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on Education |
| By: | Afonso Câmara Leme (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, AMSE) |
| Abstract: | I study how a significant increase in the compulsory schooling leaving age, from 15 to 18 years old, can contribute to reducing early school leaving and changing students’ educational paths. I analyse the Portuguese reform of 2009, exploiting the fact that grade retention in the 7th grade in this year provides quasi-experimental variation in exposure to the new policy. While effects for the overall student population are small or null, lower-achieving students significantly increase their schooling duration. Additionally, some sub-groups of lower-achieving students, particularly boys and those enrolling in upper-secondary school, increased their graduation probabilities. At the same time, I do not find that school quality decreased. These findings carry implications for research using compulsory schooling reforms as instruments for education, and inform policies aimed at supporting at-risk students. |
| Keywords: | Compulsory schooling age, school dropout, early school leaving, differencein- differences, grade retention |
| JEL: | I21 I22 I26 I28 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aim:wpaimx:2436 |
| By: | Caria, Andrea (University of Cagliari); Checchi, Daniele (University of Milan); Paolini, Dimitri (University of Sassari) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of television on student achievement in Italy, utilizing the staggered rollout of digital television across Italian provinces to isolate television's influence. Using data from national educational assessments (INVALSI) collected in four grades from 2009 to 2012, we uncover a negative effect of television on school performance by applying difference-in-differences techniques. We observe a positive correlation between TV viewing and test scores for a subset of the survey. Still, the negative impact is partly confirmed when instrumenting hours of view with the availability of digital channels. We also find significant heterogeneity: foreign-born pupils benefit from the greater availability of TV channels, while children with graduate parents experience less significant achievement losses. |
| Keywords: | digital television switchover, school performance |
| JEL: | I24 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17623 |
| By: | Ayllón, Sara (Universitat de Girona); Lado, Samuel (Universitat de Girona) |
| Abstract: | This paper is the first to provide, in the European context, credible causal estimates for the impact on educational achievement of a means-tested programme that subsidises school lunches. We use administrative data from the city of Barcelona for the whole universe of applications to the programme. Using a Regression Discontinuity Design, we measure the effect of receiving a partial subsidy, as opposed to none; meanwhile a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) strategy allows us to account for the effect of receiving a full subsidy, compared to a partial one. Our results indicate an overall positive effect of the subsidies on educational achievement across all the subjects analysed, with statistically significant estimates only for Catalan language. Heterogeneous results show that those who benefit most are boys who attend large schools and have peers who are, on average, more socio-economically advantaged. The opportunity for subsidy recipients to spend more time at school during lunch, and to communicate and socialise with wealthier and linguistically more competent children is the mechanism that lies behind our main findings. |
| Keywords: | school meals, subsidies, means-tested programmes, children, educational achievement, language proficiency, standardised test scores, annual grades |
| JEL: | H42 H52 I38 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17631 |
| By: | Bruce Sacerdote; Douglas O. Staiger; Michele Tine |
| Abstract: | We find that test score optional policies harm the likelihood of elite college admission for high achieving applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. We show that at one elite college campus, SAT (and ACT) scores predict first year college GPA equally well across income and other demographic groups; high school GPA and class rank offer little additional predictive power. Under test score optional policies, less advantaged applicants who are high achieving submit test scores at too low a rate, significantly reducing their admissions chances; such applicants increase their admissions probability by a factor of 3.6x (from 2.9 percent to 10.2 percent) when they report their scores. High achieving first-generation applicants raise admissions chances by 2.4x by reporting scores. Much more than commonly understood, elite institutions interpret test scores in the context of background, and availability of test scores on an application can promote rather than hinder social mobility. |
| JEL: | I20 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33389 |
| By: | Jarod T. Apperson; A. Nayena Blankson; Francesina Jackson; Angelino Viceisza; Bruce Wade; Jimmeka Guillory Wright |
| Abstract: | Roughly 25 percent of first-year college students do not return for a second year. This has led to a range of policies and interventions aimed at increasing college performance, persistence, and graduation. In this article, we assess whether cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) has the potential to improve student performance in college. We conducted two randomized controlled trials in a mandatory, year-long, first-year, reading/writing-intensive course at Spelman College, a private historically Black institution for women. We find that CSI at best impacts grade-related outcomes like GPA, but not metacognitive knowledge or persistence. Future work will explore the impacts on longer-run outcomes such as graduation. |
| JEL: | C93 D91 I23 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33380 |