Caterina Calsamiglia looks at whether tests are a good way of measuring ability

GSEM Visiting Professor Caterina Calsamiglia presents her research on if one exam can predict how well a person will do in the university entrance exams.

Professor Calsamiglia uses historical data on test scores of children in schools to construct a predictive model. That prediction is then compared with the actual test score that the students received in the high-stakes college entrance exams in Catalunya.

An immense amount of data is available about the individuals, such as their test scores in school, the school that they went to, the neighborhood, and their socioeconomic situation. However, this data is not very efficient at predicting how well the individual will do in this one-shot exam. Despite having this data, only one test is being used to determine a student's college admittance.

Caterina Calsamiglia is a Visiting Professor in Applied Econometrics at the GSEM’s Institute of Economics and Econometrics. Her research focuses on market and public policy design, with a particular interest in education.

This video is part of a planned series launched by the Institute of Economics and Econometrics highlighting research carried out within the School.

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