Jacob Kirksey, Ph.D.
Email: Jacob.Kirksey@ttu.edu
Phone: (806) 834-8473
Office: Education 312
Dr. Kirksey's scholarship is broadly focused on issues at the nexus of education and other areas of public policy, including immigration policy, child and family policy, and workforce development. His work stresses a holistic approach to policymaking by drawing attention to knowledge gaps in how changes made in and outside of schools interact with dynamic educational contexts. The goal of his research is to foster data-driven decision making in local, state, and federal policy to forge win-win public policies that bolster educational and economic outcomes for historically marginalized populations. To evaluate programs and policies, Dr. Kirksey employs quasi-experimental techniques using datasets from school districts, government agencies, and large-scale surveys. He has published extensively on topics related to student absenteeism and truancy, inclusion and special education, the ripple effects of immigration enforcement, and teacher labor markets. Dr. Kirksey has received over $1.4 million in external funding as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator to support his research. His research has been highlighted in several popular media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Education Week, The Hechinger Report, and Chalkbeat. You can learn more about Dr. Kirksey and his work by visiting his website www.jjacobkirksey.com.
Education
- PhD (2020), Education, University of California- Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
- MA (2016), Education, University of California- Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
- BA (2015), Economics and Education, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Areas of Expertise
- K-12 Education Policy
- Economics of Education
- Causal Inference
- Program Evaluation
Selected Publications
Kirksey, J. J. (In Press). From court to classroom: The extent of unexpected consequences of deportation proceedings on math and reading achievement for elementary students from 1998 to 2016. American Journal of Education.
Kirksey, J. J., & *Elefante, J. (In Press). Familiar faces in high school: How having the same peers from year-to-year links to student absenteeism. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR).
*Freeman, J. A., & Kirksey, J. J. (In Press). Linking IEP status to parental involvement for high school students of first-generation and native-born families. Exceptional Children.
Kirksey, J. J. (2022). Preparedness and experiences of novice teachers in the sociopolitical context of heightened immigration enforcement: Evidence from a survey of California teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 73(1), 37-51.
Kirksey, J. J., & Lloydhauser, M. (2022). Dual certification in special and elementary education and associated benefits for students with disabilities and their teachers. AERA Open, 8(1), 1-11.
Kirksey, J. J., Gottfried, M. A., & *Freeman, J. A. (2022). Does parental involvement change after schools assign a student an IEP? Peabody Journal of Education, 97(1), 18-31.
Kirksey, J. J., & Sattin-Bajaj, C. (2021). Immigration arrests and educational impacts: Linking ICE arrests to declines in achievement, attendance, and school climate and safety in California. AERA Open, 7(1), 1-17.
Kirksey, J. J., & Gottfried, M. A. (2021). Is there a Catholic school effect on kindergarteners' absenteeism? Journal for Research on Educational Effectiveness, 14(3), 570-597.
Kirksey, J. J., & Gottfried, M. A. (2021). The effect of serving ‘Breakfast After-the-Bell' meals on school absenteeism: Comparing results from regression discontinuity designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 43(2), 305-328.
Kirksey, J. J., Sattin-Bajaj, C., Gottfried, M. A., ^Freeman, J. A., & Ozuna, C. S. (2020). Deportations near the schoolyard: Examining immigration enforcement and racial/ethnic gaps in educational outcomes. AERA Open, 6(1), 1-18.
Kirksey, J. J. (2019). Academic harms of missing high school and the accuracy of current policy thresholds: Analysis of preregistered administrative data from a California school district. AERA Open, 5(3), 1-13.
Winner of the inaugural “Best Graduate Student Paper Award” by the AERA SIG: School Effectiveness and School Improvement
Kirksey, J. J., & Gottfried, M. A. (2018). Familiar faces: Can having similar classmates from last year link to better school attendance this year? The Elementary School Journal, 119(2), 223-243.
Selected External Funding
Kirksey, J. J. (Principal Investigator), Gottlieb, J. J. (Co-Principal Investigator), Higgins, R. (Co-Principal Investigator), Johnson, L. (Co-Principal Investigator), Spott, J. (Co-Principal Investigator), "Investigating Pre-College Predictors and Post-Secondary Effects of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Texas," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $499,999. (June 2022 – May 2025).
Kirksey, J. J. (Principal Investigator), Wiseman, A. (Co-Principal Investigator), Gottlieb, J. J. (Co-Principal Investigator), "Bold Action for a Prosperous Future: Evaluation of Texas House Bill 5 and Academic and Career Trajectories of Texas Public High School Graduates," Sponsored by Philanthropy Advocates, Foundation, $99,579. (January 2022 - August 2022).
Wiseman, A. W. (Principal Investigator), Gottlieb, J. J. (Co-Principal Investigator), & Kirksey, J. J. (Co-Principal Investigator), “REAL Partnership with Ector County ISD,” Contracted by Ector County Independent School District, $270,000. (August 2021 – July 2024).
Gottlieb, J. J. (Principal Investigator), McNaughtan, J. (Co-Principal Investigator), & Kirksey, J. J. (Co-Principal Investigator), "Community College Finance Research Project," Subaward from Texas A&M University (Principal Investigator: Lori Taylor), $42,260.00. Prime award sponsored by The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, State, $480,000. (May 2022 - October 2022).
College of Education
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Address
Texas Tech University, College of Education, 3002 18th Street Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
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Email
educ.webmaster@ttu.edu