The role of school composition in educational attainment: evidence from Austrian register data

This study investigates how the socioeconomic composition of lower secondary schools in Austria’s highly tracked education system is associated with students’ subsequent educational attainment. Drawing on comprehensive register data, we examine whether students with comparable starting conditions follow different trajectories depending on school context. We find strong and persistent composition effects: attending a socially disadvantaged school is linked to a lower likelihood of Matura attainment (university entrance qualification) and a higher likelihood of early school leaving, even after accounting for prior achievement, school type, and family background. These effects are more pronounced for positive outcomes and for lower-SES students. Analyses further reveal that students from privileged backgrounds retain high educational success probabilities across contexts, while disadvantaged students are doubly burdened – by selection into less favourable schools and by heightened sensitivity to composition. Our findings highlight the lasting influence of school context and call for policies that reduce social segregation in education.