The value-added of studying at multi-year gymnasia in the light of available data sources

Abstract

The results of students at different basic and secondary schools vary largely in the Czech Republic compared to other countries, and there is a strong connection between the results of students and family background. The Czech education system is also highly stratified, and student tracking begins at a young age. In this respect the most controversial element in the system are the multi-year gymnasia, the existence of which is nonetheless strongly supported by the public. This support is based on the conviction that multi-year gymnasia provide the most talented students with a good education, enable more rapid cognitive development for these students, and thus help cultivate Czech elites. This article sets out to verify whether multi-year gymnasia genuinely fulfil the function associated with them. Hypotheses about the role of multi-year gymnasia are tested using data from the OECD PISA 2000 and OECD PISA 2006 surveys, the PISA-L longitudinal survey, and Higher Education Studies 2004 survey. The main analytic methods used are multi-level modelling and logistic regression. © 2010 Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Praha.