ERIC Number: EJ1071088
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0964-5292
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Does Public Sector Control Reduce Variance in School Quality?
Pritchett, Lant; Viarengo, Martina
Education Economics, v23 n5 p557-576 2015
Does the government control of school systems facilitate equality in school quality? Whether centralized or localized control produces more equality depends not only on what "could" happen in principle, but also on what does happen in practice. We use the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) database to examine the association between school sector and the variance in school fixed effects. We find, on average, the same inequality in adjusted learning achievement across the private and public schools. However, in some countries, such as Denmark, there is more equality across the public sector schools, while in others, such as Mexico, there is more equality across the private schools. Among the 18 non-OECD countries, the standard deviation across schools in adjusted quality is, on average, 36% higher in government schools. Our findings suggest that top-down educational systems in weak states can be lose-lose relative to localized systems relying on bottom-up control, producing both "worse" average performance and "higher" inequality.
Descriptors: Government Role, Educational Quality, Governance, Correlation, Academic Achievement, Public Schools, Private Schools, Foreign Countries, Economic Factors, Economic Development, Human Capital, Standardized Tests, Adolescents, Scores, Mathematics Achievement, Science Achievement, Reading Achievement, Teacher Effectiveness, Student Characteristics, Institutional Characteristics, Regression (Statistics), Comparative Analysis, Cross Cultural Studies, Cultural Differences, Enrollment, Educational Finance, Statistical Analysis
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Asia; North America; South America
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A