Peer effects on student academic performance: evidence from higher education

Students’ performance is shaped by their educational environment. One important
factor that has received increasing attention in the literature is the role of peer effects among classmates. In the context of an elite higher education institution, we examine how classmates’ abilities influence individual academic performance. We estimate the impact of average classmate ability on math and language outcomes, as well as the nonlinear effects based on the distribution of high-ability students across classrooms.