Socioeconomic Achievement Gaps: Trend Results for Education Systems

Abstract

This study compared the SES achievement gaps of 13 education systems in both mathematics and science over time. Each education system was initially categorized as either a system with “increasing SES achievement gaps” or “decreasing SES achievement gaps,” based on 20-year trends in the IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). For example, achievement gaps between low- and high-SES students significantly widened over this time in Hungary, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lithuania, and Singapore, while in Norway, Slovenia, and the United States, student achievement gaps in either mathematics or science narrowed between 1995 and 2015. Education system specific graphs show trends in the achievement gaps between high- and low-SES students, as well as trends for low-SES students reaching the TIMSS intermediate benchmark over time. Monitoring intermediate changes between 1995 and 2003, and between 2003 and 2015, as well as in-depth analysis of relevant country-specific macroeconomic indicators for each education system, provides further context.