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Study Shows that Education Equality Improves Student Performance
Professor Chiu Ming Ming from the Department of Educational Psychology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dr. Lawrence Khoo from the Department of Economics and Finance of the City University of Hong Kong conducted the first large-scale international study of how education inequality affects overall student achievement. The study was based on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The data include the reading, science, and mathematics test scores and questionnaire responses of 193,076 fifteen-year-olds in 41 countries and regions, including Hong Kong. Study findings show that students in regions with higher degrees of education equality (e.g. Hong Kong, Finland, South Korea) outscored those in regions with less equality (e.g. USA, Germany, Argentina). Specifically, students had lower test scores if there is unequal distribution of school resources by government, segregation of rich and poor students into different schools, or privilege bias favoring rich students (e.g. more teacher attention). With higher inequality, families need to earn more so that their children can receive the same level of education. To compensate for an increase in inequality, a median income Hong Kong family earning HK$224,460 a year needs to earn, per child, an extra ... The researchers explained that a poor student usually benefits more from additional resources than a rich student who already has more learning opportunities. Therefore, unequal distribution of government resources, which usually favors schools attended by rich students, will lead to lower average scores. These study findings have considerable significance for local educational reform. Said Professor Chiu and Dr. Khoo, ¡§Educational policies such as the Direct Subsidy Scheme will be more successful if they equalize resources to each student, integrate rich and poor students, and reduce bias against poor students. Also, teachers should be trained to give equal attention to all children regardless of their family income.¡¨
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