The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducts the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study of 15-year-old students’ academic achievement. In order to determine participants’ socioeconomic position, the study utilises a specially developed method based on self-reporting of household possessions. This information contributes to the formulation of policy recommendations aimed at reducing achievement gaps for socially disadvantaged students in schools and informs the conclusions of the PISA reports. However, controversy surrounds the validity and consistency of socioeconomic status measurements in each of the nations included in the PISA data.
The common socioeconomic status (SES) scale is called the index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS) in the dataset. The ESCS is a measurement of a student’s access to family resources (financial, social, cultural and human capital), which determine the family’s or household’s social position. To put it more clearly, ESCS is a composite score derived from the indicators of parental education, highest parental occupation, and household possessions including books at home.
