IZA Newsroom:
The costly consequences of just failing a high-stakes exam
7 May 2018
A new study by IZA fellows Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally with Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela (all researchers at the London School of Economics) analyzes the benefits (or costs) for students who just pass (or fail) to meet a key threshold in these exams. More specifically, evidence is presented on the importance of just obtaining a grade C in GCSE English Language (which is the form of English exam undertaken by 72% of students in the cohort under study).