Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7977
Authors: Nina Guyon; Eric Maurin; Sandra McNally
Abstract: The tracking of pupils by ability into elite and non-elite schools represents a common, but highly controversial policy in many countries. In particular, there is no consensus on how large the elite track should be and, consequently, little agreement on the potential effects of any further increase in its size. This paper presents a natural experiment where the increase in the relative size of the elite track was followed by a very significant improvement in average educational outcomes. The experiment under consideration provides a rare opportunity to isolate the overall contextual effect of allowing entry to the elite track for a group that was previously only at the margin of being admitted.
Keywords: education; selection; tracking
JEL Codes: I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Reform in Northern Ireland's grammar school admissions (I28) | Increase in elite school attendance (I24) |
| Increase in elite school attendance (I24) | Improvement in average educational outcomes (I21) |
| Attending an elite school (I23) | Positive impact on students who would have otherwise attended non-elite schools (I24) |
| Losing higher-ability peers (C92) | Negative impact on non-elite school students (I24) |
| Including less able peers in elite schools (I24) | Effect on elite school outcomes (I24) |