The impact of test score labels on human-capital investment decisions

Students receive abundant information about their educational performance, but how this information affects future educational-investment decisions is not well understood. Increasingly, results from state-mandated standardized tests are an important source of information. Students receive a score an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of human resources 2016-04, Vol.51 (2), p.357-388
Main Authors: Papay, John P, Murnane, Richard J, Willett, John B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Auswirkung
Bildung
Bildungsverlauf
Decision analysis
Entscheidung
Hochschulbildung
Human capital
Investition
Low income groups
Massachusetts
Mathematik
Niedriglohn
Prüfung
Regression analysis
Schulerfolg
Schullaufbahnentscheidung
Schulleistung
Schüler
Sekundarbereich
Stadt
Standardized tests
Students
Studies
Studium
USA
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Summary:Students receive abundant information about their educational performance, but how this information affects future educational-investment decisions is not well understood. Increasingly, results from state-mandated standardized tests are an important source of information. Students receive a score and a label that summarizes their performance on these tests. 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. These findings are important not only for understanding students' educational-investment decisions and the consequences of state testing practices but also for researchers using the regression-discontinuity design.
ISSN:0022-166X
1548-8004
1548-8004
DOI:10.3368/jhr.51.2.0713-5837R