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Socioeconomic Status and School Type as Predictors of Academic Achievement

Author

Listed:
  • H. Eren SUNA

    (Ministry of National Education, Ankara, Turkey)

  • Hande TANBERKAN

    (Ministry of National Education, Ankara, Turkey)

  • Bekir S. GÜR

    (Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of Media and Communication, Ankara, Turkey)

  • Matjaz PERC

    (University of Maribor, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Maribor, Slovenia)

  • Mahmut ÖZER

    (Ministry of National Education, Ankara, Turkey)

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of socioeconomic status and school type on academic achievement based on data from two million students over a 10 year period through three national transition systems in Turkey. Each of the three transition systems has its own national examination, and the data includes only students who took these exams. We used covariance analysis to compare the mean scores of public schools and private schools after controlling the effect of students’ socioeconomic levels. We found that students in private schools, who were socioeconomically stronger, had significantly higher academic achievement levels in language, mathematics, and science tests, and this finding was valid across all three transition systems. These effects were further exuberated when all the students were tracked by means of a national exam and placed into different high schools. It was found that the negative impact of one’s socioeconomic level on students’ scores reached its maximum value when all students were placed into high schools by means of a national exam. In all systems, the mean scores of private school students decreased significantly when the socioeconomic level was controlled. Our research has important implications for school tracking policies, specifically indicating that it would be better to omit or at least delay their deployment to post high-school education.

Suggested Citation

  • H. Eren SUNA & Hande TANBERKAN & Bekir S. GÜR & Matjaz PERC & Mahmut ÖZER, 2020. "Socioeconomic Status and School Type as Predictors of Academic Achievement," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 61(0), pages 41-64, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ist:iujecs:v:61:y:2020:i:0:p:41-64
    DOI: 10.26650/JECS2020-0034
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    Cited by:

    1. Hayri Eren Suna & Mahmut Ozer & Sadri Sensoy & Bekir Siddik Gur & Selahattin Gelbal & Petek Aşkar, 2021. "Determinants of Academic Achievement in Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 64(64), pages 143-162, December.
    2. Bölükbaş, Sema & Gür, Bekir S., 2020. "Tracking and inequality: The results from Turkey," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Shang, Jing & Zeng, Mingbin & Zhang, Gupeng, 2022. "Investigating the mentorship effect on the academic success of young scientists: An empirical study of the 985 project universities of China," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).
    4. Keskiner, Hilal & Gür, Bekir S., 2023. "Questioning merit-based scholarships at nonprofit private universities: Lessons from Turkey," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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