Does school SES matter less for high-performing students than for their lower-performing peers? A quantile regression analysis of PISA 2018 Australia

Abstract

Background While the relationship between school socioeconomic composition and student academic outcomes is well established, knowledge about differential effects is not extensive. In particular, little is known whether the relationship differs for students with varying levels of academic performance. We examined whether the school socioeconomic composition effect on academic achievement is stronger or weaker for high-performing students than for average- and low-performing students. Australia is a theoretically interesting case study as it has high levels of school socioeconomic segregation compared to other economically developed countries. Methods We conducted quantile regression analysis using data from the Australia PISA 2018 sample (N = 14,273 15-year-old students). We examined the effect of school socioeconomic status (school SES) on student performance in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. Results We found that the school socioeconomic composition effect is substantial and is similar for all students, regardless of their level of academic performance. The findings also show that school SES is a stronger predictor than student SES for all student performance quintiles, and the size of the school SES effect relative to the size of student SES effect is larger in lower performance quintiles. Conclusions These results indicate no differential effect of school SES on reading, mathematical or scientific literacy for students of varying levels of academic performance. The relationship is similarly strong and positive for high-performing students as it is for their lower performing peers. As school SES is a strong predictor for all students regardless of their level of academic performance, we argue that equity of educational outcomes can be best achieved by policies and structures that promote socioeconomically mixed rather than segregated schools. We also call for more research that seeks to identify and understand possible differential effects of school socioeconomic composition on a range of academic and non-cognitive student outcomes.

Analisis Proses Pemecahan Masalah Peserta Didik Dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Berorientasi Pisa

“…Hacatrjana (2022) menegaskan pentingnya kemampuan kognitif sebagai prediktor penting dalam pencapaian akademik, serta peran tingkat pendidikan orang tua. Pendapat lain dikemukakan oleh Meng & Liu (2022) serta Perry et al (2022) yang menyatakan bahwa pengaruh komposisi sosial ekonomi sekolah cukup besar dan serupa untuk semua siswa, terlepas dari tingkat prestasi akademik mereka.…”

Impact of school SES on literacy development

“…School composition has been proposed as a key factor in academic achievement in several studies. In most of these studies, school SES has been operationalized as the average of students’ individual SES [ 13 , 21 – 24 ]. Moreover, some studies point to the fact that school climate, teacher practices and attitudes, as well as emphasis on academic achievement may be found to differ in low-SES schools when compared to more affluent schools [ 25 ].…”

“…Moreover, some studies point to the fact that school climate, teacher practices and attitudes, as well as emphasis on academic achievement may be found to differ in low-SES schools when compared to more affluent schools [ 25 ]. In short, SES at the individual but, especially, at the school level has been shown to significantly affect literacy outcomes [ 24 – 26 ]. Nonetheless, most research has been conducted in English-speaking populations and has focused on overall academic achievement, rather than on specific literacy skills.…”