RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Impact of Test Score Labels on Human-Capital Investment Decisions
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 357
OP 388
DO 10.3368/jhr.51.2.0713-5837R
VO 51
IS 2
A1 John P. Papay
A1 Richard J. Murnane
A1 John B. Willett
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/2/357.abstract
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.