This paper explores the PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment] achievement of twenty countries in light of some of their demographic differences. SES [student socioeconomic status], nuclear family, gender, home language, and native status were predictive of achievement for every country. Demographics accounted for as little as 8…

A study was undertaken in Ireland to test the hypothesis that teachers' judgments of reading were a function not only of a child's actual reading ability but also of his or her socioeconomic status. The sample consisted of 28 primary school teachers and their 804 students. The teachers administered a reading test to their classes and at the same…

Approximately 4,000 children took part in a study of the reading attainments of children from different social-class backgrounds in Irish primary schools to find out if the progessive reading gap between children from different home backgrounds that has been observed in other countries could also be found in Irish school children. Tests were…