What somebody achieves in life should not be determined by parents' education and income. In Austria, educational success is inherited. At the age of 10, children from educationally distant families have already lost up to 3 years of schooling compared to children of academics. (PISA 2009, National Education Report 2012)
Austria is one of the three OECD countries where educational advancement is the worst. Only 21 percent of 25- to 64-year-olds graduate higher than their parents. Austria also has the greatest downward mobility among those whose parents are tertiary. In addition to poor chances for educational advancement Austria is thus also "top" in educational descent. (Statistics Austria 2012/13, OECD 2014)
Children and adolescents from socially disadvantaged families or those with a migrant background are the losers of the education system. What is lacking in family support due to its background or socio-cultural background is hardly absorbed by the education system. This leaves considerable potential and talents unused for society.
Almost two-thirds of 17-year-olds whose parents have a university degree attend a matura-completing school. However, if the parents only have compulsory schooling, the prospect of an AHS high school diploma is only 8 percent. Eighty-two percent of early school leavers come from secondary schools, new middle schools, polytechnic schools or cooperative middle schools.
Finding work takes significantly longer for people with compulsory schooling. It takes an average of 42 months for them to get their first job. That's three times as long as everyone else. Statistically, they are often unemployed and have a lower life expectancy.