Although much educational research has investigated the relative effectiveness of different educational interventions and policies, little is known about the absolute net benefits of K-12 schooling independent of growth due to chronological age and out-of-school experience. The nearly universal policy of age tracking in schools makes this a difficult topic to investigate. However, a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design can be used to separate observed test score differences between grades into independent age and schooling components, yielding an estimate of the net effects of school exposure at each grade level. In this study, a multilevel version of this design was applied to scores on 22 common ability and achievement tests from two major standardized test batteries. The ability battery contained 9 measures of Verbal, Quantitative, and Figural reasoning. The achievement battery contained 13 measures in the areas of Language, Mathematics, Reading, Social Studies, Science, and Sources of Information. The analysis was based on sample of over 20,000 students selected from a longitudinal database collected by a large U.S. parochial school system. The theory of fluid (Gf) and crystallized (Gc) intelligence predicts that these tests will show systematically different levels of sensitivity to schooling. Indeed, the achievement (Gc) tests were found to be three times more sensitive to schooling than they were to aging (one-year effect sizes of .41 versus .15), whereas the ability (Gf) tests were equally influenced by age (.18) and schooling (.19). Nonetheless, the schooling effect on most Gf tests was substantial, especially when the compounding over a typical school career is considered. This replicates the results of previous investigations of age and schooling using regression discontinuity methods and once again contradicts common interpretations of fluid ability. Different measures of a construct often exhibited varying levels of school sensitivity. Those tests that were less sensitive to schooling generally required reading, reasoning, transfer, synthesis, or translation; posed a wider range of questions; and/or presented problems in an unfamiliar format. Quantitative reasoning tests showed more sensitivity to schooling than figural reasoning tests, while verbal reasoning tests occupied a middle ground between the two. Schooling had the most impact on basic arithmetic skills and mathematical concepts, and a significantly weaker impact on the solution of math word problems. School-related gains on isolated language skills were much larger than gains on solving grammar problems in context. The weakest schooling impact overall was on reading comprehension where effects were no larger than those on verbal ability measures. An interesting dichotomy was found between spelling and paper folding (a measure of figural and spatial reasoning). Spelling skills showed robust schooling effects but a consistently negative age slope, a puzzling result which indicates that younger students in each group outperformed older students. Paper folding showed the opposite pattern, a large age effect and a small but consistently negative schooling effect. Results serve to rebut skepticism about both the impact of schooling on test scores and the validity of distinctions between ability and achievement. It is argued that the regression discontinuity design has great potential in the measurement of school effectiveness, while also offering a source of validity evidence for test developers and test users. Implications for theories of cognitive ability and future research on schooling effects are discussed.

La Tunisie a connu une forte hausse des poursuites d’études dans l’enseignement supérieur ces 20 dernières années. Les réformes imposées par l'augmentation des effectifs étudiants, ont conduit à une augmentation du nombre des établissements de l’enseignement supérieur. Un des enjeux de la Tunisie et de plusieurs pays africains est l’amélioration de l’efficacité du système éducatif afin de favoriser l’insertion professionnelle. Cette thèse se propose de s’interroger sur cette efficacité à partir d’une approche économique des rendements de l’éducation sur le marché du travail. Le premier chapitre propose une analyse des rendements privés de l’éducation dans le contexte des pays africains. Il souligne la forte hétérogénéité de ces rendements entre les pays, notamment lorsque l’on prend en compte le taux d’emploi. Le deuxième chapitre se centre sur l’effet établissement sur le rendement de l’enseignement supérieur tunisien. Les résultats suggèrent l’existence d’un effet de l’établissement sur le salaire des diplômés. La sélectivité des établissements et la qualification des enseignements semblent affecter la rémunération des diplômés. Le troisième chapitre se focalise sur l’évaluation d’une réforme des curricula de l’enseignement supérieur fournissant une éducation à l’entrepreneuriat dans les universités tunisiennes. Cette recherche, qui repose sur l’affectation aléatoire pour mesurer son impact sur les résultats sur le marché du travail ainsi que sur les compétences techniques et les compétences non cognitives des étudiants, souligne l’intérêt que peut avoir ce type de programme. / In Tunisia, enrollment rates in tertiary education had soared up over the past two decades. A significant increase of student annual flows imposed the implementation of reforms that led to an increase in the number of higher education institutions and universities. One of the challenges in Tunisia and many African countries is to improve the efficiency of education systems to promote employability and graduates employment. This thesis discuss the question of the efficiency of education from an economic approach based on returns to education in the labor market. The first chapter analyses private returns to education particularly higher education in African countries. Our findings highlight the large differences to RORE estimates across countries, particularly when it takes into account the employment rate. The second chapter focuses on the impact of university quality on labor market outcomes in Tunisia. The empirical results suggest that institutions selectivity and university professor’s qualifications seem to affect earnings of graduates. The third chapter focuses on the evaluation of reform of university curriculum providing entrepreneurship education to Tunisian university students. This research based on randomized assignment to the entrepreneurship track measure its impacts on labor market outcomes as well as on intermediary outcomes such as business skills and behavioral skills. This chapter underlines the role of entrepreneurship program.