Student Selection and Performance in Higher Education: Admission Exams vs. High School Scores

ABSTRACT

In many countries, students are selected into higher education institutions based on their achievement at high school, measured by scores given by their teachers and obtained on final national exams. This paper compares these two measures in terms of their ability to predict students’ success in higher education. Accounting for sample selection problems, we find that the high school score is a stronger predictor of students’ performance at university. However, the score obtained in the mathematics national exam still adds information. We conclude that both measures are complementary, a result that is relevant for university recruitment and selection policies.

WITH

Pedro Luis Silva,  University of Nottingham (UoN), Nottingham,

Carmo Seabra, Nova School of Business and Economics

Ana Balcão Reis, Nova School of Business and Economics

Miguel Alves, European investment Fund

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About Authors

Luís Catela Nunes

Nova Faculty Affiliate

Luís Catela Nunes is a Professor of Applied Econometrics at Nova School of Business and Economics, where he has served as President of the Pedagogical Council, Deputy Dean for Research, and Head of its Research Unit. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.