Academic Ranking and Neighborhood Context: What Test Scores Miss

Two children can perform exactly the same in third grade and, years later, reach the crucial admissions test with a noticeably different result. In Mexico City, one student could be about in the middle of their school's academic rankings and another in the top 5 percent. The higher position is associated with about one-third of the standard deviation higher performance on the later admissions test. The initial score had already been taken into account. This makes the academic ranking more than a table of winners and losers. It shows that the same score takes on a different meaning depending on who is around the student, what expectations the environment creates and how many opportunities there are for learning. If neighborhood and peers produce positive externalities, then local performance may reveal some of the academic potential that a national test leaves hidden.