Primary and Secondary Effects at the Transition Into Secondary School Tracks in Germany

• In Event: Educational Inequality Across Countries and Over Time

Abstract

Germany is known to have one of the most rigid tracking systems in the world: Students are selected into different secondary school tracks – often located in separate school buildings – at the end of Grade 4 or 6, when they are about 10 or 12 years old. This type of explicit between-school tracking has been subject of much criticism, as it is commonly argued that it increases educational inequality. Besides the fact that students in lower tracks may have less opportunity to learn (Oakes, 1985; Pfost, Karing, Lorenz, & Artelt, 2010), research has found that the assignment to tracks is often biased by ethnicity or social class (Maaz, Trautwein, Lüdtke, & Baumert, 2008). The present paper analyzes the mechanisms underlying this social bias at the transition into secondary school tracks using Boudon’s (1974) distinction between primary and secondary effects of social stratification. We analyze whether social bias at the transition into secondary school tracks stems from achievement differences between students of different backgrounds (primary effect) or whether students’ family background exerts an effect independent of students’ achievement (secondary effect).

We draw on data from a multi-cohort longitudinal study evaluating a detracking reform in the city of Berlin, Germany, which took place in the 2010/2011 school year. For the present paper, we use questionnaire and achievement test data from N = 3935 students and their parents in 87 schools and conduct linear and logistic regression models in Mplus 6 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2010). In Germany, students are selected into secondary tracks on the basis of teachers’ recommendations for a specific track – which are based on students’ course grades – as well as parents’ track preferences. All three factors are expected to be influenced by achievement, which may or may not fully explain different outcomes by family background. Accordingly, we investigate the relative importance of primary and secondary effects on course grades, teacher recommendations, and parents’ final track decisions.

We find strong evidence for primary effects: In part due to their higher academic achievement, high SES students have higher course grades, are more likely to receive a teacher recommendation for the high track, and are more likely to ultimately enter the high track. However, we also observe secondary effects: Even when controlling for achievement, high SES students receive higher course grades from their teachers and therefore have a better chance at receiving a recommendation for the high track. Moreover, after controlling for achievement and teacher recommendations, high SES parents are more likely to override teacher recommendations and place their children in the high track. Additional analyses revealed that this effect was mediated by parents’ educational aspirations for their children. In addition to this secondary effect disadvantaging low-SES students, we also observed a secondary effect advantaging immigrant students: After controlling for achievement, teacher recommendations, and SES, students whose parents were not born in Germany were more likely to enter the high track. These results show how the transition into different tracks can amplify educational inequalities.

Authors

• Hanna Dumont, German Institute for International Educational Research

• Marko Neumann, Max Planck Institute for Human Development

• Michael Becker, German Institute for International Educational Research

• Kai Maaz, Max Planck Institute for Human Development

• Jurgen Baumert, Max Planck Institute for Human Development