Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
快速与勤奋？斋月遵守与学生表现
The fast and the studious? Ramadan observance and student performance
摘要
We examine how religious observance affects educational performance by studying the years in which Ramadan overlapped with the national end-of-secondary-school exams in the Netherlands. Using administrative microdata and a difference-in-differences design, we find that students who are most likely to fast obtain lower exam scores and are more likely to fail to graduate. As expected given the structure of the Dutch exam system, the increase in failure risk is concentrated among students near the pass threshold. Effects are larger in more religiously segregated schools. For longer-term outcomes, we document a substantially higher likelihood of dropping out among students aged 18 and older, who are legally permitted to leave school and therefore at risk of doing so. Finally, analyses of exam timing suggest that modest adjustments—such as avoiding scheduling two exams on the same day during Ramadan—may help reduce the disadvantages experienced by observant students.
中文摘要
我们通过研究斋月与荷兰全国中学毕业考试重叠的年份，考察宗教遵守如何影响学业表现。利用行政微观数据和双重差分设计，我们发现最可能斋戒的学生考试成绩更低，且更可能未能毕业。正如荷兰考试体系结构所预期的那样，不及格风险的上升集中在接近及格线的学生中。在宗教隔离程度更高的学校，影响更大。就较长期结果而言，我们记录了18岁及以上学生辍学的可能性显著更高，因为该年龄段在法律上被允许离开学校，因而面临辍学风险。最后，对考试时间安排的分析表明，适度调整——例如避免在斋月期间将两场考试安排在同一天——可能有助于减少遵守斋戒的学生所经历的不利影响。