The effect of school quality on educational attainment and wages

Abstract

Abstract-The paper examines the effects of pupil-teacher ratios and type of school on educational attainment and wages using the British National Child Development Survey (NCDS). The NCDS is a panel survey that follows a cohort of individuals born in March 1958 and has a rich set of background variables recorded throughout the individuals' lives. The results suggest that, once we control for ability and family background, the pupil-teacher ratio has no impact on educational qualifications or on men's wages. It has an impact on women's wages at the age of 33, particularly those of low ability. We also find evidence that those who attend selective schools have better educational outcomes and, in the case of men, higher wages at the age of 33. The impact is greater for the type of individuals who are less likely to attend selective schools but for whom a comparison group does exist among those attending.

What will I be when I grow up? An analysis of childhood expectations and career outcomes

“…We estimate two specifications, one in which occupational expectations are assumed exogenous, the other in which they are assumed to be endogenously determined by equation (2). The estimated coefficients across the two specifications are remarkably robust and broadly confer with the results of Dearden et al (2002). In both cases being male, attending a single-sex school at age 16 and having had high teacher ratings of reading, creative, and numerical (but not oral) ability at age 7, all impact significantly and positively upon the number of O levels obtained.…”

Long-Term Effects of Class Size *

“…Previous attempts have been plagued by lack of precision (Chetty et al 2011), unavailability of directly linked data on labor market outcomes (Krueger 2003;Schanzenbach 2007), or strong identifying assumptions (Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir 2002;Dustmann, Rajah, and van Soest 2003).…”

“…They conclude that a lower pupil/teacher ratio increases the rate of return to schooling and earnings (the latter conclusion has been criticized by Heckman, Layne-Farrar, and Todd 1996). Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) use a conditional independence assumption to estimate the relationship between school quality and earnings using U.K. data. The association between the pupil/teacher ratio and earnings is typically insignificant.…”

“…The association between the pupil/teacher ratio and earnings is typically insignificant. Dustmann, Rajah, and van Soest (2003) use the same data and approach as Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) but assume that class size has no direct effect on wages conditional on educational attainment. The key assumption is thus that the effect of class size works through educational attainment.…”

Quality of schooling and inequality of opportunity in health

“…2, which contrasts state with private primary schools. The effect of these differences on educational attainment and wages is examined using NCDS data by Dearden et al (2002). However, their effect on health-related behaviours and outcomes has not been taken into account by the existing literature.…”