In more competitive school environments, lower-SES students perform better academically than their more advantaged peers, narrowing SES achievement gaps¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across mathematics and reading achievement in the 69-country PISA 2018 analysis, the SES-by-competitiveness interaction favored lower-SES students, narrowing achievement gaps; no effect size for this interaction is printed in the supplied text. → Nathalie Aerts 2026

Evidence¶

Nathalie Aerts 2026¶

Nathalie Aerts, Thijs Bol, Eddie Brummelman. (2026). Competitive school environments and socioeconomic achievement inequality: A preregistered analysis of data from 69 countries. Learning and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2026.102414

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Preregistered three-level hierarchical linear modeling of PISA 2018 data with mathematics and reading achievement as outcomes. The article reports students from lower SES backgrounds "performed better in more competitive environments, narrowing achievement gaps," with statistically significant but small interactions.

"Contrary to our hypotheses, students from lower SES backgrounds had more positive self-views and performed better in more competitive environments, narrowing achievement gaps. While these interactions were statistically significant, effects sizes were small."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• In more competitive school environments, students from lower SES backgrounds report more positive self-views than their more advantaged peers, narrowing SES gaps in self-views — related
• The moderating effects of school competitiveness on SES gaps were statistically significant but small in size — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-average-ability schools (the BFLPE), with a cross-national effect size of 0.49 — related
• Cooperative Learning Improves Achievement — related
• Small-group learning improves undergraduate STEM achievement — related