Parental Responses to Children’s Achievement Test Results

Deborah Cobb-Clark, Tiffany Ho and Nicolas Salamanca
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Tiffany Ho: ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: We use quasi-experimental variation in the timing of national standardized test-score reports to estimate the causal impact of giving parents objective information about children’s academic achievement. Releasing test scores leads to more modest perceptions of academic achievement and reduced school satisfaction. The use of private tutoring is increased, while extracurricular activities are reduced. Examining the underlying mechanisms, we show that it is public-school parents and parents of children receiving unexpectedly “bad” test scores who alter their perceptions. Learning that a child scores above the national average raises perceived academic achievement and time devoted to education, while reducing leisure time.

Keywords: Parental investments; test-score information; parental perceptions; overconfidence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D10 D90 I21 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62pp
Date: 2021-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Working Paper: Parental Responses to Children's Achievement Test Results (2021)
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