Enriching Students Pays Off: Evidence from an Individualized Gifted and Talented Program in Secondary Education

Adam S. Booij (), Ferry Haan () and Erik Plug ()
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Adam S. Booij: University of Amsterdam
Ferry Haan: University of Amsterdam

No 9757, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine the effect of a gifted and talented program in academic secondary education. Students are assigned based on a cutoff score in a cognitive aptitude test, which we exploit in a fuzzy regression discontinuity framework to identify program effects. We find that assigned students obtain higher grades, follow a more science intensive curriculum (most notably for girls), and report stronger beliefs about their academic abilities. We also find that these positive effects persist in university, where students choose more challenging fields of study with, on average, higher returns. Together, these findings are consistent with a human capital interpretation.

Keywords: gifted and talented education; enrichment program; secondary education; regression discontinuity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I22 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2016-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-hrm and nep-lma
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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