The long-term impact of socioeconomic school composition on inequalities in track placement and student achievement growth in Luxembourg

This study of educational inequalities concerns the long-term consequences of socioeconomic composition of schools in primary education (Grade 3) on students’ track placement and growth in academic achievement between Grade 3 and Grade 9. Using longitudinal data from the Luxembourg school monitoring program “Épreuves Standardisées” (N = 3577), which includes matched records for students in Grade 3 (2013) and in Grade 9 (2017–2021), we conducted multilevel mixed effect logistic and linear regression analyses to investigate factors influencing school tracking and academic achievement growth in German reading comprehension and mathematics. Results show that school composition (i.e. the percentage of students from families with low socioeconomic status), negatively affects the probability of being recommended to the academic (highest) track, even after controlling for prior academic achievement and students’ sociodemographic characteristics. Moreover, track placement significantly affected students’ achievement growth from Grade 3 to Grade 9, even after controlling for individual characteristics and school composition. In addition, achievement gaps between certain vulnerable student groups (such as boys from immigrant backgrounds) were exacerbated by school-level factors, particularly school composition. These findings suggest that disadvantage operates at multiple intersecting levels, that is, individual, group, and institutional levels. Results are discussed in relation to theory as well as their possible implications for tailored policy making.