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Are We Spending Too Many Years in School? Causal Evidence of the Impact of Shortening Secondary School Duration

Author

Listed:
  • Büttner Bettina

    (Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg,Magdeburg, Germany)

  • Thomsen Stephan L.

    (NIW Hannover & Leibniz Universität Hannover,Hanover, Germany)

Abstract

During the last decade, most of the German states have abolished the final year of higher secondary schooling while keeping academic content almost unaltered. We evaluate the effects of the reform in Saxony-Anhalt for the double cohort of graduates in 2007. In 2003, the 13th year of schooling was eliminated for students in grade 9, while tenth grade students were unaffected. This provides a natural experiment for analyzing the impact on schooling achievements and educational choice. We find negative effects on grades in mathematics, but no effects in German literature. Moreover, a significant share of females were found to delay university enrollment.

Suggested Citation

  • Büttner Bettina & Thomsen Stephan L., 2015. "Are We Spending Too Many Years in School? Causal Evidence of the Impact of Shortening Secondary School Duration," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 65-86, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:16:y:2015:i:1:p:65-86
    DOI: 10.1111/geer.12038
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student performance; schooling quality; educational choice; learning intensity; natural experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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