Modeling the Effects of Grade Retention in High School

Stijn Baert, Bart Cockx and Matteo Picchio

No 9556, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: A dynamic discrete choice model is set up to estimate the effects of grade retention in high school, both in the short- (end-of-year evaluation) and long-run (drop-out and delay). In contrast to regression discontinuity designs, this approach captures treatment heterogeneity and controls for grade-varying unobservable determinants. A method is proposed to deal with initial conditions and with partial observability of the track choices at the start of high school. Forced track downgrading is considered as an alternative remedial measure. In the long-run, grade retention and its alternative have adverse effects on schooling outcomes and, more so, for less able pupils.

Keywords: grade retention; track mobility; heterogeneous treatment effects; dynamic discrete choice models; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 C35 I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm and nep-edu
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Applied Econometrics , 2019, 34 (3), 403 - 424

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https://docs.iza.org/dp9556.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Modeling the effects of grade retention in high school (2019)
Working Paper: Modeling the Effects of Grade Retention in High School (2017)
Working Paper: Modeling the Effects of Grade Retention in High School (2016)
Working Paper: Modeling the Effects of Grade Retention in High School (2015)
Working Paper: Modeling the Effects of Grade Retention in High School (2015)
Working Paper: MODELING THE EFFECTS OF GRADE RETENTION IN HIGH SCHOOL (2015)
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