School Inequality in Shanghai's Secondary Education: Evidence From PISA 2009 and 2012

• In Event: International Work on PISA

Abstract

Drawing up the PISA 2009 and 2012 Shanghai data, this study examines whether students’ performance vary across schools, to which extent individual and school level characteristics explain the variance in students’ performance, and more importantly whether there is academic sorting among secondary schools in Shanghai, with a particular focus on private middle schools. Moreover, we investigate the effect of attending private middle schools on student educational achievement gaps. This study is pertinent to the growing concern and debate over educational inequality in China. Using a quasi-experimental method - the propensity score matching with weighting, this study also contributes to the literature on the effect of academic sorting on students’ achievement.

Authors

• Yifan Bai, American Institutes for Research

• Huacong Liu

• Soo-yong Byun, The Pennsylvania State University