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The Impact of Instruction Time on Student Achievement

Wedel, Katharina LU (2019) NEKP01 20191
Department of Economics
Abstract
There is mounting evidence that cognitive skills such as numeracy and literacy are causal drivers of economic growth. Improving such skills is therefore an essential concern for policymakers. This thesis examines whether instruction time can raise students' cognitive skills. By using cross-sectional data on several countries participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), I am able to use a student fixed effects model to assess the effect of increased instruction time on students' test scores. I find that a one hour increase in instruction time leads to a 0.04 standard deviation increase in test scores. Boys seem to benefit more from increased time spent in classrooms than girls. The impact of... (More)
There is mounting evidence that cognitive skills such as numeracy and literacy are causal drivers of economic growth. Improving such skills is therefore an essential concern for policymakers. This thesis examines whether instruction time can raise students' cognitive skills. By using cross-sectional data on several countries participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), I am able to use a student fixed effects model to assess the effect of increased instruction time on students' test scores. I find that a one hour increase in instruction time leads to a 0.04 standard deviation increase in test scores. Boys seem to benefit more from increased time spent in classrooms than girls. The impact of instruction time strongly differs between developed and developing countries. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wedel, Katharina LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKP01 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
instruction time, student achievement, cognitive skills, education production function
language
English
id
8980832
date added to LUP
2019-08-08 10:23:43
date last changed
2019-08-08 10:23:43
@misc{8980832,
  abstract     = {{There is mounting evidence that cognitive skills such as numeracy and literacy are causal drivers of economic growth. Improving such skills is therefore an essential concern for policymakers. This thesis examines whether instruction time can raise students' cognitive skills. By using cross-sectional data on several countries participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), I am able to use a student fixed effects model to assess the effect of increased instruction time on students' test scores. I find that a one hour increase in instruction time leads to a 0.04 standard deviation increase in test scores. Boys seem to benefit more from increased time spent in classrooms than girls. The impact of instruction time strongly differs between developed and developing countries.}},
  author       = {{Wedel, Katharina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Impact of Instruction Time on Student Achievement}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}