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The Long-Term Impacts of Low-Achieving Childhood Peers: Evidence from Project STAR

Bietenbeck, Jan LU (2015) In Working Paper / Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University
Abstract
This paper evaluates how sharing a kindergarten classroom with low-achieving repeaters affects the long-term educational performance of regular first-time kindergarten students. Exploiting random assignment of teachers and students to classes in Project STAR, I document three sets of causal impacts: students who are exposed to repeaters (1) score lower on standardized tests at the end of kindergarten, an effect that fades out in later grades; (2) show persistent improvements in non-cognitive skills such as effort and discipline; and (3) are more likely to graduate from high school and to take a college entrance exam around the age of eighteen. I show that the positive spillovers from repeaters on long-term educational attainment are likely... (More)
This paper evaluates how sharing a kindergarten classroom with low-achieving repeaters affects the long-term educational performance of regular first-time kindergarten students. Exploiting random assignment of teachers and students to classes in Project STAR, I document three sets of causal impacts: students who are exposed to repeaters (1) score lower on standardized tests at the end of kindergarten, an effect that fades out in later grades; (2) show persistent improvements in non-cognitive skills such as effort and discipline; and (3) are more likely to graduate from high school and to take a college entrance exam around the age of eighteen. I show that the positive spillovers from repeaters on long-term educational attainment are likely driven by the differential accumulation of non-cognitive skills by repeater-exposed students during childhood. The improvements in these skills are in turn a result of behavioral adjustments by teachers, students, or parents to the presence of low-achieving repeaters in the classroom. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Project STAR, early childhood, non-cognitive skills, peer effects
in
Working Paper / Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University
issue
35
pages
41 pages
publisher
Department of Economics, Lund University
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
12e3960c-4d82-423f-a961-37ec7caf5db8 (old id 8230923)
alternative location
http://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2015_035.htm
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:58:03
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:24:54
@misc{12e3960c-4d82-423f-a961-37ec7caf5db8,
  abstract     = {{This paper evaluates how sharing a kindergarten classroom with low-achieving repeaters affects the long-term educational performance of regular first-time kindergarten students. Exploiting random assignment of teachers and students to classes in Project STAR, I document three sets of causal impacts: students who are exposed to repeaters (1) score lower on standardized tests at the end of kindergarten, an effect that fades out in later grades; (2) show persistent improvements in non-cognitive skills such as effort and discipline; and (3) are more likely to graduate from high school and to take a college entrance exam around the age of eighteen. I show that the positive spillovers from repeaters on long-term educational attainment are likely driven by the differential accumulation of non-cognitive skills by repeater-exposed students during childhood. The improvements in these skills are in turn a result of behavioral adjustments by teachers, students, or parents to the presence of low-achieving repeaters in the classroom.}},
  author       = {{Bietenbeck, Jan}},
  keywords     = {{Project STAR; early childhood; non-cognitive skills; peer effects}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{35}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Economics, Lund University}},
  series       = {{Working Paper / Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University}},
  title        = {{The Long-Term Impacts of Low-Achieving Childhood Peers: Evidence from Project STAR}},
  url          = {{http://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2015_035.htm}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}