Early Tracking and the Misfortune of Being Young

Recent research suggests that the relative age of a student within a grade has a causal effect on educational achievement, and that this effect fades with the duration of schooling. In this study, we estimate the causal relative-age effect on track choice in Austria, a country where students are first tracked in grade 5 (at the age of 10 years), and again in grade 9. We find a strong positive relative-age effect on track choice in grades 5–8. The age effect persists beyond grade 8 for students from less-favorable socioeconomic backgrounds and students in urban areas.