An empirical assessment of the absolute effect of schooling: regression‐discontinuity applied to TIMSS‐95

Abstract

This article provides an illustration of how multilevel modelling, which is the standard method for assessing the 'school effect' in school effectiveness research, can be combined with the regression-discontinuity approach. While multilevel modelling yields only estimates of relative school effects (differences between schools), the regression-discontinuity approach allows the assessment of the absolute effect of schooling (schooling versus no schooling). A combination of both approaches yields an estimate of this absolute effect and its variation between schools. This study applied the method in a secondary analysis of data derived from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).