Optimal School System and Curriculum Design: Theory and Evidence. Discussion Paper #2025.05
Saved in:
| Title: | Optimal School System and Curriculum Design: Theory and Evidence. Discussion Paper #2025.05 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Glenn Ellison, Parag A. Pathak, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Blueprint Labs, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) |
| Source: | Blueprint Labs. 2025. |
| Availability: | Blueprint Labs. 30 Wadsworth Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. e-mail: contact@mitblueprintlabs.org; Web site: https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 58 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | High Schools Secondary Education Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Curriculum Design, School Effectiveness, Outcomes of Education, Alignment (Education), Models, Selective Admission, Academic Achievement, Public Schools, Aptitude Tests, High Schools, College Entrance Examinations |
| Geographic Terms: | Massachusetts (Boston) |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, SAT (College Admission Test) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model of education production and uses it to study optimal school system and curriculum design. Curriculum design is modeled as a time-allocation problem. A school teaches students many skills and allocates time to different skills based on student characteristics. Our framework provides a novel interpretation of studies that find zero achievement effects at selective school admission cutoffs. We show that such findings may be consistent with highly effective schools implementing optimal curricula, rather than necessarily indicating ineffective schools. The interpretation depends on the alignment between measured outcome skills and skills emphasized in the curriculum. We test several model predictions using data from a prominent exam school and find supporting evidence that would be difficult to rationalize if selective schools were ineffective. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Access URL: | https://blueprintcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Optimal-School-Sytem.pdf |
| Accession Number: | ED674503 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model of education production and uses it to study optimal school system and curriculum design. Curriculum design is modeled as a time-allocation problem. A school teaches students many skills and allocates time to different skills based on student characteristics. Our framework provides a novel interpretation of studies that find zero achievement effects at selective school admission cutoffs. We show that such findings may be consistent with highly effective schools implementing optimal curricula, rather than necessarily indicating ineffective schools. The interpretation depends on the alignment between measured outcome skills and skills emphasized in the curriculum. We test several model predictions using data from a prominent exam school and find supporting evidence that would be difficult to rationalize if selective schools were ineffective. |
|---|
