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Persistence of the School Entry Age Effect in a System of Flexible Tracking

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  • Puhani, Patrick A.

    (Leibniz University of Hannover)

  • Weber, Andrea M.

    (Darmstadt University of Technology)

Abstract

In Germany, the streaming of students into an academic or nonacademic track at age 10 can be revised at later stages of secondary education. To investigate the importance of such revisions, we use administrative data on the student population in the German state of Hessen to measure the persistence of school entry age’s impact on choice of secondary school track. Based on exogenous variation in the school entry age by birth month, we obtain regression discontinuity estimates for different cohorts and grades up to the end of secondary education. We show that the effect of original school entry age on a student’s later attending grammar school disappears exactly at the grade level in which educational institutions facilitate track modification.

Suggested Citation

  • Puhani, Patrick A. & Weber, Andrea M., 2007. "Persistence of the School Entry Age Effect in a System of Flexible Tracking," IZA Discussion Papers 2965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2965
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Dustmann & Patrick A. Puhani & Uta Schönberg, 2012. "The Long-term Effects of School Quality on Labor Market Outcomes and Educational Attainment," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1208, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    2. Jürges Hendrik & Schneider Kerstin, 2011. "Why Young Boys Stumble: Early Tracking, Age and Gender Bias in the German School System," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 12(4), pages 371-394, December.
    3. Pfeifer, Christian & Cornelißen, Thomas, 2010. "The impact of participation in sports on educational attainment--New evidence from Germany," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-103, February.
    4. Roed Larsen, Erling & Solli, Ingeborg, 2012. "Born to Run Behind? Persistent Relative Age Effects on Earnings," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2012/10, University of Stavanger.
    5. Mühlenweg, Andrea Maria, 2007. "Educational Effects of Early or Later Secondary School Tracking in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-079, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi & Steve Machin, 2024. "Crime and Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 11450, CESifo.
    7. Beatton, Tony & Kidd, Michael P. & Sandi, Matteo, 2020. "School indiscipline and crime," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108475, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Hieu T. M. Nguyen & Blane D. Lewis, 2020. "Teenage Marriage and Motherhood in Vietnam: The Negative Effects of Starting School Early," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(4), pages 739-762, August.
    9. Solli, Ingeborg, 2012. "Left behind by birth month," UiS Working Papers in Economics and Finance 2012/8, University of Stavanger.
    10. Filmer, Deon & Rogers, Halsey & Angrist, Noam & Sabarwal, Shwetlena, 2020. "Learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS): Defining a new macro measure of education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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    Keywords

    instrumental variables; education; regression discontinuity design; relative maturity; identification;
    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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