The Transition from Elementary to Secondary Education in Germany: Definition, Specification, and Quantification of the Primary and Secondary Effects of Social Background

This study analyzes the primary and secondary effects of social background at the transition to lower secondary education in Germany. To this end, Boudon's theoretical model was extended to include factors of specific relevance to the German education system (grades and tracking recommendation). Educational inequality results from the interaction of social background, objective student achievement and grades awarded, the tracking recommendation of the elementary school, and the actual transition behavior. Analyses showed that social background affects transition behavior, the tracking recommendations made, grading, and objective achievement. Primary and secondary effects were then decomposed to identify the points at which social background influences the transition to secondary education. Whereas primary effects were indirect in all cases, secondary effects were both indirect and direct. Primary and secondary effects were found for each of the three outcomes considered (grades awarded, tracking recommendations, and transition behavior). For grades awarded, the relative proportion of primary effects was larger than that of secondary effects. For tracking recommendations, both effects were of the same size. For transition behavior, the relative proportion of secondary effects was larger than that of primary effects. The article thus provides first insights into the composition of social background effects and the specific impact of primary and secondary effects.