Sarah A Cordes

Sarah A Cordes

  • College of Education and Human Development

    Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

    Associate Professor

Office Location

Ritter Hall 356

Phone

215-204-6332

Biography

Dr. Sarah Cordes's research and teaching interests are in the areas of education and urban policy, school finance, and applied quantitative methods. Drawing on frameworks across the disciplines of education, public policy, and economics, she uses large, administrative datasets from multiple national, state, and local agencies to explore complex issues around school choice, mobility, housing, and geography. Her work in these areas is united by an emphasis on understanding connections between where students live and where they go to school, how these connections shape educational inequities, and identifying policies to address disparate outcomes. Her current work focuses on the role of transportation in school choice, the effects of charter school expansion on traditional public school teacher turnover, the effects of racial home-ownership gaps on achievement gaps, and the effects of school choice on student mobility. Dr. Cordes’s work has been funded by the Institute for Education Sciences, the Russell Sage and William T. Grant Foundations, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Google Scholar: Sarah Cordes - Google Scholar

Research Interests

  • Economics of Education
  • Educational Policy
  • Finance

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

EDAD 8635

Current Issues and Policies

Graduate

EDAD 8635

Education Policy Analysis

Graduate

Selected Publications

  • Cordes, S.A. (2025). Competition in education markets: impacts, perceptions, and policy contexts. In Research Handbook on Education Privatization and Marketization (pp. 72-88). Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035311385.00012

  • Cordes, S.A. & Laurito, A. (2024). The effects of charter schools on neighborhood and school segregation: Evidence from New York City. Journal of Urban Affairs, 46(10), pp. 2064-2083. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/07352166.2022.2155525

  • Weinstein, M., Cordes, S.A., Rick, C., & Schwartz, A.E. (2024). Riding the Yellow School Bus: Equity in bus transportation across districts, schools, and students. Urban Education, 59(9), pp. 2649-2683. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00420859221114084

  • Cordes, S.A. (2024). Cyber versus Brick and Mortar: Achievement, Attainment, and Postsecondary Outcomes in Pennsylvania Charter High Schools. Education Finance and Policy, 19(3), pp. 361-384. MIT Press. doi: 10.1162/edfp_a_00399

  • Kim, E., Smith, J., Cordes, S., & Wohlstetter, P. (2024). “Positive Discipline Doesn’t Sound Like Discipline”: Experiences with Restorative Justice Implementation. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 23(3), pp. 530-549. Informa UK Limited. doi: 10.1080/15700763.2023.2174143

  • Cordes, S.A., Schwartz, A.E., & Elbel, B. (2023). The Effects of Owner-Occupied Housing on Student Outcomes: Evidence from NYC. Reg Sci Urban Econ, 98. Netherlands. doi: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2022.103857

  • Cordes, S.A., Han, J., & Schwartz, A. (2022). Housing, Neighborhoods, and Education. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Retrieved from https://oxfordre.com/

  • Seifert, S., Porter, L., Cordes, S.A., & Wohlstetter, P. (2022). Pursuing Diversity: The Context, Practices, and Diversity Outcomes of Intentionally Diverse Charter Schools. Teachers College Record: the Voice of Scholarship in Education, 124(12), pp. 95-134. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/01614681221150546

  • Cordes, S.A., Rick, C., & Schwartz, A.E. (2022). Do Long Bus Rides Drive Down Academic Outcomes? EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION and POLICY ANALYSIS. doi: 10.3102/01623737221092450

  • Schwartz, A.E., Horn, K.M., Ellen, I.G., & Cordes, S.A. (2020). Do Housing Vouchers Improve Academic Performance? Evidence from New York City. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 39(1), pp. 131-158. doi: 10.1002/pam.22183

  • Cordes, S.A., Weinstein, M., Rick, C., & Schwartz, A.E. (2020). Why doesn't everyone get a bus? Understanding inequities in school bus transportation across schools and students in New York City. Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly, 7(3), pp. 40-49. Retrieved from https://greenschoolsnationalnetwork.org/