2003 - Does Peer Ability Affect Student Achievement?

Attribution: Hanushek, Eric A., Kain, John F., Markman, Jacob M., & Rivkin, Steven
Researchers: Eric A. HanushekJacob M. MarkmanJohn F. KainSteven Rivkin
University Affiliation: Stanford University; University of Texas at Dallas; Amherst College
Email: hanushek@stanford.edu
Research Question:
After removing the fixed effects of students, family, and schools, does peer achievement affect individual student achievement?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Journal of Applied Economics
Journal Entry: Volume 18 Pp.527-544
Year: 2003
Findings:

A 0.1 standard deviation increase in peer average achievement leads to

roughly a 0.02 increase in achievement. Given that one standard

deviation in peer average achievement is 0.35 of a standard deviation

of the student test score distribution, this point estimate suggests that

differences in peer characteristics have a substantial effect on the

distribution of achievement, when cumulated over the entire school

career.

Keywords: Academic AchievementPeer EffectsRegions: SouthMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Mathematical modelsAnalysis Methods: Fixed Effects Regression Models Sampling Frame:Students who attended third grade in 1992 in Texas, USA
Sampling Types: RandomAnalysis Units: IndividualData Types: Quantitative-Panel Data
Data Description:

Dataset: University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Texas Schools Project Data

Description: Three cohorts of students in Texas public elementary

schools beginning with students who attended third grade in 1992.

Each cohort contains over 200,000 students representing 3,000 public

schools.

Sample: The selected sample used in the analysis includes data for

grades three through six for the three successive cohorts. Only black,

Hispanics and white students are included. LEP and special education

students are excluded from the analysis.

DV: individual student achievement on standardized mathematics exams

IV: peer achievement, controlling for student effects, family effects,

school effects

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts