Sticky assessments – the impact of teachers’ grading standard on pupils’ school performance

Tamás Keller ()

No 1505, Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market from Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

Abstract: This paper argues that school grades cannot be interpreted solely as a reward for a given school performance, since they also reflect teachers’ ratings of pupils. Grades therefore contain valuable information about pupils’ own – usually unknown – ability. The incorporated assessment in grade might be translated into self-assessment, which could influence the effort that pupils invest in education. Getting discounted grades in year 6 for a given level of math performance assessed using a PISA-like test has a positive effect on math test scores in year 8 of elementary education and also influences later outcomes in secondary education. The empirical analysis tries to minimize the possible bias caused by the measurement error in year 6 test scores (unmeasured ability) and employs classroom fixed-effect instrumental variable (IV) regression and difference-in-difference models. The main analysis is based on a unique Hungarian individual-level panel dataset with two observations about the same individual – one in year 6 (12/13 years old) and again two years later, in year 8 (14/15 years old) of elementary education. The data for three entire school cohorts is analyzed – approximately 140,000 individuals. Highlights • Examines the impact of teachers’ grading standards on pupils’ school performance • Takes advantage of having two different measures of pupils’ math knowledge: teacher-given grades and centralized test scores • Assumes that grades are more than test scores, since they incorporate teachers’ ratings • Tries to estimate teachers’ grading standards and minimizes unmeasured ability bias by employing IV regression and diff-in-diff approaches • Finds that year 6 grades positively influence year 8 test scores and year 10 outcomes • Argues that teachers’ assessments translate to self-assessment, which influences pupils’ effort • Concludes that grading standards in elementary school accompany pupils to secondary school

Keywords: School performance; Inflated school grades; Feedback, Good teacher; Educational panel data; Hungarian National Assessment of Basic Competencies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 I21 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2015-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-hrm and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Chapter: Sticky assessments – the impact of teachers’ grading standard on pupils’ school performance (2015)
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