Catching Up or Lagging Behind? A PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) Study of Migrant Children's Academic Achievement in Shanghai

• In Event: Mixed Methods Approaches to Assessment, Evaluation, and Accountability Effectiveness in Schools: Graduate Student Reports

Abstract

Since early 1990s, China has faced with the challenge of educating millions of migrant children who encountered difficulties in receiving free compulsory education in urban areas due to household registration system hukou and decentralized financing in education. The latest educational policy in Shanghai in 2008 provided equal access to migrant children in local public schools. Using PISA 2012, this study examines whether the new policies in Shanghai have led to equitable achievement for migrant children. The Shanghai dataset is collected from 6,374 students in 155 schools from both migrant and public schools. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to analyze whether it is school or individual factors that helps to close the achievement gap between migrant and local students.

Author

• Hao Zhu, University of Missouri - Columbia