
Do Schools Matter for High Math Achievement? - nanis
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20140308
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nanis
Abstract: This paper uses data from the American Mathematics Competitions to
examine the rates at which different high schools produce high-achieving math
students. There are large differences in the frequency with which students
from seemingly similar schools reach high achievement levels. The distribution
of unexplained school effects includes a thick tail of schools that produce
many more high-achieving students than is typical. Several additional analyses
suggest that the differences are not primarily due to unobserved differences
in student characteristics. The differences are persistent across time,
suggesting that differences in the effectiveness of educational programs are
not primarily due to direct peer effects.

