Schooling and the AFQT: Evidence from School Entry Laws

Elizabeth Cascio and Ethan Lewis

No 1481, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Is the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) a measure of achievement or ability? The answer to this question is critical for drawing inferences from studies in which it is employed. In this paper, we test for a relationship between schooling and AFQT performance in the NLSY 79 by comparing test-takers with birthdays near state cutoff dates for school entry. We instrument for schooling at the test date with academic cohort – the year in which an individual should have entered first grade – in a model that allows age at the test date to have a direct effect on AFQT performance. This identification strategy reveals large impacts of schooling on the AFQT performance of racial minorities, providing support for the hypothesis that the AFQT measures school achievement.

Keywords: achievement; ability; education; AFQT; school entry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J15 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2005-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Published - published in: Journal of Human Resources, 2006, 41(2), 294-318

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Related works:
Working Paper: Schooling and the AFQT: evidence from school entry laws (2005)
Working Paper: Schooling and the AFQT: Evidence from School Entry Laws (2005)
Working Paper: Schooling and the AFQT: Evidence from School Entry Laws (2004)
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