Can Public Rankings Improve School Performance?

Abstract

In 2013, Tanzania introduced “Big Results Now in Education” (BRN), a low-stakes accountability program that published both nationwide and within-district school rankings. Using data from the universe of school performance for 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 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.