Does Extended Time Improve

Students’ Performance? Evidence from Catalonia

Ana María Costa Ramón, Laia Navarro-Solà, Patricia de Cea Sarabia

“The sixth hour policy”

• The Educational system in Catalonia

• The “National Education Pact”

• The “Sixth hour policy”

Identification strategy

• Sources of exogenous variation: Between cohorts

Between school types

Between regions

• Database: PISA

• Econometric strategy: Differences-in-differences

Results differences-in-differences

Robustness checks • Placebo estimates For periods 2003-2009, 2006-2009, 2006-2009 Main result: Significant coefficient of Reading • Parallel trend assumption

440

460

480

500

520

2003 2006 2009 2012

PRIV CAT PUB CAT

Maths (within CAT)

440

460

480

500

520

540

2003 2006 2009 2012

PRIV CAT PUB CAT

Science (within CAT)

440

460

480

500

520

2003 2006 2009 2012

PRIV CAT PUB CAT

Read (within CAT)

440

460

480

500

2003 2006 2009 2012

Basque Country Catalonia

Maths (compared with Basq Country)

440

460

480

500

2003 2006 2009 2012 Basque Country Catalonia

Read (compared with Basq Country)

440

460

480

500

2003 2006 2009 2012

Basque Country Catalonia

Science (compared with Basq Country)

Synthetic control approach

MATH READ SCIENCE

• Idea: a combination of units will resemble more to the treated unit than a unit alone.

Discussion

• Teacher quality • Implementation of other Policies • Imperfect Compliance • Short-term Effects Problem • No conclusive evidence • Very hard to predict the behaviour of Catalonia • Need of more detailed data • Importance of the analysis

Conclusions