Does Educational Tracking Affect Performance and Inequality? Differences‐ in‐Differences Evidence Across Countries

TLDR

Even though some countries track students into differing‑ability schools by age 10, others keep their entire secondary‑school system comprehensive. The study estimates the effects of institutional tracking differences across countries using an international differences‑in‑differences approach. Tracking effects are identified by comparing primary‑to‑secondary outcome differences between tracked and non‑tracked systems, using eight pairs of achievement contrasts from six international student assessments across 18–26 cross‑country comparisons. Early tracking increases educational inequality and tends to reduce mean performance, though the latter effect is less clear.

Abstract

Even though some countries track students into differing‐ability schools by age 10, others keep their entire secondary‐school system comprehensive. To estimate the effects of such institutional differences in the face of country heterogeneity, we employ an international differences‐in‐differences approach. We identify tracking effects by comparing differences in outcome between primary and secondary school across tracked and non‐tracked systems. Six international student assessments provide eight pairs of achievement contrasts for between 18 and 26 cross‐country comparisons. The results suggest that early tracking increases educational inequality. While less clear, there is also a tendency for early tracking to reduce mean performance.