Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?

Abstract Recent de-tracking reforms in some German federal states converted or merged the two lower track secondary school types into a comprehensive one, where students can achieve all school-leaving qualifications. The goals of the reforms were to facilitate desegregation of students from differen...

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Main Authors: Marlen Holtmann, Camilla Rjosk, Oliver Lüdtke, Petra Stanat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2024-12-01
Series:Large-scale Assessments in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-024-00232-9
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author Marlen Holtmann
Camilla Rjosk
Oliver Lüdtke
Petra Stanat
author_facet Marlen Holtmann
Camilla Rjosk
Oliver Lüdtke
Petra Stanat
author_sort Marlen Holtmann
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Recent de-tracking reforms in some German federal states converted or merged the two lower track secondary school types into a comprehensive one, where students can achieve all school-leaving qualifications. The goals of the reforms were to facilitate desegregation of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and to reduce educational disparities. We investigated whether socioeconomic composition (SEC) and SEC effects have, in fact, changed with the de-tracking reforms. Moreover, we examined whether a possible increase in students' educational expectations of achieving the general qualification for university entrance contributes to the intended reduction of SEC effects. We used data from two representative large-scale assessment studies carried out in 2009 and 2015 covering the period of reforms. The SEC changed in non-academic school types. SEC effects on students' reading achievement tended to decrease, but are still significant in the comprehensive schools. The level of students’ educational expectations did not mediate the SEC effects.
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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series Large-scale Assessments in Education
spelling doaj-art-24a3202d0f3f4452a96c015cc44ed5d02024-12-15T12:10:39ZengSpringerOpenLarge-scale Assessments in Education2196-07392024-12-0112112010.1186/s40536-024-00232-9Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?Marlen Holtmann0Camilla Rjosk1Oliver Lüdtke2Petra Stanat3International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)University PotsdamLeibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics EducationInstitute for Educational Quality Improvement at Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinAbstract Recent de-tracking reforms in some German federal states converted or merged the two lower track secondary school types into a comprehensive one, where students can achieve all school-leaving qualifications. The goals of the reforms were to facilitate desegregation of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds and to reduce educational disparities. We investigated whether socioeconomic composition (SEC) and SEC effects have, in fact, changed with the de-tracking reforms. Moreover, we examined whether a possible increase in students' educational expectations of achieving the general qualification for university entrance contributes to the intended reduction of SEC effects. We used data from two representative large-scale assessment studies carried out in 2009 and 2015 covering the period of reforms. The SEC changed in non-academic school types. SEC effects on students' reading achievement tended to decrease, but are still significant in the comprehensive schools. The level of students’ educational expectations did not mediate the SEC effects.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-024-00232-9Socioeconomic compositionSocioeconomic composition effectsDe-tracking reformsStudents’ educational expectationsMediationLarge-scale assessment studies
spellingShingle Marlen Holtmann
Camilla Rjosk
Oliver Lüdtke
Petra Stanat
Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
Large-scale Assessments in Education
Socioeconomic composition
Socioeconomic composition effects
De-tracking reforms
Students’ educational expectations
Mediation
Large-scale assessment studies
title Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
title_full Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
title_fullStr Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
title_full_unstemmed Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
title_short Are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de-tracking reforms in Germany?
title_sort are socioeconomic composition effects on student achievement less relevant after de tracking reforms in germany
topic Socioeconomic composition
Socioeconomic composition effects
De-tracking reforms
Students’ educational expectations
Mediation
Large-scale assessment studies
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40536-024-00232-9
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AT oliverludtke aresocioeconomiccompositioneffectsonstudentachievementlessrelevantafterdetrackingreformsingermany
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