The impact of attending an independent upper secondary school : Evidence from Sweden using school ranking data

• This paper provides a comprehensive study on how attending a Swedish Independent upper secondary school affects students’ academic and short-term post-secondary outcomes. Beyond having access to population registers that measure school attendance and student outcomes, we are able to control for student preferences for independent provision, as stated in school application forms. The results from a CEM/VAM approach suggest a positive independent school effect on: final GPA, test results in English and Swedish, the likelihood to graduate on time, and attending post-secondary education. However, we also find a larger discrepancy between the final grade and the standardized test result among the independent school students, in a way that accords with more lenient grading practices among independent schools. Results from an alternative difference-in-difference analysis around admission thresholds yielded no additional insights, due to imprecise estimates.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Nationalekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Private provision

mixed markets

voucher school reform

upper secondary education

Economics

nationalekonomi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

rap (subject category)