School reform kept pupils with lower grades out

Grade-based admission opened the doors to Bergen’s most prestigious upper secondary schools for some pupils – and closed them for others.

“Pupils who were pushed out of the most sought-after schools lost out significantly. Prioritising the highest-achieving pupils does not necessarily produce a better overall outcome,” says Kjell Gunnar Salvanes.

He is a professor at the Norwegian School of Economics' (NHH) Department of Economics.

Sunday 1 March marked the deadline for applying to upper secondary schools in Norway. For pupils hoping to choose freely among schools, strong grades are essential. They determine who secures a place at the most competitive schools.

It was not always so. In the early 2000s, pupils in Bergen were assigned to the upper secondary school closest to where they lived.

Fairer?

In autumn 2005, the system was overhauled. 

Grades from lower secondary school would now determine admission. Some believed this would make the system fairer.

Others warned it could increase social sorting.

“It was built on a meritocratic principle – a reform intended to reward the highest achievers,” the researcher says.

But Salvanes stresses that the previous system of catchment areas and proximity rules favoured those who lived closest to the most prestigious schools – typically centrally located schools with the strongest teaching staff.

“Pupils who did not live within the catchment area of the top schools, even if they had strong academic records, did not gain access. Introducing grades as the admissions criterion was meant to correct that inequality,” he says.

The crowding out effect

“The key question is whether so-called free school choice led to an improvement or gain for those who gained entry, compared with those who did not,” says Salvanes.

Because capacity at the most sought-after schools did not increase, improved access for some necessarily meant others were displaced. 

It's precisely this crowding out effect that the researchers documented.

In the study, the researchers analysed what happened to pupil cohorts before and after the change in Bergen’s admissions system. They wanted to find out how the reform affected pupils applying to academic upper secondary programmes.

High-performing girls were pulled in

Overall, the new admissions system did not lead to more pupils completing upper secondary school or progressing to higher education. 

But behind the averages lie two very different stories.

“In practice, the reform divided pupils into two groups – those who were pulled in and those who were pushed out,” says Salvanes.

The first group consisted of pupils who were pulled in. They gained entry to the most popular upper secondary schools – schools that both parents and pupils recognised as having a strong academic reputation. 

Under the old system, they would not have been admitted, because residence determined school placement.

“These pupils typically had relatively strong grades from lower secondary school. Many were girls, and they more often came from families with higher levels of education and income,” he says.

They gained access to prestigious schools. But the benefits were limited. They performed roughly as well as comparable pupils had done before the reform.

Others were pushed out

The second group consisted of pupils who were pushed out. These were pupils who would have gained entry to a popular school before 2005 but lost their place once grades became the decisive factor.

“These pupils generally had low to mid-range grades and were more likely to come from families with lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” says Salvanes.

For them, the consequences were clear.

Pupils who were crowded out of the most sought-after schools were less likely to complete upper secondary education. They were also less likely to enroll in – and complete – higher education, according to the study.

“What is most striking is that these were precisely the pupils who stood to gain the most from attending the more competitive schools,” he says.

The reform was intended to reward effort and academic ability. 

But the findings suggest that prioritising the highest achievers can produce consequences opposite to those many expected.

Reference: 

Dalla-Zuanna et al. Pulled In and Crowded Out: Heterogeneous Outcomes of Merit-Based School Choice (Abstract), American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2025. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220104

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