The Effects of Ordinal Class Ranks on Student Performance and Motivation

In this paper I analyse the impact a student’s ordinal ranking among her classmates has on her long-term school performance. In effect, I compare students with similar grades but different rankings in their respective classes. I use data from a state-wide experiment in the US that randomised student’s allocation into classes and tracked their performances from kindergarten to the end of high school. My results generally confirm the positive effects of being ranked higher in one’s class. However, the effect is dominant only within subjects and there is inconclusive evidence for precise mechanisms.