Off Track? Exploring the Link Between Home Language and Student Tracking in the Netherlands

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Educational Inequities Abroad: Policy, Parental Influence, and Student Background (Table 1)

Abstract

The study examined how language background affects the track placement of 15-year-old students in the Dutch secondary educational system using PISA 2022 data. The preliminary findings show that Dutch multilingual learners speaking a non-Dutch language at home had significantly lower odds of being placed in a higher academic track than their Dutch native-speaking peers while controlling for socio-economic status, student and parents' country of birth, and gender. Findings suggest language background contributes to educational inequalities in the Dutch tracking system and leads to implications for creating educational opportunities through track mobility in K-12.

Author

• Marieke Timmer, University of Utah