Title: Assessing developing countries students' achievements in international educational testing by socio-economic status across regions, areas, and gender: a case of Vietnam Participating in PISA 2012 and 2015

Authors: Thi Hong Thu Nguyen; Pierre Lefebvre

Addresses: School of International Business and Marketing, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, 59c Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Dist. 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ' Department of Economics, University of Quebec in Montreal, 315, rue Sainte-Catherine Est Montreal, Quebec, H2X 3X2, Canada

Abstract: The literature shows the absence of international educational testing regimes of low-income developing countries. This paper addressed three neglected issues related to Vietnamese students' achievements: 1) the link between family background measured by socio-economic status (SES) and educational skills measured by PISA test scores; 2) the association between low and high-parental SES and students' skills; 3) the link between proficiency levels and SES gradient - the issue more important to the success of young adults. Findings presents distributions of SES gradient in academic skills across Vietnam, regions and gender in 2012 using a comparable measure between parental SES and the 2015 reiteration of test scores. A cross-areas variation identifies indirectly the differences in regional school resources that may lead to inequalities of opportunity. The SES gradient estimations not only relate to math, reading and science skills, but also to proficiency levels in the same cognitive domains at different years.

Keywords: socioeconomic inequalities; PISA; literacy skill; numeracy skill; science skill; proficiency scales; education attainment gradient; region; rural-urban area; gender.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2023.129872

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2023 Vol.14 No.2, pp.143 - 172

Received: 19 Mar 2021
Accepted: 10 Oct 2021
Published online: 03 Apr 2023 *