Student Body Composition and School Performance: Evidence from Norway

Abstract

The relationship between student achievement gains and the student body composition in Norwegian upper secondary schools is investigated using a multi-level model that takes explicit account of the assignment of students to departments. A reference frontier that represents the best practice among the schools is estimated, and inefficient schools and inefficient departments are identified. It is then shown that student achievement gains vary substantially between efficient schools of different size and different student body composition. Some suggestive evidence about the relationship between achievement gains in efficient schools and the student body composition is presented.