(In)Equality of Opportunity, Mentoring, and Critical Educational Decisions

(In)Equality of Opportunity, Mentoring, and Critical Educational Decisions

(with Armin Falk and Fabian Kosse)

Abstract:

Inequality of opportunity strikes when two children with the same abilities and academic performance are sent to di fferent quality schools because their parents diff er in socio-economic status. Based on a novel dataset for Germany, we demonstrate that children are significantly less likely to enter the highest quality school track if their parents are poor, even after conditioning  on a rich set of ability and performance measures. We then provide causal evidence that a low-intensity mentoring program can reduce inequality of opportunity and boost children's education outcomes. Low socio-economic status children, who were randomly assigned to a mentor for the duration of one year, are 20 percent more likely to enter the high track in grade 5. The e ffect is particularly pronounced among children who grow up in poverty, and seems to be driven by a change in parental decision-making and teacher recommendations alike.