In contrast, tracking in Austria and Germany begins when students are just 10 years old (OECD, 2012c). Higher curricular standards with emphasis on fundamental cognitive skills can help provide disadvantaged students with the generalisable skills they need to succeed in the workplace. The quality of lower level tracks can also be improved (Hattie, 2009). For example, several German states have combined the two lower level tracks (Realschule and Hauptschule) into one, in order to increase the available resources and quality of education offered to students.