Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232476 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8879
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
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.
Subjects: 
school tracking
student performance
synthetic control method
treatment effect distributions
treatment effect heterogeneity
JEL: 
C21
C46
I21
I28
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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