IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/unm/umaror/2017001.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The effects of accelerating the school curriculum on student outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Korthals, Roxanne

    (Macro, International & Labour Economics, RS: GSBE DUHR)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to estimate the causal effects of an accelerated curriculum, in which students progress through the course material faster, on cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. I employ two methods: First, I make use of the cohorts before and after the introduction of the possibility to accelerate and of classes which are and which are not considered for acceleration using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) strategy. However, it seems reasonable that the best students benefit from this policy, while it is less clear that the less able students would benefit. Therefore I also employ a second method in which I only look at the effects for the marginal student. For this, I use school grades to employ a fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design (fRDD). Using both methods, I find that after one year the students who accelerated scored significantly higher on certain sub scores of the mathematics tests. I find no definitive results on non-cognitive skills: Using the DiD, I find that this positive cognitive effect is countered by lower scores on the teacher rated scores on perseverance, concentration, and conversation skills. For the marginal student, I find almost no effects on non-cognitive skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Korthals, Roxanne, 2017. "The effects of accelerating the school curriculum on student outcomes," ROA Research Memorandum 001, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:umaror:2017001
    DOI: 10.26481/umaror.2017001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/6359909/ROA_RM_2017_1.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.26481/umaror.2017001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kalena E. Cortes & Joshua S. Goodman & Takako Nomi, 2015. "Intensive Math Instruction and Educational Attainment: Long-Run Impacts of Double-Dose Algebra," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(1), pages 108-158.
    2. Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & Michael Kremer, 2011. "Peer Effects, Teacher Incentives, and the Impact of Tracking: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1739-1774, August.
    3. Sarah Dahmann & Silke Anger, 2014. "The Impact of Education on Personality: Evidence from a German High School Reform," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 658, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Cortes, Kalena E. & Goodman, Joshua Samuel & Nomi, Takako, 2015. "Intensive Math Instruction and Educational Attainment," Scholarly Articles 34298862, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Lex Borghans & Ron Diris, 2014. "Allocating Instruction Time: How Language Instruction Can Affect Multiple Skills," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(2), pages 161-198.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dahmann, Sarah C., 2017. "How does education improve cognitive skills? Instructional time versus timing of instruction," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 35-47.
    2. Huebener, Mathias & Kuger, Susanne & Marcus, Jan, 2017. "Increased instruction hours and the widening gap in student performance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47, pages 15-34.
    3. Huebener, Mathias & Marcus, Jan, 2017. "Compressing instruction time into fewer years of schooling and the impact on student performance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 58, pages 1-14.
    4. Vincenzo Andrietti & Xuejuan Su, 2019. "The Impact of Schooling Intensity on Student Learning: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 14(4), pages 679-701, Fall.
    5. Esteban Aucejo & Jonathan James, 2021. "The Path to College Education: The Role of Math and Verbal Skills," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(10), pages 2905-2946.
    6. Nicola Fuchs-Schünde & Dirk Krueger & Alexander Ludwig & Irina Popova, 2022. "The Long-Term Distributional and Welfare Effects of Covid-19 School Closures," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(645), pages 1647-1683.
    7. Martin Fischer & Martin Karlsson & Therese Nilsson & Nina Schwarz, 2020. "The Long-Term Effects of Long Terms – Compulsory Schooling Reforms in Sweden," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(6), pages 2776-2823.
    8. Thompson, Paul N., 2021. "Is four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    9. Hvidman, Charlotte & Koch, Alexander K. & Nafziger, Julia & Nielsen, Søren Albeck & Rosholm, Michael, 2024. "An intensive, school-based learning camp targeting academic and non-cognitive skills evaluated in a randomized trial," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Rajeev Darolia & Cory Koedel & Joyce B. Main & Felix Ndashimye & Junpeng Yan, 2020. "High School Course Access and Postsecondary STEM Enrollment and Attainment," Working Papers 2004, Department of Economics, University of Missouri.
    11. Martins, Pedro S., 2017. "Can Non-Cognitive Skills Programs Improve Achievement? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from EPIS," GLO Discussion Paper Series 105, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Marta De Philippis, 2023. "STEM Graduates and Secondary School Curriculum: Does Early Exposure to Science Matter?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(6), pages 1914-1947.
    13. Pedro S. Martins, 2017. "(How) Do Non-Cognitive Skills Programs Improve Adolescent School Achievement? Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 81, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    14. Dougherty, Shaun & Goodman, Joshua & Hill, Darryl & Litke, Erica & Page, Lindsay C., 2015. "Early Math Coursework and College Readiness: Evidence from Targeted Middle School Math Acceleration," Working Paper Series rwp15-044, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    15. Figlio, David & Holden, Kristian L. & Ozek, Umut, 2018. "Do students benefit from longer school days? Regression discontinuity evidence from Florida's additional hour of literacy instruction," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 171-183.
    16. Dossi, Gaia & Figlio, David & Giuliano, Paola & Sapienza, Paola, 2021. "Born in the family: Preferences for boys and the gender gap in math," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 175-188.
    17. Fischer, Martin & Karlsson, Martin & Nilsson, Therese & Schwarz, Nina, 2016. "The Sooner the Better? Compulsory Schooling Reforms in Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 10430, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. John P. Papay & Eric S. Taylor & John H. Tyler & Mary Laski, 2016. "Learning Job Skills from Colleagues at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment Using Teacher Performance Data," NBER Working Papers 21986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. David J. Deming & Sarah Cohodes & Jennifer Jennings & Christopher Jencks, 2016. "School Accountability, Postsecondary Attainment, and Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(5), pages 848-862, December.
    20. Joshua Goodman, 2019. "The Labor of Division: Returns to Compulsory High School Math Coursework," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(4), pages 1141-1182.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unm:umaror:2017001. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Andrea Willems or Leonne Portz (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/romaanl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.