Effects of Differences in the Composition of Schools and Classes on Educational Outcomes

• In Event: Compositional or Cohort Effects on Educational Outcomes

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the extensive literature about composition effects in order to educate the general public, especially American politicians, who concentrate on the outcomes of schooling which are often achievement test scores. Those people rarely understand how characteristics of students in classrooms and schools greatly affect the outcomes used to assess how those classrooms and schools are progressing. Furthermore, the compositional effects of those classes and schools are of considerable magnitude.

Author

• David C. Berliner, Arizona State University