Can group composition effects explain socioeconomic and ethnic achievement gaps in primary education?

Abstract

This study investigates whether group composition effects (GCE) can help to explain why achievement gaps encountered by low-SES students with or without migration background are not fully reduced or even widen in the course of their primary school careers. The study used data from a longitudinal study with mathematics achievement as dependent variable. Higher proportions of low-SES students with migration background were found to be associated with lower math scores at the start of Grade 1 over and above the effects of students’ individual backgrounds. But group composition was not negatively associated with learning gains. The results indicate that desegregating schools will not by itself raise low-SES minority students’ achievement levels.