Grades and exams are an important part of schooling systems that have marked effects on students. They ration scarce educational resources, provide a range of information to schools, and may promote learning. At the same time, they provide information to students about their academic progress and ability, and potentially, their suitability for future study. In practice, there is a large variety in how grades are assigned where a key variation is whether this is teacher assessment or exam-based. This paper uses a setting, Norway, where both are used, but exam grading is randomly assigned to students at the end of middle school. Using register data, we demonstrate systematic differences in grade assignment by teachers across different student groups. Most notably, teachers are in general generous relative to exams, and we document large systematic across school variation. In some schools, assignment to a math exam results in an average one grade reduction (i.e. B to C).
5
4/2/2025
A growing body of research has shown large SES gaps in the match between students and their courses, with students from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to ‘undermatch’ by attending less selective university courses than their entry grades would permit. In this paper we examine the role of university application behaviour in explaining these gaps. We find that individuals from different schools have very different application profiles, with those from independent schools much more likely to make "reach" applications. In general, these reach applications are successful, and thus largely explain the why those from independent schools appear to be more likely to enrol in more selective courses, even when their entry grades are similar to those from the state sector.
2
4/2/2025
The post-secondary education choice influences long-term life and labor market outcomes, and poses a complex decision problem under uncertainty for high school students. This study examines the causal effects of a large-scale school policy in Germany that expands the free access to assistance from professional career counselors. By randomly varying the start of the policy for a subset of schools, we find that the students in treatment schools are more likely to attend a career presentation and personal one-on-one meetings. The policy translates to unanticipated effects on the actual education decisions. Students in treatment schools move away from college education, particularly from universities and are less likely to choose natural science and engineering degrees. However, they report greater satisfaction with their choice and a lower likelihood to drop out.
1
4/2/2025
This paper investigates the long-term impact of childhood economic disadvantage on educational trajectories and labour market outcomes. We construct a novel measure of disadvantage for use in administrative data lacking household income, leveraging Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility and local area characteristics throughout compulsory schooling. Using census data on all individuals attending state schools in England, we document very large differences in earnings at age 25 between those from different socio-economic backgrounds, with those living in the most advantaged neighbourhoods throughout compulsory schooling earning around 50% (£9,000) more, on average, per year than those eligible for FSM in all school years. Much, but not all, of this gap can be explained by accounting for standard mediating factors, including the level and type of post-compulsory educational qualifications and early labour market histories.
1
4/2/2025
While previous research has shown that disadvantaged young people are less likely to work in professional occupations than their advantaged peers, even conditional on their education, until now little has been known about the reasons for this - are they applying for professional entry-level roles and not being hired, or are they not applying in the first place? Using unique recruitment data from 17 large employers' graduate programmes, we are able to answer this question for the first time. We find that applicants from lower SEB groups and ethnic minority groups are well represented among the applicant pool, but disproportionately do not receive job offers, even when considering applicants with similar prior attainment and other demographic characteristics applying to similar roles. Around half of the gap in job offers between working class and professional background applicants appears during the application sift and online test phase of the process.
2
4/2/2025
The literature has studied the willingness to pay for family-friendly amenities, but less is known about the supply side and the incentives for firms to provide these amenities. There are two main incentives for firms to offer family-friendly workplace policies. First, such amenities may increase employee retention or reduce the duration of labor market breaks after the arrival of children. Second, if some workers are willing to pay for these amenities, firms can offer them to attract new workers. Our study utilizes German matched employer-employee data combined with detailed survey panel data on firm provision of childcare to examine these motives. We find that firm-provided childcare enhances retention and shortens labor market breaks for mothers, especially for high-wage mothers. It also contributes to employment growth, disproportionately driven by firms attracting female talent.
3
4/2/2025
Technical and vocational education and training (VET) is a crucial part of any economy and education system. In particular, upper secondary VET systems are responsible for educating a large proportion of the population, significantly impacting productivity, economic growth and skills shortages. In this paper, we analyse the short-run impacts of a new set of hybrid upper secondary VET qualifications in the UK: T levels. T levels are large (3 A levels in size) VET qualifications that are more academically oriented than other VET qualifications and combine classroom learning with work-based experience and placements. T levels are part of a broader global trend towards combining academic and vocational tracks into one programme in upper secondary education. Using a combination of methods (instrumental variables, regression adjustment and matching), we find overall, early indications of T levels having negative short-run impacts.
1
4/2/2025
This talk studies the role played by self-confidence in college applications. Using incentivized experiments, we measure the self-confidence of more than 2,000 students applying to colleges in France. The best female students and students from low socioeconomic status (low-SES) significantly underestimate their rank in the grade distribution compared to male and high-SES students. By matching our survey data with administrative data on real college applications and admissions, we show that miscalibrated confidence affects college choice controlling for grades. We then estimate the impact of a randomized intervention that corrects students’ under- and overconfidence by informing them of their real rank in the grade distribution. The intervention fully offsets the impact of under- and overconfidence for college applications. Providing feedback also makes the best students, who were initially underconfident, apply to more ambitious programs with stronger effects for female and low-SES.
1
2/12/2025