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Inequity and excellence in academic performance: evidence from 27 countries
Parker, Philip D. Marsh, Herbert W. Jerrim, John P. Guo, Jiesi Dicke, Theresa
Parker, Philip D.
Marsh, Herbert W.
Jerrim, John P.
Guo, Jiesi
Dicke, Theresa
Abstract
Research suggests that a country does not need inequity to have high performance. However, such research has potentially suffered from confounders present in between-country comparative research (e.g., latent cultural differences). Likewise, relatively little consideration has been given to whether the situation may be different for high- or low-performing students. Using five cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) database, the current research explores within-country trajectories in achievement and inequality measures to test the hypothesis of an excellence/equity tradeoff in academic performance. We found negative relations between performance and inequality that are robust and of statistical and practical significance. Follow-up analysis suggests a focus on low and average performers may be critical to successful policy interventions.
Keywords
achievement stratification, cross-cultural comparisons, educational inequality, PISA
Date
2018
Type
Journal article
Journal
American Educational Research Journal
Book
Volume
55
Issue
4
Page Range
836-858
Article Number
ACU Department
Faculty of Education and Arts
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Open
Controlled
Controlled
Notes
Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. DOI: 10.3102/0002831218760213