School Improvement Grants (SIGs) exemplify a capacity-building investment to spur sustainable changes in America’s persistently lowest-performing schools and stimulate the economy. This study examines both short- and longer-term effects of the first two cohorts of SIG schools from four locations across the country. Dynamic difference-in-differences models show that SIGs’ effects on achievement in Grades 3 to 8, as measured by state test scores in math and English language arts, gradually increased over the three reform years and were largely sustained for 3 or 4 years afterward. Evidence on high school graduation rates, though less robust, also suggests SIGs had positive effects. SIGs’ effects on students of color and low-socioeconomic-status students were similar to or significantly larger than the overall effects.

学校改善补助金（SIG）体现了一项能力建设投资，以刺激美国持续表现最差的学校的可持续发展并刺激经济。这项研究考察了来自全国四个地方的SIG学校的前两个队列的短期和长期影响。动态差异模型显示，SIG对3至8年级成绩的影响（通过数学和英语艺术的州考试成绩来衡量）在三个改革年中逐渐增加，并在此后的3到4年内基本维持。高中毕业率的证据尽管不那么稳健，但也表明SIG发挥了积极作用。SIG对有色人种和低社会经济地位学生的影响与总体影响相似或显着大于整体影响。