The effectiveness of alternative education: a comparison between primary Dalton schools and traditional schools on outcomes of schooling

With approximately 800 schools, alternative education is a substantial part of primary education in the Netherlands. With nearly 400 schools, Dalton education is the largest form of alternative education in the Netherlands. Given the size and popularity of Dalton education, it is rather remarkable that the effects of these schools have hardly been subject of empirical research. The aim of this study is to compare the cognitive and noncognitive outcomes and citizenship competencies of students attending Dalton schools with those of students from traditional schools. The scores of students in kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade on language, math (cognitive outcomes), wellbeing, self-efficacy, task motivation (noncognitive outcomes), and citizenship competencies were compared. The results from multilevel analyses show that there are hardly any significant differences between Dalton schools and traditional schools on these measures.