Large-scale international achievement studies such as PISA have been widely used to study how educational inequality compares across countries. Yet the various different biases that may affect these estimates are often not considered or are poorly understood. In this paper we draw upon the total survey error framework to provide a case study of…

This paper identifies which investments in school facilities help students and are valued by homeowners. Using novel data on school district bonds, test scores, and house prices for 29 U.S. states and a research design that exploits close elections with staggered timing, we show that increased school capital spending raises test scores and house…

This statewide, multiyear study was an examination of industry-based certification attainment rates by the economic status of Texas public high school graduates. Data analyzed were provided by the Texas Education Agency via the Texas Academic Performance Reports for the 2019-2020, 2020-2021, and 2021-2022 school years. Inferential statistical…

This paper identifies which investments in school facilities help students and are valued by homeowners. Using novel data on school district bonds, test scores, and house prices for 29 U.S. states and a research design that exploits close elections with staggered timing, we show that increased school capital spending raises test scores and house…

Although there is an abundance of research on the association of school poverty (or socioeconomic status) and test score level, there is very little rigorous longitudinal evidence on the cumulative effects of exposure to differing school contexts. Drawing from methods used first in epidemiology and then in neighborhood effects research, we use…

This paper presents an analysis of the extent to which poor pupils in England are clustered in schools with others like them. It is based on a segregation index of pupils eligible for free school meals for every year for which official national data is available. The trend over time has been published before up to 2019, and this paper extends the…

Despite decades of research and policy efforts, socioeconomic disparities in educational outcomes persist in the United States. In this dissertation, I examine these disparities, focusing on access to higher education during the later years and on academic achievement during elementary school. I explore the importance of family, neighborhood, and…

The concept of differentiation holds immense significance in education, touching upon aspects like access, inclusion, justice, and equality. However, it is also a complex and elusive notion, which acquires different meanings across historical and cultural contexts. This article explores the shifting reasoning about differentiation in the Swedish…

We conducted three preregistered studies using the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to provide a worldwide estimation of the standardized test gap between students from lower and higher social classes. We investigated: (a) the degree to which academic anxiety…

Using school-month-level learning mode data and high school completion rates across three school years from 429 Wisconsin public high schools, this study examines the impact of disruptions to in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic on high school completion rates, with a focus on socioeconomic disparities. Findings reveal that a longer…

Some prominent theorists and philosophers of education recently offered their reflections on the ongoing crisis. In this article, the authors want to address structural inequality in the Scottish context: the oft-decried attainment gap. Promises to deliver educational equity in Scotland by closing the attainment gap have seldom looked as hollow as…

This paper reports the results of a document analysis study examining the policies, trends, and conceptions developed by the OECD in the last 15 years regarding the development and mainstreaming of globalised policies of migrant education. From the process of the analysis, three thematic categories emerged: (i) Socio-economic aspects of education:…

The current study evaluates effects of teaching factors and extended day programs regarding both average achievement and socioeconomic achievement gaps. Analyses are based on data from the National Educational Panel Study in Germany. The sample comprises 1523 students in 120 classes in 71 secondary schools. The investigation period covers fifth…

Graduation rates and standardized test scores are common indicators to measure student academic achievement. These indicators have revealed a gap between two socioeconomic cohorts of students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Students attending high-poverty schools have lower academic performance than students attending low-poverty schools. As a…

Reducing physical contact has been the most common strategy adopted by governments to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 disease. It has led most countries to close their schools. Previous evidence on the effects of teacher strikes, summer holidays, armed conflicts or any other cause of school closure on learning suggest that the effects of…