The Effects of Free Secondary School Track Choice: A Disaggregated Synthetic Control Approach

Aderonke Osikominu, Gregor Pfeifer, Kristina Strohmaier and Gregor-Gabriel Pfeifer
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Gregor Pfeifer

No 8879, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We exploit a recent state-level reform in Germany that granted parents the right to decide on the highest secondary school track suitable for their child, changing the purpose of the primary teacher's recommendation from mandatory to informational. Applying a disaggregated synthetic control approach to administrative district-level data, we find that transition rates to the higher school tracks increased substantially, with stronger responses among children from richer districts. Simultaneously, grade repetition in the first grades of secondary school increased dramatically, suggesting that parents choose school tracks also to align with their own aspirations – resulting in greater misallocation of students.

Keywords: school tracking; student performance; synthetic control method; treatment effect distributions; treatment effect heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 C46 I21 I28 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Working Paper: The Effects of Free Secondary School Track Choice: A Disaggregated Synthetic Control Approach (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8879

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