3.6 Conclusion This chapter shows that there is a strong relationship between early skill levels and those at the end of primary school. Using unique Dutch data, we find significant sixth-grade achievement gaps related to parental education, sex, and migration background. These achievement gaps largely stem from initial disparities among students. The achievement gap related to parental education also exists before second grade, but widens during primary school. Between 31% and 49% of the achievement gap between students of low- and middle-educated parents, and 34% to 47% of the gap between students of high- and middle-educated parents, are formed between grades two and six. Female students consistently outperform male peers in reading, with 82% of their advantage by the end of primary school originating before second grade. Sixth-grade achievement differences between male and female students in spelling and math are entirely established before second grade. Achievement gaps between native and migrant students are also related to differences at the beginning of primary school, but decline throughout the primary school period. Migrant students make larger learning advancements than their native peers in primary education, ultimately outperforming them in sixth grade. The chapter contributes to the literature on the development of achievement gaps in early childhood, building on the work of Passaretta and Skopek (2018b), Passaretta et al. (2022), Skopek and Passaretta (2018), and Van Huizen (2018). We examine achievement gaps by SES, sex, and migration background. Our findings regarding 73
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