Journal of Population Economics· 2025Q1
Does testing young children influence educational attainment and wellbeing?
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2025year
Short summary
Introducing difficult math tests to young Norwegian primary school children had zero effect on their educational attainment but improved their perceptions of teaching, feedback, and engagement, with no negative impact on welfare.
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Key points
- Introduction of difficult math tests to young primary school children showed zero effect on overall educational attainment.
- Testing improved student perceptions of teaching practices, feedback, and engagement.
- No negative effects on student welfare were observed.
- Attainment effects were heterogeneous across gender and educational background.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract Should young children be tested? Proponents view early testing as a necessary instrument for early targeting. Others consider it detrimental to child mental health and with little impact on educational performance. We exploit variation in low-stakes test-taking in mathematics amongst primary school children in Norway, traditionally a low-testing environment. We examine the introduction of difficult mathematics tests. These tests were introduced to provide information for a larger randomised controlled trial (RCT) in Norwegian primary schools. We demonstrate zero effects of testing exposure on educational attainment, but evidence of heterogenous effects across gender and educational background of children. We find no negative effects on student welfare, but testing improves student perceptions of teaching practices, feedback and engagement.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Population Economics, 2025 · DOI ↗
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Field: Education
EducationSocial Sciences