ERIC Number: ED521468
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jun
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
How Performance Information Affects Human-Capital Investment Decisions: The Impact of Test-Score Labels on Educational Outcomes. NBER Working Paper No. 17120
Papay, John P.; Murnane, Richard J.; Willett, John B.
National Bureau of Economic Research
Students receive abundant information about their educational performance, but how this information affects future educational-investment decisions is not well understood. Increasingly common sources of information are state-mandated standardized tests. On these tests, students receive a score and a label that summarizes their performance. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we find persistent effects of earning a more positive label on the college-going decisions of urban, low-income students. Consistent with a Bayesian-updating model, these effects are concentrated among students with weaker priors, specifically those who report before taking the test that they do not plan to attend a four-year college.
Descriptors: Investment, Educational Objectives, Outcomes of Education, Standardized Tests, College Bound Students, Human Capital, Scores, Regression (Statistics), Urban Youth, Low Income Groups, Bayesian Statistics, Higher Education
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305E100013