Overcoming social background

Volume II of PISA's 2009 results looks at how successful education systems moderate the impact of social background and immigrant status on student and school performance. The volume opens with an introduction to PISA and a Reader's Guide providing information that will help readers understand the data. Chapter 1 focuses on the magnitude of differences in student performance across countries and the extent to which these differences relate to socio-economic background. Chapter 2 examines the extent to which students and schools with different socio-economic backgrounds have access to similar educational resources, and the impact of background and school on learning outcomes. Chapter 3 examines the relationship between student performance and different aspects of socio-economic background. Chapter 4 compares the performance of students with an immigrant background with the performance of other students. Chapter 5 analyses the impact of socio-economic background of schools on reading performance. The final chapter examines policy implications of the findings. Annexes provide detailed statistical data and technical information.