Comprehensive Private School Model for Low-Income Urban Children in Mexico
In low-income countries, private schools are perceived as superior alternatives to the public sector, often improving achievement at a fraction of the cost. It is unclear whether private schools are as effective in middle-income countries where the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/224651544471608631/Comprehensive-Private-School-Model-for-Low-Income-Urban-Children-in-Mexico http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30991 |
| Summary: | In low-income countries, private schools
are perceived as superior alternatives to the public sector,
often improving achievement at a fraction of the cost. It is
unclear whether private schools are as effective in
middle-income countries where the public sector has
relatively more resources. To address this gap, this paper
takes advantage of lottery-based admissions in first grade
for a Mexico City private school that targets and subsidizes
attendance for low-income children. Over three years,
selected students via lottery scored 0.21 standard deviation
higher than those not selected in literacy tests,
corresponding to a normalized gain of one-half of a grade
level every two years. Lottery winners also statistically
outperformed those not selected in math, but the gains were
more modest. Relative to the control group, parents of
selected students were more satisfied with their school and
had higher educational expectations for their children.
Unlike findings from low-income countries, these gains came
at increased cost—twice as much on a per pupil basis
relative to public schools. Additional analyses indicate
gains made by the lowest income students in the sample help
explain the school's impact. This suggests private
schools could bring down persistent achievement gaps in
these countries, but puts into question the validity of
implementation at scale. |
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