Abstract
Many universities created optional information policies—e.g., allowing students to replace grades with “credits” and making test scores optional—during the COVID pandemic. We leverage data from such informational-optional programs at two large, selective universities to study the equity implications of such policies, which are increasingly prevalent in educational institutions and beyond. Specifically, we study policies wherein students could choose to take a class for “credit” (pass/fail) after learning their grades. We find that women are substantially less likely to conceal grades below their GPA when given this option, lowering their relative GPA. That is, our findings show that optional information policies can create unexpected disparities because women are more likely to reveal damaging information about their performance than men. Using an experiment with real employers, we then show some of the consequences of a gender gap in concealing information. We find that a relative decrease in women's GPA as caused by the policy leads to a decrease in employers' intent to interview them, and that women are penalized relative to men when they conceal information about their performance. Additional results from a student survey speak to the drivers of this gender gap in concealing grades.
The seminar will be held in room 1249 (12th floor) at Eilert Sundts Hus. The address is Moltke Moes vei 31.