Determinants of elementary school achievement and their prognostic value for success in the secondary school

The right choice of a secondary school after completion of the primary level is from the psychological, pedagogical and sociological point of view of significance. It raises the question to what extent scientifically founded criteria with regard to the choice of the secondary school or the prediction of general school success are available. In this empirical study the following variables are considered: teacher assessment at the primary level, school achievement tests and family milieu as decesive indictors for the prognoses of school success or for the choice of a secondary school. Further results of this study show that later school success (or lack of school success) is very early conditioned and later compensation is, statistically viewed, improbable.