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Learning from the Test: Raising Selective College Enrollment by Providing Information

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Listed:
  • Sarena Goodman

    (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System)

Abstract

Between 2000 and 2010, five U.S. states adopted mandates requiring high school juniors to take a college entrance exam. In the two earliest-adopting states, nearly half of all students were induced into testing, and 40% to 45% of them earned scores high enough to qualify for selective colleges. Selective enrollment rose by 20% following implementation of the mandates, reflecting substitution away from noncompetitive schools. I conclude that a large number of high-ability students appear to dramatically underestimate their candidacy for selective colleges. Policies aimed at reducing this information shortage are likely to increase human capital investment for a substantial number of students.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarena Goodman, 2016. "Learning from the Test: Raising Selective College Enrollment by Providing Information," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(4), pages 671-684, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:98:y:2016:i:4:p:671-684
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joshua Goodman & Oded Gurantz & Jonathan Smith, 2020. "Take Two! SAT Retaking and College Enrollment Gaps," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 115-158, May.
    2. Dessein, Wouter & Frankel, Alexander & Kartik, Navin, 2023. "Test-Optional Admissions," CEPR Discussion Papers 18090, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Vansuch, Mary, 2017. "The Effects of Mandatory and Free College Admission Testing on College Enrollment and Completion," MPRA Paper 82262, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Juliana Londono-Velez & Catherine Rodriguez & Fabio Sánchez?, 2017. "The Intended and Unintended Impacts of a Merit-Based Financial Aid Program for the Poor: The Case of Ser Pilo Paga," Documentos CEDE 15466, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    5. Hakimov, Rustamdjan & Schmacker, Renke & Terrier, Camille, 2022. "Confidence and college applications: Evidence from a randomized intervention," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2022-209, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. La Ferrara, Eliana & Carlana, Michela & Pinotti, Paolo, 2017. "Goals and Gaps: Educational Careers of Immigrant Children," CEPR Discussion Papers 12538, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Fazlul, Ishtiaque & Jones, Todd & Smith, Jonathan, 2021. "College Credit on the Table? Advanced Placement Course and Exam Taking," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Michael D. Bloem & Weixiang Pan & Jonathan Smith, 2021. "College entrance exam‐taking strategies in Georgia," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(2), pages 587-627, October.
    9. Barnes, Stephen & Beland, Louis-Philippe & Joshi, Swarup & Willage, Barton, 2022. "Staying out of trouble? Effect of high school career counseling on crime," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. French, Robert & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2017. "Behavioral barriers transitioning to college," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 48-63.
    11. Machado, Cecilia & Szerman, Christiane, 2016. "Centralized Admission and the Student-College Match," IZA Discussion Papers 10251, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Bulman, George, 2017. "Weighting recent performance to improve college and labor market outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 97-108.
    13. Michela Carlana & Eliana La Ferrara & Paolo Pinotti, 2022. "Goals and Gaps: Educational Careers of Immigrant Children," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(1), pages 1-29, January.
    14. Germán Reyes, 2023. "Cognitive Endurance, Talent Selection, and the Labor Market Returns to Human Capital," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_490, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    15. Joshua Hyman, 2017. "ACT for All: The Effect of Mandatory College Entrance Exams on Postsecondary Attainment and Choice," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 12(3), pages 281-311, Summer.
    16. Laura Giuliano, 2022. "A Comment on: “Goals and Gaps: Educational Careers of Immigrant Children” by Michela Carlana, Eliana La Ferrara, Paolo Pinotti," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(1), pages 39-42, January.
    17. Germ'an Reyes, 2023. "Cognitive Endurance, Talent Selection, and the Labor Market Returns to Human Capital," Papers 2301.02575, arXiv.org.
    18. Darren Page, 2024. "College applications and enrollment effects of the Common Application," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 237-258, April.
    19. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Mu, Kai & Wang, Shaoda, 2024. "English language requirement and educational inequality: Evidence from 16 million college applicants in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    20. Amanda M. Cook, 2022. "Margins that Matter: Exploring the Association Between Academic Match and Bachelor’s Degree Completion Over Time," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(4), pages 672-712, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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