Attending a school with heterogeneous peers: The effects of school detracking and its attenuation

Do Won Kwak; Jin Young Lee

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102401

Attending a school with heterogeneous peers: The effects of school detracking and its attenuation

Do Won Kwak, Jin Young Lee

Department of International Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of high school detracking on Korean Scholastic Aptitude Test (KSAT) scores in the subjects of Korean (reading), mathematics, and English. We found that a transition to detracking reduces test scores by 0.16–0.18 of one standard deviation. Additionally, the administrative autonomy of private schools and the use of private tutoring services at home attenuate the negative effects of detracking. Our findings are in line with those in the previous literature showing a modest effect of tracking (i.e., ability sorting) in advanced countries where the autonomous school system is well organized and commercial educational services are easily accessible and a strong positive effect of tracking in developing countries where access to well-resourced private schools and private education is generally limited.

Original language	English
Article number	102401
Journal	Economics of Education Review
Volume	94
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102401
Publication status	Published - 2023 Jun

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study was supported by 2019 Research Grant from Kangwon National University. We are grateful to the South Korean Ministry of Education for providing data. We also thank Steven Haider, Gary Solon, Haishan Yuan, Booyuel Kim, Joseph Han, Jongkwan Lee, Hee-Seung Yang and Carl Sherwood for helpful comments and suggestions. Young-wook Ku, Yongjin Jeon, and Seulki Ryu did excellent data collection work.

Funding Information:
☆ This study was supported by 2019 Research Grant from Kangwon National University. We are grateful to the South Korean Ministry of Education for providing data. We also thank Steven Haider, Gary Solon, Haishan Yuan, Booyuel Kim, Joseph Han, Jongkwan Lee, Hee-Seung Yang and Carl Sherwood for helpful comments and suggestions. Young-wook Ku, Yongjin Jeon, and Seulki Ryu did excellent data collection work.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Between-school detracking
Peer quality
Private school
Private tutoring
Student performance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Economics and Econometrics

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10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102401

Cite this

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title = "Attending a school with heterogeneous peers: The effects of school detracking and its attenuation",

abstract = "This paper examines the effects of high school detracking on Korean Scholastic Aptitude Test (KSAT) scores in the subjects of Korean (reading), mathematics, and English. We found that a transition to detracking reduces test scores by 0.16–0.18 of one standard deviation. Additionally, the administrative autonomy of private schools and the use of private tutoring services at home attenuate the negative effects of detracking. Our findings are in line with those in the previous literature showing a modest effect of tracking (i.e., ability sorting) in advanced countries where the autonomous school system is well organized and commercial educational services are easily accessible and a strong positive effect of tracking in developing countries where access to well-resourced private schools and private education is generally limited.",

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note = "Funding Information: This study was supported by 2019 Research Grant from Kangwon National University. We are grateful to the South Korean Ministry of Education for providing data. We also thank Steven Haider, Gary Solon, Haishan Yuan, Booyuel Kim, Joseph Han, Jongkwan Lee, Hee-Seung Yang and Carl Sherwood for helpful comments and suggestions. Young-wook Ku, Yongjin Jeon, and Seulki Ryu did excellent data collection work. Funding Information: ☆ This study was supported by 2019 Research Grant from Kangwon National University. We are grateful to the South Korean Ministry of Education for providing data. We also thank Steven Haider, Gary Solon, Haishan Yuan, Booyuel Kim, Joseph Han, Jongkwan Lee, Hee-Seung Yang and Carl Sherwood for helpful comments and suggestions. Young-wook Ku, Yongjin Jeon, and Seulki Ryu did excellent data collection work. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Elsevier Ltd",

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N2 - This paper examines the effects of high school detracking on Korean Scholastic Aptitude Test (KSAT) scores in the subjects of Korean (reading), mathematics, and English. We found that a transition to detracking reduces test scores by 0.16–0.18 of one standard deviation. Additionally, the administrative autonomy of private schools and the use of private tutoring services at home attenuate the negative effects of detracking. Our findings are in line with those in the previous literature showing a modest effect of tracking (i.e., ability sorting) in advanced countries where the autonomous school system is well organized and commercial educational services are easily accessible and a strong positive effect of tracking in developing countries where access to well-resourced private schools and private education is generally limited.

AB - This paper examines the effects of high school detracking on Korean Scholastic Aptitude Test (KSAT) scores in the subjects of Korean (reading), mathematics, and English. We found that a transition to detracking reduces test scores by 0.16–0.18 of one standard deviation. Additionally, the administrative autonomy of private schools and the use of private tutoring services at home attenuate the negative effects of detracking. Our findings are in line with those in the previous literature showing a modest effect of tracking (i.e., ability sorting) in advanced countries where the autonomous school system is well organized and commercial educational services are easily accessible and a strong positive effect of tracking in developing countries where access to well-resourced private schools and private education is generally limited.

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Attending a school with heterogeneous peers: The effects of school detracking and its attenuation

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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