Class Tracks And Education Outcomes: Evidence From A Chinese University
Published online on August 10, 2017
Abstract
This article investigates the effect of being assigned to different class tracks on education outcomes in higher education. We use administrative data from a Chinese university where students are assigned to two tracks of English education. Students in the high achieving track enjoy exposure to better peers, but receive less instruction time before taking a national English test. A regression discontinuity design establishes evidence that being assigned to the high achieving track has a negligible effect. Our analysis shows that the null impact is due to the offsetting effects of instruction time and peers. (JEL I21, I23)