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The Determinants of Scholastic Achievement-An Appraisal of Some Recent Evidence

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  • Samuel Bowles
  • Henry M. Levin

Abstract

This study assesses some of the more highly publicized and controversial conclusions of Equality of Educational Opportunity by James S. Coleman et al. The Coleman Report, published by the U.S. Office of Education in 1966, concluded that per-pupil expenditures and school facilities show very little relation to student achievement levels, and the effect of a student's peers on his achievement level is more important than any other school influence. The present paper scrutinizes the data and the statistical analysis on which these findings are based. It is suggested that because of poor measurement of school resources, inadequate control for social background, and inappropriate statistical techniques used in the presence of interdependence among the independent variables, many of the findings of the Report are not supported.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Bowles & Henry M. Levin, 1968. "The Determinants of Scholastic Achievement-An Appraisal of Some Recent Evidence," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 3(1), pages 3-24.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:3:y:1968:i:1:p:3-24
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    Cited by:

    1. David Trillo & Nuria Alonso, 2010. "¿Rankings educativos: indicadores de resultados o de diferencias socioeconómicas?," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 5, in: María Jesús Mancebón-Torrubia & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún & José María Gómez-Sancho & Gregorio Gim (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 5, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 52, pages 1033-1042, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    2. Drummond, H. Evan, 1973. "Discussion: The Distribution Of The Costs And Benefits Of Public Schooling," Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 5(1), pages 1-3, July.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek & Babs Jacobs & Guido Schwerdt & Rolf van der Velden & Stan Vermeulen & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Where Do STEM Graduates Stem From? The Intergenerational Transmission of Comparative Skill Advantages," CESifo Working Paper Series 9388, CESifo.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A. & Jacobs, Babs & Schwerdt, Guido & Van der Velden, Rolf & Vermeulen, Stan & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 14854, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Peter H. Rossi & Sonia R. Wright, 1977. "Evaluation Research," Evaluation Review, , vol. 1(1), pages 5-52, February.
    6. Frederick D. Sebold & William Dato, 1981. "School Funding and Student Achievement: an Empirical Analysis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 91-105, January.
    7. Dean T. Jamison & J. Dexter Fletcher & Patrick Suppes, 1976. "Cost and Performance of Computer-Assisted Instruction for Education of Disadvantaged Children," NBER Chapters, in: Education as an Industry, pages 199-248, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Maria De Paola & Michela Ponzo & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2013. "Class size effects on student achievement: heterogeneity across abilities and fields," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 135-153, March.
    9. Nonoyama-Tarumi, Yuko & Willms, J. Douglas, 2010. "The relative and absolute risks of disadvantaged family background and low levels of school resources on student literacy," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 214-224, April.
    10. West, Jerry G. & Osburn, Donald D., 1972. "Quality Of Schooling In Rural Areas," Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 4(1), pages 1-3, July.
    11. Steven Miller, 1976. "Societal inequality and social mobility: A simple multivariate analysis of Boudon's model," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Eric A. Hanushek & Steven G. Rivkin, 2009. "Harming the best: How schools affect the black-white achievement gap," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 366-393.
    13. Akerhielm, Karen, 1995. "Does class size matter?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 229-241, September.
    14. Debertin, David L., 1976. "Estimating Education Production Functions in Rural and Urban Areas," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 31-35, December.
    15. Ehrenberg, Ronald G. & Brewer, Dominic J., 1995. "Did teachers' verbal ability and race matter in the 1960s? Coleman revisited," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Zambrano Jurado Juan Carlos, 2016. "Un estudio multinivel del rendimiento escolar en matemáticas para tercer grado de educación básica primaria en América Latina," Revista Sociedad y Economía, Universidad del Valle, CIDSE, vol. 0(30), pages 11-404, January.
    17. Belfield, Clive, 2010. "Festschrift in Honor of Henry M. Levin," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 169-170, April.
    18. Rumberger, Russell W., 2010. "Education and the reproduction of economic inequality in the United States: An empirical investigation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 246-254, April.
    19. Eric A. Hanushek, "undated". "The Evidence on Class Size," Wallis Working Papers WP10, University of Rochester - Wallis Institute of Political Economy.
    20. Konstantopoulos, Spyros, 2007. "Do Small Classes Reduce the Achievement Gap between Low and High Achievers? Evidence from Project STAR," IZA Discussion Papers 2904, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Varughese, Aswathy Rachel & Bairagya, Indrajit, 2021. "Interstate variation in household spending on education in India: Does it influence educational status?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 405-415.
    22. D. Byrne, 1975. "Rejoinder to Dougal Hutchison's “Areas of difference: A critique of the work of Byrne and Williamson on regional inequalities in educational attainment”," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 185-189, June.
    23. Ronald Ehrenberg & Dominic Brewer, 1993. "Did Teachers' Race and Verbal Ability Matter in the 1960's? Coleman Revisited," NBER Working Papers 4293, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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