Student assessment and grade retention: evidence from a natural experiment
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In several countries, students are tracked into secondary school types. This paper studies whether parents or teachers assess students' potential performance more adequately. We evaluate a reform in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2006. The reform replaced parents' choice about their children's school type by a binding teacher recommendation. The dependent variable is educational attainment measured by grade retention rates. We find that teacher recommendations cause less grade retentions. The effect is mainly driven by students from better situated districts. This finding may capture that with free parental choice, parents select too demanding tracks for their children.Keywords:
Grade retention
Natural experiment
Educational Attainment
In several countries, students are tracked into secondary school types. This paper studies whether parents or teachers assess students' potential performance more adequately. We evaluate a reform in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2006. The reform replaced parents' choice about their children's school type by a binding teacher recommendation. The dependent variable is educational attainment measured by grade retention rates. We find that teacher recommendations cause less grade retentions. The effect is mainly driven by students from better situated districts. This finding may capture that with free parental choice, parents select too demanding tracks for their children.
Grade retention
Natural experiment
Educational Attainment
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School records for 313 students were reviewed to determine the effects of age of entry and gender on later academic achievement and grade retention. Twelve of these students were of legal age for school entry but were redshirted. Our findings indicated statistically significant but relatively small achievement differences between oldest and youngest children when cognitive ability scores were controlled. Redshirts, however, did not appear to gain any advantage in achievement as a result of delaying school entry.
Grade retention
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I exploit a unique educational policy - implemented in most German states between 2001 and 2007 - that reduced high school duration by one year while keeping its curriculum unaltered to investigate how the resulting increase in learning intensity affected student achievement. Using 2000-2009 PISA data and a difference-in-differences approach, I find robust evidence that the reform significantly improved the reading, mathematics, and science literacy skills acquired by academic-track high school students upon treatment. A more direct estimate of the effects of the increased learning intensity - as measured by the cumulative weekly number of instructional hours delivered in high school grades - corroborates the latter finding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the effects of the reform differ by gender and grade retention. Finally, I find no evidence of a significant average effect of the reform on high school grade retention, although I do find that the latter increased significantly for boys and for students with a migration background.
Natural experiment
Student Achievement
Grade retention
Difference in differences
Empirical evidence
Cumulative effects
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Academic achievement is considered an important indicator for successful future. The present study examines the role of intellectual functioning, study habits and behavioral adjustment in predicting academic achievement of primary school children. It was hypothesized that study habits and intellectual functioning would positively predict high academic achievement. It was also hypothesized that behavioral maladjustment (impulsivity and distractibility, delinquency, family dysfunction, somatic concerns, social skills deficits and social withdrawal) would predict low academic achievement. The sample consisted of 280 school children of grade 4 and 5 equally divided for high (n = 140) and low academic achievement (n = 140). Both boys (n = 143) and girls (n = 137) along their teachers (n = 54) and mothers (n = 280) participated in the study. Personality Inventory for Children (Lachar and Gruber, 2001) and Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (Raven, 1984) were administered along with a demographic information questionnaire. The results showed that delinquency and social withdrawal significantly predicted low academic achievement; however, family dysfunction, impulsivity and distractibility, social skills deficits, and somatic concerns did not significantly predict academic achievement. Implications of these results for parents, educationists, and school psychologists were discussed.
Raven's Progressive Matrices
Grade retention
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In Germany and many other countries, students are tracked into various secondary school types. This paper studies whether parents or teachers assess students potential educational performance more adequately. Educational attainment is measured by grade retention rates. We take advantage of a reform in the German state of North Rhine- Westphalia (NRW) in 2006. The reform replaced parents choice about their children s secondary school type by a binding teacher recommendation. Our data comprises class-level information on all public secondary schools in the state. We find that binding teacher recommendations cause less grade retentions. The effect is mainly driven by students from better situated districts. This finding may capture that with free parental choice, overambitious parents tend to select too demanding tracks for their children.
Grade retention
Natural experiment
Educational Attainment
Secondary education
Student Achievement
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We study the effects of grade retention on secondary school performance by considering a change in Colombia's educative legislation. In 2010, the rule that forced schools to retain up to a 5% of students was abolished. Exploiting variation in schools' retention rates in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that retained (marginally non-retained) students improve (decline) their performance on language but not on math test scores. We suggest the school's position in the retention distribution, and the proportion of inexperienced teachers in the classroom, can be the mechanisms by which the marginally decreasing returns of grade retention are determined.
Grade retention
Natural experiment
Variation (astronomy)
Retention rate
Position (finance)
Difference in differences
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Tracking (education)
Educational Attainment
Natural experiment
Percentage point
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Subjects studied were 249 seriously emotionally disturbed students (204 boys, 45 girls) ranging in age from 7 to 19 years. Data included 10. teacher's estimate of academic performance in core academic areas, amount of time spent in regular classes or other educational placements, and scores on the Quay-Peterson Behavior Problem Checklist. The sample was below average in IQ and estimated academic achievement. Approximately one-half of the sample were placed for part of the day in regular classes. Those with higher IQs tended to be placed more often in mainstream settings, but academic achievement estimates and type of behavior problem were not clearly related to placement. IQ and academic achievement estimates were significantly related, but IQ was predictive of neither the amount nor the kind of problem behavior. However, BPC factor score was related to estimated reading achievement, poor reading performance was related to high scores on Conduct Disorder and Socialized Delinquency, and high estimated academic performance was related to Personality Problem and Inadequacy-Immaturity. Implications of the findings for prevalence estimates and composition of special education programs for seriously emotionally disturbed students are discussed.
Grade retention
Sample (material)
Mainstream
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We study the effects of grade retention on secondary school performance by considering a change in Colombia’s educative legislation. In 2010, the rule that forced schools to retain up to a 5% of students was abolished. Exploiting variation in schools’ retention rates in a difference-in-differences framework, we find that retained (marginally non-retained) students improve (decline) their performance on language but not on math test scores. We suggest the school’s position in the retention distribution, and the proportion of inexperienced teachers in the classroom, can be the mechanisms by which the marginally decreasing returns of grade retention are determined.
Natural experiment
Grade retention
Position (finance)
Retention rate
Variation (astronomy)
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I exploit a unique educational policy - implemented in most German states between 2001 and 2007 - that reduced high school duration by one year while keeping its curriculum unaltered to investigate how the resulting increase in learning intensity affected student achievement. Using 2000-2009 PISA data and a difference-in-differences approach, I find robust evidence that the reform significantly improved the reading, mathematics, and science literacy skills acquired by academic-track high school students upon treatment. A more direct estimate of the effects of the increased learning intensity - as measured by the cumulative weekly number of instructional hours delivered in high school grades - corroborates the latter finding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the effects of the reform differ by gender and grade retention. Finally, I find no evidence of a significant average effect of the reform on high school grade retention, although I do find that the latter increased significantly for boys and for students with a migration background.
Natural experiment
Grade retention
Student Achievement
Difference in differences
Empirical evidence
Cumulative effects
Cite
Citations (7)