Diplomas for learning, not seat time: the impacts of New York Regents examinations

Economic theory predicts that improvements in signaling of achievement generated by external exit examination systems will (1) result in students learning more and this in turn will (2) enable them to get better paying jobs. Since New York State had the only statewide curriculum-based external exit exam system in the nation in the early 1990s, hypothesis 1 predicts that New York students should out perform socio-economically comparable students from other states. Cross section analysis of mean 8th grade NAEP math scores and SAT-I scores found that New York students were indeed about one grade level equivalent ahead of where one would expect given their socio-economic background. A similar analysis of dropout rate data found no differences between New York and other states. Hypothesis 2 was tested in HSB and NLS-88 data. Female students who reported that their high school required they pass a minimum competency exam in order to graduate were paid significantly more after they graduated from high school. Men did not earn more but did get a higher hourly wage.     

Warranted uncertainty and students' knowledge and use of drugs

The ability to recognize when it is warranted to be uncertain was developed effectively in 167 elementary school students through daily 15-min lessons over a 5-week period. This initial training did not deal with drug use in any way. A 3-year follow-up evaluation measured retention of these warranted-uncertainty skills, and assessed the effects of these skills on students' use of hard and soft drugs. In comparison with the matched control subjects, there was evidence of some retention after 3 years: the trained subjects were slightly better able to recognize when it is warranted to be uncertain about the effects of drugs. There was also strong evidence that many of the controls had acquired, somehow, the ability to generate warranted uncertainty, and that warranted uncertainty functioned as a stable construct (irrespective of how it was acquired) and was related to drug use. It appeared to produce a skepticism or an analytic attitude that allowed the student to ignore peer and parental dogma about drugs.     

Mothers,fathers and daughters: Intergenerational transmission of education in Greece

This study explores the role of intergenerational mobility in the educational attainments of Greek women. We use data from the most recent Greek Household Budget Survey and the last three Greek censuses (1981, 1991 and 2001). For analytical and estimation purposes we utilize mobility indicators, regression analysis, decomposition techniques and conventional discrete choice models. Overall, our results point to the presence of substantial educational mobility across generations over the last 30 years. However, daughters’ educational attainment still depends, albeit to a lesser extent, on parental education and especially on mothers’ education. To address the remaining inequalities, policy needs to target families with poor parental educational and income backgrounds.