Abstract
The research examined the impact of the “Regular Bagrut (matriculation) Track” ("MBR") in 2010–15 on result variables in the short term. The MBR is a 3-year program operated in high schools to reduce dropout rates and to increase the eligibility rates for the Bagrut matriculation diploma among students from a weaker socioeconomic background, whose schooling achievements in middle school were low. In order to overcome the selection problem in the entry to the program, we utilized the excess demand and acceptance criteria, and used Propensity Score Matching to create a control group of candidates whose data matched MBR classes but were not included in those classes, rather studying in regular classes. The results of the research indicate that participation in an MBR class leads to a decline of 3.2 percentage points in the dropout rate and to an increase of 4.8 percentage points in the eligibility rates for the Bagrut matriculation diploma. The effects are stronger among boys and among students in the Arab school system, where the program leads to a decline of 6.2 percentage points in the dropout rateand to an improvement of 9 percentage points in the eligibility rates for the Bagrut matriculation diploma.