– In every country, there is a significant relationship between science performance and SES.
– In many school systems, the inequality in schooling outcomes associated with SES is entrenched in the mechanisms through which students are allocated to schools, including residential segregation, private schooling, special programs in the public sector, and selective tracks that channel students into different schools based on their prior achievement or ability.
– An understanding of the nature of socioeconomic gradients and the role of school composition is central to discussions about educational quality, equality, and equity.
– The author proposes five types of interventions for raising and leveling the learning bar:
– – Performance-targeted interventions aim to improve the levels of schooling outcomes of students who have low performance in a particular domain.
– – SES-targeted interventions can entail the same kinds of interventions as performance-targeted interventions, except that they are directed toward children from low SES families.
– – Compensatory interventions provide additional economic resources to students from low SES families.
– – Universal interventions are targeted at all children in a jurisdiction. They strive to raise performance uniformly.
– – Inclusive interventions attempt to reduce horizontal segregation with policies that redistribute low SES students into mainstream schools.