Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp10011.pdf Non-technical SummaryIn international comparison, German university graduates are elder on average when they enter the labor market. Apart from the longer duration time of study at university, one fundamental reason is the long secondary schooling time. Therefore, almost all of the German federal states have introduced a reform of shortening the length of secondary schooling by one year while holding the curriculum almost constant. Hence, the reform has increased the learning intensity ratio, i.e. the ratio of academic curriculum content per unit of instructional time, for the treated students considerably. The educational policy reform was at first enacted in 2003 and realized in 2007 with a double cohort of graduates in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.We use this reform as a natural experiment to evaluate the causal effects of higher learning intensity ratios on student performance. Identical final written exams for both cohorts allow us to assess school performance directly. We use achievement grades at graduation in mathematics, German literature and English to approximate the effects on human capital accumulation. The effects of increasing learning intensity ratios on student performance depend on subjects and differ by gender. We find significant negative effects on student performance in mathematics for females and more pronounced negative effects for males. Student performance in foreign language has also decreased due to the reform, but only for females. In contrast to that, no differences are obtained on grades in German literature for both genders.Our findings suggest inefficient learning intensity ratios in the acquisition of linguistic skills. However, increasing the academic content considerably in a predefined period of instructional time in mathematics cannot compensate for shortening schooling time. Moreover, some students are not able to cope with the increase in learning intensity. Perhaps, lowering the learning intensity ratio in such demanding subjects like mathematics by additional instructional time at the expense of subjects with low learning intensity is a reasonable recommendation. In addition, a revision of the curricula could be an appropriate response. Our results suggest that institutional features, such as learning intensity, matter. Policy makers should turn their attention from raising the quantity of education to raising the qual...
Summary Empirical studies have shown plasticity of personality traits until early adulthood. The extent to which schooling is a crucial determinant in this context has not yet been analysed coherently. Although they have left the curriculum largely unchanged, most German states have abolished the final year of higher secondary schooling to enable earlier graduation. We use this exogenous shift in policy in one German federal state to evaluate the effects of an increase in the amount of curriculum per unit of time on different personality traits. The results indicate that the development of personality does not depend on schooling characteristics at that particular age.
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.JEL classification: I21, J18, C21.
Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp11007.pdf Non-technical SummaryRecent research in economics reveals a substantial impact of personality traits or noncognitive skills on outcomes related to educational and labor market success. A virtue of these noncognitive skills compared to cognitive skills in terms of policy interventions is their malleability up to late adolescence. Therefore, the complete time at school may provide a crucial investment in the formation process of these skills, and returns on specific investments during that time are economically meaningful. German federal state, as a natural experiment. The reform was intended to reduce the time spent in higher secondary school by eliminating the final grade. Since the curriculum was roughly maintained, the reform gave rise to an increase in learning intensity.Our results show no significant effect of the increased learning intensity on any of the personality scores considered. To eliminate potential confounding effects, we control for a simultaneous age effect and for a possible trade-off between schooling and extracurricular investments. The results therefore promote that the development of personality in late adolescence does rather not depend on schooling investments. Das Wichtigste in Kürze University of Magdeburg Hendrik Thiel University of MagdeburgStephan L. Thomsen § University of Magdeburg & ZEW, MannheimThis version: January 27, 2011 AbstractDespite the interdependence between cognitive and noncognitive skills, empirical studies have shown a longer period of acquisition in life-time for the latter besides relevance for educational and labor market success. Analyzing returns of investments during different periods of life is therefore economically meaningful. We evaluate the effects of a substantial increase in the amount of curriculum per unit of time (learning intensity) at the end of higher secondary schooling on nine types of these skills. The results show no influence on the acquisition of noncognitive skills, indicating that personality does rather not depend on schooling investments in late adolescence.
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