TY - JOUR
T1 - Do Top Dogs Rule in Middle School? Evidence on Bullying, Safety, and Belonging
AU - Schwartz, Amy Ellen
AU - Stiefel, Leanna
AU - Rothbart, Michah W.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Recent research finds that grade span affects academic achievement but only speculates about the mechanisms. In this study, we examine one commonly cited mechanism, the top dog/bottom dog phenomenon, which states that students at the top of a grade span (“top dogs”) have better experiences than those at the bottom (“bottom dogs”). Using an instrumental variables strategy introduced in Rockoff and Lockwood (2010) and a longitudinal data set containing student survey data for New York City public middle school students, we estimate the impact of top dog and bottom dog status on bullying, safety, belonging, and academic achievement. This article provides the first credibly causal evidence that top dog status improves the learning environment and academic achievement. We further find that the top dog effect is strongest in sixth grade and in schools with longer grade spans and that the top dog effect is not explained by new students to a school or student height.
AB - Recent research finds that grade span affects academic achievement but only speculates about the mechanisms. In this study, we examine one commonly cited mechanism, the top dog/bottom dog phenomenon, which states that students at the top of a grade span (“top dogs”) have better experiences than those at the bottom (“bottom dogs”). Using an instrumental variables strategy introduced in Rockoff and Lockwood (2010) and a longitudinal data set containing student survey data for New York City public middle school students, we estimate the impact of top dog and bottom dog status on bullying, safety, belonging, and academic achievement. This article provides the first credibly causal evidence that top dog status improves the learning environment and academic achievement. We further find that the top dog effect is strongest in sixth grade and in schools with longer grade spans and that the top dog effect is not explained by new students to a school or student height.
KW - academic achievement
KW - bullying
KW - grade span
KW - learning environment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990184052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84990184052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3102/0002831216657177
DO - 10.3102/0002831216657177
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84990184052
VL - 53
SP - 1450
EP - 1484
JO - American Educational Research Journal
JF - American Educational Research Journal
SN - 0002-8312
IS - 5
ER -