The Impact of Economic, Social, and Cultural Status on Saudi Students’ Academic Achievement in the International Student Assessment PISA 2018

Abstract

The study aims to identify the impact of economic, social, and cultural status on students’ achievement in the International Student Assessment PISA 2018 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its fields: reading, mathematics, and science. It also aims to identify the differences between the performance of students in private and international schools and that of students in public schools. Through the use of the descriptive quantitative approach, the study was applied to a stratified random sample selected by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in accordance with its standards and procedures and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. A total of 6369 students were under the age of fifteen, representing the study population of 354,013 students in all schools. The STATA statistical analysis program was used to analyze student results through OECD data in order to test the validity of the hypotheses of the study. The results of the statistical treatment indicated that there are statistically significant differences between students' performance in all areas of the test, which can be attributed to the higher economic, social, and cultural status. There are statistically significant differences between the performance of students in private, international, and government schools in favor of students in private and international schools, even after neutralizing economic and social factors. The study concluded with recommendations and suggestions to bridge the gap in academic performance resulting from the economic and social dimensions to ensure the principle of equality and equal educational opportunity.