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The Long-Run Effects of Reducing Early School Tracking

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  • Canaan, Serena

    (Simon Fraser University)

Abstract

Grouping students by ability is a controversial issue, and its impacts are likely to depend on the type of tracking students are exposed to. This paper studies a reform that moved French schools from a rigorous tracking system, which assigned students to tracks with significantly different learning environments and career options, to a milder form of ability-tracking that only grouped students into different classrooms. Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that the reform raised individuals' level of education and increased their wages by 4.7 percent at ages 40 to 45, with the strongest effects occurring among individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Suggested Citation

  • Canaan, Serena, 2019. "The Long-Run Effects of Reducing Early School Tracking," IZA Discussion Papers 12419, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12419
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    Cited by:

    1. Colin Green & Ole Henning Nyhus & Kari Vea Salvanes, "undated". "How does testing young children influence educational attainment and well-being?," Working Paper Series 19422, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    2. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    3. Maria Zumbuehl & Nihal Chehber & Rik Dillingh, 2022. "Can skill differences explain the gap in the track recommendation by socio-economic status?," CPB Discussion Paper 439, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Bach, Maximilian & Fischer, Mira, 2020. "Understanding the response to high-stakes incentives in primary education," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-066, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Valentina Sontheim, 2024. "Locked-in vs. Locked-out: Can Detracked Classes Increase Education Equality?," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0229, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    6. Aderonke Osikominu & Gregor Pfeifer & Kristina Strohmaier & Gregor-Gabriel Pfeifer, 2021. "The Effects of Free Secondary School Track Choice: A Disaggregated Synthetic Control Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 8879, CESifo.
    7. BAI Yu & TANAKA Ryuichi, 2024. "A Long-run Consequence of Relaxation-Oriented Education on Labor Market Performance," Discussion papers 24003, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Takaku, Reo & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2021. "What the COVID-19 school closure left in its wake: Evidence from a regression discontinuity analysis in Japan," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    9. Elisabeth Grewenig, 2021. "School Track Decisions and Teacher Recommendations: Evidence from German State Reforms," ifo Working Paper Series 353, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    10. Serena Canaan, 2024. "The Impact of Delaying Early School Tracking on Fertility and Marriage Outcomes," Upjohn Working Papers 24-403, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    11. Bellés-Obrero, Cristina & Duchini, Emma, 2021. "Who benefits from general knowledge?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    12. Grätz, Michael & Heers, Marieke, 2023. "Tracking in Context: Variation in the Effects of Reforms in the Age at Tracking on Educational Mobility," SocArXiv f5uzg, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    returns to education; school quality; tracking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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