The Long-Term Effects of Early Tracking

The Dutch education system provides variation in the timing of tracking of students. Students can enroll in a tracked class right away, or postpone tracking one or two years by enrolling in a comprehensive class. Using the VOCL cohort study of ’93, the effect of early tracking on several labor market outcomes and educational outcomes are estimated. An instrumental variable approach using regional variation in the supply of categorical classes is implemented to overcome selection bias. The results show that MAVO advice students that are tracked early are less likely to complete higher education, whereas VWO advice students that are tracked early are more likely to complete university.