Does Tracking Shape the Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment? Evidence from Switzerland

The Swiss schooling system is characterized by early tracking of pupils into di erent types of education, which suggests that the impact of parental background may a ect transitions at a relatively young age which condition the future transitions of their children as well as their nal educational attainment. In this study, we investigate the impact of family background variables on schooling outcomes at upper secondary level by means of a two-stage estimation model. Our empirical speci cation enables us to take into account the cumulative impact of parental variables on tracking and on upper secondary school achievement. As expected, favourable family background attributes are positively correlated with school outcomes at all stages but we show that parental e ects remain important at higher grade levels, even with early selection through tracking and after controlling for cognitive ability. These ndings are especially relevant for girls and should help policymakers in designing equal opportunity tracking schemes, especially at young ages.