Measuring Family Socioeconomic Status in PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2006

• In Event: Measuring Student Home Background in Large Cross-National Studies: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

Abstract

The literature provides conclusive evidence of a positive relationship between student SES and academic performance in school. Extensive national and international educational research has studied the underlying processes that configure this relationship. Calculating a sound SES measure is a critical step in these studies. This paper shows step by step a procedure to calculate and validate a family SES measure using data from Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006. Variables characterizing parental education, parental occupations, home possessions, and financial status are reduced into a single SES measure using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The conceptual definition of SES, its reliability and cross-cultural validity are discussed, offering recommendations for further research and survey developers. The presented procedure can be generally applied to national and international large-scale assessment studies. Its illustration is the main contribution of this paper.

Authors

• Daniel H. Caro, IEA Data Processing and Research Center

• Diego Cortés, IEA Data Processing and Research Center