Long-term effects of primary schools on educational positions of students 2 and 4 years after the start of secondary education

Abstract

ABSTRACTAlthough the importance of primary schools in the long term is of interest in educational effectiveness research, few studies have examined the long-term effects of schools over the past decades. In the present study, long-term effects of primary schools on the educational positions of students 2 and 4 years after starting secondary education are investigated. Moreover, it is examined which school factors play a role in this process. We specifically investigated whether effective primary schools make a difference in the long term. This study uses data from the longitudinal SiBO project, which followed 6,000 pupils in primary education in Flanders, Belgium, and has follow-up data during secondary education. Two-level models and cross-classified multilevel models show that primary schools have long-term effects on the educational positions of students in secondary education.