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New publication available: Wealth Stratification in the Early School Career in Germany


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Dräger, Jascha, and Nora Müller. 2020. "Wealth Stratification in the Early School Career in Germany." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2020.100483

The paper examines the relationship between parental wealth and (1) children’s math competences at the beginning of primary school; (2) the development of children’s competences throughout primary school; and (3) children’s transition from primary to secondary school. The results indicate that children in wealthy households have higher competences already in the first grade. This advantage remains stable throughout primary school and translates into a higher probability to attend the highest secondary school track. Moreover, children in these wealthy households are more likely to attend the highest secondary school track, net of differences in competences and performance. The results imply that ignoring wealth as a component of parental socioeconomic status (SES) leads to an underestimation of the level of social inequality in education in Germany.