School Track Choice Research Articles

Compensatory advantage and inequality in educational aspirations

Using two administrative and survey-based datasets from Hungary, I look at how children from different socioeconomic backgrounds update their educational aspirations in response to having to repeat a grade late in primary school. I find that grade retention is detrimental to aspirations and later secondary school track choice, and on average, it affects children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds more adversely. The average effect masks heterogeneities by the reasons for repeating: those children who are likely to repeat seventh grade due to poor mathematics performance do not change their aspirations significantly after retention, regardless of their socioeconomic background. However, they are less likely to attend a secondary school track that provides access to tertiary education. As we move towards higher performers in mathematics – and consequently, more heterogeneous reasons for repeating –, retention results in a larger drop in aspirations and the probability of a secondary track ending with a high school diploma. In both outcomes, high socioeconomic status largely and, in some cases, entirely offsets the adverse effects.

Rethinking interculturalism, deconstructing discrimination in Italian schools

AbstractDespite the public favour gained in Europe, interculturalism is often reduced to its theoretical abstractions or local implementations. There is scarce evidence to suggest that interculturalism mitigates the systemic discrimination of immigrant‐origin people. Looking at the Italian case, the paper analyses the coexistence of interculturalism and discrimination into multicultural schools, examining school track choices for immigrant‐origin students under the lens of interculturalism. We combine three theoretical perspectives—discrimination at micro level, critical interculturalism and school choice as a process—with an empirical analysis of qualitative data, focussing on the ambivalent relational mechanisms underneath the most discriminatory turning point in the Italian education system, the transition to upper secondary school. Different forms of student–teacher interaction, approaches to school track choice and discriminatory effects are highlighted in the research findings. Three different scenarios of interculturalism are identified and implemented through the negotiation of the school actors. Rethinking interculturalism by deconstructing discrimination appears as a collective task, to be undertaken together with teachers and students with immigrant background: intercultural policy guidelines must be combined with bottom‐up actions.

Heterogeneous responses to school track choice: Evidence from the repeal of binding track recommendations

This paper studies how introducing free school track choice in Germany’s between-school tracking system through a repeal of binding track recommendations affects track decisions by socio-economic status (SES). While highest track enrollment increases for previously ineligible high-SES students relative to comparable low-SES students, the SES gap does not increase. This is because previously eligible low-SES student become more likely to enroll in the highest track. A key mechanism for this response appears to be lower preferences for the intermediate track due to concerns about the inflow of mostly low-achieving and low-SES students from the lowest track after the repeal.

Investigating the role of educational aspirations as central mediators of secondary school track choice in Germany

Educational aspirations are known to be one of the most relevant predictors of secondary school choice after finishing elementary school in the German educational system. Since aspirations themselves mostly derive from the social background of a family, the question arises whether aspirations can be understood as a mediating factor explaining how social origin determines choice of school. In addition to that, it would be of great interest to disentangle parental and filial aspirations to better understand which factor is more relevant for the decision. After proposing a unified theoretical model that accounts for both primary and secondary effects of social origin, the analyses attempt to quantify the share that is mediated through aspirations and hence test the model empirically. Using large scale panel data, I can demonstrate that aspirations explain a considerable share of the variance of the decision for choosing a school track in secondary education (ca. 24% points). The following analyses estimate that the indirect effect of social origin that is mediated through aspirations amounts to almost 80%, which means that the residual pathway must therefore be small in comparison. Detailed analyses reveal that especially parental realistic aspirations explain the major share of this effect (about 42%) and their aspirations will be decisive when conflicting with the aspirations of their children.

Social background and school track choice: An analysis informed by the rational choice framework

We investigate social inequalities based on social background in the choice of the academic track among equally performing students, and how indicators derived from the rational choice framework contribute to account for such inequalities. We discuss the main theoretical concepts underpinning rational choice theory as applied to educational decisions: perceived costs, benefits, and risks of failure; relative risk aversion; and time-discounting preferences. In the empirical section, we use a unique dataset concerning the transition to different tracks in upper secondary school in a large Southern Italian region. By using various regression methods and the Karlson/Holm/Breen decomposition technique, we show that social inequalities in access to the academic track are considerable, even in recent cohorts, and that they are largely not explained by previous academic performance. Indicators linked to key concepts proposed by the rational choice theory—as measured in this study—account, as a whole, for 31% of the gap based on parental education, and for 40% of the gap based on parental occupation. The most important sources of inequalities among those this study examines are the expected benefits associated with the educational alternatives and the time-discounting preferences, while relative risk aversion and the perceived chances of success play negligible roles.

The Impact of Secondary Education Choices on Mathematical Performance in University: The Role of Non-Cognitive Skills

(1) Background: this study evaluates the most relevant factors affecting the performance in mathematics of university undergraduates. Precisely, the mathematical background of students. Spanish secondary education provides an opportunity to develop this analysis since students can choose between two secondary education tracks with different mathematical content and depth. (2) Methods: a survey was conducted covering personal characteristics, socioeconomic status, academic choices and academic achievement as well as a set of questions aimed to uncover attitudes towards mathematics. Students that show preferences regarding mathematics are prone to choose the track with more mathematical content, creating a potential confusion between training and attitudes towards mathematics. We propose an index of non- cognitive skills related to mathematics to account for this problem. (3) Results: prior background in mathematics plays a role in mathematical performance at university even after correcting for non-cognitive skills related to mathematics. The effects are heterogeneous with respect to gender. (4) Conclusions: choosing a more mathematical-oriented itinerary in secondary education seems to give an edge to students. Our results shed light on the implications associated with the decision of secondary school track choice made by students. Furthermore, they are meant to serve as a guide to improve the design of remedial courses.

Yes, You Can! Effects of Transparent Admission Standards on High School Track Choice: A Randomized Field Experiment

Abstract High school track choice determines college access in many countries. We hypothesize that some qualified students avoid the college-bound track in high school simply because they overestimate admission requirements. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a randomized field experiment that communicated the admission standards of local secondary schools on the academic track to students in Hungary before the application deadline. We targeted the subset of students (“seeds”) who occupied the most central position in the classroom-social networks, aiming to detect both direct effects on the track choice of targeted seeds and spillover effects on their untreated peers. We found neither a direct effect nor a spillover effect on students’ applications or admissions on average. Further analyses, however, revealed theoretically plausible heterogeneity in the direct causal effect of the intervention on the track choice of targeted seeds. Providing information about admission standards increased applications and admissions to secondary schools on the academic track among seeds who had a pre-existing interest in the academic track but were unsure of their chances of admission. This demonstrates that publicizing admissions standards can set students on a more ambitious educational trajectory. We discuss the implications for theory and policy.

Long-term labor market returns to upper secondary school track choice: Leveraging idiosyncratic variation in peers’ choices

Vocational education and training (VET) is theorized to play a dual role for inequality of labor market outcomes: the role of a safety net and the role of socioeconomic diversion. In this paper, we test these hypotheses by examining the long-term labor market returns to track choice in upper secondary education in Denmark using an instrumental variable approach that relies on random variation in school peers’ educational decisions. We report two main findings. First, VET diverts students on the margin to the academic track away from higher-status but not higher-paying occupations. Second, VET protects students on the margin to leaving school from risks of non-employment and unskilled work, also leading to higher earnings. These results suggest that in countries with a highly compressed wage structure, a strong VET system benefits students unlikely to continue to college, while causing few adverse consequences for students on the margin to choosing academic education.

Utilization of Philippine Aptitude Classification Test (PACT) Result in Career Awareness Program

This study determined the alignment of students’ Senior High School track and course preference in college with their aptitude and probable performance in educational programs. It is descriptive in nature. The respondents were the Junior High School students who took the Philippine Aptitude Classification Test (PACT) of School Year 2014–2015 and were enrolled Grade 12 at the Senior High School of Holy Name University for School Year 2017–2018. Frequency counting of the aptitude, probable performance in different educational programs, preferred school track and career choice were made. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were enrolled in the STEM track. More than half of the respondents got low aptitudes that fit to only one to three educational programs based on the nine (9) clusters of educational programs identified in the PACT and a significant number of respondents did not fit to any educational programs. Many of the college courses chosen by the respondents while they were still in Grade 9 are under services, engineering and manufacturing, and health and welfare clusters. More so, college course preferred by the respondents in STEM track are related to health and welfare followed by engineering and manufacturing cluster while those in ABM and HUMMS track preferred Social Science, Business and Law cluster. Career choices made by the respondents are not aligned with their aptitude which could be a source of future job-skills mismatch or misfit graduates. Career guidance is seen as an imperative for a successful future career choice and career awareness program is viewed as a possible intervention as early as Grade 7 to Grade 10.

The Effects of Free Secondary School Track Choice: A Disaggregated Synthetic Control Approach

We exploit a recent state-level reform in Germany that granted parents the right to decide on the highest secondary school track suitable for their child, changing the purpose of the primary teacher's recommendation from mandatory to informational. Applying a disaggre-gated synthetic control approach to administrative district-level data, we find that transition rates to the higher school tracks increased substantially, with stronger responses among children from richer districts. Simultaneously, grade repetition in the first grades of second-ary school increased dramatically, suggesting that parents choose school tracks also to align with their own aspirations – resulting in greater misallocation of students.

The Effects of Free Secondary School Track Choice: A Disaggregated Synthetic Control Approach

We exploit a recent state-level reform in Germany that granted parents the right to decide on the highest secondary school track suitable for their child, changing the purpose of the primary teacher's recommendation from mandatory to informational. Applying a disaggregated synthetic control approach to administrative district-level data, we find that transition rates to the higher school tracks increased substantially, with stronger responses among children from richer districts. Simultaneously, grade repetition in the first grades of secondary school increased dramatically, suggesting that parents choose school tracks also to align with their own aspirations – resulting in greater misallocation of students.

Heterogeneous Responses to School Track Choice: Evidence From the Repeal of Binding Track Recommendations

Heterogeneous Responses to School Track Choice: Evidence From the Repeal of Binding Track Recommendations

Does Starting Universal Childcare Earlier Influence Children's Skill Development?

As many developed countries enact policies that allow children to begin universal childcare earlier, understanding how starting universal childcare earlier affects children's cognitive and noncognitive skills is an important policy question. We provide comprehensive evidence on the multidimensional short- and longer-run effects of starting universal childcare earlier using a fuzzy discontinuity in the age at starting childcare in Germany. Combining rich survey and administrative data, we follow one cohort from age 6 to 15 and examine standardized cognitive test scores, noncognitive skill measures, and school track choice in a unified framework. Children who start universal childcare four months earlier around age 3 do not perform differently in terms of standardized cognitive test scores, measures of noncognitive skills, school track choice, or school entrance examinations. We also find no evidence of skill improvements for children with low socioeconomic status, although we provide suggestive evidence that they may benefit from high-quality care. Our estimates refer to children who start childcare before they become legally entitled, for whom the literature would predict low gains to starting childcare earlier. We provide further evidence on this relationship between parental resistance to and children's potential gains from childcare. Simply allowing children to start universal childcare earlier is hence not sufficient to improve children's skill development, particularly for children with low socioeconomic status.

The evolution of awareness and belief ambiguity in the process of high school track choice

In this article, we provide novel survey evidence on middle schoolers' knowledge and on how such knowledge evolves in the process of high school track choice. Children in our study display only partial awareness of the set of available tracks, and they report low confidence regarding their beliefs (i.e., substantial belief ambiguity) about their likelihood of a regular high school path. This is especially the case for lower-ranked tracks. Students start 8th grade with greater information about their preferred alternatives and continue to concentrate their search in the months before pre-enrollment. Children from less advantaged families display lower initial perceived knowledge and acquire information at a slower pace, particularly about college-preparatory schools.

Does Early Child Care Attendance Influence Children's Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skill Development?

While recent studies mostly find that attending child care earlier improves the skills of children from low socio-economic and non-native backgrounds in the short-run, it remains unclear whether such positive effects persist. We identify the short- and medium-run effects of early child care attendance in Germany using a fuzzy discontinuity in child care starting age between December and January. This discontinuity arises as children typically start formal child care in the summer of the calendar year in which they turn three. Combining rich survey and administrative data, we follow one cohort from age five to 15 and examine standardised cognitive test scores, non-cognitive skill measures, and school track choice. We find no evidence that starting child care earlier affects children's outcomes in the short- or medium-run. Our precise estimates rule out large effects for children whose parents have a strong preference for sending them to early child care.

High School Track Choice and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Urban Mexico

High School Track Choice and Liquidity Constraints: Evidence from Urban Mexico

Teachers’ versus parental choice and the tracking distribution of students: a natural experiment

This article studies the secondary school track choice and considers to what extent parents’ and teachers’ assessment of students diverge. We take advantage of a reform in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in 2006. The reform replaced parents’ choice about their children’s secondary school type by a binding teacher recommendation. Our data comprise class-level information on all public primary schools in the state. We find that teachers tend to recommend higher school types than parents. However, more precise analysis shows that this effect can be limited to districts with above average proportion of immigrants.

The effects of high school track choice on students’ postsecondary enrollment and majors in South Korea

In South Korea, college-bound students are divided into two tracks: Munka (文科) and Yika (理科), and this tracking (Munka–Yika tracking; MY tracking) considerably influences students’ choice of college majors and future careers. This study aims to examine how MY tracking and other factors influence students’ postsecondary enrollment (2- or 4-year colleges) and college major choice (vocationally or academically oriented). The findings indicate that there was no significant effect of MY tracking on students’ choice of a type of colleges, but the Yika students were more likely to study vocationally oriented majors more often than the Munka students. Male students had a higher probability of going to 4-year colleges and studying vocationally oriented majors than female students. Academic performance in high schools and fathers’ education levels contributed to students’ enrollment at 4-year colleges, and conversations with parents about academic or career plans influenced students choice of vocationally oriented majors.

School Choice and Inequality in Educational Decisions

School choice has been growing all over the world. However, despite the strong implications school choice could have on future opportunities, the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the school decisions are still not clear. Based on elements from different theories, this paper study factors related with a school- track choice. The study takes advantage of extensive administrative records, national tests, and an ad-hoc survey from Chile, a country with more than 30 years with an educational system based on choice. Results suggest that socioeconomic status, cultural values, the pressure of the environment, parents’ expectations, and self-perception are correlated with the school-track choice. Results suggest that the concept of equality of opportunities in an educational system based on choice should also consider equality in the capacity for taking these decisions

Are immigrants and girls graded worse? Results of a matching approach

Using Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2001 and Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 data for Germany, this paper examines whether second-generation immigrants and girls are graded worse in math than comparable natives and boys, respectively. Once all grading-relevant characteristics, namely math skills and oral participation, are accounted for, pupils should obtain same school grades. Results of a matching approach and class fixed effects regressions suggest that second-generation immigrants have grade disadvantages in primary education which could bias their secondary school track choice. Regarding secondary school, most immigrants are not affected by grade discrimination and girls enrolled in upper-secondary school are systematically graded better.