Inside the Black Box of Ability Peer Effects: Evidence from Variation in the Proportion of Low Achievers In the Classroom

Abstract

We estimate the extent of ability peer effects and explore the mechanisms through which they operate. Using within-school variation in the proportion of low-ability students in Israeli schools, we find that the proportion of low-ability peers has a negative effect on the performance of regular students. An exploration of the underlying mechanisms show that, relative to regular students, lowability students report higher levels of satisfaction with their teachers. However, a higher proportion of low-ability students has detrimental effects on teachersÕ pedagogical practices and on the quality of inter-student and student-teacher relationships, and increases the level of violence and classroom disruptions.In this article, we study the existence, magnitude and mechanisms of peer effects on educational outcomes in middle and high schools. Specifically, we investigate whether having unusually low-achieving classmates has any effect on the educational outcomes of regular pupils and we also identify some of the mechanisms and channels through which these effects operate.Using studentsÕ exact date of birth and the rules governing school enrolment in first grade, we identify as potentially low-ability students those who were born substantially before the relevant threshold date for their cohort (ÔrepeatersÕ). 1 We show that repeaters have substantially lower academic achievements relative to both regular students and relative to any other group of students identified based on their socioeconomic background. We then assess how classroom ability composition, as measured by the proportion of repeaters in the grade, affects scholastic achievements of high school students. Lastly, we use a unique national survey administered to middle school students to identify whether peer composition affects teachersÕ pedagogical methods in the classroom, the level of disruption and violence, and the quality of inter-student and student-teacher interactions.The article makes two main contributions to the literature on peer effects. First, it identifies the effects of having low-ability peers on studentsÕ achievement using a methodology that is less susceptible to bias from potential confounders associated with peer quality and to a reflection problem. Second, it goes beyond the peer effect

Automatic grade promotion and student performance: Evidence from Brazil

“…Repeaters may impose a negative externality on their peers because their achievement is lower or because they may be more disruptive in class (Lazear 2001). Lavy, Paserman and Schlosser (2012) elaborate on the extent of ability peer effects associated with repeaters and show that academic performance and behaviour of repeaters may be responsible for the negative effect. By adding peer age in the DiD specification I can control for potential peer effects from the differential inflow at fourth grade.…”

“…This is particularly the case for developing countries where repetition rates are often very high and pressure on public resources is large. Furthermore, repetition increases the age variation in the classroom and repeaters may also directly lead to negative externalities on their peer students (Manski 1993, Lavy, Paserman andSchlosser 2012).…”

Understanding Peer Effects: On the Nature, Estimation, and Channels of Peer Effects

“…Following the standard approach in the literature, to avoid the reflection problem, we use a pre-1 See, for example, Duflo et al (2011) for evidence on channels in primary education, Lavy, Paserman and Schlosser (2012) in secondary education and Booij, Leuven and Osterbeek (2015) in post-secondary education.…”

“…Second, peer effects can run through a number of potential channels which are likely to generate different peer effects depending on the contexts in which they are studied. While peer effects in primary and secondary education might partly run through classroom disruptions (Figlio, 2007;Lazear, 2001), these channels might be less pronounced in post-secondary education.Moreover, teachers' adjustments of pedagogical practice to the classroom composition might be an important channel for classroom settings (Duflo et al, 2011;Lavy et al, 2012), but this channel will not matter when studying peer effects in roommate settings. For living communities where peers spend a great deal of time together, we would expect student effort, i.e., adjustments in (joint) study hours, to be an important channel (Stinebrickner & Stinebrickner, 2006).…”

The educational consequences of language proficiency for young children

“…Studies using non-experimental data attempt to mitigate the bias from self-selection by exploiting exogenous variation in the composition of peers across classes or schools (Hanushek et al, 2003;Ammermueller and Pischke, 2009;Lavy et al, 2012). The study on spillover effects in European primary schools by Ammermueller and Pischke (2009) is close to our paper in terms of identification strategy.…”