CReAM Brown Bag Seminar: Paying (and paving) my way

Paper: Paying (and paving) my way: the impacts of extra class participation on primary-school pupils in Vietnam 

Abstract: Extra class, or private tutoring offered by schoolteachers to their own pupils, is a widespread phenomenon in many developing countries. This paper examines the effectiveness of extra class on pupils’ learning at primary schools in Vietnam. I find that teachers grant higher school grades to pupils attending extra class, but extra class attendance does not yield higher scores at standardized achievement tests. I interpret these results as evidence of opportunistic behavior, whereby teachers exploit their arbitrariness in awarding grades, which count for secondary school admissions, to extract rents. The extent of grade inflation is higher in institutionally underdeveloped settings. Attending extra class also generates a gap in pupils’ self-image. These findings provide relevant policy implications to align this informal sector with the country’s education system.

Seminar Link (email j.costas-fernandez@ucl.ac.uk for the seminar password)