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Ability Tracking, School and Parental Effort, and Student Achievement: A Structural Model and Estimation

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  • Chao Fu
  • Nirav Mehta

Abstract

We develop and estimate an equilibrium model of ability tracking in which schools decide how to allocate students into ability tracks and choose track-specific teacher effort; parents choose effort in response. The model is estimated using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data. Our model suggests that a counterfactual ban on tracking would benefit low-ability students but hurt high-ability students. Ignoring effort adjustments would significantly overstate the impacts. We then illustrate the trade-offs involved when considering policies that affect schools’ tracking decisions. Setting proficiency standards to maximize average achievement would lead schools to redistribute their inputs from low- to high-ability students.

Suggested Citation

  • Chao Fu & Nirav Mehta, 2018. "Ability Tracking, School and Parental Effort, and Student Achievement: A Structural Model and Estimation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(4), pages 923-979.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/697559
    DOI: 10.1086/697559
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier De Groote & Koen Declercq, 2021. "Tracking and specialization of high schools: Heterogeneous effects of school choice," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(7), pages 898-916, November.
    2. Timothy G. Conley & Nirav Mehta & Ralph Stinebrickner & Todd Stinebrickner, 2024. "Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(3), pages 824-866.
    3. Falk, Armin & Kosse, Fabian & Pinger, Pia, 2020. "Mentoring and Schooling Decisions: Causal Evidence," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 247, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    4. De Groote, Olivier, 2019. "Dynamic Effort Choice in High School: Costs and Benefits of an Academic Track," TSE Working Papers 19-1002, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jun 2023.
    5. Roller, Marcus & Steinberg, Daniel, 2020. "The distributional effects of early school stratification - non-parametric evidence from Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Alexandra de Gendre & Nicolás Salamanca, 2020. "On the Mechanisms of Ability Peer Effects," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2020n19, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    7. Chang, Simon & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Salamanca, Nicolás, 2022. "Parents’ responses to teacher qualifications," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 419-446.
    8. Lukas Kiessling & Jonas Radbruch & Sebastian Schaube, 2022. "Self-Selection of Peers and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8184-8201, November.
    9. Fruehwirth, Jane Cooley & Gagete-Miranda, Jessica, 2019. "Your peers’ parents: Spillovers from parental education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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