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Do college students benefit from placement into higher-achieving classes?

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  • de Roux, Nicolás
  • Riehl, Evan

Abstract

We examine a unique admission system at a flagship Colombian university that tracked admitted students into high- and lower-ability classes in the same majors. In a regression discontinuity design, we find that marginal admits to the high-ability classes were less likely to pass their first-year courses, and less likely to earn a college degree in the long-run. These results suggest that college students may benefit when their academic preparation is high relative to that of their classmates, particularly at schools where there is a substantial risk of failing courses.

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  • de Roux, Nicolás & Riehl, Evan, 2022. "Do college students benefit from placement into higher-achieving classes?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:210:y:2022:i:c:s0047272722000718
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104669
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    Cited by:

    1. Bottan, Nicholas & Bernhardt, Dan, 2024. "Small Fish in a Big Pool : The Discouraging Effects of Relative Assessment," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1511, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    2. Oliveira, Rodrigo & Motté, Henrique & Santos, Alei, 2023. "Do disadvantaged students benefit from attending classes with more skilled colleagues? Evidence from a top university in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

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    College tracking; Academic preparation;

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