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Effect of relative age in the first grade of primary school on long-term scholastic results: international comparative evidence using PISA 2003

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  • Maresa Sprietsma

Abstract

In this paper, we estimate the effect of pupil's relative age within the first grade of primary school on mathematics and reading test scores at age 15. The main objective is to evaluate the long-term causal effect of relative age in the first grades of primary school on pupil's test in 16 different countries. We use the national rule for admission to primary school to construct the predicted relative age of each pupil. We find that relative age at the start of primary school has a significant positive effect on test scores in about one-half of the considered countries and regions. Moreover, we identify some of the channels through which the effect occurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Maresa Sprietsma, 2010. "Effect of relative age in the first grade of primary school on long-term scholastic results: international comparative evidence using PISA 2003," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-32.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:18:y:2010:i:1:p:1-32
    DOI: 10.1080/09645290802201961
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    Cited by:

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    5. Fumarco, Luca & Baert, Stijn, 2018. "Younger and Dissatisfied? Relative Age and Life-satisfaction in Adolescence," MPRA Paper 89968, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Fumarco, L. & Baert, S. & Sarracino, F., 2020. "Younger, dissatisfied, and unhealthy – Relative age in adolescence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    7. Claire Crawford & Lorraine Dearden & Ellen Greaves, 2013. "Identifying the drivers of month of birth differences in educational attainment," DoQSS Working Papers 13-07, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    8. Ryan, Chris, 2013. "What is behind the decline in student achievement in Australia?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 226-239.
    9. Luís Martins & Manuel Coutinho Pereira, 2017. "Disentangling the channels from birthdate to educational attainment," Working Papers w201706, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    10. Pedraja-Chaparro, Francisco & Santín, Daniel & Simancas, Rosa, 2015. "Determinants of grade retention in France and Spain: Does birth month matter?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 820-834.
    11. Eduard Nikolayevich Bezuglov & Pantelis Theodoros Nikolaidis & Vladimir Khaitin & Elvira Usmanova & Anastasiya Luibushkina & Alexey Repetiuk & Zbigniew Waśkiewicz & Dagmara Gerasimuk & Thomas Rosemann, 2019. "Prevalence of Relative Age Effect in Russian Soccer: The Role of Chronological Age and Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-10, October.
    12. Dawid, Herbert & Muehlheusser, Gerd, 2012. "Repeated Selection with Heterogenous Individuals and Relative Age Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 6478, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Mladen Stamenković & Ivan Anić & Marijana Petrović & Nataša Bojković, 2016. "An ELECTRE approach for evaluating secondary education profiles: evidence from PISA survey in Serbia," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 245(1), pages 337-358, October.
    14. Herbert Dawid & Gerd Muehlheusser, 2012. "Repeated Selection with Heterogenous Individuals and Relative Age Effects," CESifo Working Paper Series 3786, CESifo.
    15. Diaz-Serrano, Luis & Meix-Llop, Enric, 2012. "Do Fiscal and Political Decentralization Raise Students' Performance? A Cross-Country Analysis," IZA Discussion Papers 6722, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Claire Crawford & Lorraine Dearden & Ellen Greaves, 2013. "The impact of age within academic year on adult outcomes," DoQSS Working Papers 13-05, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    17. Dawid, Herbert & Muehlheusser, Gerd, 2015. "Repeated selection with heterogeneous individuals and relative age effects," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 387-406.
    18. Fumarco Luca & Carlsson Magnus & Gibbs Benjamin G., 2020. "Erasmus Exchange Program – A Matter of (Relatively) Older Students," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, October.
    19. Peña, Pablo A., 2020. "Relative age and investment in human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    20. Peña, Pablo A., 2017. "Creating winners and losers: Date of birth, relative age in school, and outcomes in childhood and adulthood," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 152-176.
    21. Rubén Navarro-Patón & Joaquín Lago-Ballesteros & Víctor Arufe-Giráldez & Alberto Sanmiguel-Rodríguez & Carlos Lago-Fuentes & Marcos Mecías-Calvo, 2021. "Gender Differences on Motor Competence in 5-Year-Old Preschool Children Regarding Relative Age," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-10, March.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    pupil performance; relative age; international comparison;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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