Publication Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

12-2019

Abstract

Does early grading affect educational choices? To answer the question, I exploit the staggeredimplementation of a reform which postponed grade assignment in Swedish compulsoryschool. I identify short- and long-term effects of early grading, for students with differentacademic ability and socioeconomic status (SES). When graded early on, high-ability students(especially if high-SES) perform better, and are more likely to choose academic coursesduring compulsory school. Low-ability students react in the opposite way, in particular iflow-SES. While high school attainment increases for high-ability low-SES students, collegeattainment decreases for low-ability low-SES students. None of these effects carry over tothe labor market. This suggests that early grades improve the match between early educationchoices and academic ability, reduce over-investment in education, but exacerbateeducational inequality. I find no evidence of demotivating effects for low-ability students,a plausible mechanism through which grades could affect education choices, and the mainmotivation behind the grading reform. Theoretically, I show that short-term effects are inline with the predictions of a model where students learn about their ability from SES andgrades.

Keywords

Grades, Ability, Uncertainty, Learning, Sequential Choice, School Choice, Social Background, Educational Attainment, Dropout, Difference in Differences

Discipline

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Education Economics

Research Areas

Applied Microeconomics

First Page

1

Last Page

118

Identifier

10.2139/ssrn.2966571

Copyright Owner and License

Author

Additional URL

httsp://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2966571

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