ERIC Number: ED356170
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1992
Pages: 87
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-8213-2271-0
ISSN: ISSN-0253-4517
EISSN: N/A
Estimating the Determinants of Cognitive Achievement in Low-Income Countries: The Case of Ghana. Living Standards Measurement Study.
Glewwe, Paul; Jacoby, Hanan
The objective of this study was to assess the determinants of student achievement in middle schools in Ghana, with special attention given to school characteristics. A model of human capital accumulation which includes decisions on how long to attend school, which school to attend, and how much human capital to accumulate is presented. This provides a framework for controlling for selectivity into middle schools, which is often ignored in the human capital production function literature. Explicitly accounted for is the fact that many children attend school only sporadically, which reduces their cognitive achievements, but, according to the research model, is a rational response among credit constrained households. An estimate for the cohort of children aged 12 to 18 of the probability that they are in middle school, their choice of which middle schools to attend, and the determinants of achievement in reading and mathematics skills in Ghana's middle schools is calculated. In addition to specific findings regarding which school characteristics contribute to such achievement, the study reported some fairly strong evidence that sample selectivity was taking place and hence could distort estimates that do not account for it. Ten tables are included; two appendices are attached. (Contains 21 references.) (Author/LBG)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Educational Research, Foreign Countries, Human Capital, Institutional Characteristics, Middle School Students, Middle Schools, School Holding Power, Secondary Education, Secondary School Students
The World Bank, Office of the Publisher, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433 ($7.95).
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Policymakers; Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: World Bank, Washington, DC.
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A