Children from socio-economically disadvantaged families face equity gaps before they even start formal education. New evidence from the OECD’s International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study shows that by the age of five, disadvantaged children are already behind more advantaged children by 12 months of development. This is an enormous gap for any five-year-old to close, and most will not do so.
Yet early equity can be achieved. OECD data shows that children from disadvantaged families can reach the same levels of development as children from advantaged families.
