Do social variables affect school placement decisions in Luxembourg?

In Luxembourg, the assignment of primary-school students to one of the tracks in secondary school is regulated by the Luxembourgish Ministry of Education. These regulations entail four criteria according to which decisions about the assignment should be made. With the study at hand, it was examined whether teachers meet these four criteria when assigning students to either the academic track or the vocational track of secondary school. We conducted multi-level regression analyses on a representative sample of 2,731 Luxembourgish primary school 6th graders. Six major results were obtained. (1) Students’ school marks in language courses were most predictive for school placement decisions. (2) School marks were on average of more predictive value than were scores of standardized scholastic achievement tests. (3) Working and learning habits of the students played a role when teachers made their school placement decisions. (4) There was a strong positive relationship between the teachers’ placement decisions and the parents’ schooling preferences. (5) The socio-economic back- ground of the students did substantially affect school placement decisions. (6) Even when achievement variables were controlled for, migration background of students contributed significantly to teachers’ school placement decisions.