PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - John P. Papay AU - Richard J. Murnane AU - John B. Willett TI - The Impact of Test Score Labels on Human-Capital Investment Decisions AID - 10.3368/jhr.51.2.0713-5837R DP - 2016 Mar 31 TA - Journal of Human Resources PG - 357--388 VI - 51 IP - 2 4099 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/2/357.short 4100 - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/2/357.full SO - J Hum Resour2016 Mar 31; 51 AB - Students receive abundant information about their educational performance, but how this information affects future educational-investment decisions is not well understood. Increasingly, results from state-mandated standardized tests are an important source of information. Students receive a score and a label that summarizes their performance on these tests. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we find persistent effects of earning a more positive label on the college-going decisions of urban, low-income students. These findings are important not only for understanding students’ educational-investment decisions and the consequences of state testing practices but also for researchers using the regression-discontinuity design.