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Does high school quality matter? Evidence from admissions data

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  • Berkowitz, Daniel
  • Hoekstra, Mark

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of attending elite private high school on college placement using admissions data from the most selective high school in a large metropolitan area. To overcome omitted variable bias, we limit the sample to admitted applicants and control directly for the scores assigned by admissions based on in-depth analyses of the applicants and their families. In addition, we control for a wide set of covariates including student and family characteristics and entrance exam scores. Results indicate that attending selective private high school rather than other public and private high schools causes students to attend more selective universities. Effects are driven by gains for girls and students from lower-income neighborhoods.

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  • Berkowitz, Daniel & Hoekstra, Mark, 2011. "Does high school quality matter? Evidence from admissions data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 280-288, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:30:y:2011:i:2:p:280-288
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    Cited by:

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    2. Horstschräer, Julia, 2012. "University rankings in action? The importance of rankings and an excellence competition for university choice of high-ability students," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1162-1176.
    3. Mark Hoekstra & Pierre Mouganie & Yaojing Wang, 2018. "Peer Quality and the Academic Benefits to Attending Better Schools," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(4), pages 841-884.
    4. Black, Sandra E. & Lincove, Jane & Cullinane, Jennifer & Veron, Rachel, 2015. "Can you leave high school behind?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 52-63.
    5. Cao, Yuan, 2020. "Centralized assignment mechanisms and assortative matching: Evidence from Chinese universities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 255-276.
    6. Canaan, Serena & Mouganie, Pierre & Zhang, Peng, 2022. "The Long-Run Educational Benefits of High-Achieving Classrooms," IZA Discussion Papers 15039, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Yuta Kuroda, 2023. "What do high-achieving graduates bring to nonacademic track high schools?," DSSR Discussion Papers 138, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University.
    8. Castelló-Climent, Amparo & Hidalgo-Cabrillana, Ana, 2012. "The role of educational quality and quantity in the process of economic development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 391-409.
    9. Ribas, Rafael P. & Sampaio, Breno & Trevisan, Giuseppe, 2020. "Short- and long-term effects of class assignment: Evidence from a flagship university in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Fernanda Estevan & Lucas Finamor, 2022. "School closures and educational path: how the Covid-19 pandemic affected transitions to college," Papers 2210.00138, arXiv.org.
    11. Black, Sandra E. & Cortes, Kalena E. & Lincove, Jane Arnold, 2014. "Efficacy vs. Equity: What Happens When States Tinker with College Admissions in a Race-Blind Era?," IZA Discussion Papers 8733, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Will Dobbie & Roland G. Fryer, Jr., 2011. "Exam High Schools and Academic Achievement: Evidence from New York City," NBER Working Papers 17286, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Sean Patrick Corcoran & E. Christine Baker-Smith, 2018. "Pathways to an Elite Education: Application, Admission, and Matriculation to New York City's Specialized High Schools," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(2), pages 256-279, Spring.
    14. Michelle Pleace & Nicky Nicholls, 2022. "Grit, motivation and university grades," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 90(1), pages 21-36, March.
    15. Andreea Mirica & Adina Neamtu & Irina-Elena Stoica, 2023. "Pupils Left Behind? An Analysis on the Data from National Evaluation Exams in Romania 2023," Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(2), pages 300-306, December.

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