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on Education |
| By: | Maria Zumbuehl; Stefanie Hof; Stefan C. Wolter |
| Abstract: | Decisions about admission to selective schools usually rely on performance measures. To reach a required achievement threshold students may make use of additional resources, such as private tutoring. We investigate how the use of private tutoring relates to the transition probability to an academically demanding post compulsory school and the probability to successfully pass through this school, controlling for the students competencies after tutoring, but before the transition. Using PISA and linked register data from Switzerland, we find that students who had private tutoring before the transition are more likely to fail in the selective school than students who had the same level of competencies without tutoring. |
| Keywords: | private tutoring, educational achievement, PISA, Switzerland |
| JEL: | D82 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10044&r=edu |
| By: | Zumbuehl, Maria (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis); Hof, Stefanie (University of Basel); Wolter, Stefan C. (University of Bern) |
| Abstract: | Decisions about admission to selective schools usually rely on performance measures. To reach a required achievement threshold students may make use of additional resources, such as private tutoring. We investigate how the use of private tutoring relates to the transition probability to an academically demanding post compulsory school and the probability to successfully pass through this school, controlling for the students competencies after tutoring, but before the transition. Using PISA and linked register data from Switzerland, we find that students who had private tutoring before the transition are more likely to fail in the selective school than students who had the same level of competencies without tutoring. |
| Keywords: | private tutoring, educational achievment, PISA, Switzerland |
| JEL: | D82 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2022–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15652&r=edu |
| By: | Marco Ovidi (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | I show that parents select schools by considering attributes of the student-school match that improve the learning outcomes beyond average school quality. Using the centralized algorithm for offers to primary school in London, I compare the achievement of students who are as good as randomly enroled in schools ranked differently in their application. Enroling at the most-preferred school versus an institution ranked lower increases achievement by 0.10 SD beyond school value-added among students with similar characteristics. Only a small part of the match effects of parental choice can be explained by student’s characteristics such as gender, ability, or socioeconomic status. |
| Keywords: | Centralised assignment, Deferred acceptance, School choice, School effectiveness. |
| JEL: | H75 I21 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie1:def121&r=edu |
| By: | Goulas, Sofoklis (Stanford University); Megalokonomou, Rigissa (University of Queensland); Zhang, Yi (University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | How much does your neighbor impact your test scores and career? In this paper, we examine how an observable characteristic of same-age neighbors—their gender—affects a variety of high school and university outcomes. We exploit randomness in the gender composition of local cohorts at birth from one year to the next. In a setting in which school assignment is based on proximity to residential address, we define as neighbors all same-cohort peers who attend neighboring schools. Using new administrative data for the universe of students in consecutive cohorts in Greece, we find that a higher share of female neighbors improves both male and female students' high school and university outcomes. We also find that female students are more likely to enroll in STEM degrees and target more lucrative occupations when they are exposed to a higher share of female neighbors. We collect rich qualitative geographic data on communal spaces (e.g., churches, libraries, parks, Scouts and sports fields) to understand whether access to spaces of social interaction drives neighbor effects. We find that communal facilities amplify neighbor effects among females. |
| Keywords: | neighbor gender peer effects, cohort-to-cohort random variation, birth gender composition, geodata, STEM university degrees |
| JEL: | J16 J24 I24 I26 |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15733&r=edu |
| By: | Gehrke, Esther; Lenel, Friederike; Schupp, Claudia |
| Abstract: | We analyze whether an interest exploration tool, combined with information about potential careers, paths to higher education and ?financing options can provide guidance to students in rural Cambodia, help them develop long-term career goals and thereby motivate them to continue with school. We target the intervention to adolescents in grade 9, who are about to decide whether to enroll in high school. The intervention was conducted just before schools were closed for a period of six months due to COVID-19. We use survey data, as well as individual-level administrative data obtained from treatment and control schools to track educational decisions during and after school closure. Our fi?ndings suggest that the intervention if at all reduced educational investments. We fi?nd these effects are driven by low-performing students. Students that ranked in the lower half of their class prior to the intervention are less likely to study during school closure, perform worse in the ?final exam and are less likely to transition to high school. Studying potential underlying mechanisms, our analyses suggest that our intervention made low-performing students aware of alternative career paths and more realistic in their expectations. |
| Date: | 2022–09–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:k6tqr&r=edu |
| By: | Hayes, Michael S. (Rutgers University); Liu, Jing (University of Texas at Austin); Gershenson, Seth (American University) |
| Abstract: | Teachers affect a wide range of students' educational and social outcomes, but how they contribute to students' involvement in school discipline is less understood. We estimate the impact of teacher demographics and other observed qualifications on students' likelihood of receiving a disciplinary referral. Using data that track all disciplinary referrals and the identity of both the referred and referring individuals from a large and diverse urban school district in California, we find students are about 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points (7% to 18%) less likely to receive a disciplinary referral from teachers of the same race or gender than from teachers of different demographic backgrounds. Students are also less likely to be referred by more experienced teachers and by teachers who hold either an English language learners or special education credential. These results are mostly driven by referrals for defiance and violence infractions, Black and Hispanic male students, and middle school students. While it is unclear whether these findings are due to variation in teachers' effects on actual student behavior, variation in teachers' proclivities to make disciplinary referrals, or a combination of the two, these results nonetheless suggest that teachers play a central role in the prevalence of, and inequities in, office referrals and subsequent student discipline. |
| Keywords: | exclusionary discipline, teacher effectiveness, office referrals |
| JEL: | I2 J7 |
| Date: | 2022–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15663&r=edu |
| By: | Green, Colin P. (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)); Nyhus, Ole Henning (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)); Salvanes, Kari Vea (University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | How much young children should be tested and graded is a highly contentious issue in education policy. Opponents consider it detrimental to child mental health, leading to misaligned incentives in educational policy and having little if any redeeming impact on educational performance. Others see early testing of children as a necessary instrument for identifying early underachievement and educational targeting while incentivising schools to improve the educational performance of children. In practice, there is large crosscountry variation in testing regimes. We exploit random variation in test-taking in mathematics among early primary school children in Norway, a low testing environment. We examine two forms of testing, complex but low-stakes mathematics tests and relatively easy screening tests aimed at identifying children in need of educational assistance. In general, we demonstrate zero effects of testing exposure on later test score performance but benefits for screening tests on low-performing students. While we demonstrate no negative effects on student welfare, we do find an indication that testing improves aspects of teaching practices and students' perceptions of teacher feedback and engagement. |
| Keywords: | student assessment, testing, student achievement |
| JEL: | I28 I24 |
| Date: | 2022–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15686&r=edu |
| By: | Cassar, Lea (University of Regensburg); Fischer, Mira (WZB - Social Science Research Center Berlin); Valero, Vanessa (Loughborough University) |
| Abstract: | Mindfulness-based meditation practices are becoming increasingly popular in Western societies, including in the business world and in education. While the scientific literature has largely documented the benefits of mindfulness meditation for mental health, little is still known about potential spillovers of these practices on other important life outcomes, such as performance. We address this question through a field experiment in an educational setting. We study the causal impact of mindfulness meditation on academic performance through a randomized evaluation of a well-known 8-week mindfulness meditation training delivered to university students on campus. As expected, the intervention improves students' mental health and non-cognitive skills. However, it takes time before students' performance can benefit from mindfulness meditation: we find that, if anything, the intervention marginally decreases average grades in the short run, i.e., during the exam period right after the end of the intervention, whereas it significantly increases academic performance, by about 0.4 standard deviations, in the long run (ca. 6 months after the end of intervention). We investigate the underlying mechanisms and discuss the implications of our results. |
| Keywords: | performance, mental health, education, meditation, field experiment |
| JEL: | I21 C93 I12 I31 |
| Date: | 2022–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15723&r=edu |