The Effectiveness of Single-Sex Schools through Out-of-School Activities: Evidence from South Korea
Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 81, no. 2 (2019): 369-393.
49 Pages Posted: 18 May 2015 Last revised: 28 Sep 2019
Date Written: May 18, 2015
Abstract
Students’ out-of-school activities and time use can play a crucial role in facilitating school effectiveness. Using data from Seoul, South Korea, where the assignment of students into schools is random, we show that single-sex high schools affect the out-of-school activities of boys only, while private high schools affect the out-of-school activities of both genders. Similarly, all-boys schools and private schools, but not all-girls schools, show positive effects on students’ test scores. The effects of school types on test performance weaken once students’ out-of-school activities are controlled for. Thus, school effectiveness is likely to depend on how students’ out-of-school behaviors respond to school inputs.
Keywords: out-of-school activities, homework, test scores, school effectiveness, single-sex schooling, private schooling
JEL Classification: I21, I28, J22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation