The Effect of Community Trauma on Student Achievement: Evidence from the Boston Marathon Bombing (thesis)

Abstract

This paper evaluates the hypothesis that the Boston Marathon bombing was such a traumatic experience for youth living in Massachusetts that it harmed their math standardized test scores and that this effect was larger the closer the school to Copley Square -- the site of the bombing. The evidence reveals that the short run effect exhibited in the difference model for all schools of low percentages of students on free lunch suggests that students in these schools are indeed traumatized by the Boston Marathon bombing -- a traumatic event. Moreover, this effect is greatest for the wealthiest suburban communities. It could be the case that parents and teachers in this group think that they help their children when they discuss the bombing with them directly. Perhaps, instead, they do not even intend for the children to listen to their conversations about the bombing, but because of their own backgrounds, they cannot help but think about the repercussions of the bombing more than those in communities of lesser socioeconomic status. Further research should look into how parents and teachers addressed the bombing with their children -- conversations, watching television showing the bombing, etc. -- and the extent relative to families located in other communities. [From Conclusion]