According to research led by Bastian Ravesteijn, Associate Professor of Applied economics at Erasmus School of Economics, children in rural areas are, in comparison with urban areas, a lot more likely to receive a recommendation on their education level which is too low. How does this come about? In an article from De Volkskrant, Ravesteijn highlights some interesting findings and offers possible explanations.
Ravesteijn and his team gathered data from the opportunities map (Kansenkaart) of all Dutch pupils who finished their primary education between 2015 and 2019, ending with the final test (in Dutch: eindtoets). By comparing the test results with the final advice that the children were given by their schools, Ravesteijn was able to compose an image showing the discrepancies between these two results for different wealth groups and different locations in the Netherlands. The results were baffling: children from households with relatively low incomes receive on average a lower advice concerning their further education in comparison with their richer peers. Children growing up in a high-earning environment are as much as four times more likely to continue their education attending havo or vwo.
Starting with a disadvantage
However, this was not the variable with the most impact: location trumps income. In rural areas, children are significantly more likely to receive a recommendation which is too low. This effect is much more potent: children in rural areas as a whole, independent of the income of their households, are facing inequality in terms of opportunities in comparison with their peers from urban areas. Since the recommendation of the school is leading and not the advice following from the eindtoets, this is worrisome; the impact of a low advice will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of these children. If a child receives the advice to attend vmbo instead of havo, he or she is most likely to obtain a degree at vmbo. Despite a child’s possibly higher capabilities, it is quite likely to be stuck.
Possible explanations
The difference between the advice of the school and the eindtoets can be caused by many factors, according to Ravesteijn. For instance, a child’s work attitude, development and support at home all have an impact on the decision of the school to give a certain recommendation. Ravesteijn: ‘Maybe we have to ascertain that both the teacher and eindtoets are not able to accurately depict the capabilities of an eleven-year-old child’.
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You can download the full article from De Volkskrant, 10 April 2021, above or read the article in the Ijmuider Courant from 15 April 2021 (both in Dutch).