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Class-Size Effects in School Systems Around the World: Evidence from Between-Grade Variation in TIMSS

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Author Info
Woessmann, Ludger () (Kiel Institute for World Economics and IZA, Bonn)
West, Martin R. (Harvard University)

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Abstract

We estimate the effect of class size on student performance in 18 countries, combining school fixed effects and instrumental variables to identify random class-size variation between two adjacent grades within individual schools. Conventional estimates of class-size effects are shown to be severely biased by the non-random placement of students between and within schools. Smaller classes exhibit beneficial effects only in countries with relatively low teacher salaries. While we find sizable beneficial effects of smaller classes in Greece and Iceland, the possibility of even small effects is rejected in Japan and Singapore. In 11 countries, we rule out large class-size effects.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 485.

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Length: 65 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2002
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp485

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Related research
Keywords: educational production; class size; student sorting; school fixed effects; instrumental variables; TIMSS;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
  4. Alan Krueger & Diane Whitmore, 2000. "The Effect of Attending a Small Class in the Early Grades on College-Test Taking and Middle School Test Results: Evidence from Project STAR," NBER Working Papers 7656, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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    Other versions:
  6. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Boozer, Michael & Rouse, Cecilia, 2001. "Intraschool Variation in Class Size: Patterns and Implications," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 163-189, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Alan B. Krueger, 1999. "Experimental Estimates Of Education Production Functions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 114(2), pages 497-532, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Akerhielm, Karen, 1995. "Does class size matter?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 229-241, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Michael Fertig, 2002. "Educational Production, Endogenous Peer Group Formation and Class Composition – Evidence From the PISA 2000 Study," RWI Discussion Papers 0002, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung. [Downloadable!]
  2. Paul Bingley & Vibeke Myrup Jensen & Ian Walker, 2007. "The Effect of School Class Size on Post-Compulsory Education: Some Cost Benefit Analysis," Working Papers 200717, Geary Institute, University College Dublin. [Downloadable!]
  3. Woessmann, Ludger, 2003. "Educational Production in East Asia: The Impact of Family Background and Schooling Policies on Student Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 745, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. J. Hirschberg & J. Lye, 2007. "A Reinterpretation of Interactions in Regressions," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 1015, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
  5. Martin R. West & Ludger Woessmann, 2003. "Which School Systems Sort Weaker Students into Smaller Classes? International Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Fertig, Michael, 2003. "Educational Production, Endogenous Peer Group Formation and Class Composition – Evidence from the PISA 2000 Study," IZA Discussion Papers 714, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Kaoru Nabeshima, 2003. "Raising the quality of secondary education in East Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3140, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ammermueller, Andreas & Heijke, Hans & Woessmann, Ludger, 2003. "Schooling Quality in Eastern Europe: Educational Production During Transition," IZA Discussion Papers 746, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Torbjørn Hægeland, Oddbjørn Raaum and Kjell G. Salvanes, 2007. "Pennies from heaven. Using exogenous tax variation to identify effects of school resources on pupil achievement," Discussion Papers 508, Research Department of Statistics Norway. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Felix Büchel & Hendrik Jürges & Kerstin Schneider, 2003. "Die Auswirkungen zentraler Abschlussprüfungen auf die Schulleistung: quasi-experimentelle Befunde aus der deutschen TIMSS-Stichprobe," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 72(2), pages 238-251.
  11. Hanck, Christoph, 2008. "Now, whose schools are really better (or weaker) than Germany's? A multiple testing approach," MPRA Paper 12008, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  12. M. Niaz Asadullah, 2005. "The effect of class size on student achievement: evidence from Bangladesh," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 217-221, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Mohammad Niaz Asadullah (Reading University), Nazmul Chaudhury (World Bank) and Amit Dar (World Bank), . "Student Achievement Conditioned Upon School Selection: Religious and Secular Secondary School Quality in Bangladesh," QEH Working Papers qehwps140, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Christian Wiermann, 2005. "Class Size, Instruction Time and Central Exit Examinations : disentangling the Relative Contributions to Scholastic Achievement," Working Papers of the Research Group Heterogenous Labor 05-04, Research Group Heterogeneous Labor, University of Konstanz/ZEW Mannheim. [Downloadable!]
  15. Jakubowski, Maciej & Sakowski, Pawel, 2006. "Quasi-Experimental Estimates of Class Size Effect in Primary Schools in Poland," MPRA Paper 4958, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  16. Ludger Wößmann, 2003. "Zentrale Prüfungen als "Währung" des Bildungssystems: zur Komplementarität von Schulautonomie und Zentralprüfungen," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 72(2), pages 220-237.
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