The effects of a high school curriculum reform on university enrollment and the choice of college major

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

This paper evaluates the effects of a high school curriculum reform on students’ probability to enroll at university and to choose a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) major. The reform increased the difficulty of graduating from high school by increasing the instruction time in core subjects and by raising the graduation requirements. Based on administrative data covering all students, the analysis is carried out by applying a difference-in-differences model. The results show that the reform increased university enrollment rates for both genders. With regard to choosing STEM as college major, we find a robust positive effect on males.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEducation Economics
Volume26
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)321-336
ISSN0964-5292
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Feb 2018

    Research areas

  • choice of college major, High school curriculum, reform evaluation, STEM, university education

ID: 210838446