Volume 63 No.1 - 2017-03-31

Rather Be a Big Fish in a Little Pond? The Impact of Class Ranking on Academic Performance

寧為雞首,不為牛後? 班級排名對個人學業能力的影響

Author：
Hao-Chun Cheng, Wan-Chi Chen / 鄭皓駿、陳婉琪
Keyword：
big-fish-little-pond effect, peer effect, social comparison, academic performance / 大魚小池、同儕效應、社會比較、學業能力
  • Summary
  • Chinese Summary
  • Reference
  • Scholarly references
Existing literature investigating the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE) emphasizes the dependence of academic achievements and self-evaluations on students’ levels of performance in comparison to those of other students. Being a “small fish” (and the self-evaluations that result from it) is often assumed to negatively affect one’s intellectual developments. However, studies of peer effect imply that being surrounded by more extraordinary peers (i.e., being a small fish in a big pond) also benefits students’ intellectual development. It is therefore necessary to separate the ranking effect from the peer effect if we want to evaluate either of the two. Using the data from Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS), this study attempts to provide a more adequate estimate of BFLPE by first-difference models. Our analysis indicates that, the academic performances of fellow students being controlled, higher class rankings are beneficial for low-achievers’ academic progresses but disadvantageous for those of high-achievers.It also suggests that the average academic performance of a student’s peers has a uniformly positive effect, although it is stronger for low achievers. This study contributes to existing knowledge by showing that BFLPE may not be a homogeneous effect for different groups.