Selection policies in education systems and educational achievement

Abstract

Selection policies in education systems are different across countries, namely tracking andgrade retention. Some countries separate students aged 10 into different schools or educational tracks, while others separate students aged 16. Although some countries do not retain students, most countries have grade retention, but with different retention rates during primary and lower secondary schools (from below 1% to above 30%). In order to understand how the differences in grade retention and tracking impact educational achievement, we applied a panel model with year and country fixed effects and difference-in-differences on data from international students’assessment tests. Our results suggest that early tracking raises slightly mathematics and science achievement and achievement inequality with more robust results for boys, high achievers, and science. Early tracking seems to reduce reading achievement of low achievers. Moreover, grade retention decreases educational achievement in all subjects with larger effects in countries withwith high retention rates and students in European countries whose parents have primary school. Grade retention at lower secondary decreases less educational achievement than grade retention at primary school. Likewise, education achievement of students retained twice or more reducesless than twice as much as of students retained once at primary school and/or lower secondary. Besides, grade retention reduces more schooling performance in late tracking countries than in early tracking countries. Lastly, grade retention and early tracking have, respectively, stronger and more robust effects in European countries.

Date of Award	29 Jun 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Hugo Reis (Supervisor)