And tracking for all: causes and effects of pupil sorting in middle school

Abstract

Tracking, the policy of separating pupils into groups based on aptitude, is common, controversial and imperfectly understood. Little consensus exists on the circumstances under which tracking is practiced and what effects it may have on pupils. In this paper, I develop a novel method of measuring within-school tracking using observational data and estimate its long-run effects across a broad set of pupil outcomes. I show that tracking is prevalent, and that it varies both across schools and within schools over time. I find only limited evidence for tracking having significant short or long-run effects on pupils, although girls and boys seem to be affected differently. Finally, I provide evidence against the notion that tracking is a driver of inequality.