The Impact of Test Score Labels on Human-Capital Investment Decisions

John P. Papay, Richard Murnane and John B. Willett

Journal of Human Resources, 2016, vol. 51, issue 2, 357-388

Abstract: Students receive abundant information about their educational performance, but how this information affects future educational-investment decisions is not well understood. Increasingly, results from state-mandated standardized tests are an important source of information. Students receive a score and a label that summarizes their performance on these tests. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we find persistent effects of earning a more positive label on the college-going decisions of urban, low-income students. These findings are important not only for understanding students’ educational-investment decisions and the consequences of state testing practices but also for researchers using the regression-discontinuity design.

Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.51.2.0713-5837R
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:51:y:2016:i:2:p:357-388

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