In their new National Bureau of Economic Research study, “The Long-Run Effects of Disruptive Peers,” Scott Carrell, Mark Hoekstra, and Elira Kukas find that “exposure to a disruptive peer in classes of 25 during elementary school reduces earnings at age 26 by 3 to 4 percent.” In addition, they found that removing one disruptive student from a classroom for one year would raise the future earnings of classmates by an estimated $100,000.
If you want more information on classroom ruffians, data on school crime and violence in North Carolina public schools were posted last week and will be discussed at the NC State Board of Education meeting this week.