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Experimental Estimates of the Student Attendance Production Function

Author

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  • Tran, Long

    (American University)

  • Gershenson, Seth

    (American University)

Abstract

Student attendance is both a critical input and intermediate output of the education production function. However, the malleable classroom-level determinants of student attendance are poorly understood. We estimate the causal effect of class size and observable teacher qualifications on student attendance rates by leveraging the random classroom assignments made by Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) class size experiment. A ten-student increase in class size raises the probability of being chronically absent by about three percentage points (21%). For black students, random assignment to a black teacher reduces the probability of chronic absence by 3.1 percentage points (26%). These suggest that a small, but nontrivial, share (about 5%) of class-size and race-match effects on student achievement are driven by changes in students' attendance habits.

Suggested Citation

  • Tran, Long & Gershenson, Seth, 2018. "Experimental Estimates of the Student Attendance Production Function," IZA Discussion Papers 11911, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11911
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    Cited by:

    1. Gershenson, Seth, 2021. "Identifying and Producing Effective Teachers," IZA Discussion Papers 14096, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Liu, Jing & Lee, Monica & Gershenson, Seth, 2019. "The Short- and Long-Run Impacts of Secondary School Absences," IZA Discussion Papers 12613, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Gershenson, Seth & McBean, Jessica Rae & Tran, Long, 2018. "Quantile Regression Estimates of the Effect of Student Absences on Academic Achievement," IZA Discussion Papers 11912, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    education production function; student attendance; chronic absence; class size;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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