Chapter 3. Primary School Skill Development: from First to Sixth Grade Abstract Disparities in children’s skills at the start of primary education raise the question whether these disparities persist throughout primary school, and whether performance gaps by student characteristics change during this period. We examine skill development from first to sixth grade with Dutch data. Our findings indicate a strong relationship between early skill levels and those at the end of primary school. Sixth-grade disparities largely stem from initial differences. Performance gaps by SES widen over the primary school years, the development of sex achievement gaps varies across domains, and gaps by migration background in favor of native students disappear during this period. These findings highlight the persistence of early skills during the primary school period. 40
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