Frühübergang in ein grundständiges Gymnasium – Übergang in ein privilegiertes Entwicklungsmilieu?

Abstract

This article examines whether students’ learning gains in reading and mathematics depend on the time of their transition from elementary school to the academic track of secondary schooling. Drawing on data from the ELEMENT study, the learning gains of fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools (N = 3167) and academic-track schools with various curricular profiles (N = 1758) in Berlin were modelled by regression and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses. When baseline differences between the school types were controlled, analyses for reading did not reveal statistically significant differences at all. Findings for mathematics were inconsistent depending on the method of analysis. Regression analysis showed statistically significant results of small effect size in favour of the academic-track schools. However, this finding could not be replicated by means of PSM. The study does not provide evidence for a generally positive effect of early transition to the academic track of secondary schooling with respect to mathematics and reading performance. Theoretical and methodological implications and limitations of the study are discussed.