Lucas and Mbiti (2014)

Question 1

research question

Answer 1

do better “quality” schools improve test scores?

did admission to one of these elite schools improve high school graduation and/or test score outcomes four years later?

do elite schools produce the most human capital? or simply select the best students?

Question 2

background

Answer 2

Kenya as a good setting to test this question

government admitted highest scoring students to a group of “elite” national and provincial schools according to strict test score criteria in the KCPE
- sharply-tiered system of secondary schools

elite schools have more and better teachers and facilities, and also other students with higher test scores

Question 3

admission cutoffs

Answer 3

separate cutoffs by gender in each district

goal of the government to ensure there is a mix of people all over Kenya at national schools with a gender balance

threshold for admission depends on how many people want to go to that school

Question 4

what data do they look at?

Answer 4

zooming in on the subset of people who are close to the admissions threshold for national schools

Question 5

not a perfectly sharp RD

Answer 5

imperfect compliance

not everyone who is admitted goes, so seats open up that can be filled

Question 6

elite schools and later educational outcomes

Answer 6

no detectable impacts on school completion rates and no overall impacts on test scores

everyone is a good student to start but being in a better “quality” school doesn’t change test score

Question 7

only area where there are significant and large gains

Answer 7

Swahili language test scores (0.25sd)

more teaching time dedicated to teaching Swahili in national schools

more multi-ethnic populations at national schools (compared to provincial or district schools) which means more opportunities to regularly speak Swahili

Question 8

issues with the study

Answer 8

might not capture all the benefits of attending an elite school (too narrow)

inability to link up results with other records to understand labour market outcomes
- can’t understand long-run effects

broad limitation is that they didn’t run their own survey

Question 9

theories of how education can transform women’s lives in SSA

Answer 9

modernisation view
- inevitable shift towards pro-democratic, secular, non-ethnic and egalitarian attitudes

education as a tool to reinforce authority
- countries/states/governments using educational curricula to create a certain national myth/narrative/understanding of key national events to reinforce power and authority

education enhancing autonomy within the household (choice of one’s spouse)