Achievement or social background?

Periodical
Zeitschrift für Soziologie
Volume
53
Year
2024
Issue number
2
Page range
164-185
Relates to study/studies
PISA 2012
PISA 2015
PISA 2018
TIMSS 2011
TIMSS 2015
TIMSS 2019
PIRLS 2011
PIRLS 2016

Achievement or social background?

The Impact of Tracking on the Composition  of Schools in an International Comparison

Abstract

This study explores the implications of early between-school tracking within educational systems – a practice that involves sorting students into different educational pathways based on their achievement levels. We examine two potential effects of this process: (i) the promotion of homogeneous learning environments through tracking, and (ii) the potential for tracking to exacerbate social segregation among schools. To scrutinize these effects, we analyze data from the assessment studies PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS (1995–2019). Additionally, we investigate whether school selectivity influences the tracking effects. Using difference-in-differences models combined with multiverse analyses, our findings demonstrate that early between-school tracking indeed contributes to the homogeneity of learning environments and can lead to increased social school segregation. However, our results do not indicate a moderating role of school selectivity.