Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research

This meta-analysis reviewed the literature on socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement in journal articles published between 1990 and 2000. The sample included 101,157 students, 6,871 schools, and 128 school districts gathered from 74 independent samples. The results showed a medium to strong SES–achievement relation. This relation, however, is moderated by the unit, the source, the range of SES variable, and the type of SES–achievement measure. The relation is also contingent upon school level, minority status, and school location. The author conducted a replica of White’s (1982) meta-analysis to see whether the SES–achievement correlation had changed since White’s initial review was published. The results showed a slight decrease in the average correlation. Practical implications for future research and policy are discussed.

[1]  I. Sigel,et al.  HANDBOOK OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY , 2006 .

[2]  A. Reiss,,et al.  Occupations and Social Status , 1962 .

[3]  A. Mood,et al.  Equality of Educational Opportunity. , 1967 .

[4]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[5]  O. D. Duncan,et al.  Socioeconomic Background and Achievement. , 1974 .

[6]  Thomas M. Smith,et al.  The Condition of education , 1975 .

[7]  A. Sockloff,et al.  Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences: (revised edition), by Jacob Cohen. New York: Academic Press, 1977, xv + 474 pp., $24.50. , 1978 .

[8]  John H. Clippinger.  The Hidden Agenda , 1979 .

[9]  Gene V. Glass,et al.  Meta-Analysis of Research on Class Size and Achievement , 1979 .

[10]  R. Rosenthal.  The file drawer problem and tolerance for null results , 1979 .

[11]  Charles W. Mueller,et al.  Measures of socioeconomic status: Alternatives and recommendations. , 1981 .

[12]  G. Glass,et al.  Meta-analysis in social research , 1981 .

[13]  K. White.  The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. , 1982 .

[14]  Marilyn J. Haring,et al.  Rigor in Data Synthesis: A Case Study of Reliability in Meta-analysis , 1982 .

[15]  R. Rosenthal.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1984 .

[16]  A. Gottfried.  Measures of Socioeconomic Status in Child Development Research: Data and Recommendations. , 1985 .

[17]  Ingram Olkin,et al.  Estimation of a Single Effect Size: Parametric and Nonparametric Methods , 1985 .

[18]  R. Rosenthal,et al.  Mediation of interpersonal expectancy effects: 31 meta-analyses. , 1985 .

[19]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[20]  L. Rosén,et al.  Hispanic-Anglo Differences in Academic Achievement , 1990 .

[21]  William E. Klingele,et al.  Influence of Cost and Demographic Factors on Reading Achievement , 1990 .

[22]  C. Patterson,et al.  Income level, gender, ethnicity, and household composition as predictors of children's school-based competence. , 1990, Child development.

[23]  Roger A. Johnson,et al.  Effect of Mobility on Academic Performance of Sixth Grade Students , 1991 .

[24]  J. Alspaugh.  Out-of-School Environmental Factors and Elementary-School Achievement in Mathematics and Reading. , 1991 .

[25]  L. Steinberg,et al.  Community Influences on the Relation of Family Statuses to Adolescent School Performance: Differences between African Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites , 1991, American Journal of Education.

[26]  R. Lerner.  Changing Organism-Context Relations as the Basic Process of Development: A Developmental Contextual Perspective. , 1991 .

[27]  P. Sleight,et al.  Publication bias , 1991, The Lancet.

[28]  Sarah Lord,et al.  What Are We Doing to Early Adolescents? The Impact of Educational Contexts on Early Adolescents , 1991, American Journal of Education.

[29]  Herbert J. Walberg,et al.  A Structural Model of Science Achievement. , 1991 .

[30]  Socioeconomic Measures and Achievement: Urban vs. Rural. , 1992 .

[31]  Herbert J. Walberg,et al.  A Process Model of Mathematics Achievement and Attitude. , 1992 .

[32]  E. Kennedy.  A Multilevel Study of Elementary Male Black Students and White Students , 1992 .

[33]  R. J. Thompson,et al.  The role of biomedical and psychosocial processes in the intellectual and academic functioning of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. , 1992, Journal of clinical psychology.

[34]  Ronald T. Brown,et al.  Cognitive and Academic Functioning in Children With Sickle-Cell Disease , 1993 .

[35]  Socioeconomic Status and Achievement Revisited , 1993 .

[36]  Gwenn W. Gröndal,et al.  Meta-analytic procedures for social research , 1993 .

[37]  S. Caldas.  Reexamination of Input and Process Factor Effects on Public School Achievement , 1993 .

[38]  C. Burton,et al.  The Effects of Social Class, Class Size and Prekindergarten Experience on Early School Adjustment. , 1993 .

[39]  M. Lipsey,et al.  The efficacy of psychological, educational, and behavioral treatment. Confirmation from meta-analysis. , 1993, American Psychologist.

[40]  H. Walberg,et al.  Toward a Knowledge Base for School Learning , 1993 .

[41]  Geoffrey F. Schultz.  Socioeconomic advantage and achievement motivation: Important mediators of academic performance in minority children in urban schools , 1993 .

[42]  Achievement, Socioeconomic Status and Self-Concepts of Fourth-Grade Students. , 1994 .

[43]  G. Duncan,et al.  Economic deprivation and early childhood development. , 1994, Child development.

[44]  B. Hart,et al.  Prediction of school outcomes based on early language production and socioeconomic factors. , 1994, Child development.

[45]  Doris R. Entwisle,et al.  The gender gap in math : its possible origins in neighborhood effects , 1994 .

[46]  N. Krieger,et al.  Social Class: The Missing Link in U.S. Health Data , 1994, International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation.

[47]  W. Clune.  The Shift from Equity to Adequacy in School Finance , 1994 .

[48]  D. Entwisle,et al.  When expectations work: race and socioeconomic differences in school performance , 1994 .

[49]  E. Dubow,et al.  Effects of poverty and quality of the home environment on changes in the academic and behavioral adjustment of elementary school-age children. , 1994 .

[50]  Shelagh A. Gallagher.  Middle school classroom predictors of science persistence , 1994 .

[51]  R. Hauser,et al.  Measuring socioeconomic status in studies of child development. , 1994, Child development.

[52]  N. Astone,et al.  Some Practical Guidelines for Measuring Youth's Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status , 1994 .

[53]  R. Hanka.  The Handbook of Research Synthesis , 1994 .

[54]  M. Slowiaczek,et al.  Parents' involvement in children's schooling: a multidimensional conceptualization and motivational model. , 1994, Child development.

[55]  R. Felner,et al.  Socioeconomic disadvantage, proximal environmental experiences, and socioemotional and academic adjustment in early adolescence: investigation of a mediated effects model. , 1995, Child development.

[56]  P. Mcdermott.  Sex, race, class, and other demographics as explanations for children's ability and adjustment: A national appraisal , 1995 .

[57]  Changing Populations, Changing Schools. Ninety-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Part II. , 1995 .

[58]  E. Kennedy.  Correlates of Perceived Popularity among Peers: A Study of Race and Gender Differences among Middle School Students. , 1995 .

[59]  J. Brooks-Gunn,et al.  Chapter XI: Families and Neighborhoods as Contexts for Education , 1995, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[60]  S. Kirby,et al.  Student Achievement and the Changing American Family , 1995 .

[61]  Multidimensional Self-Concepts and Achievement in African-American Middle School Students , 1995 .

[62]  S. Ehly.  Succeeding generations: On the effects of investments in children. , 1995 .

[63]  Dorothy Jo Stevens,et al.  Variables Related to Mathematics Achievement among Black Students. , 1996 .

[64]  Otis Dudley Duncan,et al.  A socioeconomic index for all occupations. , 1996 .

[65]  N. Gonzales,et al.  Family, peer, and neighborhood influences on academic achievement among African-American adolescents: One-year prospective effects , 1996, American journal of community psychology.

[66]  Chuansheng Chen,et al.  Long-Term Prediction of Academic Achievement of American, Chinese, and Japanese Adolescents , 1996 .

[67]  Douglas J. Lamdin.  Evidence of Student Attendance as an Independent Variable in Education Production Functions. , 1996 .

[68]  C. Patterson,et al.  Environmental risk factors and children's achievement from middle childhood to early adolescence. , 1996 .

[69]  W. Wilson.  When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor , 1996 .

[70]  R. Watts,et al.  Relationship between Self-Concept and Achievement for African American Preadolescents. , 1996 .

[71]  Greg J. Duncan,et al.  Neighborhood Poverty: Context and Consequences for Children, Volume I, and Neighborhood Poverty: Policy Implications in Studying Neighborhoods, Volume II , 1999 .

[72]  Steve W. Johnson,et al.  Variables Associated with Assigning Students to Behavioral Classrooms. , 1997 .

[73]  Greg J. Duncan,et al.  Neighborhood poverty I: Context and consequences for children , 1997 .

[74]  Robert Haveman and Barbara Wolfe, Succeeding Generations: On the Effects of Investments in Children. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1994 , 1997 .

[75]  J. R. Warren,et al.  4. Socioeconomic Indexes for Occupations: A Review, Update, and Critique , 1997 .

[76]  Linkages of School Structural and Socioenvironmental Characteristics to Parental Satisfaction With Public Education and Student Academic Achievement , 1997 .

[77]  G. Duncan,et al.  The effects of poverty on children. , 1997, The Future of children.

[78]  Baiyin Yang,et al.  Longitudinal Analysis of Select Influences on Adolescents' Occupational Aspirations , 1997 .

[79]  Jay Brand,et al.  File Drawer Problem , 2022, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[80]  R. Hauser,et al.  Verbal Ability and Socioeconomic Success: A Trend Analysis☆☆☆★ , 1997 .

[81]  Carl L. Bankston,et al.  Effect of School Population Socioeconomic Status on Individual Academic Achievement , 1997 .

[82]  L. B. Otto,et al.  Parental Involvement and Adolescent Development , 1997 .

[83]  Sociodemographic risj factors to intellectual and academic functioning in children with diabetes , 1997 .

[84]  T. Watkins.  Teacher Communications, Child Achievement, and Parent Traits in Parent Involvement Models , 1997 .

[85]  Carl L. Bankston,et al.  Family structure, schoolmates, and racial inequalities in school achievement , 1998 .

[86]  R. Walls,et al.  Effect of Title I Parent Involvement on Student Reading and Mathematics Achievement. , 1998 .

[87]  V. Mcloyd,et al.  Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. , 1998, The American psychologist.

[88]  Harold H. Wenglinsky.  Finance Equalization and Within-School Equity: The Relationship Between Education Spending and the Social Distribution of Achievement , 1998 .

[89]  S. Balli,et al.  Family involvement with children's homework: An intervention in the middle grades. , 1998 .

[90]  Carl L. Bankston,et al.  The Inequality of Separation: Racial Composition of Schools and Academic Achievement , 1998 .

[91]  Frederick J. Morrison,et al.  Predicting kindergarten academic skills: Interactions among child care, maternal education, and family literacy environments , 1998 .

[92]  David I. Levine,et al.  The Nels Curve: Replicating the Bell Curve Analyses with the National Educational Longitudinal Survey , 1998 .

[93]  U. Bronfenbrenner,et al.  The ecology of developmental processes. , 1998 .

[94]  Sherri F. Seyfried.  Academic Achievement of African American Preadolescents: The Influence of Teacher Perceptions , 1998, American journal of community psychology.

[95]  L. Hedges,et al.  Fixed- and random-effects models in meta-analysis. , 1998 .

[96]  H. Cooper.  Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews , 1998 .

[97]  H. Ricciuti.  Single parenthood and school readiness in White, Black, and Hispanic 6- and 7-year-olds. , 1999 .

[98]  M. Martinez-pons,et al.  Mathematics Self-Efficacy, Ethnic Identity, Gender, and Career Interests Related to Mathematics and Science , 1999 .

[99]  Irina R. Soderstrom,et al.  Predicting Elementary and Secondary School Achievement With School-Related and Demographic Factors , 1999 .

[100]  Greg J. Duncan,et al.  The Consequences of Growing Up Poor , 1999 .

[101]  W. Collins,et al.  Early Environmental Support and Elementary School Adjustment as Predictors of School Adjustment in Middle Adolescence , 1999 .

[102]  Predicting developmental outcomes at school entry using a multiple-risk model: four American communities. The Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. , 1999, Developmental psychology.

[103]  S. Caldas,et al.  Multilevel Examination of Student, School, and District-Level Effects on Academic Achievement , 1999 .

[104]  A. C. Kerckhoff,et al.  District variations in educational resources and student outcomes , 2000 .

[105]  E. Hishinuma,et al.  Variation in self-esteem among adolescents in an Asian/Pacific-Islander sample , 2000 .

[106]  S. Luthar,et al.  Academic Risk Among Inner-City Adolescents: The Role of Personal Attributes. , 2000, Journal of school psychology.

[107]  Kusum Singh,et al.  Effect of Part-Time Work on High School Mathematics and Science Course Taking , 2000 .

[108]  S. Jimerson,et al.  A prospective longitudinal study of high school dropouts: Examining multiple predictors across development. , 2000 .

[109]  Christopher B. Forrest,et al.  The Validity of Measures of Socioeconomic Status of Adolescents , 2000 .

[110]  Mark W. Lipsey,et al.  Practical Meta-Analysis , 2000 .

[111]  C. Ramey,et al.  Modeling Intraindividual Changes in Children's Social Skills at Home and at School: A Multivariate Latent Growth Approach to Understanding Between-Settings Differences in Children's Social Skill Development , 2000, Multivariate behavioral research.

[112]  Jennifer L. Glanville,et al.  SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND CLASS IN STUDIES OF FERTILITY AND HEALTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES , 2001 .

[113]  S. Dika,et al.  Applications of Social Capital in Educational Literature: A Critical Synthesis , 2002 .

[114]  M. Ensminger,et al.  A decade of measuring SES: What it tells us and where to go from here. , 2003 .

[115]  M. Bornstein,et al.  Socioeconomic Status, Parenting, and Child Development , 2003 .

[116]  J. Gill.  Hierarchical Linear Models , 2005 .