TY  - JOUR
A1  - Becker, Michael
A1  - Lüdtke, Oliver
A1  - Trautwein, Ulrich
A1  - Köller, Olaf
A1  - Baumert, Jürgen
T1  - The differential effects of school racking on psychometric intelligence Do academic-track schools make students smarter?
JF  - The journal of educational psychology
N2  - Prior research has shown that quantity of schooling affects the development of intelligence in childhood and adolescence. However, it is still debated whether other aspects of schooling-such as ability tracking or, more generally, school quality-can also influence intelligence. In this study, the authors analyzed intelligence gains in academic- and vocational-track schools in Germany, testing for differential effects of school quality (academic vs. vocational track) on psychometric intelligence. Longitudinal data were obtained from a sample of N = 1,038 Grade 7 and 10 students in 49 schools. A nonverbal reasoning test was used as an indicator of general psychometric intelligence, and relevant psychological and social background variables were included in the analyses. Propensity score matching was used to control for selection bias. Results showed a positive effect of attending the academic track.
KW  - school quality
KW  - intelligence
KW  - cognitive development
KW  - longitudinal studies
KW  - propensity score matching
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027608
SN  - 0022-0663
VL  - 104
IS  - 3
SP  - 682
EP  - 699
PB  - American Psychological Association
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Retelsdorf, Jan
A1  - Becker, Michael
A1  - Köller, Olaf
A1  - Möller, Jens
T1  - Reading development in a tracked school system: A longitudinal study over 3 years using propensity score matching
JF  - British journal of educational psychology
N2  - Background. Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. Aims. This study compared the developmental trajectories of reading comprehension and decoding speed between students at academic track schools that typically prepare students for university entrance and students at non-academic track schools that usually prepare students for vocational education. Sample. In a longitudinal design with three occasions of data collection, the authors drew on a sample of N= 1,508 5th graders (age at T1 about 11 years, age at T3 about 14 years) from 60 schools in Germany. The academic track sample comprised n= 568 students; the non-academic track sample comprised n= 940 students. Method. Achievement measures were obtained by standardized tests of reading comprehension and decoding speed. Students at the different tracks were closely matched using propensity scores. To compare students growth trajectories between the different school tracks, we applied multi-group latent growth curve models. Results. Comparable results were recorded for the complete (unmatched) sample and for the matched pairs. In all cases, students at the different tracks displayed a similar growth in reading comprehension, whereas larger growth rates for students at academic track schools were recorded for decoding speed. Conclusions. Our findings contribute to an increasing body of literature suggesting that tracking might have undesired side effects.
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02051.x
SN  - 0007-0998
VL  - 82
IS  - 4
SP  - 647
EP  - 671
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -