@article {Kimbrough304, author = {Erik O. Kimbrough and Andrew D. McGee and Hitoshi Shigeoka}, title = {How Do Peers Impact Learning? An Experimental Investigation of Peer-to-Peer Teaching and Ability Tracking}, volume = {57}, number = {1}, pages = {304--339}, year = {2022}, doi = {10.3368/jhr.57.1.0918-9770R2}, publisher = {University of Wisconsin Press}, abstract = {Classroom peers presumably influence learning by teaching each other. Unfortunately, little is known about peer-to-peer teaching because it is rarely observed in field studies. The efficacy of this teaching likely depends on the ability of one{\textquoteright}s peers. We investigate the mechanisms of peer effects experimentally to establish the importance of peer-to-peer teaching and how it is affected by ability tracking{\textendash}grouping students of similar ability. While peer-to-peer teaching improves learning among low-ability subjects, the positive effects are offset by tracking. Tracking reduces peer-to-peer teaching, suggesting that low-ability subjects suffer from the absence of high-ability peers to teach them.}, issn = {0022-166X}, URL = {https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/1/304}, eprint = {https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/1/304.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Human Resources} }