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ifo Education Survey 2021: Overcoming societal challenges
Which education policy measures do Germans favor to address the societal challenges revealed during the coronavirus pandemic? To find out, the ifo Education Survey 2021 surveyed more than 4,000 adults. Large majorities favor compulsory online instruction in the event of school closures (74%) and more intensive support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (83%). 77% of respondents are in favor of mandatory use of computers in schools even after the pandemic. There is similarly high approval for digital learning platforms, online consultation hours for parents, and explanatory videos. More than 75% are in favor of teaching democratic, scientific, and economic skills in secondary schools. Large majorities also support national educational standards and regular comparative tests for these fundamental societal competencies, as well as corresponding training for teachers and continuing education opportunities for all citizens. more...
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National Academy of Sciences: Economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic poses new challenges for economic and social policy in the medium and long term. In four thematic blocks, the new statement of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, to which Ludger Woessmann contributed, presents diagnoses of the status quo and derives options for political action. Under what conditions can existing growth potential be leveraged? How can measures in education and training, gender equality and social security reduce inequality? How can the causes of limitations in the performance of state institutions be addressed? What is the state of the sustainability of public finances? more...
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Informing about returns fails to close educational aspiration gap
74% of Germans with a university degree, but only 36% of those without, favor a university education for their child. Similarly, 75% of adolescents with university-educated parents, but only 51% of those without, aspire to a university degree. In a study just published in the journal Economica, Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann
from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education show that this gap in educational aspirations does not close if people are informed about the returns and costs of studying. The effect of experimentally providing such information is at least as strong for those with a university background as for those without. Correspondingly, there seems limited scope for general information campaigns to reduce educational inequality. more...
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Binding teacher recommendations raise student achievement
Depending on the German federal state, either teachers or parents have the discretion to decide which secondary school track a child may attend after primary school. What is the impact of these admission rules? In her new ifo Working Paper,
Elisabeth Grewenig from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education finds that binding teacher recommendations improve student achievement in fourth grade, prior to track assignment. Effects are driven by increased time investments in students' skill development. They persist into ninth grade. Overall, the results suggest that binding teacher recommendations rather than parental discretion can lead to lasting improvements in students' educational performance. more...
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Lower intensity of school tracking increases student achievement
What is the impact of reducing the intensity of school tracking? To investigate this question, Marc Piopiunik
from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education studies education reforms in eight German states which typically combined the two lower secondary school tracks. Using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), he finds that reducing the tracking intensity significantly improved students' reading achievement. Lower-performing student groups – boys, students born abroad, and students from lower socio-economic status families – benefited in particular. The reforms also increased the math achievement for these groups. In contrast, there are no effects on acquiring an intermediate school degree, attending the academic school track, or repeating a grade. more...
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Common Core State Standards have unintended effects
What is the impact of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the US on non-covered subjects? Benjamin Arold
from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and Danish Shakeel
from Harvard University explore this question in their new ifo Working Paper. From 2010 onwards, most US states aligned their education standards by adopting the CCSS for math and English but not for other subjects. The authors show that the CCSS had negative effects on student achievement in non-targeted subjects. The negative effects are largest for disadvantaged students. Using teacher surveys, the authors show that the CCSS reduced instructional focus on non-targeted subjects. more...
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Informing about university earnings premium raises support for tuition
Higher education finance is partly based on the public's preferences for charging tuition. To test whether public support for tuition depends on earnings information, Philipp Lergetporer and Ludger Woessmann
from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education devise survey experiments in representative samples of the German electorate. The electorate is divided, with a plurality opposing tuition. Providing information on the university earnings premium raises support for tuition by 7 percentage points, turning the plurality in favor. By contrast, information on fiscal costs and unequal access does not affect public preferences. more...
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IN THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Further evidence that Common Core did real harm to U.S. education
forbes.com covers the study by Benjamin Arold and Danish Shakeel on the Common Core State Standards.
Is education no longer the 'great equalizer'?
The nytimes.com reports on the research by Eric Hanushek, Paul Peterson, Laura Talpey, and Ludger Woessmann on educational inequality in the US.
How mentoring can help students
The74million.org cites Ludger Woessmann on the positive effects of mentoring programs.
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Germans want sustained digitization of schools
The results of the ifo Education Survey 2021 are covered by spiegel.de, Zeit Online, handelsblatt.com, Deutschlandfunk, nzz.ch, bildungsklick.de, mdr.de, and many others.
Large majority in favor of compulsory online teaching in case of school closures
Interviews with Philipp Lergetporer on the ifo Education Survey 2021 on
tagesschau24, Deutschlandfunk Campus und Karriere, radioeins rbb, and SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz.
Schools were the forgotten places of the pandemic
Interview with Ludger Woessmann in the FOCUS magazine on the Corona crisis management and the fear of a lost generation.
Corona loser education?
Larissa Zierow in the discussion round "Wortwechsel" of Deutschlandfunk Kultur on learning during the pandemic.
Which children suffer most from school closures
Interview with Larissa Zierow in the Augsburger Allgemeine.
Leopoldina fears growing inequality due to Corona
Zeit Online, sueddeutsche.de, handelsblatt.com, and mdr.de report on the statement of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, among many others.
Learning from the education crisis
Ludger Woessmann in an interview with Jan-Martin Wiarda on the statement of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
Low-income families are struggling particularly during Corona
tagesschau.de, Business Insider, theeuropean.de, br.de, and noz.de quote Benjamin Arold on the survey on the situation of lower-income families during Corona.
Corona pandemic has little impact on youth unemployment in Germany
Quoting Lavinia Kinne, tagesschau.de and n-tv.de cover the article in the CESifo Forum on youth unemployment in OECD countries.
We must not sleep through another summer
welt.de covers the article by Ludger Woessmann in the ifo series on the next legislative period in the ifo Schnelldienst.
We need mentoring programs
Article by Ludger Woessmann on fluter.de on how disadvantaged students can be supported.
Making up learning losses
The study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education on lost learning time during Corona is picked up on Deutschlandfunk, Zeit Online, sueddeutsche.de, taz.de, rp-online.de, n-tv.de, and taz.de.
Those who can afford it
The calculation of later income losses in case of prolonged school closures is again discussed on zeit.de, sueddeutsche.de, and nwzonline.de.
The student at your side
taz.de reports on the evaluation of the mentoring program "Rock Your Life!" by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education.
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SELECTED EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS
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CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Education
On September 3 and 4, 2021, the CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Education took place – this time as a hybrid event in Munich and online. Also in this format, participants benefited from excellent presentations and networking opportunities with leading international education economists. The full program can be found here.
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Press conference on the ifo Education Survey 2021
The results of the ifo Education Survey 2021 on "Education Policy to Address Societal Challenges During and After Corona" were presented at a press conference, which is available online.
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ifo podcast "Education in lockdown - the Corona record of schools"
In the ifo podcast series "Economy for All", Katharina Werner and Larissa Zierow talk about education policy during Corona. The contribution can be listened to here.
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Podcast "How school closures translated into learning losses"
Contribution by Ludger Woessmann in the Education Next podcast series "The Education Exchange".
Interview series of the Academy for Innovative Education and Management
Katharina Werner and Larissa Zierow interviewed on the topic of "School and education during the Corona crisis".
Keynote "Mentoring and the life chances of disadvantaged children"
Ludger Woessmann's keynote speech at the digital expert meeting of "Balou and You" and "Rock Your Life!" can be watched here.
Live talk "Learning after the Corona crisis – How fit are our schools?"
Larissa Zierow participated in a web talk with Torsten Herbst (MP) and Katja Suding (MP) in June 2021.
Web talk "Education thought big"
The panel discussion of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in which Ludger Woessmann participated can be watched online.
Participation in scientific conferences and seminars
Numerous researchers from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education presented their work at international conferences and seminars, e.g., the CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education, the EEA-ESEM Conference, the 77th Annual Congress of the IIPF, the 6th International NEPS Conference, the 34th Annual Conference of the European Society for Population Economics, the Bavarian Young Economists' Meeting, the International Workshop on Applied Economics of Education, the Conference on Genes, Social Mobility, and Inequalities across the Life-Course, the Workshop on Gender and the Labour Market, and many more.
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Articles in refereed journals
Silvia Angerer, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer, and Matthias Sutter, "The Effects of Language on Patience: An Experimental Replication Study of the Linguistic-Savings Hypothesis in Austria", Journal of the Economic Science Association, forthcoming.
Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer, and Matthias Sutter, "Collective Intertemporal Decisions and Heterogeneity in Groups", Games and Economic Behavior 130, 131-147, 2021.
Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann, "Does Ignorance of Economic Returns and Costs Explain the Educational Aspiration Gap? Representative Evidence from Adults and Adolescents", Economica 88 (351): 624-670, 2021.
Working papers
Silvia Angerer, E. Glenn Dutcher, Daniela Glätzle-Rützler, Philipp Lergetporer, and Matthias Sutter, "The Formation of Risk Preferences Through Small-Scale Events", Discussion Paper of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, August 2021.
Benjamin Arold and Danish Shakeel, "The Unintended Effects of the Common Core State Standards on Non-Targeted Subjects", ifo Working Paper 354, June 2021.
Elisabeth Grewenig, "School Track Decisions and Teacher Recommendations: Evidence from German State Reforms", ifo Working Paper 353, May 2021.
Philipp Lergetporer and Ludger Woessmann, "Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments", CESifo Working Paper 9102, May 2021.
Marc Piopiunik, "How Does Reducing the Intensity of Tracking Affect Student Achievement? Evidence from German State Reforms", CESifo Working Paper 9214, August 2021.
Further articles
Clara Albrecht, Vera Freundl, Lavinia Kinne, and Tanja Stitteneder, "'Corona Class of 2020': A Lost Generation?", CESifo Forum 22(4): 53-58, 2021.
Benjamin Arold, Vera Freundl, Katja Werkmeister, and Larissa Zierow, "Wie geht es einkommensschwächeren Familien in der Coronakrise?", ifo Schnelldienst 74(6): 46-49, 2021.
Vera Freundl, Philipp Lergetporer, and Larissa Zierow, "Germany's Education Policy During the COVID-19 Crisis", Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaften 31, 109-116, 2021.
German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, "Ökonomische Konsequenzen der Coronavirus-Pandemie – Diagnosen und Handlungsoptionen", Halle: Leopoldina, 2021.
Sven Resnjanskij, Jens Ruhose, Simon Wiederhold, and Ludger Woessmann, "Mentoring Improves the Labor-Market Prospects of Disadvantaged Adolescents", CESifo Forum 22(4): 38-43, 2021.
Ludger Woessmann, "Bildung für Wirtschaftswachstum und Chancengleichheit", ifo Schnelldienst 74(7), 15-17, 2021.
Ludger Woessmann, "Corona und die Folgen: Eine (nicht nur) bildungsökonomische Perspektive", impaktmagazin spezial: 20-39, 2021.
Ludger Woessmann, "Priorität für Bildung", frei.hessen 1/2021: 16-17, 2021.
Ludger Woessmann, Vera Freundl, Elisabeth Grewenig, Philipp Lergetporer, and Katharina Werner, "Bildungspolitik zur Bewältigung gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen während und nach Corona", ifo Schnelldienst 74(9), 2021.
Ludger Woessmann and Larissa Zierow, "Coronabedingte Schulschließungen und Bildungsgerechtigkeit", Deutschland & Europa 38 (81): 70-75, 2021.
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Having successfully completed her PhD in June 2021, Elisabeth Grewenig left the ifo Center for the Economics of Education to take up a postdoc position at ZEW in Mannheim. Congratulations!
Philipp Lergetporer will take over a professorship at the TUM School of Management of the Technical University Munich (Heilbronn Campus) in mid-September. We warmly congratulate him and are pleased that he will remain associated with the ifo Institute as research professor.
After many years of employment at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education, Marc Piopiunik joins Allianz in September. All the best for the new job!
Katharina Werner will spend the academic year 2021/22 at the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University.
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