PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jacobus Cilliers
AU  - Isaac M. Mbiti
AU  - Andrew Zeitlin
TI  - Can Public Rankings Improve School Performance?
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.56.3.0119-9969R1
DP  - 2021 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 655--685
VI  - 56
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/56/3/655.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/56/3/655.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2021 Jul 01; 56
AB  - 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.