Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1
Exam Performance and Application Choices
Notes: Figure illustrates differences in academic performance of selected secondary schools for students with the same ninth grade basic education certificate exam (BECE) scores but from low‐performing public, high‐performing public, and private junior high schools (JHSs). Secondary school performance is a normalized measure of the average percentage of students earning a credit in the math and English 12th grade secondary school certification exam (SSCE) for the period 2003–2008. Low‐performing public JHSs are those where the average BECE score of students is below the median for public schools in the country; high‐performing public JHSs are those with above‐median performance.
- Figure 2
Correlation in Secondary School Selectivity over Time
Notes: School selectivity measures the average exam score of students admitted to a secondary school in a given year.
- Figure 3
Correlation in Secondary School Selectivity over Time (Cape Coast District)
Notes: School selectivity measures the average exam score of students admitted to a secondary school in a given year.
- Figure 4
Exam Performance and Application Choices (Cape Coast District)
Notes: Figure illustrates differences in academic performance of selected secondary schools for students with the same ninth grade basic education certificate exam (BECE) scores but from low‐performing public, high‐performing public, and private junior high schools (JHSs). Secondary school performance is a normalized measure of the average percentage of students earning a credit in the math and English 12th grade secondary school certification exam (SSCE) for the period 2003–2008. Low‐performing public JHSs are those where the average BECE score of students is below the median for public schools in the country; high‐performing public JHSs are those with above‐median performance.
Tables
Full Sample Qualified Students Qualified, Low‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, High‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, Private JHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Panel A: Student Background Age 17.166 16.704 17.249 16.584 16.121 Male 0.546 0.582 0.650 0.551 0.530 Student’s BECE score 0.000 0.000 −0.627 0.242 0.529 JHS high‐performing 0.413 0.604 0.000 1.000 0.893 JHS public 0.824 0.732 1.000 1.000 0.000 JHS pass rate 0.497 0.692 0.483 0.786 0.851 JHS mean BECE score −0.318 −0.003 −0.628 0.239 0.525 JHS classmates 65.654 67.471 57.672 80.952 62.523 JHS applicants to elite SHS 14.884 20.645 7.345 25.407 31.511 JHS admits to elite SHS 2.945 5.126 0.353 5.593 10.620 Elite SHS in district 0.267 0.310 0.167 0.357 0.440 Colonial SHS in district 0.316 0.352 0.206 0.393 0.496 Category A SHS in district 0.423 0.462 0.345 0.496 0.575 Panel B: First Choice School SSCE performance 0.614 1.044 0.429 1.160 1.727 SHS selectivity 0.464 0.833 0.295 0.962 1.396 Elite 0.141 0.216 0.103 0.216 0.371 Public 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 Mixed sex 0.834 0.740 0.893 0.731 0.542 Boarding facilities 0.818 0.887 0.834 0.898 0.944 Located in JHS district 0.397 0.331 0.382 0.329 0.264 Located in JHS region 0.766 0.703 0.792 0.705 0.578 Miles from JHS 29.342 34.972 30.962 35.017 40.410 Number of programs 4.980 5.062 5.002 5.142 5.038 Number of vacancies 426.891 438.275 426.372 449.409 439.412 Panel C: Admission Outcomes Qualified for SHS admission 0.498 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 Admitted to first choice 0.274 0.268 0.297 0.250 SHS in JHS district 0.366 0.447 0.336 0.295 SHS in JHS region 0.758 0.856 0.750 0.634 Miles from JHS to SHS 32.234 27.181 33.699 37.161 Boarding student 0.650 0.547 0.694 0.730 SSCE performance 0.146 −0.295 0.267 0.581 SHS selectivity −0.038 −0.514 0.116 0.405 N 978,760 487,562 178,991 178,035 130,536 Notes: BECE is the ninth grade basic education certificate exam; SSCE is the 12th grade secondary school certification exam; JHS is junior high school; SHS is senior high school.
Panel A: Application Portfolios Average SSCE Performance of Selected Schools (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Student’s BECE 0.231*** 0.231*** 0.231*** 0.230*** 0.230*** (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) (0.002) JHS mean BECE 0.203*** 0.163*** 0.145*** 0.084*** 0.048*** (0.006) (0.007) (0.006) (0.006) (0.007) JHS public −0.180*** −0.167*** −0.147*** −0.144*** (0.010) (0.010) (0.009) (0.008) Elite SHS in district 0.093*** (0.012) Colonial SHS in district 0.015 (0.012) Category A SHS in district 0.043*** (0.010) JHS applicants to elite SHSs 0.002*** (0.000) District FEs No No No Yes Yes R2 0.375 0.390 0.401 0.470 0.482 N 487,562 487,562 487,562 487,562 487,562 Panel B: Application and Admission Application Portfolio Admission Outcomes Avg. SSCE Performance Average Selectivity SSCE Perf. of SHS Selectivity of SHS Peer Quality in SHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Student’s BECE 0.230*** 0.205*** 0.614*** 0.615*** 0.633*** (0.002) (0.001) (0.007) (0.004) (0.003) JHS mean BECE 0.084*** 0.085*** 0.141*** 0.107*** 0.111*** (0.006) (0.005) (0.008) (0.004) (0.004) JHS public −0.147*** −0.148*** −0.033*** −0.041*** −0.045*** (0.009) (0.007) (0.009) (0.005) (0.005) District FEs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes R2 0.470 0.580 0.563 0.702 0.749 N 487,562 487,562 472,542 487,562 487,562 Notes: Table reports coefficients from a set of linear regressions. Outcome of interest is indicated at the top of each column. SSCE performance measures the percentage of secondary school students who earned a credit in the 12th grade English and math exams. School selectivity measures the average ninth grade exam score of students admitted to a secondary school between 2005 and 2009. Peer quality measures the average ninth grade exam score of students admitted in the current year. Standard errors are clustered at the junior high school level and reported in parentheses; *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01.
Full Sample Qualified Students Qualified, Low‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, High‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, Private JHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Panel A: Rank Ordering by School Selectivity qi1 > qi2 > . . . > qiN 0.079 0.114 0.065 0.120 0.174 qi1 ≥ qi2 ≥ . . . ≥ qiN 0.100 0.140 0.085 0.148 0.206 qi1 = max(qi) and qiN = min(qi) 0.262 0.338 0.235 0.349 0.463 qi1 ≥ qiN 0.825 0.886 0.824 0.905 0.944 SD of school selectivity 0.621 0.687 0.601 0.696 0.792 N 978,760 487,562 178,991 178,035 130,536 Panel B: Rank Ordering by School SSCE Performance sscei1 > sscei2 > . . . > ssceiN 0.059 0.087 0.049 0.091 0.131 sscei1 ≥ sscei2 ≥ . . . ≥ ssceiN 0.079 0.111 0.068 0.117 0.161 sscei1 = max(sscei) and ssceiN = min(sscei) 0.217 0.284 0.189 0.289 0.403 sscei1 ≥ ssceiN 0.780 0.845 0.769 0.864 0.921 SD of SSCE performance 0.689 0.783 0.650 0.804 0.932 N 888,319 453,006 163,787 165,328 123,891 Notes: Table indicates the share of students whose ranking of application choices satisfies a given measure; for example, choices are strictly ranked in order of selectivity (Row 1), or choices are weakly ranked in order of selectivity (Row 2). School selectivity measures the mean ninth grade exam score of students admitted in the previous year. SSCE performance measures the percentage of secondary school students who earned a credit in the 12th grade English and math exams and is missing for schools that had not yet presented any SSCE candidates. Both are normalized to have mean zero and standard deviation of one.
Full Sample Qualified Students Qualified, Low‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, High‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, Private JHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Panel A: Application Portfolio Characteristics Standard deviation of school selectivity 0.623 0.688 0.603 0.696 0.790 Range of school selectivity 1.540 1.698 1.482 1.716 1.964 Selectivity of first choice school 0.482 0.852 0.306 0.980 1.413 Selectivity of most selective school 0.849 1.128 0.692 1.230 1.579 Selectivity of least selective school −0.691 −0.569 −0.791 −0.486 −0.385 N 973,934 484,827 176,309 177,724 130,794 Panel B: Discrete Choice Set Characteristics (First Choice + Five Next Most Selective Alternatives) Standard deviation of school selectivity 0.035 0.048 0.026 0.051 0.075 Range of school selectivity 0.090 0.123 0.067 0.129 0.191 Selectivity of first choice school 0.482 0.852 0.306 0.980 1.413 Selectivity of most selective school 0.482 0.852 0.306 0.980 1.413 Selectivity of least selective school 0.393 0.729 0.238 0.852 1.223 N 973,934 484,827 176,309 177,724 130,794 Notes: Panel A reports characteristics of the schools students submitted on their ranked‐order application lists. Panel B reports characteristics of the choice sets used for the discrete choice analysis, consisting of students’ first choice schools and the five next most selective alternatives. School selectivity measures the mean ninth grade exam score of students admitted to a secondary school in a given year. Sample includes all students with nonmissing characteristics for their first choice school.
Choice Characteristic All Qualified Students Public JHS Public JHS (ACH)a (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) SSCE performance 0.774*** 0.763*** 0.767*** 0.924*** 0.698*** 0.320*** (0.013) (0.012) (0.012) (0.021) (0.015) (0.011) Colonial 0.651*** 0.636*** 0.635*** 0.690*** 0.607*** 0.137*** (0.012) (0.011) (0.011) (0.019) (0.014) (0.034) Public 2.375*** 2.241*** 2.399*** 3.350*** 2.125*** 2.922*** (0.267) (0.255) (0.223) (0.554) (0.243) (0.084) Single sex 0.710*** 0.482*** 0.466*** 0.592*** 0.397*** 0.992*** (0.014) (0.014) (0.015) (0.021) (0.019) (0.031) Boarding facilities 1.037*** 1.160*** 1.164*** 1.349*** 1.107*** 0.903*** (0.015) (0.017) (0.017) (0.038) (0.021) (0.014) Distance −0.044*** −0.047*** −0.048*** −0.042*** −0.051*** −0.060*** (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) Student’s BECE score × SSCE performance 0.446*** 0.362*** 0.368*** 0.301*** 0.411** (0.011) (0.010) (0.010) (0.012) (0.013) × Colonial 0.071*** 0.053*** 0.063*** 0.030** 0.257*** (0.012) (0.012) (0.012) (0.015) (0.038) × Public 0.014 0.335 0.418* 0.221 −0.162* (0.379) (0.246) (0.214) (0.213) (0.093) × Single sex 0.192*** 0.101*** 0.106*** 0.086*** −0.014 (0.011) (0.014) (0.014) (0.017) (0.037) × Boarding facilities 0.244*** 0.122*** 0.130*** 0.118*** 0.307*** (0.016) (0.016) (0.016) (0.018) (0.017) × Distance 0.012*** 0.006*** 0.006*** 0.006*** 0.005*** (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) JHS mean BECE score × SSCE performance 0.138*** 0.086*** 0.079*** 0.089*** (0.018) (0.019) (0.024) (0.018) × Colonial 0.044** 0.022 0.039 −0.088** (0.018) (0.019) (0.025) (0.042) × Public −0.597 −0.882* −0.992* −0.212 (0.400) (0.469) (0.534) (0.167) × Single sex 0.135*** 0.089*** 0.118*** 0.231** (0.019) (0.020) (0.027) (0.048) × Boarding facilities 0.240*** 0.184*** 0.171*** −0.021 (0.028) (0.030) (0.035) (0.027) × Distance 0.008*** 0.006*** 0.007*** 0.004*** (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) JHS public × SSCE performance −0.216*** (0.027) × Colonial −0.087*** (0.025) × Public −1.168* (0.666) × Single sex −0.213*** (0.028) × Boarding facilities −0.237*** (0.043) × Distance −0.009*** (0.001) Students 484,827 484,827 484,827 484,827 354033 292,406 Notes: Dependent variable is an indicator for the student’s first choice school. Alternatives consist of five next most selective schools relative to the student’s first choice (measured by mean exam score of students admitted to school in previous year). Regressions also include distance squared, number of programs offered, and number of vacancies. Standard errors are clustered at the junior high school level; *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. See notes in Table 6 for Column 6.
↵a Artemov, Che, and He (2021) method.
- Table 6
Discrete Choice Model Estimates by BECE Score Decile—Artemov, Che, and He (2021) Method
Choice Characteristic (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) SSCE performance 0.252 0.299 −0.281 0.075 −0.029 0.249*** 0.403*** 0.329*** −0.045 0.275** (0.325) (0.296) (0.215) (0.139) (0.062) (0.022) (0.048) (0.084) (0.107) (0.115) Colonial 1.727 −0.562 0.300 −1.341** 0.658** 0.105 −0.112 0.466** 0.319 0.344* (4.814) (1.652) (1.054) (0.675) (0.260) (0.067) (0.149) (0.215) (0.235) (0.204) Public 1.404 1.972 3.182*** 1.636** 2.922*** 3.220*** 2.978*** 3.684*** 2.747* 3.764*** (1.475) (1.518) (1.224) (0.807) (0.388) (0.171) (0.546) (0.836) (1.549) (0.889) Single sex 1.687 0.997 0.994 1.582*** 1.422*** 1.144*** 1.346*** 0.930*** 0.711** 0.650** (1.401) (1.182) (0.840) (0.523) (0.223) (0.065) (0.168) (0.273) (0.294) (0.270) Boarding facilities −0.044 1.016*** 0.902*** 0.570*** 0.789*** 0.879*** 0.939*** 1.031*** 0.704*** 0.956*** (0.346) (0.304) (0.218) (0.156) (0.073) (0.025) (0.066) (0.126) (0.200) (0.331) Distance −0.085*** −0.071*** −0.057*** −0.055*** −0.059*** −0.061*** −0.063*** −0.064*** −0.065*** −0.069*** (0.008) (0.007) (0.005) (0.003) (0.002) (0.001) (0.001) (0.002) (0.004) (0.003) Student’s BECE score × SSCE performance 0.127 0.255 −0.313 0.144 −0.536*** 0.245 −0.135 0.244* 0.792*** 0.453*** (0.241) (0.280) (0.271) (0.254) (0.206) (0.190) (0.149) (0.126) (0.095) (0.066) × Colonial 1.276 −1.195 0.306 −2.439* 2.754*** 1.458** 1.198** −0.134 0.108 0.059 (3.704) (1.578) (1.325) (1.267) (0.922) (0.726) (0.470) (0.315) (0.207) (0.116) × Public −1.330 −1.024 −0.408 −3.051** −0.340 1.336 0.992 −1.067 −0.231 0.048 (1.036) (1.441) (1.537) (1.517) (1.395) (1.772) (1.689) (1.262) (1.356) (0.512) × Single sex 0.681 0.381 0.191 0.968 0.383 −1.068* −1.624*** −0.093 −0.020 0.065 (1.048) (1.110) (1.065) (0.956) (0.756) (0.646) (0.547) (0.404) (0.261) (0.156) × Boarding facilities −0.520** 0.540* 0.397 −0.133 0.083 0.535** 0.087 0.050 0.429** 0.378** (0.261) (0.288) (0.273) (0.282) (0.239) (0.232) (0.213) (0.192) (0.181) (0.193) × Distance −0.019*** −0.008 0.008 0.017*** 0.015*** 0.007 0.010** 0.009** 0.011*** 0.013*** (0.006) (0.006) (0.006) (0.006) (0.005) (0.005) (0.004) (0.004) (0.003) (0.002) JHS mean BECE score × SSCE performance 0.081 0.083 0.030 −0.013 0.059 −0.058 0.015 0.017 0.044 0.119*** (0.093) (0.076) (0.066) (0.056) (0.046) (0.042) (0.037) (0.032) (0.028) (0.034) × Colonial −0.344 0.849** 0.692** 0.239 0.240 0.182 −0.167* −0.063 −0.019 −0.053 (0.912) (0.380) (0.282) (0.230) (0.181) (0.131) (0.095) (0.072) (0.057) (0.065) × Public 0.521 0.163 0.625* 0.292 0.120 −0.811*** −0.809** −1.168*** −0.105 −0.989* (0.375) (0.376) (0.330) (0.311) (0.307) (0.306) (0.315) (0.356) (0.362) (0.522) × Single sex −0.142 −0.183 0.266 −0.163 0.543*** 0.181 0.114 0.299*** 0.421*** 0.197** (0.399) (0.252) (0.214) (0.177) (0.146) (0.125) (0.113) (0.089) (0.080) (0.087) × Boarding facilities 0.112 −0.039 0.003 −0.019 −0.070 −0.064 −0.039 −0.027 0.112** −0.052 (0.098) (0.078) (0.065) (0.061) (0.054) (0.050) (0.048) (0.051) (0.056) (0.117) × Distance 0.016*** 0.011*** 0.009*** 0.006*** 0.004*** 0.007*** 0.003*** 0.002*** 0.001 0.004*** (0.002) (0.002) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) (0.001) Students 22,749 30,549 33,547 32,397 33,791 31,956 31,770 29,019 25,539 21,089 Notes: Estimates using method proposed by Artemov, Che, and He (2021). Sample restricted to students admitted to a clearly feasible choice (where they scored above the fifth percentile of admitted students). Dependent variable is an indicator for the student’s assigned school. Alternatives consist of five randomly selected clearly feasible schools. Regressions also include distance squared, number of programs offered, and number of vacancies. Standard errors are clustered at the junior high school level; *p < 0.1, **p < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. Each column reports estimates from a separate regression for students in a given BECE score decile.
Application Portfolio Admission Outcomes Avg. SSCE Performance Avg. Selectivity SSCE Perf. of SHS Selectivity of SHS Peer Quality in SHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Panel A: All Qualified Students Student’s BECE 0.230*** 0.205*** 0.614*** 0.615*** 0.633*** (0.002) (0.001) (0.007) (0.004) (0.003) JHS mean BECE 0.084*** 0.085*** 0.141*** 0.107*** 0.111*** (0.006) (0.005) (0.008) (0.004) (0.004) JHS public −0.147*** −0.148*** −0.033*** −0.041*** −0.045*** (0.009) (0.007) (0.009) (0.005) (0.005) District FEs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes R2 0.470 0.580 0.563 0.702 0.749 N 487,562 487,562 472,542 487,562 487,562 Panel B: JHS in Cape Coast District Student’s BECE 0.283*** 0.236*** 0.654*** 0.659*** 0.669*** (0.022) (0.013) (0.050) (0.027) (0.028) JHS mean BECE 0.082** 0.102*** 0.234*** 0.148*** 0.175*** (0.035) (0.026) (0.032) (0.023) (0.031) JHS public −0.189*** −0.165*** 0.026 −0.016 −0.017 (0.058) (0.053) (0.059) (0.037) (0.029) District FEs No No No No No R2 0.414 0.434 0.649 0.717 0.759 N 4,185 4,185 4,042 4,185 4,185 Panel C: JHS in Cape Coast District and Applied in JHS District Only Student’s BECE 0.380*** 0.296*** 0.784*** 0.707*** 0.728*** (0.051) (0.026) (0.101) (0.053) (0.060) JHS mean BECE 0.246*** 0.233*** 0.267* 0.166** 0.192** (0.058) (0.051) (0.134) (0.074) (0.073) JHS public −0.024 0.005 0.045 0.062 0.065 (0.118) (0.098) (0.096) (0.073) (0.068) District FEs No No No No No R2 0.485 0.499 0.674 0.722 0.743 N 459 459 446 459 459 Notes: Same as Table 2.
Full Sample Qualified Students Qualified, Low‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, High‐Perf. Public JHS Qualified, Private JHS (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Panel A: Rank Ordering by School Selectivity qi1 > qi2 > . . . > qiN 0.079 0.114 0.065 0.120 0.174 qi1 ≥ qi2 ≥ . . . ≥ qiN 0.100 0.140 0.085 0.148 0.206 qi1 = max(qi) and qiN = min(qi) 0.262 0.338 0.235 0.349 0.463 qi1 ≥ qiN 0.825 0.886 0.824 0.905 0.944 SD of school selectivity 0.621 0.687 0.601 0.696 0.792 Selectivity of first choice school 0.482 0.852 0.306 0.980 1.413 N 978,760 487,562 178,991 178,035 130,536 Panel B: Rank Ordering by School Selectivity; JHS in Cape Coast qi1 > qi2 > . . . > qiN 0.119 0.176 0.129 0.172 0.212 qi1 ≥ qi2 ≥ . . . ≥ qiN 0.194 0.281 0.204 0.286 0.323 qi1 = max(qi) and qiN = min(qi) 0.373 0.503 0.362 0.499 0.602 qi1 ≥ qiN 0.898 0.954 0.934 0.952 0.972 SD of school selectivity 0.752 0.845 0.789 0.835 0.898 Selectivity of first choice school 0.955 1.429 0.897 1.419 1.797 N 8,944 4,185 859 2,026 1,300 Panel C: Rank Ordering by School Selectivity; JHS in Cape Coast and Applied Locally qi1 > qi2 > . . . > qiN 0.231 0.305 0.338 0.284 0.331 qi1 ≥ qi2 ≥ . . . ≥ qiN 0.577 0.686 0.718 0.659 0.726 qi1 = max(qi) and qiN = min(qi) 0.669 0.769 0.803 0.742 0.806 qi1 ≥ qiN 0.935 0.959 0.972 0.947 0.976 SD of school selectivity 0.678 0.740 0.750 0.738 0.737 Selectivity of first choice school 0.949 1.335 1.020 1.294 1.604 N 797 459 71 264 124 Notes: Same as Table 3.
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