How Good Am I? Effects and Mechanisms Behind Salient Rank

Rigissa Megalokonomou () and Yi Zhang ()
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Rigissa Megalokonomou: Monash University, Department of Economics, Australia, and University of Queensland, School of Economics
Yi Zhang: School of Economics, University of Queensland

No 2023-07, Monash Economics Working Papers from Monash University, Department of Economics

Abstract: How can individuals respond to their ordinal ranking when they are not aware of it? We present evidence on the effects and mechanisms of achievement rank effects in middle schools when ranks are to a large extent salient to students and their parents. For identification, we rely on the random assignment of students (and teachers) to classrooms in China. That is, students with the same baseline test scores end up having different achievement ranks in their assigned classroom. We find positive and large effects of being assigned a higher rank on subsequent performance. The estimated effects of ranks are larger when ranks are more salient, for male students and for students whose parents have lower education. We show that students with higher ranks spend more hours on autonomic studying. What drives these effects is still an open question, especially when ranks are salient to both students and their parents. Using rich survey data, we show that these academic gains are not only mediated through (1) students’ higher self-perception and higher subject learning confidence, but also through (2) better parental understanding of their child’s ranks, stricter parental requirements for their child’s study, and higher parental expectations regarding their child’s educational attainment and career prospects. We show that these two channels make similar contributions to explaining salient rank effects, and when combined they explain 46.80% of the increase in test scores. We find no impact on teachers’ investment or attention to students as a result of rank effects.

Keywords: achievement rank; salience; random classroom assignment; mechanisms; survey data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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