Remediation

In the U.S., approximately 9.3 million lead service lines (LSLs) account for most lead contamination of drinking water. As the commitment to replace LSLs with safer materials grows, empirical evidence is needed to understand which households are benefitting most from current replacement practices. This exploratory study analyzes factors predictive of whether an LSL was replaced fully (from water main to premise) or partially (only the portion on public property). Conventional ordinary least squares, negative binomial, and geographically weighted regression models are used to test the hypothesis that full lead service line replacements (LSLRs) were less common in lower-income, higher-minority neighborhoods under a cost-sharing program design in Washington, D.C. between 2009 and 2018. The study finds supportive evidence that household income is a major predictor of full replacement prevalence, with race also showing significance in some analyses. These findings highlight the need for further research into patterns of full versus partial LSLR across the U.S. and may inform future decisions about LSLR policy and program design

Full Lead Service Line Replacement: A Case Study of Equity in Environmental Remediation

In the U.S., approximately 9.3 million lead service lines (LSLs) account for most lead contamination of drinking water. As the commitment to replace LSLs with safer materials grows, empirical evidence is needed to understand which households are benefitting most from current replacement practices. This exploratory study analyzes factors predictive of whether an LSL was replaced fully (from water main to premise) or partially (only the portion on public property). Conventional ordinary least squares, negative binomial, and geographically weighted regression models are used to test the hypothesis that full lead service line replacements (LSLRs) were less common in lower-income, higher-minority neighborhoods under a cost-sharing program design in Washington, D.C. between 2009 and 2018. The study finds supportive evidence that household income is a major predictor of full replacement prevalence, with race also showing significance in some analyses. These findings highlight the need for further research into patterns of full versus partial LSLR across the U.S. and may inform future decisions about LSLR policy and program design