Effective Schools do Exist: Low Income Children’s Academic Performance in Chile
Contributor Name:
Kavita
Chile’s educational system includes schools that serve low income students and obtain superior academic outcomes. The authors present qualitative evidence to identify school and classroom processes that might explain these results.
The authors analyzed a network of Chilean private voucher schools called Sociedad de Instrucción Primaria (SIP) using propensity score based estimation methods as well as interviews. Findings include:
- SIP students’ achievement is not due to observables or selection on measured variables;
- SIP schools are unique because they have children’s learning as a central and permanent goal, one which is shared by the community and drives its efforts;
- SIP schools are also able to employ certain strategies because they are a network of schools, which stand-alone schools could find expensive.