Examination rules and student effort

•We show how different examination rules affect rational students' learning effort.•A second attempt to pass an exam decreases effort at the first attempt.•The school sets rules to manipulate student effort towards the first attempt.•The malus account maximizes effort and educational attainment.•A resit charge maximizes the passing probability but minimizes students' utility.

This paper contributes to the economics of examination rules. We show how rational students reallocate their learning effort as a response to a charge for the second attempt (resit), a resit mark cap, a variation of the time span between two attempts, and a malus points account. The effort maximizing rule is the malus account, a resit charge delivers the highest overall passing probability.