
Health Care Management Papers
Title
Do Schools Mater for High Math Achievement? Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions
Document Type
Technical Report
Date of this Version
6-2016
Publication Source
American Economic Review
Volume
106
Issue
6
Start Page
1244
Last Page
1277
DOI
10.1257/aer.20140308
Abstract
This paper uses data from the American Mathematics Competitions to examine the rates at which different high schools produce high-achieving math students. There are large differences in the frequency with which students from seemingly similar schools reach high achievement levels. The distribution of unexplained school effects includes a thick tail of schools that produce many more high-achieving students than is typical. Several additional analyses suggest that the differences are not primarily due to unobserved differences in student characteristics. The differences are persistent across time, suggesting that differences in the effectiveness of educational programs are not primarily due to direct peer effects.
Copyright/Permission Statement
Copyright ©2016 AEA.
Recommended Citation
Ellison, G., & Swanson, A. (2016). Do Schools Mater for High Math Achievement? Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions. American Economic Review, 106 (6), 1244-1277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.20140308
Additional Files
Appendix_Do Schools Matter for High Math Achievement.pdf (887 kB)Data set_Do High Schools Matter for High Math Achievement.zip (732 kB)
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.