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Does Educational Tracking Affect Performance and Inequality? Differences-in-Differences Evidence across Countries

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Author Info
Eric A. Hanushek () (Hoover Institution, Stanford University, CESifo and NBER)
Ludger Woessmann () (Ifo Institute, University of Munich, CESifo and IZA Bonn)

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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. Therefore, there does not appear to be any equity-efficiency trade-off.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1901.

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Length: 27 pages
Date of creation: Dec 2005
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1901

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Related research
Keywords: tracking streaming ability grouping selectivity comprehensive school system educational performance inequality international student achievement test TIMSS PISA PIRLS

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I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  5. Giorgio Brunello & Massimo Giannini, 2004. "Stratified or Comprehensive? The Economic Efficiency of School Design," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(2), pages 173-193, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Dobbelsteen, Simone & Levin, Jesse & Oosterbeek, Hessel, 2002. " The Causal Effect of Class Size on Scholastic Achievement: Distinguishing the Pure Class Size Effect from the Effect of Changes in Class Composition," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(1), pages 17-38, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Eric A. Hanushek, 2003. "The Failure of Input-Based Schooling Policies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(485), pages F64-F98, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Edward P. Lazear, 2001. "Educational Production," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(3), pages 777-803, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Jacob M. Markman & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain & Steven G. Rivkin, 2003. "Does peer ability affect student achievement?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(5), pages 527-544. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Costas Meghir & Marten Palme, 2005. "Educational Reform, Ability, and Family Background," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 414-424, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Dennis Epple & Elizabeth Newlon & Richard Romano, 2000. "Ability Tracking, School Competition, and the Distribution of Educational Benefits," NBER Working Papers 7854, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Lorraine Dearden & Javier Ferri & Costas Meghir, 2002. "The Effect Of School Quality On Educational Attainment And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 1-20, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Horst Entorf & Martina Lauk, 2006. "Peer Effects, Social Multipliers and Migrants at School: An International Comparison," Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege) Discussion Papers 57, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research, University of Goettingen (Germany)., revised 12 Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Manning, Alan & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen, 2006. "Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England and Wales: What Do We Know?," CEPR Discussion Papers 5653, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Piero Cipollone & Alfonso Rosolia, 2007. "Social Interactions in High School: Lessons from an Earthquake," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(3), pages 948-965, June.
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  4. Tuomas Pekkarinen, 2005. "Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Evidence on the Role of the Tracking Age from a Finnish Quasi-Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 1897, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  5. Christian Dustmann, 2007. "Return Migration, Investment in Children, and Intergenerational Mobility: Comparing Sons of Foreign and Native Born Fathers," IZA Discussion Papers 3080, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  6. Patrick Puhani & Andrea Maria Weber, 2005. "Does the Early Bird Catch the Worm? Instrumental Variable Estimates of Educational Effects of Age of School Entry in Germany," Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics 151, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre (Department of Economics), Technische Universität Darmstadt (Darmstadt University of Technology). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Maurizio Iacopetta, 2006. "Human Capital Dispersion and Incentives to Innovate," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_013, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
  8. Schneeweis, Nicole & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2005. "Peer Effects in Austrian Schools," Economics Series 170, Institute for Advanced Studies. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Gabriela Schuetz & Heinrich Ursprung & Ludger Woessmann, 2005. "Education Policy and Equality of Opportunity," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo GmbH. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Changhui Kang, 2007. "Does Money Matter? The Effect of Private Educational Expenditures on Academic Performance," Departmental Working Papers wp0704, National University of Singapore, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Holmlund, Helena, 2006. "Intergenerational Mobility and Assortative Mating. Effects of an Educational Reform," Working Paper Series 4/2006, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
  12. Philippe Mahler & Rainer Winkelmann, 2005. "Single Motherhood and (Un)Equal EducationalOpportunities: Evidence for Germany," Working Papers 0512, University of Zurich, Socioeconomic Institute. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Yohanes E. Riyanto & Linda A. Toolsema, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility in a Corporate Governance Framework," Departmental Working Papers wp0702, National University of Singapore, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  14. Gerald Eisenkopf, 2005. "Ability grouping and incentives," Working Papers of the Research Group Heterogenous Labor 05-10, Research Group Heterogeneous Labor, University of Konstanz/ZEW Mannheim. [Downloadable!]
  15. Ammermüller,Andreas, 2005. "Educational Opportunities and the Role of Institutions," Research Memoranda 004, Maastricht : ROA, Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Sergio Perlman & Daniel Santin, 2005. "Measuring educational efficiency at student level with parametric stochastic distance functions: An application to Spanish PISA results," CREPP Working Papers 0504, Centre de Recherche en Economie Publique et de la Population (CREPP) (Research Center on Public and Population Economics) HEC-Management School, University of Liège. [Downloadable!]
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