IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/15867.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sample Selectivity and the Validity of International Student Achievement Tests in Economic Research

Author

Listed:
  • Eric A. Hanushek
  • Ludger Woessmann

Abstract

Critics of international student comparisons argue that results may be influenced by differences in the extent to which countries adequately sample their entire student populations. In this research note, we show that larger exclusion and non-response rates are related to better country average scores on international tests, as are larger enrollment rates for the relevant age group. However, accounting for sample selectivity does not alter existing research findings that tested academic achievement can account for a majority of international differences in economic growth and that institutional features of school systems have important effects on international differences in student achievement.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2010. "Sample Selectivity and the Validity of International Student Achievement Tests in Economic Research," NBER Working Papers 15867, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15867
    Note: ED EFG LS PE
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w15867.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    2. Andreas Ammermueller & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Peer Effects in European Primary Schools: Evidence from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(3), pages 315-348, July.
    3. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2011. "The Economics of International Differences in Educational Achievement," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 89-200, Elsevier.
    4. Bishop, John H, 1997. "The Effect of National Standards and Curriculum-Based Exams on Achievement," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 260-264, May.
    5. Ray Adams & Alla Berezner & Maciej Jakubowski, 2010. "Analysis of PISA 2006 Preferred Items Ranking Using the Percent-Correct Method," OECD Education Working Papers 46, OECD Publishing.
    6. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    7. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2011. "Sample selectivity and the validity of international student achievement tests in economic research," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 79-82, February.
    8. Barry P. Bosworth & Susan M. Collins, 2003. "The Empirics of Growth: An Update," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 34(2), pages 113-206.
    9. Kelly Bedard & Elizabeth Dhuey, 2006. "The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity: International Evidence of Long-Run Age Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1437-1472.
    10. Giorgio Brunello & Daniele Checchi, 2007. "Does school tracking affect equality of opportunity? New international evidence [‘Educational opportunities and the role of institutions’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 22(52), pages 782-861.
    11. Antonio Ciccone & Elias Papaioannou, 2009. "Human Capital, the Structure of Production, and Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 66-82, February.
    12. Robert J. Barro, 2001. "Human Capital and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 12-17, May.
    13. Jerik Hanushek & Dennis Kimko, 2006. "Schooling, Labor-force Quality, and the Growth of Nations," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 154-193.
    14. Bishop, J., 1997. "The Effect of national Standards and Curriculum-Based Exams on Achievement," Papers 97-01, Cornell - Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ludger Woessmann, 2016. "The Importance of School Systems: Evidence from International Differences in Student Achievement," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 3-32, Summer.
    2. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    3. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2012. "Schooling, educational achievement, and the Latin American growth puzzle," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 497-512.
    4. Muñoz, Juan Sebastián, 2018. "The economics behind the math gender gap: Colombian evidence on the role of sample selection," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 368-391.
    5. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2011. "Sample selectivity and the validity of international student achievement tests in economic research," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 79-82, February.
    6. Kaarsen, Nicolai, 2014. "Cross-country differences in the quality of schooling," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 215-224.
    7. Hendrik van Broekhuizen & Dieter von Fintel, 2010. "Who Responds to Voluntary Cognitive Tests in Household Surveys? The Role of Labour Market Status, Respondent Confidence, Motivation and a Culture of Learning in South Africa," Working Papers 27/2010, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    8. Jakubowski, Maciej & Pokropek, Artur, 2015. "Reading achievement progress across countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 77-88.
    9. Veruska Oppedisano & Gilberto Turati, 2015. "What are the causes of educational inequality and of its evolution over time in Europe? Evidence from PISA," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 3-24, February.
    10. Balart, Pau & Oosterveen, Matthijs & Webbink, Dinand, 2018. "Test scores, noncognitive skills and economic growth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 134-153.
    11. Lyubov Babich & Aleksandra Shabunova & Galina Belekhova, 2017. "Economic Modernization, Human Capital and Smart-Learning Technology," MIC 2017: Managing the Global Economy; Proceedings of the Joint International Conference, Monastier di Treviso, Italy, 24–27 May 2017,, University of Primorska Press.
    12. Onil Boussim, 2023. "Testing and correcting sample selection in academic achievement comparisons," Papers 2309.10642, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    13. Haizheng Li & Junzi He & Qinyi Liu & Barbara M. Fraumeni & Xiang Zheng, 2016. "Regional Distribution and Dynamics of Human Capital in China 1985-2014: Education, Urbanization, and Aging of the Population," NBER Working Papers 22906, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Amaghouss, Jabrane & Ibourk, Aomar, 2019. "Higher Education and Economic Growth: A Comparative Analysis of World Regions Trajectories," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 72(3), pages 321-350.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ludger Woessmann, 2016. "The Importance of School Systems: Evidence from International Differences in Student Achievement," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 3-32, Summer.
    2. Balart, Pau & Oosterveen, Matthijs & Webbink, Dinand, 2018. "Test scores, noncognitive skills and economic growth," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 134-153.
    3. José Manuel Cordero & Daniel Santín & Rosa Simancas, 2017. "Assessing European primary school performance through a conditional nonparametric model," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(4), pages 364-376, April.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2011. "The Economics of International Differences in Educational Achievement," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 89-200, Elsevier.
    5. Salwa TRABELSI, 2017. "Public education expenditure and economic growth: the educational quality threshold effect," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 45, pages 99-112.
    6. Piopiunik, Marc & Hanushek, Eric A. & Wiederhold, Simon, 2014. "The Impact of Teacher Skills on Student Performance across Countries," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100356, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Hanushek, Eric A. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2012. "Schooling, educational achievement, and the Latin American growth puzzle," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 497-512.
    8. Gradstein, Mark & Brückner, Markus, 2013. "Income and schooling," CEPR Discussion Papers 9365, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    10. Łukasz Goczek & Ewa Witkowska & Bartosz Witkowski, 2021. "How Does Education Quality Affect Economic Growth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    11. Angrist, Noam & Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Schlotter, Martin, 2013. "An expansion of a global data set on educational quality : a focus on achievement in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6536, The World Bank.
    12. Hüseyin Taştan & Selin Erdoğan, 2018. "Cognitive skills and economic performance: evidence from the recent international student assessment tests," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 417-449, December.
    13. Deborah A. Cobb-Clarke & Mathias Sinning & Steven Stillman, 2011. "Migrant Youths' Educational Achievement: The Role of Institutions," ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics 2011-565, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics.
    14. Md. Rabiul Islam & James B. Ang & Jakob B. Madsen, 2014. "Quality-Adjusted Human Capital And Productivity Growth," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(2), pages 757-777, April.
    15. Lisa Grazzini, 2016. "The Importance of the Quality of Education: Some Determinants and its Effects on Earning Returns and Economic Growth," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 43-82.
    16. repec:zbw:rwirep:0292 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. C. Dannemann & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "The Educational Burden of ADHD: Evidence From Student Achievement Test Scores," Working Papers V-408-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2018.
    18. Wößmann Ludger, 2011. "Aktuelle Herausforderungen der deutschen Bildungspolitik: Ordnungspolitischer Rahmen und konkrete Handlungsfelder / Current Challenges for German Education Policy: Institutional Framework and Concrete," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 62(1), pages 145-176, January.
    19. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Mathias Sinning & Steven Stillman, 2011. "Migrant Youths‘ Educational Achievement: The Role of Institutions," Ruhr Economic Papers 0292, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    20. Michael S. Delgado & Daniel J. Henderson & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2014. "Does Education Matter for Economic Growth?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 76(3), pages 334-359, June.
    21. Altinok, Nadir & Aydemir, Abdurrahman, 2017. "Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 176-190.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15867. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.