Schooling and the AFQT: Evidence from School Entry Laws / Elizabeth U. Cascio, Ethan G. Lewis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cascio, Elizabeth U.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Lewis, Ethan G.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w11113.

NBER working paper series no. w11113

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Schooling and the AFQT

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2005.

Summary:

Is the Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) a measure of achievement or ability? The answer to this question is critical for drawing inferences from studies in which it is employed. In this paper, we test for a relationship between schooling and AFQT performance in the NLSY 79 by comparing test-takers with birthdays near state cutoff dates for school entry. We instrument for schooling at the test date with academic cohort - the year in which an individual should have entered first grade - in a model that allows age at the test date to have a direct effect on AFQT performance. This identification strategy reveals large impacts of schooling on the AFQT performance of racial minorities, providing support for the hypothesis that the AFQT measures school achievement.

Notes:

Print version record

February 2005.