The impacts of minimum competency exam graduation requirements on high school graduation, college attendance and early labor market success

Bishop, John H.; Mane, Ferran

doi:10.1016/s0927-5371(01)00025-2

Cited by 61 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Studies employing national data have found somewhat mixed evidence of the effects of exit exams on high school dropout/completion rates. Several studies using individual-level data from nationally-representative samples (mostly from cohorts of students graduating high school in the early 1990s) have found that state high school exit exams increase high school dropout rates among low-achieving students (Bishop and Mane 2001;Jacob 2001) or Black males (Dee 2003), though one similar study found no such effects (Warren and Edwards 2005). In contrast, a set of studies examining the relationship between state exit exam policies and state-level graduation rates generally finds no effect of exit exams on dropout rates (Carnoy and Loeb 2002;Greene and Winters 2004;Marchant and Paulson 2005;Warren and Jenkins 2005; but see Amerin and Berliner 2002 for a different result), though some of these studies have important methodological shortcomings (discussed at length in Dee and Jacob 2006;Warren et al 2006).…”

Section: High School Exit Examsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Middle School Determinants of High School Achievement and Graduation in Three California School Districts

Kurlaender¹,

Jackson²

2012

California Journal of Politics and Policy

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This paper explores early predictors of high school graduation and success. Employing 7th grade cohorts from three large California school districts (San Francisco, Fresno, and Long Beach), we investigate the role of several key middle school academic performance measures in identifying students' 11th grade academic performance, passing the California High School Exit Examination on the first attempt, and diploma receipt. We find that standardized assessments, timing of algebra, and course failures in middle school provide useful indicators of students' high school academic success. Our aim is not to identify any causal mechanism by which middle school achievement leads to high school success or failure, but rather to describe important associations that may aid policymakers and school leaders to develop strategies early in students' educational pursuit of the high school diploma.

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Section: High School Exit Examsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Middle School Determinants of High School Achievement and Graduation in Three California School Districts

Kurlaender¹,

Jackson²

2012

California Journal of Politics and Policy

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“…Wider variation across U.S. states is restricted to course graduation requirements and minimum competency exams, which assess only low-level skills in public schools and do not have consequences for university entrance. Based on a longitudinal dataset that allows linking the exam type of individual students with later labor-market outcomes, Bishop and Mane (2001) find minimum competency exams, but not mere course graduation requirements, to be positively associated with earnings.…”

Section: Previous Empirical Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Central school exit exams and labor-market outcomes

Piopiunik

Schwerdt

Woessmann

2013

European Journal of Political Economy

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Many countries use centralized exit exams as a governance devise of the school system. While abundant evidence suggests positive effects of central exams on achievement tests, previous research on university-bound students shows no effects on subsequent earnings. We suggest that labor-market effects may be more imminent for students leaving school directly for the labor market and, on rigid labor markets, for unemployment. Exploiting variation in exit-exam systems across German states, we find that central exams are indeed associated with higher earnings for students from school types directly bound for the labor market, as well as with lower unemployment. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor mayJEL-Code: I200, J240, J310, J640.

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“…Public Agenda's 2001 survey of a representative sample of employers who make hiring decisions for jobs often filled by recent high school graduates found that "Employers still voice considerable doubts about student's basic skills, but almost two-thirds (64 percent) acknowledge that students don't graduate from local schools unless they have learned what was expected of them, up from 51 percent in 1999 (Johnson et al, 2001: p. S3 (2000) found that females graduating from high schools with a minimum competency exam graduation requirement [student report] earned more than women graduating from schools without an MCE. Concern about the accuracy of student reports of the existence of a MCE at their high school led Bishop and Mane (2001a) to reanalyze HSB data using principal reports of the existence of a MCE graduation requirement. They found even larger effects.…”

Section: Effects Of Graduation Requirements On Post High School Labormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wage rate effects of MCE's appeared to be larger for students in the bottom three quarters of the test score distribution. Finally, using NELS-88 data (high school graduates in 1992) Bishop and Mane (2001b) found that students who attended school in states with MCEs earned about 7 percent more per month than students in states without MCEs.…”

Section: Effects Of Graduation Requirements On Post High School Labormentioning

confidence: 99%

Raising academic standards and vocational concentrators: Are they better off or worse off?

Bishop

Mane

2005

Education Economics

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This paper measures the impacts of tougher graduation requirements on course taking patterns, learning, college attendance and post high school labor market outcomes for vocational concentrators and nonconcentrators. Our main goal was to assess whether vocational education students were specifically affected (positively or negatively) by the policies heavy emphasis on the academic part of the high school curriculum. Our results show how requiring higher number of academic credits to graduate and introducing a Minimum Competency Exams help high school graduates to be more successful in the labor market, but reduce their chances of obtaining a college degree. Vocational concentrators are better off in MCE states. The positive signal they sent to employers reinforces the occupational skills vocational concentrators possess. Raising Academic Standards and Vocational CAHRS WP04-12Page 3 AbstractThis paper measures the impacts of tougher graduation requirements on course taking patterns, learning, college attendance and post high school labor market outcomes for vocational concentrators and non-concentrators. Our main goal was to assess whether vocational education students were specifically affected (positively or negatively) by the policies heavy emphasis on the academic part of the high school curriculum. Our results show how requiring higher number of academic credits to graduate and introducing a MinimumCompetency Exams help high school graduates to be more successful in the labor market, but reduce their chances of obtaining a college degree. Vocational concentrators are better off in MCE states. The positive signal they sent to employers reinforces the occupational skills vocational concentrators possess.

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The impacts of minimum competency exam graduation requirements on high school graduation, college attendance and early labor market success

Cited by 61 publications

References 7 publications

Investigating Middle School Determinants of High School Achievement and Graduation in Three California School Districts

Investigating Middle School Determinants of High School Achievement and Graduation in Three California School Districts

Central school exit exams and labor-market outcomes

Raising academic standards and vocational concentrators: Are they better off or worse off?

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