Delays in learning become more entrenched as children progress through education. Early equity is a lever that can transform overall equity within education systems. Achieving early equity, however, requires deliberate, at-scale action, before children arrive at school. Policy makers can improve early equity through access to early childhood education and care (ECEC), measures to ensure ECEC is of high quality, supporting strong links between children’s teachers and parents, and improving the quality of children’s home learning environments.
Student socio-economic status
Socio-economic status can have a powerful influence on learning outcomes. While poor performance does not automatically stem from socio-economic disadvantage, schools sometimes reproduce existing patterns of advantage and disadvantage, rather than create a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and outcomes for students.
Key messages
Education systems need to be designed in a way that enhances equity, ensures a high-quality education for every child, and at the same time avoids policies that hinder equity. Inequitable practices like grade repetition should be replaced with more effective measures such as targeted support. Delaying early student selection can mitigate inequities and enhance overall education standards. Additionally, it is crucial to offer flexibility in switching between upper secondary programmes if the current one no longer aligns with students’ interests or future ambitions. It is also important to offer students the ability to choose and specialise within programmes, e.g., their study subjects.
Schools are at the heart of education systems and efforts to improve equity and inclusion. To this end, it is important to strengthen school leadership, and attract, support and retain high-quality teachers. Moreover, education system should stimulate a supportive school climate, ensure effective classroom learning strategies, and prioritise linking schools with parents and communities. Developing these policies also requires a holistic approach. This implies the need to look beyond policy silos and connect them through a policy framework that links the key policy areas.
Context
Students’ socio-economic status varies between and within countries and economies
The average student socio-economic status is the highest in Norway, Denmark and Canada, and the lowest in Guatemala, Indonesia and Morocco. The range of socio-economic inequality within countries and economies is the widest in Morocco, Guatemala and Paraguay, and the narrowest in the United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Japan.
Student socio-economic status (2022)
Students’ socio-economic status accounts for a significant share of the variation in performance
On average across OECD countries, 15% of the variation in mathematics performance within each country is associated with socio-economic status. An education system is fairer when this relationship is weaker. In eight countries and economies, socio-economic status accounts for 20% or more of the variation. By contrast, socio-economic status accounts for less than 7% of the variation in 14 countries.
Strength of socio-economic gradient and mathematics performance (2022)
