Alternative Models of Entrance Exams and Access to Tertiary Education: A Simulation Study Cover Image

Přechod mezi střední a vysokou školou a role různých modelů přijímacích řízení
Alternative Models of Entrance Exams and Access to Tertiary Education: A Simulation Study

Author(s): Josef Basl, Jan Mysliveček, Tomáš Konečný
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav
Keywords: higher education; entrance exams; educational equity; Czech Republic

Summary/Abstract: The study evaluates the potential impact of alternative models of university entrance exams – a model based on field-specific knowledge and a model relying on general aptitude tests – in the context of the Czech education system since 1998, a system that can be described as highly stratified and suffering from a notable excess of demand for higher education over supply. Using the dataset Sonda Maturant 1998, the authors show that entrance exams based on general aptitude tests may outperform the field-specific knowledge model in terms of providing access to talented students from a lower socioeconomic background. The simulations show that under the general aptitude regime the relative chances of an applicant with a university-educated father are only one-quarter higher than the relative chances of a student with a less educated father, compared to more than a one-third difference in the case of the regime emphasising field-specific knowledge. For mother’s education, the respective odds ratios differ by the even larger margin of 28 percentage points.

  • Issue Year: 46/2010
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 43-72
  • Page Count: 29
  • Language: Czech