“Are School-SES Effects Statistical Artefacts? Evidence from Longitudinal Population Data”, Gary N. Marks2015-01-26 (IQ & SES; similar)⁠:

Schools’ socioeconomic status (SES) has been claimed as an important influence on student performance and there are calls for a policy response. However, there is an extensive literature which for various reasons casts doubt on the veracity of school-SES effects.

This paper investigates school-SES effects with population data from a longitudinal cohort of school students which includes achievement measures in Years 3, 5 and 7.

Estimates for school-SES are unstable under differing model and measurement specifications. School-SES effects are trivial controlling for student-level and school-level prior ability. Inconsistent with theoretical explanations, school-SES effects were stronger with weaker SES measures. Furthermore, school-SES effects differ somewhat by achievement domain. Also contrary to expectations, there were school-SES effects on Year 7 achievement in secondary school for the primary schools students attended in Year 5. In each of 5 domains of achievement, fixed effect models show a small negative effect for school-SES and a small positive effect for school-level prior ability.

The large school-SES effects prominent in some research and policy literatures are statistical artefacts.

[Keywords: school SES, statistical artefacts, SES, prior ability, school-level prior ability]

See Also:

• “Inadequacies in the SES-Achievement model: Evidence from PISA and other studies”

• “No evidence for cumulating socioeconomic advantage. Ability explains increasing SES effects with age on children's domain test scores”

• “Does Attendance in Private Schools Predict Student Outcomes at Age 15? Evidence From a Longitudinal Study”

• “The Impact of Selective High Schools on Student Achievement: Evidence from New South Wales, Australia”

• “Are the effects of intelligence on student achievement and well-being largely functions of family income and social class? Evidence from a longitudinal study of Irish adolescents”

• “What Do Books in the Home Proxy For? A Cautionary Tale”

• “The Impact of Attending a School with High-Achieving Peers: Evidence from the New York City Exam Schools”

• “Is the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement causal? Considering student and parent abilities”

• “The Elite Illusion: Achievement Effects at Boston and New York Exam Schools”

• “How important are socioeconomic background and other factors to the university career vis-à-vis prior student performance: evidence from Australian longitudinal data”

• “Cognitive ability and Conscientiousness are more important than SES for educational attainment: An analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study”

• “Does Education Really Improve Health? A Meta-analysis”

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