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Can Schools Reduce the Indigenous Test Score Gap? Evidence from Chile

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  • Patrick McEwan

Abstract

In Chile, indigenous students obtain lower test scores, on average, than non-indigenous students. Between two cohorts of eighth-graders in the late 1990s, the test score gap declined by 0.1 to 0.2 standard deviations. An Oaxaca decomposition and related descriptive evidence suggest that the most plausible explanation is related to Chile's large-scale school reforms that were targeted at low-achieving schools and students. The paper evaluates and rules out alternate explanations such as relative improvements in indigenous socioeconomic status, and sorting of indigenous students between schools. The results highlight a potential lever for reducing earnings gaps between indigenous and nonindigenous adults.

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  • Patrick McEwan, 2008. "Can Schools Reduce the Indigenous Test Score Gap? Evidence from Chile," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(10), pages 1506-1530.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:44:y:2008:i:10:p:1506-1530
    DOI: 10.1080/00220380802265223
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    1. Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2009. "The Academic Achievement Gap in Grades 3 to 8," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 398-419, May.
    2. Kenneth Y. Chay & Patrick J. McEwan & Miguel Urquiola, 2005. "The Central Role of Noise in Evaluating Interventions That Use Test Scores to Rank Schools," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1237-1258, September.
    3. Krueger, Alan B. & Zhu, Pei, 2002. "Another Look at the New York City School Voucher Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 663, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Hernandez-Zavala, Martha & Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Sakellariou, Chris & Shapiro, Joseph, 2006. "Quality of schooling and quality of schools for indigenous students in Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3982, The World Bank.
    5. World Bank, 2001. "Peruvian Education at a Crossroads : Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13948.
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    Cited by:

    1. Arteaga, Irma & Glewwe, Paul, 2019. "Do community factors matter? An analysis of the achievement gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children in Peru," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 80-91.
    2. Cavalcanti, Tiago & Guimaraes, Juliana & Sampaio, Breno, 2010. "Barriers to skill acquisition in Brazil: Public and private school students performance in a public university entrance exam," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 395-407, November.
    3. Beatrice Schindler Rangvid, 2010. "Source country differences in test score gaps: evidence from Denmark," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 269-295.
    4. Harold Alderman, 2011. "No Small Matter : The Impact of Poverty, Shocks, and Human Capital Investments in Early Childhood Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2266.
    5. David Martínez Rojas & Wilson Muñoz Henríquez & Carlos Mondaca Rojas, 2021. "Racism, Interculturality, and Public Policies: An Analysis of the Literature on Migration and the School System in Chile, Argentina, and Spain," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440209, January.
    6. Gershberg, Alec Ian & González, Pablo Alberto & Meade, Ben, 2012. "Understanding and Improving Accountability in Education: A Conceptual Framework and Guideposts from Three Decentralization Reform Experiences in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 1024-1041.
    7. McEwan, Patrick J., 2013. "The impact of Chile's school feeding program on education outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 122-139.
    8. Canales, Andrea & Maldonado, Luis, 2018. "Teacher quality and student achievement in Chile: Linking teachers' contribution and observable characteristics," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 33-50.
    9. Santibañez, Lucrecia, 2016. "The indigenous achievement gap in Mexico: The role of teacher policy under intercultural bilingual education," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 63-75.
    10. Hynsjö, Disa & Damon, Amy, 2016. "Bilingual education in Peru: Evidence on how Quechua-medium education affects indigenous children's academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 116-132.

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