Does Early Educational Tracking Increase Migrant-Native Achievement Gaps? Differences-in-Differences Evidence Across Countries

40 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2015

See all articles by Jens Ruhose

Jens Ruhose

Leibniz Universität Hannover - Faculty of Economics and Management

Guido Schwerdt

University of Konstanz - Faculty of Economics and Statistics

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Abstract

We study whether early tracking of students based on ability increases migrant-native achievement gaps. To eliminate confounding impacts of unobserved country traits, we employ a differences-in-differences strategy that exploits international variation in the age of tracking as well as student achievement before and after potential tracking. Based on pooled data from 12 large-scale international student assessments, we show that cross-sectional estimates are likely to be downward-biased. Our differences-in-differences estimates suggest that early tracking does not significantly affect overall migrant-native achievement gaps, but we find evidence for a detrimental impact for less integrated migrants.

Keywords: immigration, educational inequalities, educational tracking, differences-in-differences

JEL Classification: I21, J15, I28

Suggested Citation

Ruhose, Jens and Schwerdt, Guido, Does Early Educational Tracking Increase Migrant-Native Achievement Gaps? Differences-in-Differences Evidence Across Countries. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8903, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2582538 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2582538

Jens Ruhose (Contact Author)

Leibniz Universität Hannover - Faculty of Economics and Management ( email )

Koenigsworther Platz 1
Hannover, 30167
Germany

Guido Schwerdt

University of Konstanz - Faculty of Economics and Statistics ( email )

Universitaetsstr. 10
78457 Konstanz
Germany

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