Learning with Differing-Ability Peers: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in South Korea

Chin Seungwoo () and Kwon Eunjee ()
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Chin Seungwoo: Deputy Director, G20 Financial Cooperation Division, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Sejong Government Complex, 477, Galmae-ro, Sejong-si 30109, Korea
Kwon Eunjee: Assistant Professor, Department of Finance, Carl H. Lindner College of Business, University of Cincinnati, 2906 Woodside Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2022, vol. 22, issue 4, 859-887

Abstract: Whether to group students based on their prior academic achievements has been at the center of policy and research debate. This article explores a quasi-experimental setting in South Korea where the “Equalization Policy” replaced ability-tracking in high school students’ allocation. The policy abolished high school entrance exams and began assigning students to high schools without considering students’ prior academic performance, which exposed students to an ability-mixing learning environment. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we show that ability-mixing considerably reduces the number of low-performers in a national college entrance test. At the same time, high-performers are hardly affected by the policy changes. We document that the behavioral changes of low-performing students may drive the main results. In contrast, we find no evidence that grouping mechanisms affect teacher-pupil interaction and teacher quality.

Keywords: tracking; secondary education; government policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I28 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2021-0306

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