Do Academic Tracks with Specific Curricular Profiles Accelerate the Development of Achievement in Reading, Mathematics, and English Literacy? Early Transition to the Academic Track of Secondary Schooling in Berlin

This article examines whether students' learning gains in reading, mathematics, and English depend on the time of their transition from elementary school to the academic track of secondary schooling ( grade 4 vs. grade 6) and on the profile of the academic-track Gymnasium school attended. Based on data from the ELEMENT study, the learning gains of fifth and sixth graders in elementary (N = 3169) and Gymnasium (N = 1758) schools were modeled using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. When achievement-related differences at the end of grade 4 were controlled, no statistically significant differences in reading comprehension were found between the student groups at the end of grades 6. Substantial differences in mathematics achievement emerged in favor of a single Gymnasium that had not yet developed a specific curricular profile at the time of assessments. In English, where curricular differences are more pronounced, positive results emerged for schools with accelerated profiles, for the English-bilingual profile, and for the Gymnasium without a specific profile in comparison to elementary schools; the findings for Gymnasium schools focusing on the classics were negative. The findings refute the common assumption that early transition to the academic track of secondary schooling has generally positive effects on the reading and mathematics literacy of high-performing students. The findings for English indicate that differences in learning trajectories may be more pronounced when different educational programs are associated with differences in classroom instruction. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed.