The Rural-Urban Student Performance Gap in Colombia

This paper explores the determinants of rural-urban student performance in Colombia, a nation characterized by pronounced inequality. Using quantile regression, a student-level education production function at different points along the achievement distribution is estimated. Using the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition, estimates are provided to explain the achievement differential between urban–rural students. These estimates account for various factors including individual, family, and school characteristics. Results indicate that mean differences in performance between students in rural and urban Colombian schools are significant. Observable factors, especially school characteristics, are the main drivers of the performance gap. Substantial differences are observed when different test percentiles of the performance distribution are considered. Our results suggest that one way in which education can reduce student performance gaps is by investing in improving school quality in rural areas.