Using Maimonides' Rule to Estimate the Effect of Class Size on Scholastic Achievement
Abstract
The twelfth century rabbinic scholar Maimonides proposed a maximum class size of 40. This same maximum induces a nonlinear and nonmonotonic relationship between grade enrollment and class size in Israeli public schools today. Maimonides' rule of 40 is used here to construct instrumental variables estimates of effects of class size on test scores. The resulting identification strategy can be viewed as an application of Donald Campbell's regression-discontinuity design to the class-size question. The estimates show that reducing class size induces a significant and substantial increase in test scores for fourth and fifth graders, although not for third graders.
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Regression discontinuity approaches followed early contributions by Angrist and Lavy (1999) and Hahn, Todd, and Van der Klaauw (2001).
“Regression discontinuity approaches start gaining popularity around 2000, following the early contributions by authors such as Angrist and Lavy (1999) and Hahn, Todd, and Van der Klaauw (2001), which were circulated as NBER working papers a couple of years prior.”
From Technology and Big Data Are Changing Economics: Mining Text to Track Methods (2020) · cites this paper as Angrist and Lavy (1999)
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Thistlethwaite, D. L., & Campbell, D. T. (1960) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0044319 · Cited by 1,469 · see citing works
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“Angrist and Lavy (1999) applied the design to investigate the effect of class size on student achievement.”
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- Authors
- Angrist, J. D., & Lavy, V.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- Venue
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1999-05-01
- Volume
- 114
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 533-575
- ISSN
- 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-4650
- OpenAlex
- W4240884942
- Cited by
- 1,482
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 43 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 90 · 2019: 59 · 2018: 66 · 2017: 153 · 2016: 137 · 2015: 61 · 2014: 68 · 2013: 67 · 2012: 49
- FWCI
- 96.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Environments and Student Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Educational Assessment and Improvement
- Keywords
- class size, academic performance, test scores, regression discontinuity design, instrumental variables, primary education, education policy
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