School climate and the socioeconomic literacy achievement gap: Multilevel analysis of compensation, mediation, and moderation models

Abstract

Literacy mastery and achievements are central to students’ long-term academic trajectories and future prospects, yet significant achievement gaps persist globally among students and schools of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and their more affluent counterparts. Using a nationally representative sample of fifth- and eighth-grade students in Israel (N = 53,801), this study carefully tested whether schools’ positive social climate could compensate for the negative contribution of poor SES background to literacy scores, mediate the SES–test scores association, or moderate the strength of the association between SES and achievement. Findings indicate that school climate plays an important role in accounting for literacy scores, beyond students’ and schools’ SES. Further, positive climate narrowed the literacy achievement gap among schools catering to high-poverty and more resourced communities, suggesting the importance of using a whole-school approach to improve and sustain positive climate. Additional implications for practice, educational policy, and future research are discussed.