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Better together? Heterogeneous effects of tracking on student achievement
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin)
Abstract
This study estimates mean and distributional effects of early between-school ability tracking on student achievement. For identification, I exploit heterogeneity in tracking regimes between German federal states. After comprehensive primary school, about 40% of students are selected for the academic... view more
This study estimates mean and distributional effects of early between-school ability tracking on student achievement. For identification, I exploit heterogeneity in tracking regimes between German federal states. After comprehensive primary school, about 40% of students are selected for the academic track and taught in separate schools in all states. The remaining students, however, are either taught comprehensively or further tracked into two different school forms depending on the state. I estimate the effects of this tracking on students' mathematics and reading test scores with a difference-in-difference-in-differences estimator to eliminate unobserved heterogeneity in achievement levels and trends between states. I find substantial achievement gains from comprehensive versus tracked schooling at ages 10-12. These average effects are almost entirely driven by low-achievers. I do not find evidence for negative effects of comprehensive schooling on the achievement of higher performing students. My results show that decreasing the degree of tracking in early secondary school can reduce inequality while increasing the efficiency of educational production.... view less
Keywords
school; school transition; academic achievement; performance assessment; school system; school type; heterogeneity; Federal Republic of Germany; regional comparison; educational inequality
Classification
Macroanalysis of the Education System, Economics of Education, Educational Policy
Sociology of Education
Free Keywords
tracking; triple differences
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
46 p.
Series
DIW Diskussionspapiere, 1775
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10419/190792
ISSN
1619-4535
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications