Can Public Rankings Improve School Performance? Evidence from a Nationwide Reform in Tanzania

Jacobus Cilliers (), Isaac Mbiti and Andrew Zeitlin
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Jacobus Cilliers: Georgetown University

No 12172, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In 2013, Tanzania introduced "Big Results Now in Education", a low-stakes accountability program that published both nationwide and within-district school rankings. Using data from the universe of school performance from 2011-2016, we identify the impacts of the reform using a difference-in-differences estimator that exploits the differential pressure exerted on schools at the top and bottom of their respective district rankings. We find that BRN improved learning outcomes for schools in the bottom two deciles of their districts. However, the program also led schools to strategically exclude students from the terminal year of primary school.

Keywords: education policy in developing countries; school rankings; school accountability; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I25 I28 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2019-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-edu and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published in: Journal of Human Resources, 2021, 56 (3), 655-685

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Journal Article: Can Public Rankings Improve School Performance?: Evidence from a Nationwide Reform in Tanzania (2021)
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