Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/202839 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 65
Publisher: 
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza (DISCE), Milano
Abstract: 
We exploit Italian law DPR 81/2009, which determines class composition, as an instrument to identify the causal effect of grouping students of different grades into a single class (multigrading) on children cognitive achievement. This article focuses on 7-year-old students - those at the beginning of their formal education. Results suggest that attendance in multigrade classes versus single-grade classes increases students' performance on standardized tests by 15-20 percent of a standard deviation. The positive impact of multigrading only appears for children sharing their class with peers from higher grades and is relatively stronger for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Subjects: 
Multigrade classes
child development
peer effects
rural areas
JEL: 
I26
I28
R53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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