School Enrollment, Selection and Test Scores

There is a strong association between schooling attained and test scores in many settings. If this association is causal, one might expect that programs that increase school enrollment and attainment would also improve test scores. However, if ther...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Filmer, Deon, Schady, Norbert
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	ABLE STUDENTS ACCESS TO EDUCATION ADOLESCENT GIRLS ADOLESCENTS ADULTS ASSESSMENT EXERCISE ATTENDANCE RATES AVERAGE TEST SCORE AVERAGE TEST SCORES BETTER LEARNING CALL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CLASSROOM CLASSROOMS COGNITIVE SKILLS COSTS OF EDUCATION CROWDED CLASSROOMS DEMAND FOR EDUCATION DROP-OUTS DROPOUT RATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION ECONOMICS EDUCATION EXPENDITURES EDUCATION LEVELS EDUCATION MANAGEMENT EDUCATION OUTCOMES EDUCATION POLICY EDUCATION SYSTEMS EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ENROLLMENT DATA ENROLLMENT LEVELS ENROLLMENT RATES ETHNIC MINORITY EXAMINATION FEES EXPENDITURES EXPERIENCED TEACHERS FEE WAIVERS FUTURE RESEARCH GIRLS INTO SCHOOL GRADE ENROLLMENT GRADE TEST HEAD-TEACHERS HIGH DROPOUT HIGHER EDUCATION HIGHER TEST SCORES HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS LEARNING LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT LEARNING IMPACTS LEARNING OUTCOMES LITERATURE LOWER SECONDARY LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS MATH TEST MATHEMATICS SKILLS MENTAL HEALTH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION NATIONAL ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF SCHOOLS NUMBER OF STUDENTS OPEN SCHOOL PAPERS PARENTAL EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIMARY SCHOOLS PRIVATE SCHOOL PRIVATE SCHOOLING PRIVATE SCHOOLS PUPIL-TEACHER RATIOS QUALITY SCHOOLS QUALITY TEACHERS RADIO READING REGISTRATION FEES REGULAR ATTENDANCE RETURNS TO EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SCHOOL BREAKFAST SCHOOL CHILDREN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION SCHOOL DROPOUT SCHOOL ENROLLMENT SCHOOL FEEDING SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMS SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL LEVEL SCHOOL MATERIALS SCHOOL MEALS SCHOOL QUALITY SCHOOL SIZE SCHOOL UNIFORMS SCHOOL VISIT SCHOOL VISITS SCHOOL VOUCHERS SCHOOL YEARS SCHOOLING SCHOOLS SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL CYCLE SECONDARY SCHOOLS SKILLS ACQUISITION SMALL SCHOOLS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO TEACHER TEACHER INCENTIVES TEACHER QUALITY TEACHERS TEACHING TESTS OF MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS TUTORS UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION UNIVERSITY COLLEGE UPPER SECONDARY UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLING VOUCHERS YOUTH
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090717130545 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4190

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Summary:	There is a strong association between schooling attained and test scores in many settings. If this association is causal, one might expect that programs that increase school enrollment and attainment would also improve test scores. However, if there is self-selection into school based on expected gains, marginal children brought into school by such programs may be drawn disproportionately from the left-hand side of the ability distribution, which could limit the extent to which additional schooling translates into more learning. To test this proposition, this paper uses data from Cambodia. The results show that a program that provides scholarships to poor students had a large effect on school enrollment and attendance, which increased by approximately 25 percentage points. However, there is no evidence that, 18 months after the scholarships were awarded, recipient children did any better on mathematics and vocabulary tests than they would have in the absence of the program. The paper discusses results that suggest that the self-selection of lower-ability students into school in response to the program is an important part of the explanation. The analysis also shows minimal program effects on other outcomes, including knowledge of health practices, expectations about the future, and adolescent mental health.

School Enrollment, Selection and Test Scores

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